fall and garden

This past week the Mum Show has been on at Gage Park. It is a long standing tradition, this show, but this year there was a change - namely a brand new greenhouse. It has been renamed The Hamilton Fall Garden and Mum Show and this year included varieties of coleus and poinsettia.

The theme this year was fire and there were displays with three different fire trucks

as well as old and new equipment planted in amongst the flowers

there is always a petal decorated animal and this year it was a cute firehouse dalmatian

and a fire breathing dragon that looks a bit like Nessie with wings

and what would a fire theme be without a fireplace setting. I loved the colourful and oh so soft cushions!

The greenhouse was only finished a month ago and these 13,000 or so hardy mums have had quite a journey to get here. Cuttings were taken from last year's mums and rooted in the old greenhouse, then transported to two other greenhouses during the demolition and construction. The new greenhouse is much bigger and is now a single, wide open space. Though I rather liked the element of surprise every time you turned a corner in the old one, this one is much brighter and it's nice to see everything at a glance and to be able to walk around the displays instead of everything being against a wall.

I, or rather the resident barn cat, gave a tour of a previous mum show a couple of years ago which you can read about here and see the difference in the space.

a happy day in NZ

I am not a rugby fan, but I am a New Zealand fan.

And three cheers to the All Blacks for winning the World Cup, at home!!

Finally. Despite being perennial favourites every year, they have not won the cup since the last time NZ hosted, which was the first World Cup, in 1987.

This poor battered country needs something to cheer about after the devastation of the earthquakes and oil spills. Not that this win will really change things, but it does give a boost to a nation that needs some happy news.

Party on NZ!

the world didn't end

Today the world was supposed to end (after it failed to do so May 21st. Remember that one?)
It just crashed a little.
The day started out okay. I read about a ceremony to honour a tree and I thought I would head on over and maybe get a good post out of it to share with you all.

The tree is 300 years old, which is impressive enough by itself. It sits on the edge of a short road and at one time was a boundary marker between the villages of Burlington and Aldershot. This is a majestic white oak that stands about 30 metres (98') high and has a 50 cm (19") girth. And now it has a plaque honouring it as possibly the oldest and largest white oak in the country.
The ceremony was fine, though it was a small crowd who gathered because, well, it was at 2pm and wasn't announced to the public except for an article in this morning's paper. And most people probably aren't all that interested in a ceremony about a plaque for a tree. There would have been a far larger crowd had anyone suggested chopping it down, I'm sure. But the Mayor was there to give a speech, also the local alderman and the town's arborist (all, incidentally named Rick - much joking over that ensued) They were flanked by speeches from two Janes - one from the historical society and the other the new MP at her first official public event. There was apple cider and delicious oak leaf shaped cookies afterwards.

Some people went to extremes to get a good shot.













Some people decided to change lenses.
And dropped the newest one.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going off to have a little cry.

I have never wanted to run a marathon

As I drag my feet along the relatively comfortable carpeted and warm halls of the apartment buildings, this man is smiling up at me from the newspaper. 

He is my new hero. It took him almost 8 1/2 hours to finish, but he did it. And it was a miserable, cool, wet, windy day on Sunday, but at age 100, he completed a full marathon. 

He belongs to a running group of elders called Sikhs in the City [now isn't that a great name?!] and they are all in agreement about why they've managed to stay so healthy: a positive frame of mind, keeping the company of people who are forward looking, not indulging in any excesses, appreciating what God has provided them with and keeping active.

"I do not consider myself to be old. From the moment I do that, I would lose everything, because age is a state of mind - as long as you're positive you can do anything" says Fauja Singh. 'I go to bed early taking the name of my Rabba [God] as I don't want all those negative thoughts crossing my mind.'

His next goal? To carry the torch at the 2012 Olympics.

it was hotter than texas*

This might be our new catch-phrase, to replace the more cumbersome "it is hotter than the last time it was this hot at Thanksgiving" (which was about 3 years ago). It was also more humid than any October weekend should be. A friend of mine described how she spent all day Saturday scooping the leaves out of the pool instead of draining it. She did this while in the pool. As we sat outside, watching the thermometer and waiting for that magic number that would break the records (it got up to 28C) and as we ate our turkey and stuffing and roasted vegetables, I thought, this must be almost what it is like at Christmas in Australia and New Zealand. If you squinted against the bright sunlight you could almost imagine that the bright yellow leaves of the maples were instead, big blossoms.

