A home that is remarkable because it is unremarkable

Walking about my friend's neighbourhood in Stratford, I was struck by the beautiful, oh-so-tidy, heritage homes. I thought they were remarkable: so beautiful, so well-maintained, so clearly loved. And then I realized that what truly made them remarkable was how unremarkable these homes are in much of Canada. Many Canadians live this way and think almost nothing of it.

I was going to say "think nothing of it," but that wouldn't be true. I don't think most of us truly appreciate how lucky we are but we do have an inkling.

Social distancing wildlife

You couldn't get a picture showing all the ducks as there were trees blocking the view, but there were dozens of duck sitting along the river bank and they were all nicely spaced apart. My wife thought it looked like duck-style social distancing. I thought they needed a few more feet of separation and masks but then they are just geese. What can one expect?

The Stratford Normal School

When my wife realized we were looking at the Stratford Normal School, she exclaimed, "That's the school your mom attended, Ken!" My mother, born in the early years of the last century, was one of almost 14,000 students who went on to graduate from the Stratford Normal School. After graduating, my mother landed a position teaching in the far eastern end of the province where she met her future husband, my dad.

This is what the Ontario Heritage Trust has to say about the structure:

In the 1900s, concerns about the quality of rural education prompted the Ontario government to build four new Normal Schools to increase the supply of qualified teachers in the province. The Stratford Normal School prepared its students for conditions in the rural schools that employed most new teachers. It is the only one of the Normal Schools from its era to survive without substantial alteration.

For more pictures and a bit more information read the posting on Canada's Historic Places.

Backyards can make a personal statement

Homes encourage creativity, at least when ownership falls into the right, read creative, hands. I learned this early in life when some art school friends moved into a lovely old mansion in the Boston Edison District of Detroit. Now, I must admit that place was somewhat unique but all homes hold promise.

The other day I spent some time in the oh-so-small backyard of a friend and artist in Stratford. This person has spent a lot of time traveling, especially in Italy. Today she has a little bit of Italy behind her home.

What a wonderful space in which to chat and share a meal with friends. (As a former staff photographer for the local paper, I can tell you that surprising backyards are more common that you might think. The creative use of backyard space is not restricted to the backyards of artists.)

Canada Day!

Today, July 1st, is Canada Day. A good day to post the striking sculpture by Walter Allward created in remembrance of those who fought, many dying, in the First World War.

Allward is also the sculpture who did the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Vimy, France. He completed the Stratford Cenotaph in 1922 before heading to Vimy to complete his most famous commission.

Stratford is but one of only two small Ontario towns with an Allward-designed war memorial. Often, such memorials feature a famous general. Today, it's clear depicting an historical figure can be fraught with cultural traps.

Allward sidestepped the danger of depicting a person no longer worthy of the honour. The figures on the Stratford cenotaph are symbolic, representing the forces of darkness and the forces of good.

There's a plaque to a long dead Canadian at the site but it's not there in memory of a soldier. The plaque honours Allward by providing details surrounding his life. The late sculptor has become a revered Canadian artist with a large and lasting body of respected work still to be found about the province.

Fountain may be new addition

Clearly, Stratford has a story to tell. Walking down residential streets in the core of the small, southwestern Ontario city, one comes across a lot of impressive, historical buildings. This one on Water Street is just one of a number. My friend told me the fountain wasn't all that old. I found this home on Streetviews and, sure enough, no fountain.

Is this place a single family home? A bed and breakfast? A small inn? I don't know. When I learn more I will update this post.

A delightful southwest Ontario town

I need to take a walk every day. Doctors orders. I'm bad. I often fail to take my stroll. But visiting Stratford, a small town to the northeast of London made walking easy. It is simply a delightful town, especially in the the core. The downtown business district, the residential area and the theatre and the parks all work together to make one fine, urban package.

I saw this home and had to grab a quick shot. What a wonderful looking home.

Expanded patio-dining is coming

Restaurants are in trouble. Cash flow is important for these small, independent businesses and for some months there has been, in some cases, absolutely no cash flow. This weekend the province announced the easing of covid-19 based restrictions on businesses like restaurants.

Late last week when my wife and I were in Stratford, there were signs everywhere that folk were preparing to open and to operate in the new coronavirus-tainted world. These two people in my photo were measuring the sidewalk in front of their restaurant. They were preparing to locate an umbrella-covered patio on the sidewalk in front of their place.

Stratford and its citizens openly fighting covid-19

Stratford, Ontario, is a fine little Southwestern Ontario town. One of the finest. For well over half a century it has been home to the Stratford Festival—a world class festival attracting theatre goers from both Canada and the States. The visitors arrive by the busload, or at least they did until covid-19.

