Sand Mountain at Apple Land Station

There are more things to do at Apple Land Station than just pick apples. One of the other activities that excited my granddaughters was the sand mountain. It is said it took 500 dump truck loads of sand to build the huge mound on the grounds of the apple orchard just east of London, Ontario. Kids are encouraged to climb it, roll down it or crawl through the tunnels.

Apple Land Station

It is mid October. It is time to get the apples off the trees and into storage. Some varieties will last for six months when stored in a cool, dark, humidity-controlled room. The last apples from this fall's crop may still be good come mid April of next year.

But apples are not just good for eating. They are also good for picking. Yes, picking apples can be fun. Pick-your-own apple orchards are not as common as they once were but they do still exist. Apple Land Station attracts thousands of Londoners every fall to pick apples, explore two corn mazes, climb a sand "mountain", visit farm animals or simply shop. Fresh baked apple pies are a big seller.

Literally tens of thousands of area folk, often parents with their children, visit Apple Land Station each fall. There are approximately 17 varieties of apples available. Whether you like your apples tart, sweet or tasting of a hint of brown sugar, Apple Land Station has the variety for you.

I must confess: I'd never heard of Apple Land Station. Sunday, my grandchildren introduced me to the place, a place they had visited on school trips.

This is one of two Dream Lottery homes.

Three London, ON, health care foundations, Children's Health Foundation, St. Joseph's Health Care Foundation and London Health Sciences Foundation, will raise and share more than $36 million in net proceeds from this year's Dream Lottery.

The home pictured above is one of two homes to be won. The one above has an appraised value of $1,454,940 while the other home is $1,624,950. The homes are the top prizes in the annual lottery but they are not the only prizes. There are also cars, vacations and lots more to be won. It is no wonder the lottery is a huge support finding solid support in the community.

The cost for a chance to win a Dream Lottery prize it isn't cheap. No surprise here. The minimum fee to play demands buying 2 tickets for $50. Buying more tickets gets you more bang for the buck. 35 tickets are only, did I say only $500.

A brochure for the charity lottery is posted online.

The dream kitchen in a Dream Lottery home.

Shelah's Place: Thank you, Jenny Jones.

The playground is called Shelah's Place but it exists only because of the generosity of Jenny Jones. A London native who went on to have a successful career as a TV talk show host in the States, Jones

invited Londoners to submit ideas that would make a difference in her hometown community. Shelah Brook had the winning vision. Jones supported the project to the tune of $100,000 U.S.—$130,000 Canadian.

The brightly coloured, solidly constructed equipment was supplied by Playworld Systems of Lewisburg, PA, USA.  This is but one of a number of playground equipment suppliers used by the City of London, Ontario. This helps to make each playground throughout the city a little different from all the others.

The majority of playground injuries are a result of a fall on an unforgiving or poorly maintained surface. Shelah's Place is different. It appears to have a poured rubber surface which drains quickly after a rainfall and is durable yet soft and somewhat springy. The cushioning is appreciated when a child falls. And they do fall, even in the best designed playgrounds.

London Fire Hydrants Carry Colour-Coded Discs

According to the local newspaper, The London Free Press, the colour-coded, reflective discs hanging on all fire hydrants in London indicate how how much water a firefighter can expect when attaching a hose to the hydrant. Blue indicates the highest flow rate, 95 litres a second, and red the lowest at less than 31 litres. Green and orange marked hydrants fall in the middle.

A hydrant’s water flow depends on the available pressure, and the size and condition of the water line. While water pressure typically depends on elevation, other factors can affect the flow. Where time counts, this information helps firefighters decide what size of hose and what pump settings to use.

For more info on this, I did a blog post some years ago looking at the shape of the discs. Many believe these discs are shaped like a Maltese Cross. If you are familiar with the Maltese Cross, you will know that this can't be true. The discs are totally the wrong shape: curved and not spikey. Here is a link to my post on the Florian Cross shape used to make these discs and why it is a suitable shape.

The Northern Cardinal: a fequent bird feeder visitor

My granddaughters hang a bird seed bell and within minutes a cardinal has claimed it. The male is the bright red one. The females are a bit more discreet with just a little red edging with a light brown or olive brown overall look.

