It's that time of year again

Snow on a buch of Echinacae

Well, it's that time of year again, Christmas Eve.  What are you guys doing right now?  Running around trying to buy a last minute gift for uncle Whatchama Callit that you haven't seen in ages and is coming over tonight.  Or maybe trying to figure out how you are going to sit everyone at the table for dinner or better yet, you just burnt the turkey and will have to get St-Hubert and stuff it with what you were able to save for the bird that is now looking like the Griswold family one in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.  Or maybe you are a well organized person and have everything ready and is enjoying a hot cocoa in front of a nice fire looking forward to gift giving time.

However you are celebrating Christmas, my cats, my family and I are wishing you all a nice Holiday with the ones you love.

I tried to get the cats to sit for a Christmas pictures but they didn't feel like sitting still with a Christmas hat (which is actually a Christmas stocking,  shhhh.....everybody doesn't have to know) on their head.  Sachat stayed around long enough for me to get one shot.  Grisgris saw me coming and ran away so here is what you get.  I have added a couple of wintery pictures so you wouldn't feel like I let you down.

Sachat before she decided that the hat was enough

Mésange à tête noire (Black-capped Chickadee)
Boisbriand, QC Décembre 2011

For those who were wondering if Québec is going to have a white Christmas.  It seems like it.  There is about an inch of snow on the ground that fell yesterday. And the forecast calls for cold temperatures so the snow is going to stay at least 'til after Christmas.  We will have a white Christmas, at least in Boisbriand.

Ice on a Rosebush in our yard

Snowfall from yesterday

So Merry Christmas to all of you who are reading me and I talk to you next year or maybe sooner.

My Cats Nicknames

Officially my cats have one name each; in reality they have about a dozen.  It’s always been like this.  Over the years none of the cats I owned kept their original name.  They had their official name, the one I gave the vet or told my friend when they asked.  But in fact, I started given them new ones as soon as I got to know them and they showed me their personality.  Since that changed over time, the names evolved along with it.

As you know I presently have two cats, a brother and sister.  We brought them home 1 ½ year ago.  After a few days of trying different names to see if they fitted and debating among ourselves which one would fit the best, we decided to call the female Sachat with a t (cat in French is chat) and the male Grisgris like the voodoo charm and because he is gray; gris being the French word for gray.  It didn’t take long before their name started to chance.

Grisgris when he was 3 months old

Grisgris became Gris for short than Risris or Ris.  Sachat became Sache.  As they grew older their hair coat became longer and ticker so, I started calling them les Wooly moumoutes in reference to the extinct wooly mammoth and, moumoute in reference to a French word used to designate a man’s hair piece.  The name Wooly moumoute turned into Moute again for the sake of shortness or Woolute and Woolite. On another tangent we got the unavoidable reference to cats being flee bags, which in French is les Sacs à puce.  From that was born the derivatives Les Sacs à pouette and Les Pouettes.

Sachat at 3 months

Grisgris is also called Gros Ronron Ponpon or Le Point.  Don’t ask me where that last one came from. I don’t have a clue.  Recently I started calling Sachat Choupette.  You know the Disney movie about the VW bug called Herbie? Well in the French translation it’s called Choupette.  It’s also used as a term of endearment.  Of course Choupette could not stay Choupette so it became Choupe, than Shwip and Shwipette.  Oh… and before I forget there is also Chouine and Chouinette.  Since these are feminine names, I needed a masculine counterpart for Grisgris, so came along Le Chouin and Les Chouins designating both of them.

Grisgris this Fall

I use the names alternatively depending on my mood and theirs, I guess.  I know, you all must think I’m crazy and crazier yet to talk about it on a blog.  I would be happy to hear what nicknames you call your pets.  It’s ok, you don’t have to have as many as I do.   Don’t hesitate, in doing so you’ll reassure me that I am not alone in my craziness.



Sachat a couple of weeks ago

First snow Fall ?

I know, although it still looks like fall, winter is coming and I need to call the garage to get winter tires for the Mini.  That made me think; when do we usually see the first snowfall in the Montreal area? Is it in October or November?  I don't know, so I did what I usually do when I don't know, I googled it.  This time Google let me down.  I could not find a precise answer.  But I found some interesting information that can give you an idea.

According to Environnement Canada, which shows data for the last 30 years, there is an average snowfall of 22 cm in November in the Montreal area.  Usually there are 8 days where snow falls, and most  of them with less than 5 cm.  The average temperature in November is 1,6°C and I am pretty sure that this year average will be a lot higher.  The record daily high temperature for November is 21,7°C and was set in 1948.  The record low was set in 1949 and is -19,4°C.  There is no mention as when we usually see our first snow though.  The closest I could get to a date was between December 1 and 15.  But that's not quite the dates for the first snow, but the ones for the first day of 14 consecutives days where the snow coverage on the ground was equal or greater than 2cm. You have to love statistics and thank Natural Resources Canada for them. However, I did get a date for Quebec City, on average their first snowfall is around October 11 (according to Climat-Québec). 