Driving into downtown Stratford, a sign reminds drivers to stay aware of the danger presented by covid-19 and to react appropriately. People are being encouraged to keep a safe distance between themselves and others others when out on the street and most folk are wearing face masks.

With the festival theatres closed, the fine restaurants struggling to reopen and hotels, inns and B&Bs with many empty beds, the town and the people of Stratford are setting an example on how to fight the coronavirus. While other towns are waffling, Stratford and its citizens are in full fight mode.

Watch your step

Some folk like the geese that can be found in almost all Southwestern Ontario parks. Lots of us are not so fond of these big, numerous birds. We find them lazy, dirty and sometimes even dangerous. They have been known to get quite aggressive.

But, for me, the biggest problem is the filthy droppings littering pathways and roadways. The filth gets into the pattern on one's soft-soled shoes and then gets tracked everywhere. Ugh!

Pandemic hard on Stratford Theatre

From this angle one doesn't see a lot of this building but one does see enough to identify it as the Festival Theatre in Stratford. The unique multi-pointed, roof-edge treatment is a clear identifier.

The Stratford Festival even gets coverage in distant Chicago.

Designed by Robert Fairfield, the theatre was built in 1957. Inside it has a thrust stage, called this because it extends into the seating space with theatre goers positioned on three sides. And there are lots of theatre goers. There's seating for 1,838 people.

As you might expect, the theatre is closed at the moment as a result of covid-19. The fear is that the theatre, and all the other venues which are part of the annual festival, will remain closed until sometime next year. This is a heartbreaker. The festival has posted the following on their online page:

While the creation of a vaccine and anti-viral drugs will cure this pandemic, ultimately what will cure society in its aftermath is art. We look forward to the time when we can come together again to “live, and pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh.”

A dam that can't hold back water. Oops!

For years the Springbank Dam held back the water of the Thames River creating a reservoir backing up for miles from the edge of town right to the core of the city.

Then the aging dam was left damaged by a severe summer rainstorm. A replacement dam was designed and installed. It was a fancy design with hugh pistons lifting and lowering the massive water blocking gates into position.

Sadly, in use, the gates can trap debris and jam. The design was, to be honest, always questionable. Many were not surprised when the dam gates failed while being tested. The new dam was never put into operation and today it sits idle facing possible demolition.

The river is healthier without a functioning dam. The city has recouped its expenses after winning a lawsuit against the firm that built the poorly engineered structure. The gates are sitting flat on the river bottom and will remain there indefinitely.

Oh well, it is a successful conversation starter.

Dental offices are reopening

Three things to mention here. One, dental offices are reopening in Ontario. Today I saw my dental hygienist.

Two, the charge for a cleaning has gone up by about twenty dollars because of all the costs related to the covid-19 pandemic.

And third and last item, many think all medical procedures in Canada are "free." Not true. In Ontario, dental costs are not covered by our government plan and dental fees can be substantial. Today's cleaning cost me, a retired senior, $163. I put the fee on my credit card as neither my wife nor I have insurance.

Going to the dentist has changed. On arriving at the dental office, you don't entered but remain outside and use your cell phone to call the receptionist and let her know you have arrived. Before entering, your temperature is taken, on entering you answer about half a dozen questions. If you answer correctly, you are given a mask. The only time you do not wear a mask is while a dental procedure is being performed on you.

Room air is trapped by heavy plastic sheets hung over each doorway. To enter or leave a room, one parts the plastic. All staff wear masks, as do all patients. Hygienists and the dentist all wear large, face-covering clear plastic shields as well. And light, thin latex gloves seem to be out and heavier black gloves seem to be in. Rooms are cleaned between patient visits. From the loud, constant background fan noise I heard, I believe the office air was being exhausted at an increased rate.

Don't feed the wildlife, please.

Springbank Park is the largest park in London and it merges with at least one other park to the east. Both parks border on the Thames River flowing through London. The sign asks, "Why we should not feet wildlife." Having worked for the Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario many years ago, I can retiterate the warning.

Do not feed the wildlife. It was good advice half a century ago and it is still good advice today.

Jenny Jones playground sits idle

Do you recall the talk show host Jenny Jones. She has been off the air for a few years now. Jones was originally from London, Ontario. London's fanciest children's playground was funded by Jones. She put in $200,000. Thank you, Jenny.

Though it’s theoretically possible, there is no evidence that physical money—or any inanimate surface, for that matter—helps the virus spread. -- MIT

Usually packed with kids, the imaginative playground has sat empty now for months as the covid-19 pandemic replaces fun with fear when it comes to stuff like shared playground equipment. Some question whether or not closure are necessary. MIT claims inanimate surfaces are not a serious source of covid-19 infection.

