Saturday Photo: Jade Plant in Full Bloom

First let me say that I kill orchids, and can't get African violets to bloom.  Don't know why, but after several years of trying, I'm faced with defeat on that front.

However, I'm really proud of this jade plant which is now blooming very nicely, thank you very much.  The trick, I discovered after quite a bit of research and reading between the lines is 1) letting it  spend the summer in as much sun as possible  and 2) bringing it inside when the temperature drops to near freezing.

Summer before last I tried the procedure and got a few blossoms, but this summer--helped perhaps by an August that was very sunny--I have dozens of clusters of blossoms.

The larger photo was taken after the plant had been inside about a month, and flowers are still forming.  While not all that showy--Christmas cacti, which also like  to spend the summer in the sun and to be brought inside t\when the days are short and getting cooler, have much more brilliant flowers--these
blooms make me smile.  If only I could find the secret to getting orchids to survive...

Saturday Photo: Winter Biking, Bixis, and Snow

Montreal's bike share program, Bixi, ended for the season Nov. 15, after what appeared to be a very good year.   The non-profit reported a record breaking  320,000 individual users logging more than 10 million kilometres of travel.

 The service begins in mid-April and runs until mid-November, and in recent years there's been some agitation to make the season longer.  But this year the end came sooner than expected since the snow fell abundantly the first week in November, well before the Bixi folks were ready to dismantle the stations and store the bikes.

This week I think that most of the stations around my 'hood had been packed up, but this is what it looked like a little earlier.  Not much traffic the last week, for sure!

Nevertheless, winter bike riding is on the rise in Montreal. You need heavier bikes, and I'm told that studded tires (forbidden on cars) are useful, too.   Don't think I'd take it up even if I were a better bike-rider than I am, but some of my nearest and dearest regularly bike to work all winter.  Heroes--or foolhardy?

Think I'll walk!

Saturday Photo: The Definition of Tenacity...

Snow on the ground, but not all the leaves off the trees.  Is that perseverance, tenacity or stupidity?

Don't know but it does provide some relief from a nearly monochrome palette.

Saturday Photo: Just to Remember on a Day When Snow Falls Gently

This was what it was like last summer in Mount Royal Cemetery.  Blue sky and green grass.  It will come again, I have every hope.

Until then, keep warm.

Saturday Photo: The Book on Display...

Had a wonderful launch of Frenemy Nations: Love and Hate between Neighbo(u)ring States last Tuesday.  Great crowd, good conversation and quite a few books sold.

Don't quite know what this means, but the University of Regina website says the book is out of stock, but it's available on Amazon.ca and Amazon.com, plus on-line and in Chapters-Indigo stores.  Your favourite indie store would be glad to order it too, I'm sure!