Disndat on a Tuesday

One learns things on blogs.

For some time, I have noted in my British programs that British caskets are different than ours.

Then, I discovered that ours are caskets and theirs are coffins.

The main difference between a casket and a coffin is their shape and construction: caskets are rectangular with four sides, often made of metal or high-quality wood with hinged, split lids. Coffins have six or eight sides, tapering to be wider at the shoulders and narrower at the feet. Caskets are common in North America, while coffins are more traditional, particularly in Europe. (AI)

Now, I know, and this pleases me for some reason.

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Last April, I noted that two daffodil plants had suddenly appeared in our little front garden. They were a bit of a mystery and still are because we hadn't had daffodils appear for quite some time. It's nice that they are back this year.

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We have three bags of lawn clippings and leaf littler out front. The town does a special pickup for two weeks each spring and autumn. If we have compostable vegetative matter to discard between those times, we can take it to the compost yard ourselves.

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I sowed (for want of better word because they don't have to go deep) the cosmos seeds that Blondi/Kate sent to me from Saskatchewan late last year. A postal strike caused them to arrive too late to plant last fall. I hope I get some results because I think it would be cool to have flowers from Western Canada in my garden, even if they are also called Mexican Daisies. Mexican Daisies via Saskatchewan would be most agreeable to me.

internet

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Sunday was warm, in the high teens or mid-sixties, depending on where you live. For some reason this guy almost ruined the mood. Time and place, bud.

Sometimes the Solution is Close to Hand

Sue had a problem on Saturday when her photo demanded something to do with ground cover. One of her group had photos of a blanket of woodland bluebells, but what was Sue to do on a very windy day? The immediate thought was to return to the squill patch and try her best.

She took our light, portable and expandable stool and assumed the position.

I went to the other patch on the same lawn, lay myself prone, and tried to photograph a single plant. It was tough in the wind as this short clip will attest. (Of course, you know that you can click to see the clip large.)

I had the phone steady on a holding device for a change and clicked image after image, hoping for a clear photo. This ↓ one was the steadiest shot that I got. I deleted a few dozen others. You can see some of the larger patch off in the background, left. They were plentiful over there.

My thumb kept on hitting the reverse, selfie button; eventually, I took the shot.

I had been prone long enough that getting un-proned was a struggle for my 78-year-old self. When I got as far as my knees I paused to take another selfie.

Sue was still trying to get her photo of the day, so I wandered to the river side of the property, and took a video of the still-raging river.

We left with Sue not being exactly exhilarated with her photos. When we got home, I happened to glance across the street. The neighbours over there have a big tree obscuring the front of their place, but I spied colour beyond the gap under said tree.

We went over and found that the spot was somewhat sheltered from the wind. Sue found a photo that worked for her: yellow daffodils with blue squill in the complementary background. It was perfect for her task, or at least close enough under the circumstances.

After going around and about, what Sue had needed lay almost on her own doorstep.

Bloodroot and Squill on the Trail

For our Friday walk, we decided to drive to the part of the Riverwalk Trail by the arena. We were hoping that some wildflowers might be appearing.

It was Sue who first spotting small white flowers down  a little offshoot path from the main trail.

My bending low shots have been pretty poor lately, but this is what bloodroot looks like, or at least what it looked like on Friday morning. Apparently, when it opens, it will resemble the third photo, below, which I am obtaining from Wikipedia. (My bend down photos are terrible again. I will try to do better.)

Wikipedia

Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria . . .

Plants are variable in leaf and flower shape, and have been separated as a different subspecies due to these variable shapes, indicating a highly variable species.

In bloodroot, the sap is red and poisonous. Products made from sanguinaria extracts, such as black salve, are escharotic and can cause permanent disfiguring scarring. If applied to the skin, the extract sanguinarine may cause a massive scab of dead flesh where it killed the cells, called an eschar. (Wikipedia)

Farther along the trail, sharp-eyed Sue, spotted purple. I remember this patch of squill from last year. Once again, my bend-down pics failed, so I am not going to post them.

They were right beside the main trial on the right.

You'll have to bend better than that, AC.

Scilla siberica, the Siberian squill or wood squill, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to southwestern Russia, the Caucasus, and Turkey. Despite its name, it is not native to Siberia.

