Does this look like dinner to a rabbit?

Flower gardens and rabbits don't get along, at least from the viewpoint of the gardener. In fact, rabbits can be a problem for home owners and their plants. Period. The rabbits girdle young trees during the winter, removing all the bark circling the bottom of a small, growing tree. Hostas appear to be delicious. Rabbits will eat budding hostas right to the ground and the rabbits will come back for seconds as the hostas attempt to recover.

Seeking a solution, some neighbours have place live traps around their property. Trapped rabbits are taken for long car rides and released miles some miles away deep in farm country. No idea how the farmers feel about this solution.

Me, I'm looking at colourful foliage plants. I've noticed that my palace purple, also known as coral bells, seems to be ignored by the rabbits, groundhogs and other wildlife paying a short visit to my yard. The plant at the top of the post was sighted in a local garden centre. Although I didn't buy it, I did pick up some other plants sporting very colourful foliage. Now, to see if these plants attract or deter the hungry wildlife stopping by for a quick snack.

There's a close bond between Canada and the Netherlands

The tulip gardens in Springbank Park and the new benches are but symbols of the close bond that has existed between Canada and the Netherlands since the Second World War.

Veterans Affairs Canada posted the following: "The Dutch people have never forgotten our brave soldiers’ efforts to free their country after years of harsh German occupation during the Second World War." 

More than 6,000 Canadian soldiers were killed, wounded or taken prisoner fighting to liberate the Netherlands.

The Liberation of the Netherlands (LINK)

Another gift to London from the Dutch

Apparently, Canadian soldiers, especially a detachment from London, Ontario, played a big role in the liberation of the Netherlands at the end of the Second World War in 1945. Fully 76 years after the event, the Dutch Canadian Society of London and District is still finding ways to say thank you.

I believe the tulip beds in Springbank were a gift from the Dutch Canadian group. When the tulips are in bloom each spring, many Londoners make a point of stopping by the park to check out the colourful display.

This year there are benches especially designed for the tulip bed area in the park. A neighbour thought so much of the pretty benches that she stopped by my home to tell me about them. Tomorrow I'll run two images of the benches.

The amount of new housing is amazing

 

London is growing. And London is not alone. Pick a town in southwestern Ontario and you will find a town growing by, as they say, leaps and bounds. And that amazing growth rate extends right across North America.

As farmland disappears under new housing and all that accompanies that growth -- streets, shopping districts, schools and even parks -- one must ask, how long can this pace be maintained?

Many of us, old enough to recall peach orchards and other crops now gone or disappearing from the province, worry about what crop or crops will be eliminated next. Peaches, once grown but on the edge of town and canned in one of the numerous canning plants that once dotted the countryside, now come from Greece or Australia.

A unique townhouse development

 

This townhouse complex is somewhat unique in London. I can't say I'm familiar with the whole city but I personally do not know of another neighbourhood quite like this one. With tree floors, these places are not designed with seniors in mind. Too many stairs. And the single car garages further restrict the market that these units appeal to.

What these places do share with many other recent developments in London is that these are clearly high density.

Yard decoration

This was a car stopper. Seeing this concrete column with a sculpture of a horse trying to squeeze its way out, had me braking to a stop in order to take a closer look. I immediately saw it was not alone. There were possible a dozen other columns, all with realistic sculptures poking out.

These were clearly lawn ornaments -- somewhat sophisticated lawn ornaments. These were not the usual garden gnomes with pointed hats. One column I could understand. A couple, one on each side of the driveway might work. But a dozen scattered about the yard seemed a little much. Was this a display of items for sale? If it was, was this legal in a residential neighbourhood?

Higher Density Development

 

Just a few short years ago, this was rich farmland. Some of the best in Canada thanks to the long, for Canada, growing season. Now, it's an expanding Northwest London suburb. The apartments and the townhouses raise the overall density per square kilometre of the area to the density  demanded today by city planners.

Dandelions are going to seed

It seems winter just left. It did. And the plants began to flower just the other day. Again, they did. And now, the flowers, like the dandelions in almost everyone's lawn, are going to seed. Talk about speedy, focused action. 

Maybe, just maybe, it is time to think of dandelions as food, salad greens, and not as weeds. If you can't kill 'em, maybe the answer is eat 'em. Or, if you are into dandelion wine, maybe we should drink 'em.

Dandelions are numerous and poison-free

Dandelions were once hated. Parks and other open, grass-covered spaces were almost devoid of the bright yellow flowers. Today dandelions are everywhere. Parks are filled with thousands and thousands of the bright, yellow blooms. Yet, for the most part, dandelions are still hated.