Cardinals are non migratory; they live all year in the small grove of trees behind my home. It's a good place to live, I'm sure. We not only put out seed, we also have a bird bath. I sometimes feel we are running a retreat for wild birds.

Cardinals, of course, are not the only birds we attract and in the coming weeks I will post more pictures documenting a small selection of the wild life often found in London. Some of our visitors, deer for instance, may be rare in my immediate neighboourhood but there are places in town that I can go and always see, for instance, a small herd of deer.

I apologize for the somewhat contrasty image but my point and shoot with the longest lens doesn't do so well on bright, contrasty days. As a relatively poor, retired, senior Canadian, I cannot afford to dump a working, even poorly, camera and buy a new one.

Closing soon for the season

If the tomatoes look a little rough, it's because these are field tomatoes and just about the last of the year. Greenhouse tomatoes look perfect but are often a bit hard and lacking in an intense tomato flavour. These, on the other hand, are full of flavour, juicy and wonderful on their own or in a salad or just cut into thick discs and placed between slices of fresh baked bread.

Sadly, by Thanksgiving, and the holiday comes earlier in Canada than the U.S., these tomatoes will be finished for the year. Thomas Bros. Farm Market, ten minutes south of London, Ontario, closes immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday this Sunday, October 13th.

Despite what it says on the sign, sweet corn has already disappeared and local strawberries are finding it difficult to ripen. Still, there are bins filled with apple varieties and there are half a dozen or more kinds of squash for sale.

Contemporary modern design is a trend.

Said to be a minimalist's dream, these angular, grey and white condos have a selling price of approximately $725,000. These units are in the west end of London, Ontario, but similar buildings are going up both north and south of this development.

For a look inside one of these units, click the link to the right: Inside Look.

Described as a contemporary, modern design, residences in this vein are being built all over Canada with examples in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Until I wrote this post, I had no idea this was a trend in residential design.

Monkey Bars: Loved by Kids All Around the World

London, Ontario, is absolutely riddled with parks. Southwest London alone has more than a hundred little parks.Yet, despite the great number of parks, duplication of play equipment is minimal. Swings, slides and monkey bars are the only pieces of equipment to be found in almost every location.

When I was a boy, more then six decades ago, swings, slides and monkey bar were just about it. Everything was made of rolled steel, cast iron, metal chains and large boards. The ground under the pieces of equipment was often paved. Injuries were common

In the mid 1960s, architect Richard Dattner designed the iconic and very popular Adventure Playground. These often looked dangerous but it was that very look that made them safe, or so  the theory went. Kids recognized the dangers and this caused kids to be more cautious.

Three and a half decades later the Adventure Playground fell out of style. The park near my home was once an Adventure Playground. It was demolished around the turn of the century. Why? I was deemed too dangerous.

Which bring us to today's designs, which are interactive and inclusive while encouraging role playing, discovery and critical thinking. Social skills are accented: interaction, sharing, and participation. At least, these are the claims.

Yet despite decades of design improvements, my three granddaughters all gravitate to the swings, slides and monkey bars.

At later date, we will take another look at children's playgrounds. I find it very interesting that equipment designs, driven by an almost universally accepted philosophy of play, are almost the same whether the park is in Canada or Romania.

Condo Infill Units Popular in London, Ont.

It wasn't a large piece of suburban land but that didn't stop a creative developer team from building almost two dozen condo unit. Some folk object to the cookie cutter look of infill projects such as this. To which, I say, humbug. If the cookies are good, a small batch of them is delightful.

Checking the MLS records, I discovered the average selling price in 2017 was $580,500 Cdn. (or about $436,300 U.S. or £354,400 GPD). That was up from $549,800 a year earlier. There were no sales the following year and I didn't see any sales this year. It is safe to say that these units have increased in value.

The exteriors are a mix of stone and brick, inside there are nine and 10 foot ceilings plus some units have vaulted ceilings. At the rear of each unit is a covered rear deck. The units vary in size from 1534 sq. ft to 1844 sq. ft with 7 sizes in between. These units look similar but clearly there are some major differences when it comes to the layouts.

