My World is scary on a Tuesday night

The wind is whistling through the trees,

A wind that started as a breeze

Is howling now instead of whistling,

And on my neck the hair is bristling!

What is that thing coming out of the sky?

I want to run,
but I can't! OH, my...

Photos by Kay Davies

Posted for My World Tuesday

Mystery bush and flowers, as well as my Nanking Cherries in 'My World'

We don't have a beautiful garden, but I like to think we have a beautiful yard, because it is full of surprises. I love to plant trees, bushes and flowers, and I've forgotten the names of some of the things I planted a few years ago. In fact, the only one of these photos I can identify right now is the bottom one, and I didn't plant it. It was here when we moved in, and I used to call it "Kay's mystery bush" because it had beautiful blossoms every spring, followed by...nothing. That's right, until I found out it was a Nanking Cherry, and needed another bush nearby for pollination, it never had these lovely tart-sweet red cherries on it. Now I have the "old cherry bush" and the "new cherry bush" and also a volunteer cherry plant that doesn't seem to want to grow into a bush yet, but still produces fruit. Speaking of red berries, I don't remember the name of the bush in the top picture. I know it's right near my cotoneaster bush, and near one of my lilacs, but I don't remember its name. If anyone out there in the blogosphere can identify it by its flat green leaves, and by its berries with little "tufts" on the bottom, I'd sure love to know what it is. I'd also like to know the names of the dainty little blooms in the two center pictures.

Photos by Kay Davies.

Posted for the My World Tuesday meme.

My world, my neighborhood this week

Photos by Kay Davies.
Posted for
My World Tuesday

MY WORLD SMOKES, and I don't like it

When I look at the current weather conditions on theweathernetwork.com, I see the present temperature and the word "smoke". Yes, the smoke from British Columbia forest fires is still so bad it has become a factor in the weather of southeastern Alberta. It gives me an opportunity to use the words "my world" followed by a verb, but it doesn't give me much satisfaction. I think of all the people I know who have breathing problems, some serious, some less so, and I hope the thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon will come and wash the smoke away, even though the thunder frightens our dog. I think of the lungs of animals, wild and domesticated, who are exposed to the smoke without respite, unlike our dog who spends many hours indoors. And I cry.

You can see happier sights from other parts of the world at http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Photos by Richard Schear.

Smokey the Bear is STILL in the Air!!

Update -- The smoke blew as far as Manitoba, three provinces over from the locations of the forest fires, and smoke is still featured on the hourly forecast of theweathernetwork.com here in southern Alberta. My husband and our dog have had to take shorter walks because of the air pollution and here in this photo the sun, setting over the prairie, is seen through a haze, darkly.

(Below, from a previous post:)
The skies here in southeastern Alberta appear cloudy this morning, but the "cloud" is actually smoke drifting across the Rocky Mountains and over the prairie, reaching as far as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, some 800km (500 miles) from the BC border.

The smoke comes from the 110 active forest fires in British Columbia, Canada's westernmost province. There are other fires, but these 110 are all more than 10 hectares (24.7 acres) in size. That's 1100 hectares (2718) acres burning today.

I spent most of my life in BC where forest fires were always a possibility, because 2000 of them occur every year.

Even now, when many people have quit smoking, we still see smokers who throw lighted cigarettes out of car windows. There are also campers who build campfires, and neglect to put them completely out and then douse them with lots of water.

Even though most forest fires are caused by lightning, and many of them are in remote areas where smokers and campers never go, it is still important to do our part. Never throw lighted or partially-crushed cigarettes out a window. Never build campfires and leave them without being certain every last ash and cinder has been soaked with water.

As Smokey Bear used to say, "Only YOU can prevent forest fires." Please do your part.

(Photo by Richard Schear)

See photos from other parts of the world at http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/