Where In The World Wednesday!

So you've figured out last week's mystery location, eh? 

That's right, it's "Canada" in Epcot's World Showcase!  Get up close and personal with our neighbor's to the north as this pavilion showcases the Rockies, Furriers, Trappers and Indians.  The landmark building you see is the "Hotel du Canada", patterned after the French Gothic design of the Chateau Laurier in Ottawa.  There is a lot to enjoy at the Canada Pavilion including the beautiful Victoria Gardens, the Rocky Mountain Waterfalls and the Totem poles.  Canada's featured attraction is a 360 CircleVision film staring Martin Short, entitled "O Canada!".  This is one of the better 360 films, so don't miss it if you're there.  And speaking of "don't miss it"..."Le Cellier", Canada's sit-down steakhouse restaurant is one of our top 3 dining choices when in The World (probably Ralph's #1)!     

Are you ready for this week's clues?  There's only 3!  And off we go...

One of the best signs in The World! 

Me preparing for our mystery location...I always match (even when it's unintentional).

Ralph in our mystery location looking studly as ever. 

If you have a guess, post it in a comment!  I'll give you the answer next week.

Who's In Your Backyard?

One of my Christmas gifts from Ralph this past year was an outdoor mountable bird camera with night vision.  I realize it's May, but we only finally got it working (it helps to have the setting on picture instead of test).  We set it up next to the fence in our back yard.  When we saw the first set of photos it captured, we couldn't believe our eyes (I believe I may have even done a little happy dance)!  Here they are...

The Bird Cam captured mostly turkey photos since they are constantly in our backyard. 

It's awesome to have such close up photos of our gobbler friends since they are pretty skittish when we're near.

Birds of a feather flock together...



Turkey Butt!  I wish the camera would capture a picture of a Tom in strut.



Well, hello there!

The mystery visitor!  We're thinking maybe a raccoon?  Any guesses?

Here's a cat who Remy was hissing at through the window earlier that day. 

Apparently, he or she made the same rounds later that night. 
Better be careful, there's a lot of animals in these woods at night!

Deer Butt! Heading right to the side of the house for a middle of the night snack of my hostas. 

Hopefully we'll get a front view of the deer at some point!

I saved the best for last...yowza!!

That's our friend, Bernard.  I would prefer we stay long distance friends. 

And here is the real finale...look for it, look for it...squirrel tail!!

I love the Bird Cam!!!  More photos to come... 

Where In The World Wednesday!

Hello fellow Disneyphiles!  Last week's mystery location was probably fairly obvious to most "World" travelers.  But it gave me an excuse to share all of my great photos from one of my favorite Walt Disney World Attractions!  That's right, its...

It's "Kilimanjaro Safaris" in Animal Kingdom!  The closest thing to a real safari outside of Africa!  An absolute must-do when at Walt Disney World, you board a safari style jeep and travel through a 100 acre African Savannah!  Lions, elephants, giraffes...oh my!!  Many more amazing animals await you on this adventure, so make sure you don't forget your camera!  I've heard that the best time to ride is around 2-3pm, when the animals are getting ready to be brought into the barns for night.  But Ralph and I have always had great luck (as you can see from my photos) riding first thing in the morning as soon as the park opens for the day (especially with morning magic hours)!

Check out this video from one of our Kilimanjaro Safari experiences...

Are you ready for this week's mystery location?  I think it's time for an intermediate one, so put on your Mickey Ear thinking caps!

Look at this amazing building in our mystery location!

This quaint street scene is also in our mystery location.

Ralph found this stunner (or should I say stinker) in our mystery location.

Not to be outdone, I found this awesomely ferocious coon hat. 

It's almost hard to believe this gorgeous man-made wonder is also found in our mystery location
...ahh, the magic of Disney!

How would you like to take an afternoon stroll here?  You can in this week's mystery location!

Think you got it?  You'll have to wait til next week to find out for sure!!  Ta Ta For Now!

Where In The World Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!  It's time to visit the "happiest place on earth" (cheesy sounding but very true).  Ready?  Here we go! 

Last week's mystery location is..... (drum roll)....

It's the "Astro Orbiter"!!  A spaceship type ride located at the top of Future World in The Magic Kingdom.  You take an elevator up to the ride and then get in your "spaceship".  Once the ride starts you are able to control the height of your ship, moving it up and down at whim.  It offers amazing views of The Magic Kingdom and is supposed to be extra cool to ride at night.  Though it was enjoyable, it was a really long wait for a relatively short and simple ride (and Ralph wasn't thrilled with the heights).  So we probably wouldn't do this one again.

Who's that pilot?!

And now onto the clues for this week's mystery location...

This is actually one of my top 5 Favorite Attractions in The World, so I have a lot of photos!  Disney World regulars should recognize our location immediately.  If you've never been there before you might think we're in Africa (that is a good clue in itself)!

A sign as we enter our mystery location!

