Saturday outing

Once again the call of older British cars, this time in Niagara-on-the-lake.   I went for the chance of a lunch out, which I got, and an opportunity to wander the town.  

with some MGs

We found free parking at Fort George again this year ( visited the fort last year ). It was a short walk over an open field to the grounds of the Shaw Festival theatre where the cars were set up near the patio and gardens.    Paul mingled and talked and talked and try to supply me with far too many details until I found a nice shady tree to linger under while he took his photos and talked and talked.

We ate lunch in the theatre cafe and walked the few blocks into the centre of town.   We stepped into a few of the stores but found like I did on holiday that the chance of  actually finding something new or unique is gone.

I did however find the Starbucks. A new addition sine we were last in town.    I do enjoy their frappuccinos.    I had a white chocolate mocha.  Paul stuck with a small hot coffee and pronounced it slightly better than the last Starbucks coffee he had.

 Starbucks fitting nicely into the streetscape in a period building

We did spent a little time in one shop.  Seems I could have stayed in Ontario and bought some of the same souvenirs but then I would have missed out on the scenery, the food, the history the.......

The Irish Shop ( there is a Scottish shop in town as well ) where I did see some of the same postcards and magnets that are sold in Ireland.

We stopped at a roadside stand and bought a basket of local peaches that we are now enjoying on our morning cereal.

Bus trip #2

This time Stratford On. for a Saturday matinee of Kiss Me Kate. I booked myself a ticket to the lecture and show on a last minute whim and Margaret, who loves live performances and music, joined me.

The gardens in front still look nice even this late in the year.

A brown bag lunch was included - fresh turkey, tomato and cheese sandwich, apple, huge chocolate chip cookie and water.

We had a chance to visit the gift shop between lunch and the show and afterwards I got a chance to meet The Bard himself. He wasn't giving autographs.

Some of the critics didn't like the over the top production but I loved the singing, the costumes, the staging .... everything including a fun day out with Margaret.

------sigh------

Ever feel like thyme is flying by too fast? A good knight sometimes helps.

I'm a little down in the dumps so humour me and we'll all get through it.

Sunday drive

We went to Port Dover, a small summer town on the shore of Lake Erie, for a Corvette display. Paul spouted numerous facts and figures, I nodded my head and then admitted I wasn't really paying attention so he'd better not plan on quizzing me on the way home.

The striking yellow house with blue shutters is a crepe restaurant. They make them fresh on the outside patio in the summer months and we sat in the shade near boxes of flowers and herbs and had a delicious lunch. Lunch out is probably the only drawing card for me at car events.

This is Paul's favourite model. 1979

I rather like the style of the older models.

I like seeing the building photos that Jayne takes so this picture was taken with her in mind.
Our GreatSouthernLand .. Jayne hangs out here - I know, you like cars too!

photos by Paul, click to enlarge

Walking with camera

Down the stairs at the end of our street

along the trail..this segment heads west

passed fallen trees, with just a whisper of traffic noise filtering through

until reaching the roadway home along the top of the escarpment.


I took some photos for you...

Rock formation near the middle of the walk..note the large segments

a pretty weed

greenery looking healthy growing on the rock face

the spider wasn't home

notice how much smaller the rocks are near the top of the path

We hit the trail again, doing only a portion this time, with our cameras. Paul is playing with a new to him camera and IF he can figure out the all the settings before our holiday it will be the one he takes. I figure if you know where to find the auto setting , how to use the zoom and find the micro button, everything else can be left to chance. He's a read the whole manual kind of guy. *grin*

as always click to enlarge

Bits

The late afternoon sun can make pretty patterns on my door when it shines through the glass door nob

so I set my camera to suppressed flash and managed to capture some images.

Even kitchen tools can become art.

The garden is in with only some thyme to buy. One for inside and one to add to the rosemary and basil that are already set between the tomato plants and in pots at the back door.

I picked up a package of purple basil seeds to try and planted those along with some left over summer savory seeds from last year.

Apparently my clever idea of adding shiny CD discs has failed to keep the squirrels or possibly chipmunks out of my pots. I foresee the possibility of a summer sweeping dirt off the patio and repacking soil around roots. I have my thinking cap on. I intend to win.

We took a good long walk on Tuesday and covered approx. 9km at a leisurely pace. Once we started on the trail we just kept going. Next time I will take my camera.

We live near the edge of the escarpment: The Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton is a vertical wall of limestone, sandstone and shale that runs through southern Ontario from western New York to the Wisconsin/Illinois border. The Hamilton portion, in many places 100 m (330') tall, is commonly referred to as "the Mountain" by locals. On average the Hamilton Mountain is 4-5 km inland from the Lake Ontario shoreline and at its edge affords some spectacular views of the city and harbour... and can easily access walking/biking trails. ( from wiki )

Yesterday morning we took the car back to the body shop to find out why, after an almighty crack while driving, the front bumper was pulling away from the light housing. A clamp had failed and they are ordering a new one and will replace it next week. In the afternoon the car had an oil and filter change, Paul cut the grass and I did laundry and washed the kitchen floor.

Now that the sun has returned after a morning of much need rain it's time to visit the library and the grocery store.

In the garden

Finally today we had a return to sunshine and warmer temperatures so I went out to play in the garden. I started by planting one Early Girl and one Sweet Cherry in pots to see how they fare compared to those I will put in my garden plots. The shiny DVDs are an attempt to keep squirrels from digging and directing more sun onto the plant so I will have home grown tomatoes tomorrow. worth a try

Mary's little lamb keeping the clematis company

While digging around in the garage for my tomato cages I found my long lost sheep. In years past they spent the summer grazing on the grass, but were a real nuisance when mowing, so they have been demoted to garden beds. Baa Baa black sheep is with the lavenders and Russian sage .


I'm still patting myself on the back after figuring out that water gun sticks from the dollar store are the perfect posts (cheap yet bright) to help keep the electrical cord out of the garden when cutting around my mid lawn tomato patch.
I put the cages in to check for spacing but so far I've only planted marigolds. Do they really keep bugs away?

If the nice weather continues I'll be out tomorrow cutting the grass, trimming the hedge and checking to see how many more Iris have opened.

Enjoying the weather

In a few more months you won't be able to see the city for the leaves.

Must be a squirrel nest. It's spring and I bet there are babies inside.

It was pleasant enough after our dentist appointments, which went very well thank you for asking, to gets us out walking down to the escarpment edge. I wore my new bonnet.

Now I'm ready for spring

A very satisfying shopping trip on Friday at the local mall. Everything I bought was on sale except for my new straw bonnet. It was a case of slipping it on my head and not wanting to take it off again......hang the price, I deserve it.

Me in my new bonnet. Probably the best photo I've seen of myself in some time.