Strollers are not always six-feet apart

A visit to Costco during the early morning pre-opening for seniors, it was noticed that everyone was wearing a mask. There was not even one unmasked face to be seen. Seniors take the covid-19 pandemic seriously. Senior die.

A visit to Springbank Park later in the day showed lots of young people enjoying the park and enjoying it with others and maskless. Yes, they are outside and this does diminish the possibility of transmitting the virus. Yet, it is hard to believe that a group of seniors would be walking this close together and with no protection.

Thanking Front Line Workers

The local chapter of the Lions Clubs International is raising money for the London Food Bank by going door to door selling signs for $20. The signs prominently display the Canadian flag and give a big thank you to our front line workers during this ongoing pandemic crisis. "You are loved and appreciated," the sign says.

With Canada Day just around the corner and the London Food Bank hook, the signs are going fast.

ActiveFit equipment sits idle thanks to covid-19

The equipment is made by ActiveFit. Click the link and it will take you to the company's web page. Designed and made in Canada, there is a rather complete installation in London's largest park—Springbank Park. 

What does the equipment do? In a sense, very little. It just sits there. Yet, it offers a host of exercise possibilities to everyone except the very young. Each different installation encourages a different exercise and works a different set of muscles. I'm almost 73 but I can see even me working out successfully with some of these pieces of equipment.

Sadly the installation sits idle at the moment thanks to covid-19 and our over-protective parks department. According to MIT, stuff like this equipment does not support the covid-19 virus. Using it is safe. One does not risk picking up the coronavirus. I believe the folk at MIT over the bureaucrats at city hall. I hope the yellow caution tape comes down soon and my granddaughters and I can give the ActiveFit equipment a try.

Garden centres are open

The province is slowly coming out of the covid-19 deep freeze. Restaurants are now open and the patios are doing  very good business. And our local garden centres are again selling plants. My wife calls the plants she buys "flowers for the garden." I call them flowers for the rabbits—expensive rabbit food. So far this spring, I'm right.

Some new homes are truly spectacular.

I took a spin through the new neighbourhood just to the southeast of where I live. Wow!

I talked with the builder and he told me every home he builds for the next six months or so is already sold. Huh? What about the covid-19 slowdown. Isn't there supposed to be almost a recession at the moment?

My fence and gate are failing and when I stopped by the shop of the fellow who built both the fence and gate I learned it would not be until mid August when the repairs could be done and the new gate installed. He told me business was booming.

Strange days.

1st clue announcing a new subdivision: Poles

A new subdivision is going in south of the area in which I live. I've known it would eventually appear. The question was always when and not where.

Today I noticed the long line of new street lamps. Between the tall, brushed-aluminum poles catching the light and the shear number of the new addition to the country lane way, the clue to the arrival of a new subdivision was hard to miss.

Just the other day I had wondered about the cost of lighting a city. What does a city spend on street lights alone? How long do these monsters last?

I imagine operating them is less today than in the past. Those small lamps extending over the roadway are awfully shallow. I'll bet they are LEDs.

Social Distancing Allows Bubbles

 

Visiting the grandparents has strange limits today thanks to the coronavirus. No hugging. No kisses. Social distancing is the rule and it must be followed. Oh well, grandma figured out that bubbles are a covid-19 friendly activity.

Fires during riots destroy more than structures

This is the area of Philadelphia in the Inquirer article. It's old elegance can still be seen in the decaying structures.

Stan Wischnowski, a 20-year veteran of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the newspaper's top editor, has sepped down days after the publication of an article that led to a walkout by dozens of Inquirer journalists. Wischnowski was responsible for the tone-deaf headline that said "Buildings Matter."

As someone who worked at newspapers almost all my life, I can understand how this happened. Editors like to play with words when composing headlines. All too often editors are too cute by half and leave the journalists who wrote the story under the headline fuming. Appearing to equate the deaths of black men and women at the hands of police officers with the destruction of some building was totally wrong. The newspaper's apology was necessary.

But, read the article and the reporter, Inga Saffron, makes some valid points. She tells readers, there was a frenzy of destruction and by evening . . .

"hardly any building on Walnut and Chestnut Streets was left unscathed, and two mid-19th century structures just east of Rittenhouse Square were gutted by fire. Their chances of survival are slim, which means there could soon be a gaping hole in the heart of Philadelphia, in one of its most iconic and historic neighborhoods."

She goes on to say,

" 'People over property' is great as a rhetorical slogan. But as a practical matter, the destruction of downtown buildings in Philadelphia — and in Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and a dozen other American cities — is devastating for the future of cities. We know from the civil rights uprisings of the 1960s that the damage will ultimately end up hurting the very people the protests are meant to uplift.