Units such as these are popular with retired folk. Being condos, all exterior work is handled by the condo board. My friends who live in condos appreciate not having to cut grass (as I do). And if the seniors lived in Toronto or had a lakeside home, as two of my friends did, selling and moving to London left them with additional cash when the financial dust from the move had settled.

Is it a residence? ...a commercial property?

One thing is clear: it's big. But what is it that is big? —a home? —a commercial property? At one point my wife and I would have voted for commercial property but that is not the skuttlebutt making the rounds in the neighbourhood.

Rumour has it that this new, and I think very handsome building, is a triplex. Supposedly three beautiful residences have been merged into one glorious building. Parking is underground, there is wheelchair access on the far right side and reportedly the building has an elevator. There is one more juicy rumour: supposedly there is a rooftop pool. I find that easy to believe.

Do you have a gut feeling? Have you seen something similar? If so, what was it? A home?

And thanks to my blog, I have been sent the definitive answers. Click this link and you find answers to the questions being asked: 1218 Riverside Drive Dr.

Chipmunk: a small squirrel, not a cute mouse

A little more than 400,000 folk live in London, Ontario. But that's not the whole story. London, like all cities, shares its space with other animals both big and small. A nearby cemetery is home to dozens of deer, the forested river valley near the university is posted for coyotes and Byron, my neighbourhood, has chipmunks among its rich mix of wildlife.

It's now fall and the chipmunks are preparing for winter. I put out seeds for birds and I also attract chipmunks. They munch away until, with their cheeks are puffed out with seeds, they scamper into the treed area at the back of my lot where they have their extensive burrows.

I used to call chipmunks cute mice but in doing the research for this post I learned I was wrong. Eastern chipmunks, the kind found in London, are small squirrels. I also learned that the goundhogs that frequent my backyard, also called woodchucks, are the biggest members of the squirrel family. Note the damaged bark on the branch behind the chipmunk in my picture. That may well be goundhog damage. Groundhogs eat bark.

Chipmunks will cart away a lot of seeds. If all goes well, they sleep quite lightly during the winter, waking up every few days to feed on some stored seeds. Chipmunks don't have oodles of fat reserves like animals that go into full hibernation. But, if it's a particularly harsh winter period, chipmunks will go into a deep state of torpor with their heart rate falling and their body temperature crashing. If this state lasts too long, the outcome can be poor.

For more info, see:  Penn State article on chipmunks.

Suburbanites like to walk

Generally, suburbia has a reputation for cookie-cutter houses, curved streets and a total lack of neighbourhood shopping. Suburbia is car country; folks don't walk in suburbia or so goes the oft repeated cliché. But it is not true, at least not the part about no one walking.

People walk in my suburban neighbourhood and they walk a lot. It's not the pull of shopping, like downtown, that gets my neighbours out pounding the pavement. Nope. More often than not, it's their dogs. Rain or shine, dogs need to be walked. Although, I must admit, jogging or just walking to get some exercise does come in a close second. And simply going out for a pleasurable stroll is also worth a mention.

So, the next time you hear someone saying that suburbanites never walk anywhere, smile. They walk a lot, at least they do in the Byron neighbourhood in London, Ontario.

Tanker Cars Rolling Through London

This kilometre-plus-long freight train is rolling through London, Ontario, heading for the core of the southwestern Ontario city. From there it will pass through east end residential neighbourhoods before exiting the city.

What makes this train worth noting are all the tanker cars. As you may recall, the horrific train derailment in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, in 2013, involved tanker cars carrying crude oil. The fire following the derailment destroyed the town centre leaving 47 dead. If your town has one or more major rail lines traversing densely built-up areas, you should read the BBC report on Lac-Magantic.

Since the Lac-Megantic accident there has been an off-and-on again discussion of creating a bypass to enable freight trains like the one pictured to avoid London's core and its densely populated residential neighbourhoods. But a new route would be exceedingly expensive, not to mention time-consuming. The tracks running straight through London will remain for the foreseeable future.

