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GreatGardenStuff – Newsletter, December 20, 2006
Hello my dear gardening friends, Christmas will soon be here but tonight is the first night of Hanukkah. I am about to light the first candle (tonight I light 4 candles, one is the Shamus to light the other candles with). I light the first candles but as it is also the Sabbath I am lighting the regular two. A grandfather told the following story to his two grandchildren: -Sheldon Oberman and Neil Waldman “As a child I was upset by stories of the terrible persecution of Jewish people. Many of my generation felt insecure and afraid. We must never forget nor must we surrender to fear. For when “Grandpa” was a boy in Europe, he celebrated Hanukkah in the same way that children do today. He sang songs, played dreidel, and ate potato pancakes. Yet Hanukkah was very different. “Grandpa” and his family could not share the joy of Hanukkah with the world. They were forced to observe the holiday behind locked doors and drawn curtains. In those days a man came with soldiers yet again to persecute the Jews – just as that foreign king had done centuries ago in Jerusalem. Hanukkah celebrates a time of rescue and restoration. It honours the Maccabees who fought against the spiritual destruction of their people. Let us remember the power of courage and the miracle of rebirth. This storybook honours the modern Maccabees of World War II, who fought for the light of all civilization. This story was written to honour and thank all the veterans of the World War II. More than two thousand years ago, Jews lived in the Promised Land. We had a Great Temple lit by a Great Lamp. Then a foreign king came with an army of soldiers. They tried to make everyone pray to their gods. They put pigs in the Temple. They raised up stone idols, they pulled down our Lamp and they put out its light. One family fought back and they were called Maccabees. The Maccabees showed our people how to fight to be free. Our people kept fighting year after year until finally they defeated that king and his army. They cleared out the pigs, threw out the idols, cleaned the Great Temple and lit the Great lamp for everyone to see. There was only enough oil in the Lamp for one day. It would take eight whole days, for more oil to be made. Our people cried out, “The light will not last! The Temple will soon become dark once again”. Then a miracle happened. A blessing came to them. The light of the Lamp burned for eight days without dying. In those eight days more oil was made, and so the Lamp was kept burning. Its light was not lost.” Now each Jewish home has its own special lamp. For the eight nights of Hanukkah we bless it, and we light it where everyone can see it to remember that time long ago. Thanks to Sheldon Oberman and Neil Waldman for writing this beautiful little story for not only the Jewish children but for all children everywhere. For those Jews living in Canada are so very lucky – we have always been able to worship openly without fear of reprisal. From time to time a Synagogue still gets vandalized – but the people themselves are not dragged off to die. Unfortunately there are still places in the world where people are still not able to celebrate and pray in their own particular religion. But now, here in Canada, we can display our lights, the Menorah in windows, without fear of reprisal. By our friend Cicely Mary Barker The little Christmas tree was born And dwelt in the open air; O little Fir! Your forest home A dolly-fairy stands on top, My dear Katie fed everything and everyone that visited her in her home in the woods. She gave me these recipes and I hope that you will enjoy them too or at least your birdie friends will. Feasts for Feathered Friends courtesy of the Kortright Centre for Conservation: (Gourmet Cooking for Birds) Heat to boiling Mix and bring to the boil and then cover and turn off the heat. Add seeds, raisins, nuts, peanut butter or any other tid-bit if desired. Pour into containers and chill or freeze before placing in feeders. Corn Bread 3 pints of cornmeal Bake in a deep pan, slowly at 425F for approx 25 minutes. Be careful not to form a hard crust. The birds will thank you by eating more mosquitoes next summer!!!! Suet a la Chickadee 3 cups melted suet Combine ingredients and add enough water to achieve the consistency of porridge. Cook over hot water until blended well. Pour into containers. Fat Faire 2 cups melted suet, lard or bacon (non-salted) drippings, but nothing with heavy seasoning Melt, blend and cook for several minutes! So simple! Want to really help the birds? Plant a wild life shrub in your backyard to offer the birds, food, shelter and safety too. Attention Gourmet Cooks! If you know any good recipes for birds, The Kortright Naturalists would love to hear about them. Apple cider with cinnamon sticks is always most welcome, especially during a bad cold or flu. Secure a bundle of cinnamon sticks (from any bulk or health food store) with a rubber band. Tie ribbon over the band, it should be wide enough to hide it. Add a small ornament for decoration, then fill a decorative bottle with apple cider and attach the ribbon and a large bow! Great for uncle Sam, who has everything!!! A splash of brandy added to the cider makes for a nice warm feeling. You can make an arrangement for someone who says “I love flowers, but I do not know what to do with them!!” This is how to make a Fruit and Roses arrangement: Materials needed are: Three different artificial fruit stems, such as lime, pear, and a miniature orange All these can be purchased at the dollar stores or Wal-Mart. Or if you live near the Civic Garden Centre – they carry it all too (yes I know it has changed its name – but who remembers??) That is the difficult part, now for the fun! Dilute the glue slightly with water. Brush the glue on the fruit. Sprinkle fruit with the glitter, whilst the glue is still wet. Shake off excess on to the paper, and replace any leftover glitter into the container to use another time. Trim the foam to sit level in the container. Using the knife, trim the foam height to the level of the container. Place the sticky in the bottom of the container, place the foam on top. I like to use a “stool” if you purchase pizza, or go to the store and ask for one, put the sticky in first (plasticine works too) then the little stool, and add the foam on top. Fill any gaps in the container with marbles around the foam. Insert ivy into the center of the foam. I put mine into a floral pick (any florist will have picks). Break the berry stems about 1 ˝ inches from berries. If you are using fresh ones, you must wrap them with the floral tape, don’t forget to stretch it slightly. Make several clusters; if some stems get broken just glue them together. Insert two fruit stems on the near side of the foam top, insert third stem near the other side, insert one short berry stem on each side. Insert long berry stem on side with one fruit stem. Bend the stems to follow the curve of ivy stems conceal any stems with the ivy or any other greens. Cut stems of large and medium roses to 5”. If the stem is shorter make an extension using either a MacDonald Straw or hot glue on a piece of the left over stems. Insert large roses at center facing upwards, insert medium roses at center right, facing sides. Bend or trim taller stems so that they fall below visual lines of the dinner guests. Cut two rosebud stems to 3” one stem to 6” and one or two to 15”. Make them as long as you need using the straws etc. Insert short stems in front of medium roses, insert medium stem near large rose; and insert long stems into the sides. If you decide to use fresh roses, be sure to insert them into florists picks before adding them to the arrangement. Now add the grape clusters draping them over the sides. You can fill in any gaps using some of the discarded leaves on the stems. If you wish to purchase a bunch of babies breath, you can add them instead to fill in the gaps. This gives a feeling of space within the arrangement Given as a gift, people will be very impressed with your creative talent!! Well my dears that is all for this week! Loblaws has a wonderful array of flowers, plants, containers, greenery, poinsettias, potting soil, etc. and the flowers are superb! I still have three roses after a whole month. I must tell you a little story – I went into the back room, which is essentially closed for the winter, but this is where I store the bird seed in a garbage can with a tight fitting lid (or so I thought). I opened it up to get the bird seed to fill my platform for the birds and squirrels, inside were two small deer mice. I scooped them out, put them outside, and they ran under the house and I am sure were in the basement before I had the door closed. The chipmunk is still coming into the kitchen from where I do not know! At least I am not lonely and yes I do have a cat, she ignores them all. Happy Christmas and Hanukkah to you all. Lovingly, |