October 2009 - The Local Scoop
SCARY Scoop! - The Hallowe'ed Edition
Happy Harvest & Hallowmas!
Hallowmas encompasses the three days of October 31st, November 1st & 2nd. November 1st, The Celtic New Year, marks the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st, the boundary between our world and the "Otherworld" would become blurred. The dead would return to cause trouble and damage crops.
Hallowmas encompasses the three days of October 31st, November 1st & 2nd. November 1st, The Celtic New Year, marks the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. The Celts believed that on the night of October 31st, the boundary between our world and the "Otherworld" would become blurred. The dead would return to cause trouble and damage crops.That's about as scary as Hallowe'en got back then. Consider the nightmarish, present-day scenario, when The City Overseers view the boundary between Ourworld (native plant gardens) and the Otherworld (derelict gardens) as blurred, year 'round. The brain-dead that caused havoc way back when, never left! Native Plant Gardeners, if you believe your garden plot is hallowed ground - BEWARE!
In this issue we will cover everything scary about plants, from the chop shop at City Hall, to a scandalous case of identity theft, to ideas for spooky Hallowe'ed costumes for the botanically bent, to bits and pieces like the plantopsy of the AGM, to mysterious manifestations in the garden. Be afraid…BE VERY AFRAID! OOOOoooooooooo!!!
(with permission of Aimée McMaster photographer
www.kerringtonstudiosphotography.com)
The Age of Entitlement
This is not a diatribe about the sorry state of civility, of performing all manner of wanton, daily ablutions in public, including the airing of dirty laundry, so evident in conjunction with the proliferation of "reality" shows. This is about throwing down the gauntlet and asserting our rights enshrined in the Law of the Land. Native plant gardens are still under attack. Why are our gardens treated as second-class citizens?
This is not really a failure to communicate. Something appears to be lost in translation. So NANPS would like you to send a message to City Hall...
Read more ...
Victory Garden – a little justiceweed (Eupatorium leucolepis)
for all
Sometimes we get a glimmer of hope. It appears that the Jones case in Ottawa was victorious. Changes to the property standards bylaw that would allow people to cultivate wildlife gardens on their properties are in the works and could be put before city councillors for debate as early as this fall.
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Case battle Part 1: NANPS vs Scotts
Really - a case of G.ROD vs R.WEED. This reads like a tabloid shocker: G.Rod declared 'noxious' and implicated in Hayfever Scandal. NANPS sues to protect G.Rod's good name. Not a simple case of mistaken identity but a case of identity theft! Goldenrod vindicated! Ragweed dragged through the muck! Unrepentant Scotts' spokesperson sends rebuttal – kicking native plant enthusiasts in the aster. NANPS is not amused. Read all the sordid details of this scandalous case that has become a bit of a cause célèbre.
Read more ...
Case battle Part 2: The Rebuttal
The Rebuttal to the Ad – Scotts' defensive stance that almost stumps the experts. The Scoop digs deeply for the translation.
Hallowe'ed CostumesWant to do something a little different this year? Tired of the same ol' hum drum ghosts, witches, vampires, Frankensteins, etc.? Way too wimpy! Instead, organize a scary plant-themed party (as a NANPS fundraiser?). The Scoop has the inside
edge to the latest wear that won't result in a lump of coal in
your loot bag.
Read more ...
Compost Square - definitely something different cooking in the composter!
First, there were the rural crop circles. Now, we have the urban compost square. Myth or mirth? Hoax or wishful thinking? Is it a recipe for disaster or an odd phenomenon? A Scoop Reporter has found a real Hallowe'ed mystery to end this special issue of The Scoop. Dig deeper ...
Read more ...
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