To everyone who is visiting this site I want to wish you all the best for the holiday season.  We celebrate Christmas at my house but there are many of you who likely celebrate different holiday traditions at this or other times of  the year.  However you choose to celebrate the holidays I wish you Happy Holidays!  Today a few seasonal photos in the spirit of the season.

Above:  This is Oliver posing nicely by the tree  – my cousins beautiful and lovable dog.

Below:  A Christmas Teddy by the tree.

Merry Christmas !

Sharon

“During the First World War Winnipeg was the headquarters of No 10 Military District and it contained six military hospitals of 972 beds. Winnipeg (Brookside) Cemetery contains 299 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 149 from the Second World War, most of them in the special military plot.” (Commonwealth War Graves Commission website) For more information on memorials, Remembrance Day materials and teacher resources (available free of charge) you may click on the following link. Perhaps you have heard stories of family members who served and were killed in one of the great wars. If so, there is a search function on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website that may be of interest to you. If you live in Winnipeg and have never visited Brookside Cemetery I would encourage you to do so. While the entire cemetery is beautifully maintained by the City of Winnipeg, the Military Section is especially beautiful with the headstones row on row, gardens, mature trees and monuments. Ceremonies open to the public are held there each Remembrance Day. “Right click” on any image to view a larger size.

Pumpkins and gourds are a common part of the Halloween decor.  Today, a few photos of these common fall squash.  Gourds (below) come in a variety of shapes, colours and textures.

Below:  Unsold pumpkins sit in a pile at a roadside stand in the Winkler area.

Let’s wish the children a safe and fun-filled Halloween.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays, second only to Christmas. Most of us view Halloween as a time for putting on costumes, trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins and having theme parties.  Some believe in ghosts, goblins and evil spirits that should be avoided.

Halloween is on October 31st, the last day of the Celtic calendar. It was originally a pagan holiday (All Hallows Eve) dating back over 2000 years. Halloween can be traced back to the Druids, a Celtic culture in Ireland, Britain and Northern Europe. Many of the practices involved in this celebration were based on superstition.  The Celts believed the souls of the dead roamed village roads at night and since not all spirits were thought to be friendly, gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil spirits. This custom evolved into trick-or-treating.  I recall having a lot of fun on Halloween, traveling blocks and blocks with friends in our neighbourhood calling out ” Halloween Apples” and in turn receiving more apples  than candy as is today’s practice. In recent years, due to safety issues for children, communities often organize Halloween events  where children do not need to go door to door.  Sad commentary on today’s society I think.   There are many websites with information on the history of  All Hallows Eve.

Enjoy!

~Sharon

In the tradition of “Thanksgiving Turkey” . . . . These are a pair of wild turkeys from Birds Hill Provincial Park

Enjoy !
~Sharon