So, what changed to make the weed so common? The loss of poison control  of weeds. Poisons are out today and so dandelions are enjoying a de facto welcome. In Ontario, 2-4-D is essentially illegal. It is no longer used in parks or sold in stores. Round-up is also difficult to come by in Ontario although it is legal for some purposes.

When I was kid, I was warned not to pick the dandelions growing in the park. They might be contaminated with herbicide. I guess this is one other thing that has changed. Kids now pick dandelions without fear. And these young kids are growing up in a world where dandelions are so common that my guess is that the day is coming when the bright, yellow blossoms will be welcome and the oh-so-common weed will no longer be hated.

A sliver of forest in a suburban jungle

When I moved to London Warbler Woods it was a large wooded area on the southwest edge of the city. When a suburban development was proposed for the area, a massive movement to save the trees was started. Although it failed to save all the trees, or even the majority of the forest, the development was stopped before all sign of the wood disappeared.

Some years later the land on the other side of the woods was developed. Today Warbler Woods is but a sliver of forested land situated between two big subdivisions. The remaining land gives one a window into the look of the area before sewers, streets, sidewalks and homes filled valleys and flattened hills.

It may be small but it still lays claim to accolades for being a remaining wilderness area in the middle of an urban area. One spring when I stopped by with my granddaughters to hike into the woods on a Trillium hunt, some hikers warned us to stay together. They had spotted a small pack of coyotes in the forest. Not surprising as deer and rabbits frequent the area.

With covid-19, the area is more popular than ever. Hiking in the woods is one area where one can go maskless and this is oh-so-important to some folk.

A friendly lady directed me to a lovely grouping

I didn't find these but was directed to them. Warbler Woods attracts lots of folk. Many of the hikers come in family groups. One of the hikers on learning why I was in the woods, took a moment to direct to this lovely grouping of three trilliums popping out below an insect carved log. Gosh, it's good to meet good people. It puts a positive to spin on one's world.

Is anyone building apartments like these today?

 

Detroit once had a lot of wonderful Art Deco apartment buildings. I'm sure Detroit is not alone. My guess is many of the once outrageously successful cities in the northern half of the United States, had blocks featuring beautiful 1920s apartment buildings. I found examples of beautiful, abandoned apartment blocks in many other areas of the United States as well.

Some of these, at least in Detroit, are being saved. But that is not the point of this post. When I went to art school in the mid '60s, these apartments were already falling on tough times. I had student friends who lived in these buildings.

Why are we not building apartments that look like these today? I can speak from experience. These were good places to live and they were located in what was at that time good, walkable neighbourhoods.

One thing that made these apartments walkable were the apartments themselves. These places added atmosphere to a neighbourhood. The entrances were often spectacular. No simple glass entries for these buildings.

And the interiors were as grand as the exteriors. Inlaid tiles, curved staircases, brass elevators and lots of stained glass.

 

The shot of the lobby shows, I believe, the abandoned Henery Apartments in Stockton, California.

Sadly, many of these wonderful buildings have been destroyed by suspicious late-night fires.

London, Ontario, has saved some old apartments but London never had any as grand as the ones that once graced many large American cities. Today, London is striving to create beautiful, walkable neighbourhoods. The huge apartments hardly visually improve the neighbourhoods in which these massive structures are located.

I wonder why there is no money to be made salvaging some of the beautiful features of old, abandoned apartment buildings and selling these heritage construction materials to be included in new structures.

Canadian health care

I'm a Canadian but I have to confess I don't have a perfect handle on our health care system. It is complex and it can be confusing. And being that Canadians hear a lot of the misplaced, error-prone criticism that fills the American airwaves, we get even more confused from being exposed to all the bunkum being bandied about.

The other day I had to go for treatment for my aging, sun-damaged skin. The medical centre I went to is privately owned. In fact, the vast majority of medical centres and hospitals in Canada are privately owned and operated.

The centre in the west end of London is but one in a small chain of medical centre located in various locations across the city. From the looks of this latest addition to the chain, it appears the centres are successful. In fact, the company website promises investment opportunities will soon be offered.

What I do know it that Canadians have a single-payer medical care system. I pay the government in a manner similar to paying premiums to an insurance company. For medical treatements that are covered by our system, and not everything is covered, the government pays the cost.

If my skin treatments are for precancerous skin blemishes, the treatment cost is covered. My skin blemishes discovered during this visit were harmless, purely cosmetic. I paid $45 for the removal.