We are seeing Sable Antelope.  Notice how close we are to them by the sides of our vehicle appearing in the bottom of the photo.  



Greater Flamingos!  I love these beautiful birds!  If you look closely there's another type of bird in this photo.  That's right, it's a duck!  Ducks seem to pop up in every attraction at Walt Disney World since people continually feed them (though it's dangerous to the birds and not allowed). 



Warthogs!  That little guy in the front is Pumba, I believe. 

We are seeing Nile Hippopotamus.  Amazing and somewhat scary at the same time!

This photo shows 2 animals...Grant's Zebra and Ostrich.  Wow, I feel like we are about to enter the race seen in the "Swiss Family Robinson" movie!  A Disney classic and one of my personal favs.

White Rhinoceros.  It's just unfathomable to me how people could hunt and kill amazing creatures like these. 

We are seeing White-Bearded Wildebeest here! 

I saw this animal for the first time ever in our mystery location.  It's an Okapi!

This photo shows you how ridiculously close our mystery location allows you to get to the animals...like these Giraffe!

A Reticulated Giraffe eating leaves.  Check out his black tongue!

I was literally thisclose to this guy while getting this shot.  You can see the roof of our vehicle on the top right of the photo.  It looks like he's smiling and I think he was being a ham for the cameras that day!

Here is the King Of The Jungle on top of Pride Rock surveying his domain!

My favorite African animals...African Elephants!  They are such intelligent and family-oriented creatures.  Do you see the baby behind his mother in the middle?

A close up shot of mother and baby.

Well, that's all I've got!  I'll see you next week!

Trees Are Terrific!

Happy Arbor Day!!



This is our Flowering Dogwood Tree (Cornus Florida) that came with our house when we purchased it. 



Last year it was barely alive and didn't flower.  This year is a different story!! 



Wow!  My gardening talents have not stretched into trees thus yet, but it seems like the mulch we put around the tree (which was really the only thing we did, and we were careful to leave room around the trunk) worked! 



We're crossing our fingers that our tree will continue to grow and prosper.  It's by far not planted in it's ideal location being in full sun and clay soil so it's somewhat of a miracle that it's survived this long.  At least we get to enjoy it's incredible beauty this year!

CELEBRATE ARBOR DAY HERE! 

Where In The World Wednesday!

Well, I just found out that my parents are going to Walt Disney World in September (my favorite time of year to go) and my cousin and her family are going in August.  So that makes this week's edition of "Where In The World Wednesday" especially wistful.  I am very happy for them, but...I WANT TO GO TOO!!! Sigh. 

Here's the answer to last weeks clues (btw, no one submitted any guesses this week!)...

It's my all-time, #1 Favorite Attraction in "The World", "Living With The Land"!!!  For anyone who enjoys gardening, greenhouses, vegetables, fish, bananas, or relaxing boat rides...this ride is an absolute must do!  You load a slow moving boat and travel on water through animatronic scenes of different climates learning how they affect the land.  From the rain forest to the desert to the prairie.  Then your boat takes you into an enormous working greenhouse (which coincidentally provides much of the product used in the Epcot restaurants.  I told you the quick service "Sunshine Seasons" in The Land Pavilion was amazing!).  You witness and learn about amazing new growing techniques including hydroponics and aeroponics.  It's warm, it smells amazing, and it's more relaxing than any spa in my opinion!  Ralph and I took a tour, "Behind The Seeds", a couple of years ago where we got to go on a walking tour inside the attraction and learn so much more than you do in the actual ride.  I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in gardening, the environment, or who enjoys the ride itself.   

This week's mystery location is somewhere that Ralph and I had never been until our most recent trip in September 2010.  It was fun, but probably not fun enough that we would do it again.  But at least we can say we have officially been to this mystery location.  Ready for your clues?  There are only 4 this week so here we go!

Here is a view of our mystery location from afar.  It looks absolutely spectacular when it's all lit up at night!

Since Ralph is somewhat acrophobic, he was not particularly thrilled about our mystery location! 

A sign from our mystery location that I very much enjoy. 

This is a view of the castle (during Fantasyland construction) from our mystery location. 

That's it!  Any guesses?  See you next week with the answer!

New Perennial Garden: Part 1

A couple of weekends ago I planted some perennials in the front flower beds.  I ordered them from 2 different mail order companies, and I have to say that I do wish I ordered them all from the one company, White Flower Farm.  As I explained to Ralph, White's is to mail order plant companies what "Kitchen Aid" is to stand mixers.  Or I guess if you're not garden or kitchen inclined, what "Target" is to all-in-one retail chains.  Not that the plants from the other company were terrible, but compared to the quality, health, and packaging of the plants from White's, you really do get what you pay for. 

I choose perennials that would attract birds and butterflies, were smaller in size so they wouldn't overwhelm the shrubs or window boxes, and would also hopefully be deer resistant (those deer love to munch my plants when they're hungry).  I thought I would post the photos here periodically throughout the summer to show their growth (crossing fingers).  So here are all my newly planted babies...