Just look at the black neighborhoods surrounding Ridge Avenue in Sharswood or along the western end of Cecil B. Moore Avenue. An incredible 56 years have passed since the Columbia Avenue riots swept through North Philadelphia, and yet those former shopping streets are graveyards of abandoned buildings. Residents still can’t get a supermarket to take a chance on their neighborhood."

In the '60s I was in Detroit at a black friends's 1930s apartment on Chicago Blvd. when the rioting threatened to engulf the area. I was accompanied by my friends to my car and told to leave Detroit. Take Woodward, drive to the tunnel and return to Canada immediately. I did.

After the riot I was saddened to find that the half century plus ice cream parlour I used to take neighbourhood kids to was gone. Burned. In the suburbs white folk lined up to have an ice cream sundae at Farrell's. It was a tacky, ersatz copy of an old ice cream parlour. In the inner city, they had the real McCoy. It was wonderful. I hope those kids, now in their 60s, can still recall sitting at the counter enjoying a single scoop ice cream cone with a silly, white photographer fellow. I have the memories, and I also have one of the sidelights from the front of the store, I found it in the rubble.

The store, in any form, was never rebuilt. The kids disappeared as well. After the riots there were no kids and no ice cream. The neighbourhood was destroyed.

What was wrong? Why was it demolished?

What was wrong? Why was this train station, built in the late '30s in the art deco style, demolished only a few decades later? Why? For the same reasons the station that replaced it is now no longer standing either.

To many of us have a disposable attitude toward or built heritage. Buildings are discarded and for the flimsiest of reasons. Demolishing a building is seen as "no big deal." But it is a big deal. It is wasteful⁠—of materials, of money. It is unimaginative.

Tearing down the old is seen by some as the price of progress. All too often it isn't. It may simply prove to be a way of marking time. A perfectly usable railway station disappears and an equally usable one replaces it. At worse, an irreplaceable building is lost and replaced with a truly disposable structure. And that is what happened in this case.

Today, less that a century after the art deco station was built, the city has a third station which does not appear to offer anymore than the station from the '30s. Which leaves one to wonder: What did the '30s station replace?

Possibly the money wasted building train stations could have been put to better use, and sweetened the pot for funding the design and quality of construction of other civic structures. Just a thought.

The waiting areas in the '30s London railway station

Some of London's finest built heritage has disappeared over the passing years.

On Sept 1st, 1936 London opened a new Art Deco train station with a formal opening by Sir Percy Vincent, Lord Mayor of London England. The station lasted less than 30 years before being demolished in 1963.

 

Located below the railway tracks, the concourse was entered down a ramp from the main floor lobby just inside the station entrance. The concourse was 117 ft. long by 36 ft. wide and sat under 3 platforms. At the far south end of the concourse was the entrance to the L&PS (London and Port Stanley) subway tunnel - 100 ft long by 9 ft wide.

 

 

Photo source - https://ingeniumcanada.org/archives CN Images of Canada collection

Info source - https://railwaypages.com/carl-riff-s-railway-history-diaries

Brilliant thinking increases productivity

It's hard to see but this is a bit of truly brilliant thinking. It only took one man to deliver a new gas water heater to our home. The steel dolly used to move the heater had a small motor and a sliding bottom platform that descended down a central track at the push of button. No need to bump the dolly down the stairs.

The platform, driven by the small motor, can be extended five feet to where it is stabilized on a lower step. Then the movement is reversed and the extended dolly collapsed. At this point the dolly is again slanted back and the platform descends again taking the heater to a new and much lower step. The operation as repeated until the water heater reaches the basement floor.

The old heater is removed the same way. No wear and tear on the home. No tearing of the carpeting. Very little strain on the installer. Brilliant.

When we think of urban life, we don't always consider the support staff. Folk like this hot water tank installer are important and if they are very productive all the better. This dolly clearly makes this man a far more productive worker. Unfortunately, it also puts one person out of a job. The last heater installation required two delivery folk.

Back to the river is sunk

The project at the Forks of theThames was known as Back-To-The-River. Supposedly Londoners has forgotten the river that runs through the city from east to west with a very large branch forking off in the core to head north.

Is this true? Have Londoners forgotten the river? I can't speak for others but I've always been very aware of the Thames River and the larger North Thames River. I live where I do because of the river. I didn't want to live on flood plain and that is one reason I live near the local ski hill.

I lived for years in a neighbourhood near the Forks of the Thames and each spring I lived with the fear of a flood. Before Fanshawe Dam and Pittock Dam floods were not common but they did happen and homes were lost and people died.