When I worked at the local paper, The London Free Press, I covered a number of local derailments with some involving tanker cars. Shooting pictures of derailed railroad cars is fraught with danger. Tanker cars can explode and propel the massive, round, metal ends a surprising distance. The ends are the weakest point in a tanker car. I always shot burning cars from the side and with as long a lens as possible. There were good reasons for the homes in the immediate area being evacuated.

Wild Turkeys Spotted in London, Ontario

 

Wild turkeys are back. Unregulated hunting and loss of forest habitat resulted in Ontario being devoid of wild turkey by 1909. I know that I never saw a wild turkey when I was a boy in the 1950s. But that has all changed.

The first wild turkeys of the present reintroduction program were released in March 1984. In the coming years approximately 4,400 wild turkeys were released at 275 various sites across the province.

Wild turkeys are not common in Ontario but there are flocks living in certain parts of the city. This one was spotted deep inside the city on the front lawn of a Riverside Drive home. There are a number of big flocks to be found in the area immediately south of my southwest London home. Every once in awhile we spot a turkey strolling through our backyard. 

For more infor the Ontario Ministry of Resources has posted information online.

Suburban Walkway Joins Two Courts

Suburban residential streets are often said to discourage walking. This isn't true in my immediate Byron neighbourhood. Byron is an older suburban area in southwest London, ON.

Since moving to Byron I've learned to walk a lot and lately biking has entered the picture as well. Why? My granddaughters. We have two parks in our immediate area. And both can be reached by walking on trails that are devoid of car traffic and even sidewalks, for the most part.

My photo today shows the trail at the far end of my court. It leads into a bush and up a hill, ending at an extended, terraced, concrete staircase terminating in the court above mine. At that point, the smallest park is but a short walk away. My granddaughters call this walkway through the woods "going on an adventure."

Note the well trodden pathway. Lots of people take this path, often when walking their dogs.

Honey Locust Form Drifts Reminiscent of Snow

When the Edie and Wilcox subdivision was built in the uplands of the Byron area of London, the trees that lined the streets were often picked for the beauty of the spring blossoms or the lovely fall colour of the leaves.

The small leaves of the Honey Locust trees turn a very bright yellow before falling and quickly turned a deep, golden brown. The leaves are so numerous in many areas that driveways are slippery with drifted piles of honey locust leaves.

Boler Mountain: a ski hill inside the city limits

It was looking iffy as far as weekend skiing was concerned. The weather had been warm and the city was looking rather green. My wife even spotted a robin, along with some other spring birds, in our backyard.

Then Thursday it turned colder and the city had about 15 cm of snow dumped on it. Nice.

Plus, the local city hill has some of the best snowmakers anywhere. They have a reputation of being able to make snow at temperatures that other folks can't.

From the looks of the hill, yes hill, Boler is one small area delivering big fun way out of proportion to its size, the snowmaking crew has earned the reputation.

Was it record warm weather in London?

Apparently Windsor, Ontario, as well as Toronto, hit new record highs for Feb. 28th yesterday.

Did London? Don't know. That said, it was warm. My thermometre read 16-degrees centigrade. That must be close to a record.

My granddaughters and other London kids went outside to enjoy the warm weather while they could. Today, the day after, it's going to be close to freezing with an accumulation of 15 cm of snow.

Oh well. There may be skiing this weekend after all.

Road graders become snow plows come winter

It's been snowing all day and now, in the evening, the snow plow has arrived - sorta.

I've always called this giant piece of equipment a road grader. I don't recall these being used as snow plows in the southern Ontario town I once called home. I decided to do a Google search for more information.

I learned Cat calls these motor graders and the wing on the side and the blade at the front are custom additions for snow removal.

A good operator can plow a street and leave the roadway clear and yet not plug the entrances to everyone's driveway. This operator was good. Very good.

A Winter Wonderland

Check out the depth of the snow sitting on the bird bath in the lower left of the posted picture.

London, Ontario, has had oodles of snow this winter and more is expected come Monday.

This is a winter for kids: sledding, snowman making, skiing, skating, if its an outdoor winter sport or activity, this is the winter for it.

Now, adults have another take. Many can't see passed the icy roads.

