Strength Behind the Uniform Walk/Run

Sunday morning hundreds of Londoners turned out to participate in the Strength Behind the Uniform charity walk/run honouring the Canadian military and giving support to their families. The 5km/8km walk/run was hosted by the London Military Family Resource Centre (LMFRC) with the aim of raising community awareness of the number of military families living in London and to gather funds to support local LMFRC programs and services.

Yellow ribbons marked the route through Springbank Park but one could just as easily have followed the yellow T-shirts worn by many of the participants. The yellow ribbon is the support-our-troops symbol adorning the backs of many Canadians cars

This is the second year the LMFRC has held Strength Behind the Uniform and this year's event proved to be even bigger and better than the first.

A ceremonial start was provided by the London Police Pipe and Drum band. Earlier, one member of the band was spotted warming up, marching and playing his bagpipe in a distant parking lot at the large park.

Shannon Kisslinger, Chair of the LMFRC board of directors, told The Londoner, a weekly tab carried by The London Free Press, "This event is important to promote awareness of the military families in the London region. There is a particular focus this year on the families who are combating stress while their loved ones are deployed. Even joyful times, from weddings and baptisms to graduations and birthdays, can be stressful both for the soldier who is unable to be there and the family who feel their loved one's absence even more acutely on those special occasions."

Kisslinger continued, "Aside from deployments, family separation is common for some military families as Canadian Forces personnel are required to be away for overseas and domestic operations and for training. The military lifestyle is certainly unique and we work to enhance the quality of life for all military families living in our catchment area, across Southwestern Ontario."

While participants had the choice of  either a 5 km or 8 km route, there was an third option taken by some, especially those with young children on the course. Do a little walking or running and then take the kids to the reptile tent or allow the kids have their faces painted or involve them in some of the family games.

For more photos, please click here. This was done for you, Matt.

A walk in the woods

I had heard that there was a walk scheduled for the Sifton Bog Saturday morning. I went but found no one. Maybe I was a little late; I don't know. (Now, I believe I was early --- a day early. I think there is a walk at the Oxford West bog tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 25th.)

Oh well, I still got a picture when these wild flowers, purple asters, caught my eye.

Holy Roller

The Holy Roller is a Second World War Sherman tank sitting in the northern end of Victoria Park in central London, Ontario. It sits as an everlasting memorial to the soldiers of the 1st Hussars who, together with other Canadian and allied servicemen, liberated The Netherlands. A plaque notes that many lost their lives liberating France, Belgium and Holland following the allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

For a trivia quiz on the tank, click here.

It's all how you look at it.

There's a decades old office building in downtown London that I have heard criticized at times. I admit, it has a very dated look but I still like it.

It reminds me of the late '50s and '60s. And it is in very good condition for its age. Oh heck, I confess --- I really like this building.

When I tried to take a picture of this turquoise coloured structure, it just didn't work. The magic was gone. So, whispering, "Work with me baby," under my breath, I set to work.

I think today's picture captures the cool look. And notice this is an office building with windows that open. Amazing! Maybe even avant garde.

Jumbo the elephant

High on a cliff, a sculpture of Jumbo graces the western entrance to St. Thomas.

It is just past the anniversary of the untimely death of Jumbo the elephant. The star of the Barnum and Bailey Circus was struck and killed by a Grand Trunk locomotive on September 15, 1885, in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Today the giant elephant is memorialized by more than a brand of popcorn. A massive monument to the famous beast was erected more than a dozen years ago at the western entrance to the Southwestern Ontario city just a few kilometres to the south of London.

The sculpture was designed and constructed in Sussex, New Brunswick, by the late artist Winston Bronnum.

For more information on Jumbo, read the recent piece by James Reaney of The London Free Press.

Rafting up

One of the nicest things about London Ontario is it location. It is less than an hour from London to either Lake Erie or to Lake Huron. Both lakes are fine spots for boating, deep and incredibly huge. I once kept a sailboat docked in Bayfield on Lake Huron. On a hot summer afternoon a fine thing was to rafting up to one or more other sailboats to enjoy a cool pop and a dive off the stern of the boats.

It is almost fall and diving off the stern is not as inviting as it was a few weeks ago. But, these boats were spotted rafting up off Port Stanley on Lake Erie this weekend. It is still a fun, social thing to do.