Note the depth of the water in the illustration of the curving walkway proposed for the Forks of the Thames. The height is a lie. A dam on the river in the southeast of the city washed out a few years ago. That dam held back the river creating a reservoir that extended all the way upstream to the core of the city. Without the dam, the water is lower, cleaner and one might say healthier.

Now, with the cost of covid-19 looming, the cost of the Back-To-The-River walkways seems out of the question. The folk behind the effort have withdrawn their funding and the project has been canceled. Many folk will not be sorry. A natural, free-running river with fish and osprey and even a few bald eagles is more to their liking.

Forget the river? I don't think so. But it may not take long for many Londoners to forget the winding walkway.

We share our cities

We think we are important when it comes to the scheme of things -- and we are. We are far more influencial when it comes to what happens on our planet than our numbers appear to warrant. For instance, insects make up the bulk of the world’s animal species, some 70% in fact.

Many of us don't give the other species on our planet enough credit. We need them. The linked article may overstate the problem. It is hard to extrapolate the way the author does. Yet . . .

It may feel more natural to fret about wolves, sea turtles, and white rhinos dying off than it is to feel remorse about vanishing bugs.

But the loss of insects is a dire threat — one that could trigger a "catastrophic collapse of Earth's ecosystems," according to a February 2019 study.

Source: Last year, 40% of honey-bee colonies in the US died. But bees aren't the only insects disappearing in unprecedented numbers. -- Business Insider.

The first of the month. Is this share a park day?

London's parks are peaceful but across the States parks are in shambles after days of protest and rioting. Canada is not free of the taint of racism. There but for the grace of god as my dear departed mother would have said.

The unfolding story in the U.S. is a wake-up call for Canadians. We have racist issues and these issues have resulted in violence, very localized, but violence in the past nevertheless. These matters must be addressed, dealt with and dealt with successfully.

One thing that I have not seen discussed is that half way through this century whites will be the minority, at least in the States for sure. If we have not solved the race issue, we, or our children and grandchildren, may suffer the same fate we have inflicted on others for centuries. This game could flip.

Urban landscape owes a lot ot the banks

Opened in 1822, the Bank of Montreal is Canada's oldest bank. If it gets through the covid-19 financial disaster without touching its dividend, it will have gone 198 years without ever being forced to reduce its dividend. An enviable record but one that is not out-of-place in the Canadian banking world.

Buy a home and you may well find yourself dealing with one of Canada's big five banks. Housing and banking is a partnership with deep roots. But any big personal expense may send a Canadian to visit a bank. Banks are seen by many Canadians as almost a friend. Always there offering support in tough times.

But Canadian banks do more than just loan money. For instance, the Bank of Montreal has a very successful ETF investment arm. When a Canadian is born, the little baby may be given an RESP or Registered Education Savings Plan. During one's life, a Canadian may well save for their senior years by putting money aside in an RRSP or Registered Retirement Savings Plan. And when a Canadian dies, it may well be a bank that acts as the executor of the will.

Compared to U.S. banks, in size Canadian banks would be rated among the largest regional banks in the States. With a market capitalization of only $43.4B Cdn., about $32B U.S., BMO is dwarfed by the immense size of big U.S. banks like JP Morgan Chase with a market capitalization of about $336B U.S.

So, why are Canadian banks so successful? Many claim it is because the Canadian banks operate in a highly regulated environment which is much different than that found south of the border. On the surface all the regulations don't seem to work in the Canadian banks' favour. For instance, according to Morningstar the Canadian banks are forced by law to hold more risk on their balance sheets that their U.S. counterparts. But this, some argue, forces Canadian banks to act more fiscally responsibly.

The future of banking in Canada may be different than the history of banking in Canada. U.S. banks are trying to make inroads while Canadian banks are expanding south of the border. How these actions will play out is a big question with the role protectionism will play in the unfolding story an immense grey area.

Canada's banks are part of the fabric of the country

The Bank of Nova Scotia is the third largest Canadian bank with what many say is the largest international presence. The BNS has invested heavily in Latin America.  A move that many see as potentially a negative today.

Lots of Canadian seniors hold Canadian bank stock for the generous and dependable dividends. Those dividends can be very important in retirement. Today the BNS dividend is $3.60 annually resulting in a yield of 6.53% based on the present price of the BNS stock.

Founded in 1832, the BNS has gone 187 years without once missing or even reducing its dividend. In fact, the bank habitually does the reverse; it has increased its dividend in 43 of the last 45 years. Because of losses related to covid-19, it is feared investors will not see a dividend increase for three or four years. On the other hand, the bank promises  it will not cut its dividend. It says it will not break an almost two century long tradition.