I personally think that the end of October, beginning of November is about right for Montreal. What do think?  

What is your bet, will it be soon or will we have a snowless Christmas ?

While you wait let me show you a couple of nice pictures I took yesterday as I was walking in my favorite trail along the Rivière des Mille Îles.

Red fruit, Boisbriand, November 21, 2011

Little white cotton balls, Boisbriand, November 21, 2011

Fuzzy Fruit of a Sumac Vinaigrier

Little white buttons, Boisbriand, November 21, 2011

Maple seeds that never fell, Boisbriand November 12, 2011

Windows in Provence

The last time I went to Europe I had the chance to go to Provence. It was the spring of 2006. I know it's been a while and I definitively need to go back soon. When I was there, I started taking pictures of windows. Sounds weird, doesn't it? But it's not. It's actually pretty colorful and campagnard. You will see why shortly. In the south of France, there are a lot of large casement windows with awnings in bright colors. They are great subjects for pictures. When they are all put together it makes a nice montage. So I thought I'd share them with you and tell you a little bit about where they were taken.

The first three were taken at the Châteauneuf du Pape village. Yes, the one renowned for its wine. It's a little bit ironic that I ended up there because I don't really like wine. That’s probably why I didn't take pictures of the vineyards and decided to look at the windows. I did take pictures of the old castle and stacks of wine cases though.

The bottom three were taken in Orange, a small town north of Avignon. In Orange there is an Antique Theater that was built around the years 40 BC.  It's part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.  When I was there, it was under restoration. Now it's finish and they're having outdoor shows in it. It looks magnificent. I definitively need to go back.

Since I talked about the castle, the wine and the theater, let me show you what they look like.  Otherwise it's like getting a Christmas present and not being able to open it.

Châteauneuf du Pape castle

Wine Cases in Châteauneuf du Pape

If you would like to know more about the Castle that was the home of Popes here is a link where they talk about it.  Château des Papes

Now let me show you the roman theater in Orange.  And here is the link for more details about its history as well as the one of the city. Théâtre Antique - Orange





Shapes and Colors

This is kind of a quiz.
I show you pictures of different shapes and colors and you have to tell me what it is.  Are you ready to play?


Pretty in Pink

Here is the first one all pretty in pink.  This one is easy, in fact probably too easy, but that's fine.  I don't want to discourage you at the first one. 


























Let's see what the second one looks like.  This one is set in cool blues.  Again, I don't think that this one is much more difficult than the first one.



Cool Blues

Ok what color can I choose for the third one........hmmmmm....let me see?  Ah yes, here you go.  It's kind of neon green-yellow but looks amazing.  This one can actually be a little harder to figure out.  It doesn't matter, I just wanted you to see the picture because I like it so much.

Neon Green-Yellow Spikes

Here is another one that some of you probably have already seen somewhere.

Rainbow of Colors

Is there a color I have not shown you yet?  I think I don't see purple anywhere.  So, for your delight only, here it is.



Purple Ball



I can actually show you the same in red if you want. 



Red Ball



And a last one, just for fun and because I thought it was missing a hint of orange.

Orange, Orange, Orange

Ok, that one you didn't have to guess, but you have to agree that as far as showing off, it Rocks.

All of these pictures were taken the same day, in the same city on our yearly 1 week trip in May.  Can you guess where it is? 

Answers: 1) Stair case in a mall, 2) Side of a skyscraper, 3) Glass work of art in a galerie d'art, 4) M&M cylinders in the M&M store, 5) Hotel Hall with a color changing ball, 6) Sitting area in a Mall, 7) If you haven't figure it out: It's Las Vegas.

Route 66

This one is for those who are like me and don't want to think about Christmas just yet.  I'm taking you back to the 50's.  The post war era where cars had wings, gas was cheap and wifes stayed at home, cooking diner for their husband wearing pearls and high heels.  Remember those times?  No..... you're to young; me too.  Good thing, because even if I love pearls and high heels there is no way in Hell I'd be caught doing that........Oh well, maybe.....in my boyfriend's fantasies.

So why exactly am I telling you all this? Because it's my introduction to today's topic:  Route 66.  Everyone has heard about the famous road that crosses the US of A from Chicago down to LA. Now a day, a lot of it has been destroyed or abandoned but there are a couple of segments left.  Those were the ones that my boyfriend and I set out to see on our Spring 2010 Arizona trip.