Does the Canadian system work? Yes, but it has problems and these problems seem to be growing. Health care is expensive.

How does the Canadian system compare to the U.S. system. I really cannot say. There are a lot of conflicting claims. All I can say for sure is that the rare time I had a health care issue treated both in the States and in Canada, the Canadian system finished in first place. But it was not a crushing defeat for the American system. It was a plodding, slow system, Canada's, matched against a speedy, hare, the American system.

The deciding factor was my insurance company. It balked at paying for adequate treatment. I got the minimum of care and was discharged before the excellent U.S. doctors could treat me fully. In Canada, slowly running up a big bill was not a problem but time was a problem. 

The Americans would have been fast if they had been free to give me all the tests necessary but no pay, no treatment. The Canadian doctors were much slower, they had less equipment and so a patient had to be patience. But paying the bills as the mounted in Canada was never in question and over a period of time all necessary tests were done and the cause of my heart condition determined and a pacemaker/ICD inserted in my chest.

The takeaway? If I were a millionaire or had very good insurance at a price I could afford, I'd take the American system. I'm not a millionaire and I have relatives in the States who pay far more for health insurance than I could at my age and with my reduced income in retirement. I could not afford their health insurance premiums. And so, I am happy to have the Canadian system.

Not freezing temperatures nor heavy snowfall harmed the robins

 

Neither snow nor rain nor cold nor gloom of night stays a robin from the full completion of its parental duties.

I recently ran an image showing the tough life of a robin parent-to-be risks encountering in Ontario. Both the bird, sitting on its eggs, and the nest itself were under a deep blanket of snow. I openly wondered if the eggs would hatch. I was concerned. On the plus side, it appeared the two robin parents were taking turns tending the nest.

My nephew, Paul, assured me that the robin parents would succeed and the eggs would hatch. He told me to relax. He was right. It appears three eggs have hatched and today the robins were busy finding and feeding earth worms to their squawking brood.

Ontario's provincial flower grows wild

The trillium is the provincial flower of Ontario. The pretty, white three-petalled flower grows wild across the southern part of the province. Many of the wild wooded areas in the Byron suburb of London are home to thousands of trilliums. It is no surprise that a few have taken root on the hill behind our suburban home.

Neighbourhood asparagus stand opens Friday

 

The little asparagus farm has been in operation for decades. So long in fact, that the asparagus sold there is somewhat unique. Most of the asparagus plants grown in Ontario are hybrids developed at Guelph University an hour east of London. The Greenland asparagus predates most of the hybrid plants grown on Ontario farms.

A few years ago a type of rust destroyed the Ontario asparagus crop. The Greenland farm was one of the few stands selling locally grown spears. The rust rippled through the mono culture found almost everywhere in the province but it didn't affect the older asparagus variety grown in the London suburb.

Today, Guelph University is bragging about a new hybrid it has developed. Apparently this was a tough spring. It was both very warm early on and then there was a late freeze accompanied by a blanket of snow. The Guelph hybrids stood up well to the extreme weather. 

It is interesting to note that the old, heritage variety grown on the Greenland farm had done just fine this spring. I had an early sample and the crop came through the extreme weather just fine.

Last year's plants are today's plants too

My wife and I wanted to visit a local garden centre. It was closed thanks to the covid-19 shutdown. And so last year's plants, the hardy perennial ones like these primulas, are becoming this year's plants as well.

I've been asked a few questions about these flowers. I discovered the following: The primula, also known as the common primrose, is native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and parts of southwest Asia. It is not native to North America.

The 2021 Census forms arrived yesterday

 

Running a city is tough. Running a country is even tougher. Yesterday, we got our 2021 Census forms. The numbers the form supplies makes the government's task a little easier. The info is kept private and not open to public view for something in the order of 92 years. 

And how does the government get the info? Do participants use the mail? Not necessarily.  If one likes, the forms can be submitted using a unique identification number and sent directly to the government from one's home computer.

Daffodils are not just bright yellow flowers

It's a daffodil and it isn't yellow.This may not surprise you but it took me by surprise. Hey, I'm not a horticulturist. My only contact with daffodils is the annual Canadian Cancer Society Daffodil Campaign. There are daffodil window stickers, daffodil lapel pins and daffodil pens. And all are, to the best of my knowledge, yellow.

So where were these rare(?) daffodils growing. Uh, I'm embarrassed to admit it but these beautiful, non-yellow daffodils were in my wife's garden a few feet from our large kitchen window. O.K. I'm not all that observant either.

