HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-12-02, Page 39• •
x .
z�.
Waoc.
uiilliitil��l�l1lllplill►� nurir;...
P .
..
ar=(®
7 a
EIS the fl eSt of
�'aCjlt�pdt
ea for Two
Gift
Certificates
A Christmas Gift solution for
teachers, neighbours or co-workers.
Great -for Stocking Staffers too!
Gift Certificates are $15.00
Includes: a selection of our own fresh baked goods accom-
panied by maple butter, apple butter, port preserve and a
choice of Benmiller Coffee or a selection from our variety of
teas. Tax and gratuity.
Afternoon Tea ...
is served daily from 11 am to 5 pm in the Lounge at Benmiller
Inn.
Also Available ...
Gift Certificates for the Gift Shoppe, accommodation and din-
ing, on request.
To order ...
Your gift certificate (s) can be purchased from the Front Desk
at the Woollen Mill, Benmiller Inn or as a telephone order from
VISA, MASTERCARD or AMERICAN EXPRESS credit cards.
Telephone: (519) 524-2191.
R.R. 4 Goderich, Ontario 524-2191
Nestled in beautiful Benmiller, just 7 km east of
Goderich on Huron County Road 1.
Turn north off Highway 8.
LICENSED UNDER THE L.L.B.O.
4.4
•
t ?` ..,zim; al n i :....:.
}
For original gift ideas
may we suggest you visit
The Gift Shoppe
... a unique shopping experience
just steps from the Woollen Mil.
.: - . �a v::Ey,:'' ... .::,.--; 4.M‘ 4,V0.r.}G�
Christmas wreaths
make for lovely gifts
While flowers are always a great way to
brighten any day, they are especially ap-
propriate during the holiday season.
Although it may be cold and colorless out-
doors, it shouldn't be indoors, especially at
this warm and happy time of the year.
Most of the traditional floral decorations
for Christmas are made with lush
evergreens, such as pine, fir, cedar or
juniper. Their distinctive fragrances are
as much a part of Christmas as turkeys
are of Thanksgiving.
One of the most popular decorations of
the season is the wreath. With the variety
of trimmings available, any wreath can be
made unique and interesting.
A florist can offer a host of decorating
• alternatives. An evergreen wreath laced
with holly and ribbons is an attractive
design; however, there are many other
choices as well. Ivy wreaths are a tradi-
tional look that dates back to colonial
America.
For those with more contemporary
tastes, a grapevine wreath decorated with
an assortment of natural materials, such
as dried leaves, berries and acorns, is a
popular choice.
When selecting wreaths, one option to
consider is placing them throughout the
home in addition to the front door. Wreaths
can be hung on interior doors, in windows,
or over the mantle. Wherever placed, they
should be kept away from excessive heat.
Another consideration for the holiday
home is color. While green and red have _
become the symbolic colors of Christmas,
one shouldn't feel limited to just these two.
Other colors of beautiful flowers are
available during the holiday season and
can brighten the environment. For tradi-
tionalists, there is always the lovely,
scarlet poinsettia.
One of the most popular holiday decora-
tions is the Christmas tree. All trees need
a little tender loving care to ensure that
they are still standing tall when Santa
arrives.
Be sure to keep Christmas trees away
from excessive heat, and keep them
healthy by adding water and floral preser-
vatives regularly.
With all Christmas greenery, avoid using
lit candles or untested electric lights
becauseof the potential fire hazard. A lit-
tle care will help ensure that these decora-
tions enhance the holiday spirit.
Got a bird -lover on
your Christmas list
That redbird with the big beak really has
it made. With the exception of its close
southwestern cousin, the pyrrhuloxia, its
close relatives are called grosbeaks.
Just about everone receives its picture
during the holidays. It might be the
number one Christmas pinup. And the nor-
thern cardinal, as it is officially called, is
popular for good reason.
No other bird looks so good against a
freshly fallen snow. Both the male and the
female sing a very pleasant, simple song,
often countersung (the male answers the
female with a song on a slightly different
pitch).
And cardinals seem to prosper with the
alteration of habitat that accompanies our
home building efforts. -
Few other song birds reward us so richly
or so rapidly when we scatter a few hand-
fuls of sunflower seed onto the ground or
on a low feeding table, heightening our ap-
preciation of this year-round resident.
The cardinal ranges throughout most of
the eastern and central states, the entire
south and much of the arid southwest.
- It is so popular that even those who live
where the cardinal does not — California,
the Rocky Mountain states and Pacific
Northwest — love the bird and very much
want it to visit their yard.
The cardinal may be the ideal suburban
bird. Cardinals prefer dense, shrubby
habitat. Provide that in your backyard
wildlife habitat, within its range, and
you'll keep a pair happy.
They nest in shrubs and viney tangles at
least twice every summer. If the shrubs
provide favored fruit — viburnums,
junipers, honeysuckles, roses and
dogwoods — all the better.
In the winter, this bird with a very
heavy, crushing bill prefers sunflower
seed. Offer it close to the ground. Car-
dinals do no like to feed high or far from
dense cover.
They are invariably the last birds to
leave feeders each evening.
These birds do have some qualities that
might be considered negative. They can
occasionally become bullies at feeders, for-
cing smaller sunflower aficionados away
for a brief time.
And their territoriality can prove annoy-
ing. Anyone who has put up with a pair of
cardinals constantly battering themselves
against a bedroom or kitchen window
throughout the entire nesting season soon
questions the common sense of the birds.
The solution is to block the reflected im-
age of the bird which is simply trying to
keep invaders out of its territory.
Cardinals have greatly increased their
breeding range over the last 80 years and
now appear regularly throughout much of
New England and southern Canada.
And, since cardinals do not migrate, but
simply keep pushing further north and
west as suburbs and bird feeders pro-
liferate, those on the current edge of their
range who long for the redbird year-round
need only wait, plant some dense shrubs,
and entice new colonists with sunflower.
Ideas for the bird lovers' stocking:
•a new bird feeder -
•a book on birds
•bird feed, such as an assortment of
sunflower seeds, suet etc.
'film for his handy camera.