Route 66 on our way to Seligman

We started the trip in Vegas than we went rafting on the Colorado River.  The next pictures were taking after going down the river for forty some miles and suffering a 4 hour drive to and from the Hotel in an old rickety school bus, on a dirt road with no air conditioning.  In Seligman, I had made reservations at the Supai Motel because of its neon sign.  We got there around 10PM.  You have to remember here, it's not Las Vegas where everything is open 24/7, so there was just one restaurant left open and it was about closing time.  If we wanted to eat, we had no choice; it was the Roadkill Cafe or nothing.  Let me tell you, that was quite an experience, the food was excellent but you have to read the menu.

RoadKill Cafe, Seligman, AZ

Supai Motel, Seligman,AZ

Next morning we started our drive to The Grand Canyon.  But before we left town, there was still more memorabilia from the glory days of Route 66 to photograph.

Old Ford Pick up truck

Red, White and Blue

I know it's not real, it's all for the tourists like us who want to see how it was back in those days.  The truth is........  Do you really want to know ?  I think I'll just let you all look at the pictures and dream yourself a world of girls in large skirts and boys with their t-shirt sleeved rolled up.

Last look at the town of Seligman, AZ

I hope you liked your trip down memory lane, we sure did.  Here is another link if you want to know more about Route 66. The road wanderer

For those of you who want to read the menu of the Roadkill Cafe, just click on the pictures it should open to its original size.

Christmas Preview

I don't know if you're like me and wait 'til there's at least a little bit of snow on the ground before you get all excited about Christmas. Or, if past Thanksgiving (the Canadian one, which is the first week of October) you start sporting Christmas clothes and there is a least a couple of decorations in your house.

As for me, I cringe when I see Christmas decorations in the middle of October or hear the mention of Christmas songs and albums on the radio. There're even some stores that have forgotten about Halloween and skipped right to Christmas decorations. I guess Halloween is not as profitable as it used to be.

Anyway, that's my opinion and I respect the ones who don't agree with me. As a matter of fact this post might appeal to them. Why? Because the pictures I took last weekend look a lot like Christmas. Hmmm...that rings a bell; oh ya, the Christmas song written in 1951 by the American composer Meredith Willson It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

So here you go, you Christmas enthusiasts that are counting the days before Santa Claus descends from the chimney.



Thé des bois
Parc du Domaine Vert, Boisbriand, QC, 5 novembre 2011

Thé des bois
Parc du Domaine Vert, Boisbriand, QC, 5 novembre 2011

Thé des bois is in fact Wintergreen. You know? The flavor of that round, pink candy that us québécois call "Paparmane".  The candy is known for its popularity among the elders and was made famous by M. Caron on the TV show Rock et Belles Oreilles that aired in the 80's and 90's.  If you want to taste it, the flavor comes from both the leaves and the berries.  You can also extract its oil and use it has an anti-inflammatory agent on your achy muscles and joints since it contains an active ingredient that is similar to the one found in aspirin. Wintergreen on Wikipedia  Ok, that was my scientific interlude for the day.  I wish you all an happy pre-Holiday season.  As for me, wait until the week before Christmas to mention it. 

Camouflage

As you know I have two cats: Sachat and Grisgris.  They're brother and sister.  We got them when they were 3 months old.  A few weeks after we brought them home Sachat played Hide and Seek with me.  Here is where I found her.  This afternoon Chris found her doing the same thing.

Look and compare.

Baby Sachat

Sachat 1½ year later

Isn't she cute, ma petite Choupette?

November Frost

First Frost
Well maybe not the very first one but the first one worth taking pictures of. Last Friday morning everything was set in little spikes so I couldn't resist taking pictures. The first one, I took from my iPhone but it was set on video so I don't have a picture but I three second video of a frosted leaf on the top of The Mini in the parking lot of my morning appointment.  

The others were taken from my garden right after I got back.  This time I used my usual camera.  It doesn't have a video on it so no chance of confusion, I can only take pictures.  They were taken as the sun started to shine and warm the garden so it was perfect lighting for cool spiky pictures. 

Frost on the top of an Echinacea

Vine with spikes of frost

Frost melting on an Echinacea

Little row of spikes on the patio ramp

The last one doesn't fit the spike theme, it's all soft and round.  Little pearls on a leaf.

Pearls of frozen dew

Wouldn't it be beautiful if we could gather all those little crystals and make an necklace out of them.  I'm sure that's where designers and jewelers take their inspiration from.

Vive le iPhone

Cette chose est vraiment une petite merveille. Je viens de trouver comment on peut blogger de partout. Bon, vous allez dire que c'est pas du nouveau mais c'est quand même fantastique ce que cette petite machine peut faire. On est vraiment rendu dans l'ère de Star Trek avec le téléporteur en moins. Ça serait-tu l'fun; plus besoin de poiroter deux heures dans le trafic pour aller travailler.