Caring Londoners

A local newspaper columnist has repeatedly claimed the suburbs are places where people live but without every putting down roots. The claim is that suburbanites rarely make contact with the folk living in their neighbourhood. This may be true in some places but it certainly is not true where I live: the Byron subdivision in southwest London, Ontario.

I have a failing heart and the neighbours know it. When it snows, I have the hardest time getting out snowblowing my drive before a neighbour, often a kid, shows up unannounced to blow or shovel the snow.

The adults get a heartfelt thank you. The kids I try to give a little money. They don't always take it and that gives me a smile.

Happy New Year from London, Ontario, Canada

London, Ontario, is not in a mountainous part of Canada. In fact, southwestern Ontario is pretty flat. Our original ski hill was had but a 100-feet of height but it was still a lot of fun.

Boler Mountain is run as a non-profit enterprise but it is run exceedingly well. It was started by a group of truly fine, imaginative London area folk who wanted nothing less than bringing the best alpine skiing experience.

Today, the highest hill is 125-feet and served by a four-passenger, high-speed chairlift. It may not take all that long to ski down but it doesn't take all that long to get back up either.

Tonight, new year's eve, Boler Mountain held its annual new year's eve fireworks show at 9 p.m. for the benefit of the kids. I took two of my granddaughters. They love it.

In two weeks both girls will be starting their skiing lessons at Boler. Because of this, the oldest girl suggested that next year, she and her sister could ski during the day and early evening and then stay to watch the fireworks.

Boler knows how to bait the hook for kids.

Row of heritage homes may be coming down

A row of six homes on Oxford Street just west of Wharncliffe Road look like they may be nearing the end of their lives. The first two homes are boarded up on the first floor and the windows are broken on the second floor.

I will miss these homes. If I were a developer, I'd spiffy up all six, complete with the stained glass in the front windows, and then I'd erect a low-rise behind. I might even add to the row with more homes in the same style. The entire block appears threatened.

It would make for some dense housing, excellent for the university students who choose to live in the neighbourhood. Yet, it would help the street retain its older, residential feel. And this row of homes is, I believe, unique in London. It will be a shame to lose them.

Reg Cooper Square: a failed placemaking attempt

I find this shocking. This is a picture of Reg Cooper Square located behind the London City Hall. The black structure jutting out from white wall of the City Hall is the council chamber.

Reg Cooper Square was going to be a wonderful people place. It was an attempt at placemaking. There was a fountain and attractive tiled planters along with benches. The fountain sat dry for years and today has been filled with dirt in order to support greenery. The tiled planters are gone, replaced by some standard planters but only standard planters. There are no plants inside.

Weeds grow between the large concrete pavers. When a pad was damaged, a small slab of concrete was poured to fill the hole.

If this is what London calls placemaking, it is all too sad.

A fawn with its mother

A nursing fawn with its doe in the cemetery where it was born just hours earlier. This event is not surprising as a large number of white-tailed deer call London Ontario's Woodland Cemetery home. The usually timid animals are easily sighted as they are becoming almost tame. Although the cemetery people are trying to dissuade people from feeding the deer, the request is widely ignored. as a number of bucks have been seen in the cemetery as well as a good number of does, the birth of the fawn was not unexpected.

Magnolia trees in London, Ontario, in bloom

The magnolia trees in London, Ontario, are now in full bloom. Last year the flowers lasted all of about one day before a frost struck and put an end to the displays. This year, despite the super cold winter, the blooms have escaped being hit a second year in a row by a killer frost.

London Children's Museum

My one granddaughter, Fiona, 4, loves the Children's Museum in London. The other day she insisted that we visit the museum immediately after school. She drove an Inuit dogsled, standing at the blackboard she taught in an old school classroom, she made like an ant crawling about in a hollowed out tree. She did a painting using a balloon instead of a brush to apply the paint. She was one busy little girl. The museum it so popular that it is looking to into a larger facility, possibly closer to the downtown. My graddaughter, and lots of other kids in town, will give such a move two thumbs up.

Spring is here. Potholes are growing everywhere.

The winter was tough -- much colder than usual and far more snow. Now that winter is fading, the cold is easing and the snow melting, potholes are appearing everywhere. The problem is so severe and so wide spread that it is a nationwide story.