All in all, it was a perfect weekend for walking through the forest or
driving around the countryside looking for fall colours and taking in the studio tour seeking out interesting artisans. Or getting lost finding the poorly signed studios. Not lost, really, I was familiar with the area having lived there for a time, but the signs on these long country concession roads were a little confusing and I ended up a little disoriented. And looking at the brochure, I discovered that GPS co-ordinates were provided in place of addresses! At one point, I just gave up and had some ice cream.

Later, while the turkey was merrily roasting and before the rest of the clan arrived, I decided to go sailing. Last year Orillia had the guitars, this year the street art was sails. Sixty of them. They had been up all summer, but this was my first opportunity to get a chance to find them all, or most of them.

some of them had different designs on the other side

sail on over to my other blog here for more pics

* the news kept making a big deal out of the fact that some cities here were hotter than Dallas, like that was a benchmark of some sort.

last weekend - part one

Last weekend I took an overnight trip. One that had been planned and thought about for weeks. Months, actually. Not to anywhere exotic by any means. Just a small town on a river. Perhaps take a boat cruise to a few of the Thousand Islands dotted on the river. A hike or two along the 12kms of looping trails to see the fall colours.

Enjoy the outdoors in the off season when it would be much less crowded. 

And, the main impetus that got me there, a wander through some of the Doors Open participants, many of which were the huge old homes of the area that have been turned into luxurious Bed & Breakfast establishments.

About an hour into my (3+ hour) journey, I wondered why I was doing this. Had I not had a motel room booked, I would likely have said, forget it and crawled back into bed. But I persevered through the rain. And the unseasonably cold temperatures that seemed to be in effect for only that weekend. It had been sunny and warm up until the Friday and would return to sunny and warm - actually rising to unseasonably warm by the following weekend - on the Monday.

But, you never know. All those weather forecasters could be wrong. It could change. And, it did get warmer than 10C. I saw many people were still taking one of the several boat cruises and I was warned that it was indeed very cold out on the water. A bargain store was in stock with some gloves and I added a hoodie to my purchase when I realized that my jacket hood might not be enough to keep the cold wind out of my ears. Then I waited until the Sunday to see what would transpire.

(more pics on Sightlines; you'll see what transpired.)

In the end the colours weren't all that great and I took no hikes and no boat cruise. I knew I would return when the weather was nicer. No point in paying twice for the boat, once in damp, foggy, miserable weather and again in warm, sunny, cheerful weather.

I do have a habit of trying to pack in far too much when I go away on these little excursions. I sometimes forget to just kick back and enjoy the day and I end up coming home exhausted rather than refreshed. (see, it has even taken me almost all week to write about it!)

The Bed & Breakfast homes were each beautiful and I will have a hard time deciding which one to choose to stay at (should I find myself with a few days and lots of spare money to enjoy the stay).

I didn't take many pictures of the rooms... after all that is what the website is designed to show.

And it was fun to go through and hear the owners tell of the history of the house and the original owners (and sometimes, hear stories from some of the towns people who remembered) and to hear the tales of transforming some of these gracious homes up to code and collecting the antiques and furnishings to go into each room.

I used to have a client who was a very intense person with a stressful job and when she came to see me on Mondays she would tell me of her weekend jaunts. Almost every weekend, she would drive somewhere - sometimes not with any real plan as to where, and find a B&B or a motel and spend her time exploring and walking, or fishing and collecting her rocks. I found it a bit strange at the time. But now, I really see the appeal of this short escape. Small town Ontario has a lot to offer if you are not looking to be entertained, and sometimes, one or two nights staying there is enough. Sometimes you find a place you want to return to again and again.

When I came out of this B&B, this woman in pink was standing on the steps. I stepped aside, thinking she wanted to go inside and I was trying to photograph the flowers, but she just stood there, waiting. Waiting, I thought for someone else to join her. I wandered about taking a few pics until I noticed her husband standing way off on the sidewalk holding a camera. Waiting for me to get out of the way. She was still posing when I got into my car. If this was my shot, I can only wonder what his must have been like. I assume he wanted to get the whole house in his shot, but I'm afraid I don't see the point of her standing in the doorway. That is just me.

three minutes every day

Apart from one intensely rainy day last Friday, we have the most wonderful weather these last couple of weeks. It has been hot, but not so humid that sweat drips out of every pore. The sun has shone. The sky has been blue. It has been perfect summer weather. Except that it is fast approaching autumn. You can tell by the ever encroaching darkness on our blissful, beautiful days.