Fiona likes duckies, rubber duckies

In Canada there is a type of shoe called a rubber duckie. It is made in rubber, often black or dark, navy blue, with thick soles and long laces. Fiona loves grandma's rubber duckies. They aren't as much fun as Fiona's yellow, floating duckies but these duckies have laces. A nice touch.

Watching how Fiona gets into everything within her reach --- who'd have thought that so much was within the reach of a small baby --- I'm glad all our electrical outlets are child proofed and our lower cabinets cleared of anything potentially dangerous.

Colourful homes exceptional

When I have traveled outside Canada, I have visited many towns and villages where colourful homes are the rule and not the exception. This home in London North is an exception and it is exceptional.

They're still making them like they use to.

This lovely older London home in Old North is truly lovely but it is not truly older. I am certain that it was built since I moved to London in the early '70s. It is a great looking home and fits in beautifully with its truly old neighbours but it is not old.

I titled this post "They're still making them like they use to." But it is not really true. My bet is that this home is built better than its older neighbours. It is certainly better insulated, it would not have lead in the plumbing, the kitchen, I am sure, is infinitely better than those found in homes build a century ago.

Off to the side, I'm sure you have noticed, is the attached garage. I personally like it better than the ones tucked behind homes on small rear laneways.

Yes, they are still building them but better.

Springbank Carousel

I've shot this carousel in Springbank Park before but on an overcast day the colours really pop; It is just too appealing a shot not to take and to feature. For more info on this merry-go-round, so popular with London children, check out my previous posts: Merry Move London and Merry-go-round in Winter.

More TVTA Hiking

Near the UWO the trail is a paved multi-use path.

The hikers encounter dense vegetation

Saturday, the Thames Valley Trail Association held an organized hike along the North Branch of the Thames River in London, Ontario. In some places the path cut through thick brush but at one point it passed behind some wonderful North London homes. The route also touched the edge of the University of Western Ontario campus before returning to Gibbons Park.

Membership in the local organization is only $25 for an individual, $20 if you're 60 or more, and $35 for a family. The members not only organize hikes, they develop and maintain trails, publish a newsletter and run a website. They also have a modest blog presence.

The hikes are weekly events held in different locations in the London area.

I think they may have a new member. Me!

A quickly moving runner, right, passes a slower moving hiker on the narrow trail.

Thames Valley Trail Association

I hesitate to call them seniors as most were not over 65 and, for that matter, the term seniors may be politically incorrect today. And gosh, I do hate to be politically incorrect. Whatever I decide to call them, I must remember to modify my choice with the adjective cool.

Thursday morning I met a most interesting group: The Morning Ramblers of the Thames Valley Trail Association. Members meet twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, to take a planned hike together.

I joined them this past Thursday at 9:15 a.m. They met at Treasure Island Mall and then headed for the morning destination in four cars. Those taking the car pool chipped in to reimburse their driver.

If you've been following this blog, you know that I often hike in Springbank Park. When you hike alone you set your own pace, and the pace I set is a bit slow. When I learned of the Morning Ramblers I figured I'd have to check them out. They passed the test.

The big question is, "Did I?"

Thomas Bros. Fruits and Vegetables

Around the world many folk think of Canada and think of snow and ice and fierce cold. All true. I'll bet there's at least one day a year here in London, Ontario, fitting that description.

The other 364 days are wonderful ---  especially the summer days. When I was a boy, there were canning factories seemingly in every small town. Today, there may be none. Sad.

But each summer the Thomas Bros. fruit and vegetable stand about five minutes from my suburban home offers locally grown produce for sale. Fresh picked sweet corn, and it is sweet. The sugar in corn is converted into starch after the corn is picked. If it is kept cool, the sugar content is retained far longer but the best corn is the freshest corn. The corn at Thomas Bros. is fresh.

As are the melons, and the squash, and the tomatoes and . . .

I love Ontario.

The Toy Shoppe of London (Ontario)

My granddaughter will be one-year-old come Thursday and so today my wife and I happily headed off for The Toy Shoppe of London in search of some small gifts for the little girl. We found a small, red rattle which we know she'll love. It's the right colour --- red. And she loves to shake things. Shake a rattle and it, well, it rattles. Perfect.

We also found a plush, bright red, ladybug. Need I say more?