Our largest park is now open

London's largest park, Springbank, is now welcoming visitors. The park is not crowded like some that one's reads about on the Internet. It's long trails are being used again but very lightly. Still, it is nice to see. The city is waking up; it is coming out of its covid-19-inflicted stupor.

This raccoon will get its water

I wish I had the pictures to tell the whole story. If you have ever wondered whether or not animals can engage in creative thinking, I have the answer: They can.

The urban raccoon was looking for a drink. The bird bath offered water but it was difficult to reach. After awkwardly drinking while hanging from the bowl for a few minutes, the raccoon climbed a nearby tree, climbed out on a limb over the bird bath and, when well out towards the end of the branch, it sagged and the raccoon hopped down to the bird bath and to the water

Years ago, in the late '60s, I there was a course at the University of Windsor that taught animals were incapable of true thinking. I raised an example of an action similar to this raccoon's, which, by climbing a tree and moving away from the goal (water in the bird bath), seems to be taking an approach requiring creative and not instinctive thinking.

The professor got angry and banished any more questions of that ilk. He used bluster to hide the fact that he had no ready answer: animals might well think and creatively too.

Scooters are for tricks

I believe it was built as a skateboard park but now it's used by young people with scooters. I had no idea that high-flying tricks could be done with scooters but clearly they can. And the nice thing about the park is that it naturally encourages social distancing. Only one athletic scooter trickster is allowed on a ramp at any one time. It's a covid-19 safe activity. Hmmm. Where did I put my scooter?

Keeping our urban world functioning

Keeping an urban region running smoothly is not just about repairing roads and bridges doing all on the taxpayers' dollar. Keeping our stock of residential structures sound is also important and this expense falls on the home owner, as it should.

Our garage door is now approaching 40-years-in-age. It is painted wood not aluminum like those available today. Its motor is new, replaces last fall, and its rollers and seals are replaced when necessary. Four rollers were replaced today and the seal that repels mice was repaired.

I spoke with the repairman from afar. Covid-19 rules of social distancing were in force. I trusted him to do a good job and the company he works for will email me a bill. I will pay it electronically.

It is not often considered but living in a city provides services like garage door maintenance at a very reasonable cost. The business is located no more than ten minutes or so from my home. Travel costs are minimal. Not so if one lives in the country. There are advantages to city living that often go unnoticed.

163 unbroken years of dividends

Canadian banks are amazing. TD Canada Trust has an unbroken record of dividend payments going all the way back to 1857. That's right it has not missed a dividend, or cut the payment, in 163 years. And TD Canada Trust is not the only Canadian bank with bragging rights in the dividend area.

Canada's oldest bank, the Bank of Montreal, hasn't missed a dividend since 1829. That's 191 years! The Bank of Nova Scotia has a record going back almost as far: 1832. The Royal Bank, Canada's biggest bank, can only brag about not missing a dividend payment since 1870 or a mere 150 years.

And Canada's banks are not the only one's with bragging rights when it comes to paying dividends. BCE, also known as Bell Canada, hasn't missed a dividend payment since 1881, which is just a few years after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. (An invention that Canadians lay claim to.) The Bell Telephone Company of Canada was incorporated in 1880 and started paying investors a year later.

Will covid-19 put an end to these companies' unbroken run? Not if they can help it. The banks have already stated that if they must they will issue new equity to cover expenses. All banks are stating publicly hat their dividends are safe. And Bell, well it is not known as the stock for widows and orphans for no reason. It's dividend may well be safe, too.

One last note on TD Canada Trust. The TD stands for Toronto-Dominion. That was the name of the bank when I was a boy. The Canada Trust tacked onto the TD came about when TD merged with a London, Ontario, based competitor. Trust companies are not banks but a very smart Londoners figured out that this should not stop trust companies from competing with banks. Canada Trust did was such a great competitor that TD merged with the trust company a few decades ago.

When covid-19 was still off-shore but threatening to invade, I got out of the market. After the virus struck and the stock market crashed, I bought back in but this time I filled my portfolio with dividend paying, oh-so-trustworthy Canadian companies. Banks, utilities, communication businesses and pipelines make up a big part of my investments. I may lose money but my income should be relatively safe.

If these Canadian companies cut, or worse miss, a dividend then we have more to  worry about than the stock market.

Sadly, a covid-19 birthday is very memorable

The excitement began building late last year. Come May Isla would be seven. Mom would rent a room at a party palace. There would be games and pizza and friends, lots and lots of friends. At least once a week the little girl would ask how many weeks until my birthday. It was a long countdown made longer by the unrelenting anticipation.