Warm spring sunshine begs to be enjoyed

It was cold yesterday. It rained last night and it continued into the morning. But the warm, spring sun broke through the clouds come afternoon. This lady found the perfect spot to enjoy the warm rays of spring sunshine: a chair outside Starbucks.

Camera batteries died. Oops!

Warbler Woods is a well known forest  on the far southwest edge of London. The woods have been reduced in size over the passing of years. Two suburban developments encroach on the woods, one from the east and the other from the west.

Still the woods attract a lot of folk this time of year. It is known for the thousands of trilliums that blanket the forest floor, especially just in from its southern entrance. The tillium is the provincial flower it blooms annually in early May.

The parking lot was filled with cars but we soon found that we, like the other folk, had jumped the gun. We were too early. We may have seen a couple of dozen white blooms but that was it. I'd run a picture of one of those flowers but I can't. My camera batteries died.

The kids saw a woolly bear (a type of caterpillar), a large toad and a number of different wild flowers including the few trilliums we spotted. And we saw lots of hikers on the hilly trails. But no pictures could be taken. So, today's picture is an old image of the mushrooms that are so often sighted along the paths in Warbler Woods.

I'll charge my camera and head back, maybe tomorrow. It really is worth some photos.

Wet and cold for next few days

Inspired by images posted here, tonight I headed out the door and into the rain. I wondered if my rather mundane neighbourhood lit by the setting sun augmented by the golden glow of street lights reflecting from the wet pavement would take on a whole new feeling. If I could have captured the couple walking their dog, I'd have had the picture. Oh well . . . time to dry the lens.

Soon our parks will be filled with little goslings

April is coming to its end. Soon the parks in London will be filled with recently hatched little goslings. The little birds crowd the sidewalks and seem to be constantly underfoot. Thank goodness they are cute.

The sunset was teamed with a sky-dominating moon

Standing on the lookout watching the sunset, I heard a little chatter from a group standing nearby. I could make out "moon." Odd, I thought. Then I turned around and wham, I saw the moon bright in the sky above the subdivision. Looking about, I could see I was among the last to notice the bright white sphere. 

Often pictures of the moon are washed out, detail gone, done in by the curse of over-exposure. Not this night. The relatively bright, blue sky teamed with the incredibly bright moon made it easy for the camera to pick the perfect exposure.

Londoners come to the lookout for the sunsets

The little dead-end street is called Lookout Court. It is well named. With covid-19 keeping folks at home, for the most part, the court has become quite the magnet. To be accurate, the sunsets are the true magnets but the court is the gateway, the access to the view.

The other night, my youngest granddaughter and I watched as cars were parked around the perimeter of the court and folks got out and disappeared into the nearby woods. Many carried small, colourful coolers. I assumed a covid-19 protest party was about to be held in the woods. I was wrong.

The coolers were not filled with beer but snacks and the folk had disappeared into the woods only to reappear at the edge of the curving lookout. The people spread blankets, shared food and laughter but in small, I assume family groups. Each group was well spaced from the others. All were there, not to protest, but to enjoy the sunset. 

The sunsets viewed from the lookout are spectacular. Folk are yearning for beauty in these trying times and the sunsets provide a little hit of beauty. Awesome.

Still dating

 

 

Walking can be difficult for even a healthy senior. Sidewalks crack and heave and stairs, with their variable dimensions, can be an accident waiting to happen. For these reasons, it is so good when one is a senior to have a hand to hold. These two, strolling slowly and carefully in Springbank Park, seemed to me to symbolize love in one's later years. I pray they have many more healthy, active years ahead of them. I bet they've earned them.

A simple swing means outside fun during lockdowns

The province-wide lock-down has been eased and folks are now allowed to visit city parks. Swings that sit idle much of the time when there is no pandemic are all seeing action today. Anything, absolutely anything, that offers exercise-starved folk something to do outside is popular beyond belief.

 

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Mini drones replace balls for games of catch

 

You cannot play catch inside the house. Not now. Not ever. It was a hard and fast rule in my boyhood home. The rule no longer stands. My granddaughters often play catch inside the home but not with a ball but a mini-drone.

A ball thrown about the house was bound to hit something, a lamp or worse. It could and would do damage. The mine-drone has sensors that keep it from smacking the wall or other objects in its path. Oh, it might touch them lightly but for the most part it veer away while still inches from the object blocking its path.