Many parts of the plant such as the flowers, fruits, leaves, roots, sap, seeds, and stem are poisonous to eat for some animals. (Wikipedia)

One more thing: the swampy area on that one spot along the trail was ... um ... very swampy.

Hyacinths and Daffodils

Certain houses back onto our local park on one side. This ↓ lady has a garden, which she is quite willing to share. I mean the lady on the balcony. She is British, which probably explains why she has such a nice, little garden. But perhaps that is too much of a stereotype? 

The lady was very friendly and didn't mind us trodding about her garden.

On a windy day, I took a few quick snaps. The pics are nothing special to look at, but the flowers were certainly good to see. There were hyacinths and two varieties of daffs. No tulips yet, but they will come in time. You can also see some low-lying purple squill in the background of some of the photos.

I know that I do go on, but spring flowers are just so doggone wonderful to see and last for such a short time. 

Photos from the Unveiling

I have more photos to post of the Unveiling or Opening of the WWI planes exhibit this week. I could have posted them with the original post, but that piece seemed complete as it was.

I begin with another photo of the Baron's Fokker is descent mode.

The two planes had very busy backgrounds hanging from the ceiling, so I used my very dubious photoshop skills to try to extract them and fill in the background with skies. I just wanted to see if I could do it, and I did, if not well. The second one went a little easier after I fumbled my way through the first. That makes sense. Right?

TV News showed up. I am so charmed with their little rigs working around an iPhone. I asked him if he had once carried those huge cameras that were used up until recently. He had. I also asked if he was responsible doing the editing. Yes, he edited his stills but not the videos.

We met up with our  former neighbour. Al was part of the leadership that got the Men's Shed started in our town, and he remains active in the group at 93 years of age. He is well respected and loved.

Sue greeted town councillor, Linda. Sue likes people. I will never understand that about her.

My friend, Bob, who loves shooting events, was there with his Canon. I fiddled with editing this photo and sent him a copy. I think he liked it.

Most of us, however, are more familiar with the alternate version.

Addendum from Sue

Chasing the Fokker

On Tuesday, we headed down the road a bit to view an unveiling of airplane models created by the town's Men's Shed group. Quite a crowd gathered to witness the two models which were hung from the rafters of a trucking establishment.

The models were of the Red Baron's, Fokker Dr. 1 and Captain Roy Brown's, Sopwith Camel. Fittingly, the Sopwith Camel is chasing the Fokker because that is how the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, met his end.

Roy Brown was officially credited with shooting down the infamous Red Baron on that day in 1918 although it was likely ground-based artillery that finally accomplished the deed. Nevertheless, the story is that Brown was in pursuit, and that is what caused the Baron to fly low over allied artillery as he maneuvered to evade his pursuers.

The date of the presentation on Tuesday was April 21 2026. It was appropriate for the official inauguration of the deed that occurred on April 21 1918.

Roy Brown was born here in Carleton Place in 1893. The house in which he lived still stands, not far from town hall and just across from the mill that his grandparents owned.

He has become our most honoured former citizen even though he settled elsewhere in Ontario after the war. There is a statue of Roy near town hall, and there is a park named after him as well as a prominent mural, all of which have appeared in this space in times past. (Remembering Roy Brown, I Am but a Lowly Tripod, Roy Brown Park)

Back to the present, the replica models are well constructed and to scale. They are made of solid material, and it is said that they would be sturdy enough to fly if they were powered.

The Men's Shed certainly did and outstanding job that will be viewed with admiration and pride for many years to come.

Roy Brown's Sopwith Camel chases the Baron, flying above and behind
as the Baron's Fokker points downward in his final descent.

Upon Reflection

On Monday Evening, I had the bright idea to visit Riverside Park at sunset. I was hoping to get sun reflecting in the temporarily flooded ponds that I also showed here the other day. For the most part, we were a little late for that, at least where I was. I went mostly right while Sue veered to the left. She caught more reflection that I did. Since she got the better photos, I'll show mine first, two of which included her in the frame.

My two fav photos, the one immediately above and the one below didn't involve water or reflections at all. Go figure. I love how the setting sun lit up the grasses.

I did get this one with some reflection and a bench, but I had to do some editing to get it looking as good as it does.

I tried to avoid direct shots of the sun as the variation in light can really throw-off a photo, but Sue managed those, as well as reflections, very well.