Pour en revenir au iPhone, c'est peut-être gadget mais n'empêche que c'est bien pratique quand t'es perdu dans la marée des cônes oranges, des sens uniques et des détours de notre belle métropole. En plus j'ai le Bluetooth dans La Mini donc, pas besoin d'écouteur ou de bébelle derrière l'oreille. C'est pas cool ça, j'économise plein de sous, pas besoin d'acheter de GPS ou de patente à oreille. En plus avec le Wi-Fi et les appels et textos à nos favoris qui sont inclus, ça me coûte juste un peu plus chère que mon ancien téléphone avec bien plus de services. 

Pour le prouver, voici une photo de Sachat que j'ai prise à l'instant.

Sachat sous les couvertes

Urban November Sunset

It's getting cold outside, and dark is setting in pretty early in this beginning of November. Yesterday as I was calling my cats to come in (for those who read my last post; don't laugh) and I noticed the sky. The sun was setting and the colors were wonderful. I want back inside, grabbed my camera and took a few pictures from over my backyard fence.

It's funny how we rarely think about taking pictures of our day to day environment. Home is home, we've seen it so many times that we think that everything remains the same and that it's not worth looking at anymore. We take pictures when we're on vacation in a tropical paradise and the sun slowly disappears over the sea with the beach and the palm trees in the foreground. But what about the beauty of an urban sunset with its power lines and street lights. I agree, it is a different type of beauty but still beautiful enough to stop for a minute and enjoy the moment.

November sunset
from my backyard, Boisbriand, November 1, 2011

Things cats do and get away with

If you don't already know, I'm telling you now: I love cats. I sometime wish I was one of them; they have such an easy life.

I was looking at mine today, they were laying in a patch of sun, sleeping and looking perfectly content.  Here is what they do all day; mine anyway. They wake us up very early in the morning because they want to go out, and then they want to come in, and they want to go out again and then in again, or sometime just in between.  A good thing my boyfriend is an early riser. Once that's done they want to eat, so they jump on the bed to get me up to feed them, which of course I oblige. Then they want to go out again, unless they're not sure because it's too cold or rainy or windy or whatever. In that case, they usually end up sitting halfway in, halfway out, in the middle of the open door thinking about if they should go or not. And of course yours truly is waiting for them to decide. When they do make up their mind, it's usually to change it a couple of seconds later. Do I get angry at them? ......Oh no, I just open the door once more.  I’ve read somewhere that cats are their own master, and of course they are, they're the rulers and we are mere servants at their beck and call; well I am.  No wonder the Egyptians worshiped them as Gods. 

Imagine if your kids behaved that way.  Actually I should say: imagine when your kids behave this way.  Do you open the door back and forth when they’re screaming and scratching at the screen door?  No, you do it once or twice, if you’re a very good and particularly patient parent, and then you tell them (well that maybe a pretty timid word for what you actually do) it’s either in or out. Even the dog couldn’t behave that way and get away with it again and again and again.  So why can cats?  Because…………they’re cats, and they thoroughly believe that they are entitled to everything they want.  Children too for that matter.  So, again the question: why do we let cats get away with it?  I have no good answers other than, they're cats and they do what they want.

Now to illustrate my point: Cats and doors  

From The Bored Ninja Website

      

By the way, I just let the cats out for the 50th time today. Want to bet they come back in the next couple of minutes?

If you did, you have lost my friend.  Sachat just wanted in...........again.

Not a Happy Camper

About one month ago, I saw one of my cats playing with something.  Looking a little bit closer, I saw something orange.  Not knowing what it was, I drew closer and found out it was a garden snake.  Gris-Gris had just caught a couleuvre; a big nice one, but very pissed off.  I think that it did not really appreciate having been dragged out of its hideout by my curious cat.  In fact, I am very sure of it.  It was acting like a cobra, trying to attack us.  Gris-Gris had injured it on the neck so it was a little slower than usual so, instead of slithering away, it decided to try to frighten us.  Well it kind of worked 'cause I stepped away each time it raised its head and try to fight.  However, it did not prevent me to run in the house to get my camera and shoot a couple of pictures.



It is a couleuvre rayée or Common Garter Snake.  Its scientific name:
Thamnophis sirtalis.  If you want to learn more about the different types of reptiles in Quebec you can have a look at this site.  It even allows you to record your sittings.
Atlas des Amphibiens et des Reptiles du Québec

Here are some more shots of our not so happy camper.

 

My boyfriend, Chris, ended up catching it with a 2 rakes.  It spent the night and the next day in a bucket so we could show it to his kids when they came back from school.  We released it afterward and it looked just fine slithering away under the garage.

Now, let me introduce you to the brave warrior that without fear caught this ferocious reptile.  Here is Gris-Gris the cat.

Gris-Gris

Gris-Gris and his sister Sachat were born in March 2010 and have been our companions since they were three months old.  They are the best cat ever and are great hunters.  So far they have brought back home: birds, frogs, grass hoppers, cicadas, and a snake.  We'll see what they come up with next.