Hold a hand in front of the drone and it reverses course and heads toward the other player. The game can last for up to twenty minutes and then the little unit requires recharging. We have been using it since Christmas and so far it has caused no damage. Well almost no damage. Little children with even slightly long hair must either wear a hat or tie the hair back. If the little drone approaches too close to the head, it can pull loose hair in and the hair can become tangled about the rotors and shafts. No fun.

When I was a boy all the good toys were made in Canada or the States. A few came from Europe. Today essentially all my grandchildren's toys come from China and many are surprisingly sophisticated. 

I, too, had a small flying saucer that could do a lot of neat manoeuvres but mine pulled off its greatest feats thanks to the imagination of a small boy. I cannot help but wonder if there were not some benefits to powering toys with gobs of impressive imagination rather than oodles of hi-tech smarts.

Magnolia trees come in many varieties

When the first blooms appeared on our magnolia tree, we were taken aback. My wife and I expected pink blooms tinged with white. We got solid bright purple blooms with petals resembling no magnolia tree with which we had any familiarity. It was a total surprise. This year we did get some white but it didn't count. It was snow.

Since planting our tree, now many years in the past, we have learned that magnolia trees come in many varieties with blooms in a multitude of colours. What we have appears to be some variety of purple magnolia—a magnolia liliiflora possibly.

We wondered why the garden centre was selling a magnolia unlike the majority of magnolias found in our region. On asking, we discovered that our tree is more winter hardy than many magnolias. This year this was a distinct advantage. Many magnolias are not well adapted to living in Ontario.

There is one native magnolia—the cucumber magnolia. It is named for the slight resemblance of its immature fruit to a cucumber. These native trees are on the endangered native plant list as there are only approximately 18 small populations in Ontario totally no more than 170 to 190 mature trees, plus saplings.

Not fog but snow

 

As the snow storm approached London yesterday, it appeared that fog obscured the view from Lookout Court. It wasn't fog; it was snow. The white, blurry dots are snow.

A little early for minding eggs

We may be two thirds of the way through April but it can still snow in southwestern Ontario. The little robin built a nest in a lilac tree and is now is patiently sitting on her clutch of robin-blue eggs. Unexpectedly, it began snowing this evening. The little Robin is now dripping wet from the falling snow. Will the little Robin make it through the coming night? Will her eggs survive? Only time will tell.

Dramatic clouds add visual excitement everywhere

 

The clouds yesterday were so dramatic, so visually powerful, I just had to park my car and get a shot. These were not thunder storm clouds, these were not even rain clouds, at least they didn't pose any immediate threat. They were simply visually impressive as they moved quickly across the sky above the city. 

It came as no surprise when I was awakened hours later, well past midnight, by house rumbling thunder and bright flashes of lightning. 

Walks without worry are back.

 

The Ontario premier has loosened the strict shutdown rules announced just days ago. Originally, folk were being told that all residents must remain at home at all times, with exceptions of certain listed essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services or to go to work. 

Neighbourhood walks, either sold or taken with another who is in one's "bubble", were allowed but there was a lot of confusion surrounding the strict shutdown regulations. Some of the confusion has dissipated. The rules were attacked by many health professionals as needlessly strict. For instance, closing playgrounds does little to slow the spread of covid-19 but it does prevent children from getting much needed exercise.

And so today one could see many more Londoners out strolling about their neighbourhoods and children sharing playground equipment. Social distancing was being practised everywhere and some folk were even wearing masks despite being outdoors. Everyone was glad to see the originals rules relaxed.

Ontario going into its third covid-19 total shutdown

 

Saturday night and the neighbourhood public school is bathed in darkness. Come Monday little will change. The sun will be shining but the school will remain dark as the premier of the province has announced the third province-wide covid-19 shutdown. All schools in Ontario are again closed and students will again be learning online.

In Ontario the number of covid-19 cases is climbing along with the associated deaths. Throughout the southern part of the province, hospital ICUs (intensive care units) are operating at near capacity. Elective surgeries and non-urgent hospital procedures are being ramped down.

People are showing signs of battle fatigue as the fight against the covid-19 virus is now in its second year. Canada, caught without any of its own facilities to produce vaccine, is at the mercy of other, vaccine-production-capable countries. And mercy is in short supply globally and vaccine is in short supply in Canada.

During covid-19 computers supply social interaction

These two girls are in the same "family bubble." But with covid-19, social interaction is limited. Getting too close and not wearing a mask are both verboten. Even going to school, where kids interact with other kids, is an iffy proposition despite social distancing of desks and constant mask wearing.