And then—wham!—the coronavirus: Covid-19. It ended schooling for the year. It brought mom home. It put the grandparents off limits. And the much anticipated seventh birthday bash, it wouldn't happen.

Kids all over the world suffered the same fate when it came to their birthdays. In the covid-19 world, birthdays come and go quietly, not unnoticed but not loudly celebrated either. Isla's grandparents dropped off a gift. She opened it on the driveway. Her grandparents could not enter the home. It was off limits to them. The gift was a kitchen set. Isla quickly carried it into the home. 

No point waiting about. A covid-19 birthday does not have hugs. No kisses. No one, other than mom, dad and her older sister, can get closer to her than six feet. Isolation does not make for great birthdays. All around the world, thousands of kids are learning covid-19 birthdays may not be great but they will be memorable. Unforgettable, in fact.

It would be sad except for the fact that it was a seventh birthday. Seven! Think about it. Turning seven cannot be a bad thing. Never. And then there is that kitchen set.

At the moment, Detroit is infinitly far from London Ontario

When I was a boy in the '50s I lived in Windsor, Ontario. That's the city immediately across the Detroit River from the city of the same name. Crossing the border was easy. A ten-year-old could do it, and a ten-year-old did.

In the '60s and '70s Canadians living near the border, would visit Detroit. It was an exciting city to visit with a rich mix of restaurants, stores and shops, art gallery and a big-city zoo. Back then lots of Londoners made a day trip to the big city and as often as not the big city of choice was Detroit rather than Toronto.

This art work was done in those distant years by Detroit artist Ronald Scarborough. It looks at first glance like a signed and numbered lithograph. On careful inspection one realizes it is a very good half-tone print. This print is from a numbered run of 900 copies.

An unsophisticated Canadian visitor might think they were getting an incredible bargain when buying this Scarborough print for only $10 in a Detroit private gallery. They weren't but they were not getting ripped off either. The price was fair for a mass produced copy. As a halftone and not a lithograph one could say it came from a run of 900 copies and was not part of an edition of 900 prints.

Over the years the private galleries closed. Many of the restaurants closed. Big stores, like Hudson's and Kerr's, and small stores, too, closed. The trip from London to Detroit seemed two hours too long. Today the border at Detroit is closed. The covid-19 virus has put the once grand city of Detroit off limits. And yet, for many, the draw had already become very weak. Many crossed the border only to reach the Interstate and immediately leave the city without stopping to head quickly south.

My Ronald Scarborough print hangs in a front hallway, its white paper slowly turning yellow. The image, like the city it came from, has faded with the passing time.

Self-isolating is not all bad

You say no school to a parent and they tremble with anxiety. No schooling. No learning. How will the kids get by? Say no school to my granddaughters and they hear "hammock."

Although they may not be rushing about in the morning to catch the school bus and then spending all day in a crowded classroom, they are still doing some school work every day via a couple of home computers.

How much are they learning? That is an open question. Their parents are still anxious and the kids are still spending chunks of each spring day enjoying the hammock.

Neighbourhood asparagus stand is open

The land must be valuable. If it were growing new homes rather than shoots of asparagus, I'm sure the owners would be far wealthier.

The family growing and selling the asparagus has been doing this for decades. They've been doing it for so long that their crop is unique. It is an old hybrid no longer commonly grown in the province.

One year the Ontario asparagus crop failed. Rust. There was no locally grown asparagus in the grocery stores. But the little Greenland Asparagus stand had fresh, green spears for sale. Their crop was not the hybrid being attacked. It was not affected by the rust spores floating in the air everywhere in the province.

I worry about the little farm. Finding folk to pick the crop is getting harder and harder with each passing year. I fear that one year it will homes or stores filling the fields and not haphazard rows of an ancient asparagus hybrid.

Normal is looking more normal

The day is warm and London's biggest park, Springbank, had a sprinkling of people engaged in a number of activities: walking, jogging, skateboarding and biking.

Oh, the pandemic is still modifying behaviour. Most people seemed to be giving others a very wide berth. Social distancing was clearly still in force.

And yet, there was a back to normal  feel to the day that may not be bested until a vaccine is released.

Life goes on

I read an article in The Lancet, I believe, that said we should learn from this covid-19 pandemic. We have been taken down by our hubris.What is hubris? Excessive self-confidence. Pride in oneself bordering on defiance of the gods.

We are changing the planet. Modifying the only home we have and we are doing it in way that can only bring disaster. Covid-19 is a window on the future.

I can recall as a small boy worrying that the immense herds of wild animals found in Africa back in the early '50s were threatened. My mom thought I asked too many questions. I thought adults didn't ask enough.