And finally we found the perfect little book: Red is Best. Actually, we didn't find it. A lady at the store suggested it when we mentioned how much Fiona loves red. The book is perfect.

Speaking of perfect, The Toy Shoppe of London is almost perfect. There's a good reason why it has been a continuing success since the early 1990s.

Waterworks

This yellow brick Ontario cottage style building on the south shore of the Thames River in the west end of London is the city's former pumping station. Built in 1878 to house the city's waterworks, the pumping station took water originating in Coombs Springs, and collected in various holding ponds in the Springbank Park area, and pumped it to the city's hilltop reservoir. From there, the water flowed into the city distribution system.

The hydraulic pressure to pump the water was supplied by the Thames River and parts of the old dam are still visible today.

The pumping station was in use until 1967, at which time Lake Huron water became available.

An imaginative woman I know thinks the old waterworks building could be turned into a wonderful riverfront restaurant with summer patio. I wonder if the city has every considered doing a little placemaking using the old place. I think my friend is onto something.

Kayaking on the Thames, London, Ontario

Last weekend I ran images from a local company's team building event --- a run down the Thames River starting at the Springbank Dam in London and ending at a small town west of town. My health has not been the greatest lately and so I am pulling another image from that day's shoot. Thanks for the patience.

My inspiration

What's in here?

My granddaughter is not quite a year old but she is my inspiration. She doesn't just sit on her keister and . . . Oh! Wait! Come to think of it, that's exactly what she does.

Pretty good, eh?

She can't walk, and she's not fond of being placed on the floor face down. This makes crawling difficult. So, she scoots about on her keister. And, she is not cool about her discovery of keister-scooting; she likes to take a moment, turn around, and flash a smile of pride. She gloats.

At 11 months she has become an explorer. She explores my home. She does her keister-scoot from bedroom to kitchen and all points in between. She has discovered where her tub-toys are kept, in the bathroom, and her thick-paged books, in the living room.

The little tyke can't do a lot but what she can do, she does. She squeezes every bit of pleasure from her days.

Like I said, she's my inspiration.

My tub-toys!

Water Strider or Pond Skater

Water striders on the still water at the edge of the Thames River in London, Ont.

Much of the following information was found on a U of T (University of Toronto) Web page.

Today's picture features water striders, the familiar semi-aquatic bugs often sighted gliding across the surface of the Thames River at the water's edge where the current is slow and the water almost still. These bugs have a novel body form that allows them to walk on water. According to the U of T, this was not always the case.

To achieve this gliding ability required the evolution of a unique arrangement of the legs, with the mid-legs greatly elongated. Scientists at the U of T's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology have discovered the gene behind this evolutionary change, the Hox gene.

U ot T research scientists found it not only lengthened the mid-legs but shortened the hind-legs, creating an unusual body form that allows water striders to glide on the water surface. They glide along taking advantage of the water's surface tension. They apply just the right amount of force as they skate along. If too much energy was used, they would break the surface tension.

Japanese Beetle in Ontario

A Japanese beetle sighted in Komoka Provincial Park near London, Ontario.

The following is from Wikipedia:

"As the name suggests, the Japanese beetle is native to Japan. The insect was first found in the United States in 1916 in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey. It is thought that beetle larvae entered the United States in a shipment of iris bulbs prior to 1912 when inspections of commodities entering the country began. "The first Japanese beetle found in Canada was in a tourist's car at Yarmouth, arriving in Nova Scotia by by ferry from Maine in 1939. During the same year three additional adults were captured at Yarmouth and three at Lacolle in southern Quebec."

The brightly copper toned beetle is not very destructive in Japan, where it is controlled by natural enemies, but in North America it is a serious pest of about 200 species of plants, including rose bushes, grapes, hops, and other plants. They cause damage to plants by skeletonizing the foliage, that is, consuming only the leaf material between the veins.

Canoeing the Thames (in Ontario)

It was interesting to see 8 kayaks and a canoe being launched just west of the Springbank Dam in London, Ontario. The dam is not for spring flood control but rather it is for keeping the summer water level in the urban river deep enough for canoeing and kayaking.

The dam, though, doesn't work. After an overhaul a few years ago it jammed and the question of who will shoulder the repair bill will be decided by the courts.

Yet, despite the failed dam, here were kayakers and canoeists about to paddle down the river from the dam to Delaware.