These two little girls are cooperating to overcome a small computer problem in order to log on to a program called Roblox. Roblox is where these two interact with others. Roblox is not a computer game but a platform— a platform where games, developed by others, are posted and played. The Roblox website boasts its users have published over 20 million games on the platform.

If you are still puzzled. Let me supply a link: Why is everyone talking about Roblox? (There's a good chance you didn't know they were.) While children of my era rode bikes, flew kites and played soccer together, a lof of kids today are playing with other children's avatars on an electronic playing field.

This is not to say kids today aren't out doing all the real stuff, it is just to say that this time is now being shared with virtual reality games.

A formal garden look

 Some folk put so much effort into the care of their front lawn that the result has the air of a formal garden. Sadly, this is not the look that I have achieved despite all my hard work.

Not a bank but a credit union

Libro looks like a bank. It acts somewhat like a bank. But it isn't a bank. It's a credit union. And what is a credit union? It is a member-owned, cooperative financial institution. Like a bank, a credit union accepts deposits, makes loans and provide a wide array of other financial services. Unlike a bank, a credit union is an not-for-profit organization that exists to serve its members -- or that's the theory. The reality can be a bit more complex.

What I find most interesting about credit unions is the cooperative angle. We tend to think of capitalism as the only game in town. But, it isn't. Globally, cooperatives leave a huge footprint on our world. Credit unions are but a small part of that footprint.

A bicyle adapted for two

If you not only cannot afford a carriage but a bicycle built for two also stretches the budget, how's this for an answer: a bicycle adapted for two. A pretty neat invention, yes?

With covid-19 pocket parks have increased appeal

Covid-19 has upended our world. The little pocket park in my neighbourhood, small with a minimum of playground equipment, has become quite the draw as of late. It's big appeal? It's close; it's open; it's safe; it's not home.

This family found a spot to spread a beach blanket off to the edge of the small park. One never saw a family enjoying the park in the past. Absolutely never. But today the park is a veritable magnet. Go to the park, stake out a spot and enjoy some time away from home. Some folk are even bringing a picnic basket with them to the park.

A year into the pandemic and even home is beginning to bring on feelings of claustrophobia. The vaccine roll-out cannot happened too quickly.

Some days art takes centre stage

Some of my favourite blogs are ones dedicated to posting photography as art. One blogger I follow posts minimalist art photos. Her images are absolutely incredible and so very imaginative. Today's posted image was taken as an obvious homage to that lady's fine work. 

If curious, the image shows plastic balls incorporated into a piece of neighbourhood playground equipment. Children are encouraged to spin the balls or move them along a bars not visible in my picture.

It's a goldendoodle. Really!

It's a beautiful poodle with a strong presence. It draws admiring looks when brought to the neighbourhood park. It did not come as a big surprise to learn that this designer dog was actually a goldendoodle:  a mix of golden retriever and poodle. 

A relatively new breed, it has a history going back about two decades. In that time the breed has gained quite the following and not just based on its good looks. Goldendoodles are known for their admirable personality traits as well.

Crazy hair day

School was different when I was a boy. For instance, we never had a wear-your-pajamas-to-school-day. And another thing we never had was a crazy hair day. Today the schools have both and that is why my granddaughter wore a colourful paper plate incorporated into her hair style today.

Crazy hair day: I call it nonsense. The kids, students, call it fun. Oh well, she is learning to speak French. The school must be doing something right.

Mountain biking about the neighbourhood

I live in Byron, a neighbourhood in the southwest of London. It has an extensive suburban development on its hilly terrain in the southern end of  the former village. 

Decades ago there was a large garbage dump immediately in front on my home. The dump is long gone but it still produces methane. There are vents here and there to remove the gas safely. No homes or other structures can be built on the the contaminated soil.

That doesn't mean the land doesn't have value. It does. The neighbourhood kids treasure the open space, the twisting trails and small groves of trees. The paths provide popular shortcuts to other streets and courts. I often see a young mountain biker bursting from the never-to-be-developed land. They fly over the edge of a ridge and if you are not expecting them, it can be quite the surprise.

From sacred to secular

Why is the girl wearing a pair of rabbit ear glasses and being silly with a silly stuffy? In a word: Easter. Now, what do rabbits and cheap, silly toys have to do with Easter? Not a lot, I'd say. That said, bibles and other religious paraphernalia seem to have less and less to do with Easter as well. The CBC noted that Canadians were moving from the sacred to the secular and looked at the changing spiritual nature of Canadians.