These holes in the pavement are wide, long and deep. On the good side, the large sizes make many of these monster hard to miss. On the bad side, hit one at full tilt and a tire can be blown or a rim destroyed.

In London, Ontario, the city is busy filling the holes with a cold, asphalt mix but the cold nights is making the patches pop free.

Neighbourhood kids to the rescue

Winter is back and so are the neighbourhood kids. It is common knowledge on our little court in Byron, a suburb on the southwest edge of London, Ontario, that I have a heart condition. When it snows, it pours kids -- at least at my home. They show up en masse with shovels and scoops and even a snow blower. My drive and walkway are soon clear. Gotta love 'em.

Kingsmill's closing after 148 years

This is three days old. I made an error when posting. Oops! Oh well, better late than . . .
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Paper covering the windows at Kingsmill's is removed prior to the store opening.

After 148 years the Kingsmill's department store in downtown London, Ontario, is closing its doors. The store remains popular and profitable but the family no longer has any member ready to take the reins controlling the long-running retail operation.

Many Londoners, like my wife and I, are sad to see the old store closing. It was stocked with good products at fair prices. Today is the start of the going-out-of-business sale and only customers presenting invitations are being allowed into the store. All prices are marked down 25 percent for the event.

I expected hordes of folk arriving early, eager to be among the first into the store. When my wife and I arrived there were not a dozen people waiting at the store's front door. The numbers swelled prior to opening but the numbers were no where near those attracted to suburban stores on Boxing Day.

Personally, I think there should have been a way to maintain the department store experience. The old store is an important component of the downtown retail experience. I wonder what would be the problem with six or seven retailers taking over the store with each managing a different department. The iron beds area would be one retailer's section, while the china shop would be operated by another.

When I moved to London there were three downtown department stores: Eatons's, Robert Simpson's and Kingsmill's. At one point the Bay moved into what was then the Galleria mall where Eaton's was also located. Today all four are gone from the core.

The number of shoppers swelled in the moments before the store opening.

A mountain of snow

How much snow has fallen in London this winter? Lots! The other night the city sent a front-end loader to move the snow plugging the court our court into one big mound and it is big. It has to be something in the neighbourhood of 15-feet high.

If the Southwestern Ontario area gets hit with a sudden spring warm spell, getting all the more likely as we move into March, and if the warm weather is accompanied by rain, the resulting snow-melt will cause massive, spring flooding.

Mouse tracks

Mouse tracks! Oh, my God! I fear what I may find come spring.

The first time I saw smooth snow broken by rows and rows of mouse tracks, I thought it was rather pretty. I had some passing concerns for the little mice dragging their naked tails through the awfully cold ice and snow, but that's all.

My concern for the mice has turned to concern for my plants. The tracks one sees on the surface of the snow are nothing compared to the little tunnels running under the snow. And if the little rodents are not sleeping, they are eating. Come spring, I assume I am going to have a lot of plants sporting damage from being nibbled repeatedly over the winter.

I pray none of my young trees have been girdled. If they are girdled, the young trees will die.

The location deserved better

I find this a head-shaker. Reservoir Hill was the site of a military skirmish during the War of 1812. The hill was possibly the location of a short battle at the point of the deepest penetration by the Americans into what would become the country of Canada. It has taken some four decades for the developer and the city to agree on the present $20-million, 12-storey apartment building now being going up on the historic site.

After more than four decades of on-and-off discussions, one would have rightly expected a more interesting, imaginative apartment building. The view from the 12-floor will be great. It should be a quite the spectacular view of the Thames River and the distant downtown. Sadly, the view of the building itself from ground level will be less than breathtaking.

A dangerous place for rabbits

It is not uncommon to see rabbit prints in the backyard snow. Rabbits are very adaptable and have learned to live within cities. Still, it can be a deadly dangerous place for a rabbit to live. Cars are bad but cats are worse. Last week I found a large rabbit dead in the snow. Its head was completely ripped from its body. It was gross. Cats left to roam free take an awfully large toll when it comes to wildlife. Rabbits, chipmunks and birds are the main targets but they take the occasional groundhog too. My granddaughter has never stumbled upon one of the bodies and I am dreading the day that she does.