This raises an interesting question: Why is the dam necessary? Why is it so important to canoe within the city limits?

Clearly, canoeing the river just outside of the city is possible without a multi-million dollar dam.

A simple snapshot

It finally rained in London, Ontario. My grass is crispy brown and the local newspaper is running stories telling people to water their trees. Many trees in town are showing signs of stress. We still need another good downpour, or two.

21st Century Suburbia

These apartments in the southwest of London, Ontario, make the claim that they are the finest in the city. Hmmm.

For the story that goes with this picture, check out my post on Rockin' On: the blog.

Deserted

A forgotten basketball court behind CPRI in London.

Last week I had a friend visiting London from Montreal. He asked to see the area where a bear was shot earlier this year. Yes, you read correctly, a bear was shot deep in Southwestern Ontario --- one of the most civilized areas of North America and an area not normally bear country.

I took my friend behind the Child and Parent Resource Institute facility where the bear was found and shot. The bear was too close to jogging trails, popular walking paths and recreational areas and when it charged a police officer it was killed.

We were surprised when we found the area near the river quite deserted. Later, an institute staff member told us to forget pictures of joggers exercising behind the facility. The area was quite deserted, we were assured.

Anime in London

In the Toyko district surrounding the Yamanote Line's Harajuku Station young Japanese dressed in a variety of costumes congregate every Sunday. Today a bit of Tokyo came to London, Ontario, as a group of local teens, many dressed in Japanese anime costumes, gathered for some cosplay.

Anime (ah-NIH-may) is the Japanese word for animation. Anime in Japan, unlike in North America, often deals with serious topics and not just children's stories. For this reason, Japanese people of all ages watch anime with some getting dressed as their favourite amime character in order to take part in cosplay with friends.

But it was not just the Anime cosplayers lending an international flavour to Springbank Park today. The Falun Dafa group was again in the park quietly meditating. Click here to see original post.

Southwest London Underpath

Hiking about in the southwest of London, Ontario, I discovered an underpass for suburbanite walkers, joggers and bikers. With all the development in the area, the far western end of Commissioners Road is getting quite busy. The underpass gets local folk across the roadway without interfering with traffic flow. On the first nice day, I'll return as the path itself is worth a picture or two.

A plus for London: Toronto

An armoured general guarded the First Emperor in the afterlife.

The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army is now showing at The Royal Ontario Museum (the ROM) in Toronto.

If one goes on a Wednesday the tickets are discounted. My wife and I, and another couple, took in the show this past Wednesday. It was excellent.

ROM: Go for the Terracotta Army; Stay for the dinosaurs.

As I have mentioned before in my posts, one nice feature of living in London, Ontario, is its close proximity to Toronto. We made the drive to T.O. in a little more than two hours.

Toronto is a classic "Nice-place-to-visit-but-I-wouldn't-want-to-live-there" place in my opinion. I say that having lived there for a number of years in my youth.

Just one of the many places to grab a bite in Baldwin Village.

But T.O. really is a nice place to visit. Between the ROM and the Art Gallery of Ontario lies Baldwin Street with the Baldwin Village bistro and patio saturated row of restaurants. After the show we stopped in at the Vegetarian Haven for a vegetarian dinner before hitting the freeway for London.

Toronto really is a fun place to visit and London is blessed to be almost the perfect distance from the big city. Close enough for a day visit and yet too far away to encourage daily commutes.

Giant pencils support the canopy in front of the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. As I said, Toronto is a fun city.

Falun Dafa in Springbank Park

Not knowing a lot about the Falun Dafa group I'll keep this brief. Falun Dafa, London, is part of the Falun Gong movement which has run into serious government opposition in China. They meet on Sunday afternoons in a London park for their exercises. Last Sunday they met in Springbank Park in the Byron suburb.

Falun Dafa is active at the University of Western Ontario, the local university in London. For more info on Falun Dafa visit: www.falundafa.org.

Ah, to be young!

Some folk are quite dedicated when it comes to their exercise regimen. This young women certainly is. Our photo today shows this young Londoner in the middle of her Sunday workout. She is completing thirty repetitions of climbing and then descending a long, wooden stairway leading from a parking lot to the Thames River where it flows through Springbank Park.

For notes on how this image was taken see: Rockin' On: Photography.