I love autumn, or if you prefer, fall. I like the crisp coolness, the sweaters, the hot chocolate, the pumpkins, the colours, the stars at night. But I did not enjoy our unbearable summer. I don't like it when it is too hot to actually be outside and do anything. Sitting inside in air conditioned comfort on what looks like a gorgeous day is not nearly as much fun as being outside on what is clearly a gorgeous day. So I almost feel as if this now is the summer I wished for.

If only we weren't losing almost three minutes of daylight every day to enjoy it.

tiff tizzy

So, another TIFF has come and gone. The frenzy is over for another year. And not one movie star did I see. Of course, it might have helped to go to one of the Red Carpet events, but that seemed like far too much trouble. And I'm not sure I really want to meet a big name star. Just seeing George Clooney walk into a theatre or out of a restaurant might fill me with tingly excitement for a few hours, but to actually talk to him would fill me with nervous dread. What would I say that could be original? Or not stupid? You hear of people who have met one of their favourite stars and gushed over how much they were loved in a certain role... except they were not the one in that movie. I would be mortified if I made that mistake. I would probably be so tongue-tied, I would either forget to breathe or would come up with some gibberish before my idol was gently steered away by some brusque handler. Besides, I would much rather see someone famous actually doing something, even an interview, or a reading. Or better yet, a play.

As much as I love the idea of the Toronto International Film Festival, I feel no need or desire to pay more money to see a movie that may be Oscar worthy first, before it goes into general release. I also don't need to see it on opening night. Though, I do draw the line at waiting for it to come to television. Films were made for the big screen and seeing with dozens of other people to get the shared experienced and excitement. The movies I went to see were the more obscure ones and the 'shorts'. Okay, I only went twice. Way back, in TIFF's infancy when it was still known as The Festival of Festivals, a group of us from work would head up to the theatres and wander from one to the other and talk to people in line to find out what they had seen and then rush from one screening to another. i saw a lot of interesting films that never made it into general release. Now, your selections must be pre-ordered and they aren't held in any of the no longer standing independent theatres. And, because I don't live in Toronto, it makes it even more challenging to attend.

Anyway, I wonder if any of you have met anyone famous? Or if not, who would you like to meet? And more importantly what would you say to them?

I loathe, er love, oh really?

a way to distract from a universally panned film....

Personally, I LOVE Hydrangeas

image from mostelegantflowers.com

a wild weekend

It was a busy weekend for being outside, especially on Saturday. Toronto may have the international film festival (TIFF) with George and Brad and their pals floating about the city and red-carpetting the entertainment district and noshing at local eateries and contributing to the economy, but Hamilton had the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA) with free concerts by many of the artists on the rooftop of the Jackson Square Centre. PLUS, on the next block, what is known as the James Street Supercrawl with 3 stages of indie rock and lots of artist stalls and vendors and open studios.  PLUS, a few blocks away, the Locke Street Festival with another stage and lots of food and crafts and vendors. All this was within walking distance, but there was a shuttle bus available to give your tired legs a rest. The bus also went a few blocks further north to the waterfront where there was not one, but two ships visiting. The HMSC Montreal and the Pride of Baltimore. One is a frigate in current wars and the other a replica warship from 1812.

I got there just in time to see the Baltimore do a turn around the bay and fire a cannon or two. This was in response supposedly from a cannon fired on our side, but ours sounded more like a pop gun, and the American one was a little more ... booming. Enough to scare a little boy standing near me who needed some reassurance from his dad that no, there were no real cannonballs.

This smaller four masted ship was fun to see

Don't ask me why I chose to stand in line for an hour to get on board the Montreal - halfway up those open tread, wobbly, steps was not the time to remember how afraid I am of heights.

it wasn't much different than the Fredericton I was on last year. 

Except that then it was a wet, cloudy, miserable day and this time it was a warm, sunny, breezy day. 

And there was entertainment

and this was just as entertaining...

those sails needed to be tied down securely.

I didn't get any good pics of the bands playing and before I knew it, it was getting dark by the time I left Locke St and headed back to the CCMAs and the Supercrawl.

Plus it was rather crowded.

And a fun time was had by all.

And it was all FREE. 

But there was no George Clooney..... sigh