This little wren is living a life modified by the fact it lives in close proximity to us. But, take us away and this little bird's life will go on. It appreciates us but it doesn't need us. But, in a very real sense, we don't fully appreciate nature and the wild world but we need it. And, we need to keep it rich and diverse and somewhat separate. We need to respect the others with whom we share this planet. Wildlife markets are not places of respect.

The lonely tulip. It was missed by the rabbits.

Off with their heads. Or at least, off with the blooms. One lonely tulip stands in my wife's garden. Left intact, so far, by the grazing rabbits. My guess is that come morning it too will be gone. Heck, even I can see it is probably quite delicious, cool in the evening air and covered with moist raindrops. I'm sure it is not only very pretty but yummy as well.

This blossom is a real pistil.

Our Japanese magnolia, which originated in China but that is another story, is finally in full bloom. It blooms a bit later than the the more common, at least in our neighbourhood, pink magnolia.

I love the look of the blossoms but it is the pistil and stamens at the core of the flower that I find most interesting. I understand all magnolias hide treasures like this deep inside the flowers. They all don't look like this but they are all spectacular, especially in close-up photos.

Should puzzles be sanitized? It's a puzzle.

As self-isolation continues, folks in my neighbourhood are facing the challenge of finding interesting things to do. One answer has been jigsaw puzzles. To this end, folk have been passing puzzles from home to home, mom to daughter and friend to friend. But one question keeps me awake at night; can jigsaw puzzle cats carry the coronavirus?

We're told to keep six-feet or more apart. We're told to wear a mask to protect others from our possibly contaminated breathe. We're told to sanitize this and to sanitize that. Should puzzles be sanitized, and if so, how? It would take a long time to wipe a thousand individual puzzle pieces.

It is a puzzle.

Gardening while self-isolating

Our neighbours are putting this time of self-isolation to good use. They are all out working on their yards: fertilizing, weed-pulling, raking and planting.

I was surprised to learn that many of the garden centres are now open. Oh one must line up to get in and the number allowed into the store or the yard is carefully monitored. And there is little spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment purchasing. You must get, get what you came for and leave. If not the folks waiting to enter would wait a long, long time.

It is beginning to look that our urban lifestyle has been changed by this virus. Until there is a vaccine, we may not be living as we did just a few short months ago.

A silver lining

There have been some bad incidents it's true but for the most part the covid-19 pandemic seems to have brought out the best in people. Young couples with families assisting older seniors missing their grandchildren. Shoppers lining up politely and waiting patiently to enter the store and do their shopping. Strollers keeping their distance but still finding it possible to smile and shout a "hello" and "stay safe."

Signs thanking those who are on the frontline working are common. Seeing the good that the pandemic is drawing out of people seems to be a silver lining in this terrible, global disaster.

Our neighbours love Turtle Cookies as a thank you gift

Our neighbours worry about us. I rather wish they'd stop. I'm going stir crazy. We run low on milk and before I can make my escape, a neighbour stops by and asks if we need anything from the store. I haven't been free of the home since late last week. Aaauuuggghhh!

And paying them is difficult. We are not rich but we aren't poor either. Our grocery bill has headed so far south, it may not break into the three digit range. Ridiculous but so caring. It all leaves me smiling (through my clenched teeth).

My wife has worked out a way of saying thank you. She leaves a bag of Turtle Cookies on the porch. The neighbours leave us our groceries and take the Turtle Cookies in return. When done the baked cookies have a round gob of melted dark chocolate on the top of the shell and hidden inside is a square of chocolate and caramel broken off a Hershey's Caramilk bar.

Growing food closer to home

Our food supple chain is breaking down because of the ongoing pressure of covid-19. Before the coronavirus we bought strawberries from California or from Mexico and thought nothing of it. Now, I see those berries with a new and growing appreciation of the complex delivery system that put those berries on my table.

It is mid May and the berries shown have been available since late April in a specialty grocery store in my neighbourhood. What is unique about these berries? Note where these berries are grown: Canada. These are locally grown, greenhouse berries. Despite the snow on the ground, there are locally grown berries on the store shelves.

When I was a boy strawberries were available for about three, maybe four, weeks in late spring. And that was it. When those weeks were gone, strawberries were gone. Not so today. There are now varieties of strawberries called ever-bearing that produce three or more crops annually.  Locally grown field berries are now available from late spring until very early fall.

Thanks to hothouse berries, the growing season is expanding again. Soon, it should be possible to eat locally grown strawberries from April through to early November. And if folk can be persuaded to eat frozen berries at other times, imported fresh berries may become a fading memory or a very expensive, hard-to-find treat.