Farmer's Almanac Weather Prediction for Ontario: "Stormy weather Great Lakes and points east."
While summer is long gone, and winter is definitely well on it's way, I have managed to keep my "plant experiences" going strong. I have a feeling that this, and the warm-ish weather have been contributing to my new acceptance of winter. Despite the dark days and cold weather, I've been content with the onset of winter lately. Could I finally be coming around to accepting the fact that I'm just going to have to learn to make the most of this winter thing? Is it possible that I may even be *gasp* appreciating the turn of seasons for what it is? We'll see when the first snowfall hits.
A large contribution to my vast recent plant experiences is monetary. Last week was the Old Paper Show and Sale. Last time the show came around I got there at the last minute and rushed around like a maniac in a desperate scramble to purchase paper products. This time we got there hours early -- enough time to get a look at just about everything. I went a little crazy but scored big. My first stop was the booth I'd had so much success with last time. I managed to find a really nice little book called "John Bradshaw's Guide to Gardening for Children". I have been collecting the encyclopedia set by the same name so it made sense to buy this. The book was printed in 1961 and is filled with lots of excellent super-saturated photos of kids and plants.
From the same booth I scooped up a few 50's era copies of "Flower Grower" magazine and "Our Friend the Earthworm" an organic gardening publication dated 1945 published by Rodale Press. I have to admit that I might be becoming a bit of a Rodale enthusist. I now own several of their books and magazines. Props go out to them for their long-time commitment to publishing good organic gardening literature.
At the last show I bought some cigarette cards and books. This time around I made a point of seeking them out. I missed out on a gorgeous collection of tree cards by hesitating too long, however I did manage to get another wild flowers book for a mere $3.00 and a book of Nestle's Picture Stamps (the stamps came wrapped inside every bar of chocolate) entitled "Wonders of the World". While the book isn't all plant-related (I do have other interests) it has some exceptional plant artwork. My favourite page is "The Cactus Family" and features twelve beautiful illustrations depicting cacti and cactus flowers. I may be wrong, but I'm dating the book around 1920's based on the artwork and printing. I could barely hold back my excitement when the dealer informed me it was only $5.00. That's a bargain.
To add to my plant related purchasing frenzy I also managed to score a huge stack of a magazine from the 1920s and 30s called "The Canadian Horticulturalist", two more issues of "The Flower Grower" from 1948 and 1950, and six flower catalogues from the 60's. Probably the most exciting purchase of the day is an old school science journal dated 1918. It is actually a young girl's nature study notebook and is filled with hand-written field notes and drawings covering various topics from goldenrod to white grubs. Aesthetically the book is gorgeous, but the reading is even better. I've only had time to glance at it briefly but the writing style is very 6th grade.
Sadly I have barely had a moment to thoroughly pour over the texts I purchased. I am currently bombarded with reading material. I found 18 gardening magazines at the Salvation Army for 25 cents a piece the other day. A good majority of them are "Organic Gardening" magazines from 1996-97. In addition to this I am reading Diane Ackerman's "Cultivating Delight: A Natural History of My Garden" and a book about Aztec medicinal plants called "An Aztec Herbal: The Classic Codex of 1552".
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