Here's the right side bed with baby perennials and spring bulbs still in bloom.



Baby "Echinacea - Pow Wow Wild Berry (coneflower)"



Here is what the Echinacea will look like when it grows up!  Echinacea, a North American genus in the Daisy family, has big, bright flowers that appear from late June until frost. This, the queen of the Daisies, is called Coneflower for its dome-shaped center.  Coneflowers thrive in average soils or hot, dry conditions and shrug off cold. Blooms last well, cut or dried, and the seeds in the large cone at the heart of the flower head provide nourishment for birds.



Baby "Rudbeckia fulgida sullivanti - Little Goldstar" (coneflower or mini black eyed susan)



Here is a grown Rudbeckia Little Goldstar!  Rudbeckia is a genus of highly decorative native American perennials that bloom from late summer until frost. They need plenty of sun and good drainage, and offer long-lasting cut flowers.  This knee-high newcomer moves Black-eyed Susans up front and center in perennial borders. Closely packed on well-branched stems, the yellow, daisy-like flowers cover this little 'Goldstrum' relative all season long.



I planted "Liatris spicata - Kobold (gayfeather or blazing star)" but they are bare root corms planted underground (kind of like a bulb) so I don't have baby photos of them.  Here is a photo of what
they will look like when they hopefully grow (I've never planted bare root plants before!). 
A North American genus consisting of about 20 species, Liatris is excellent for cutting, superb
for drying, and beautiful in the border, where it looks best planted in groups. It is also a strong favorite
with many butterflies. Plants offered thrive in full sun or partial shade and well-drained, even dry, soil. 
This compact selection of the prairie native is a welcome addition to the mid-summer garden. At only
24-30in high, 'Kobold' almost qualifies as a dwarf, and definitely belongs near the front of the border.



2 "Nepeta x faassenii" (catmint) from White Flower Farm.  Don't they look healthy and ready to grow!



Here's what Nepeta will look like when it grows.  Most Nepetas are thrifty plants that prosper in average, well-drained soils, and the majority offer deliciously fragrant, gray-green foliage and numerous spikes of small flowers, generally in the blue to purple range. They are durable, hardy, and pest free. Like Catnip, the best-known member of the genus, Nepetas may send felines into a frenzy.  Nepeta x faassanii is a good ground cover or border plant with gray-green foliage. Also superb for edging a walkway. It's a compact grower that forms a mound 12in high by about 15-18in wide. The profuse, small, lavender-blue flowers appear in June and July and repeat all summer.

 

Baby "Leucanthemum x superbum - Banana Cream" (shasta daisy).  Isn't the latin name fun to say!

All grown up! Shasta Daisies are some of the showiest and most reliable perennials for the
summer garden. At peak bloom, they produce a mass of daisies so clean and white, they
compete in brilliance with the sun.  A prolific Shasta Daisy, 'Banana Cream' features bright, 4in,
lemon-yellow blooms that turn butter yellow. They have an extra row of ray petals, so they
look even fuller. The compact plants produce flower buds on side shoots, which means these
cheerful blooms keep coming all summer long. Dark green foliage has increased disease resistant. PPAF

Baby "Coreopsis - Heaven's Gate" (tickseed)

A genus of Daisy-like plants, Coreopsis is excellent for the border. Most species are native to the southeastern United States and Mexico. They are not the least fussy about soil but require full sun. Cut stems back after the first flush of flowers fade to promote a repeat bloom.  Unlike some of the newer Coreopsis selections, Heaven's Gate is super tough, surviving harsh winters where others have succumbed.  Beautiful blooms are ruby pink with a deep red center topping full plants that grow quickly to 18" tall and wide.   

"Coreopsis - Sienna Sunset" (tickseed). 
I really like the feathery foliage and daisy like flowers of Coreopsis so I planted 2 different kinds. 

The blossoms of the Coreopsis Sienna Sunset are orange overlaid with burnt sienna and fade as they age to a rich salmon.  They blend agreeably with Coneflowers and complement the dark-leaved Heucheras. Coreopsis 'Sienna Sunset' is deer resistant, too.

Last, but not least is baby "Scabiosa - Butterfly Blue" (pincushion flower or scabious).

This is the most distinguished genus in the Teasel family, and it includes a number of useful perennials for the garden. Scabious are of easy culture in full sun (or partial shade in the South) and well-drained soil. 
Butterfly Blue™ is a heavy-blooming dwarf with blue flowers, smaller than those of S. caucasica, that are produced in amazing abundance. They provide rich blue bloom all summer long and may be cut when half open. The form is neat and compact, the shade excellent, but the masses of flowers are beyond belief.
They are great for attracting butterflies!

The left side with baby perennials and spring bulbs. 

I am crossing my fingers that they are all going to grow and that I will have photos to show in a few months!  Ah, the miracle of nature!