Garage Sale are Popular and Profitable

 

I hate garage sales, especially ones held in my driveway by my wife. The stuff on display, stuff we no longer want, is embarrassing to see on display for the world to see. Oddly, if the stuff on display is good, worth having, it will as often as not go unpurchased.

My wife sold a 1950s portable record player that no longer worked. It sold and sold quickly. Two fine, antique depression-era chair with a steam-pressed designs were ignored. An old, glass lamp shade sold despite being slightly damaged. Yet, a brand-new, stainless steel fish poacher found no interest. None. It has been returned to our basement.

My wife earned hundreds of dollars from her weekend sale. My granddaughters sold homemade biscotti and earned in the three digits as well. A couple of neighbours also held garage sales and also did very nicely.

At times the street was packed with cars as passing folk followed the garage-sale signs posted about the neighbourhood and stopped to see if they could find a bargain or two.

I was surprised by the stuff people bought and by the stuff people didn't buy. I was surprised that despite COVID-19 cute little girls can sell oodles of cookies, biscotti and small cups of lemonade. And I was surprised that everyone wore a mask. The garage sale was outside and folk were practising social distancing. Yet, everyone still wore a mask and thanked the little girls, who were also wearing masks, for using tongs to server the treats.

Which four are fleeing the park?

 

The four strollers on the left are not actually strolling. In truth, they are fleeing the park after being approached by a number of babbling, ill-dressed, very grungy looking young men. Their words were so hard to understand it was not even clear why they were approached. They assumed that they were looking for a handout but they left empty handed after intimidating the four with just their approach.

Glass towers are popular everywhere

The glass tower carrying the name of London developer Old Oak is considered one of London's nicest looking new buildings. It is also one of the first high-rises built in the downtown core. The Old Oak building still looks striking today. It has aged nicely.

Royal Bank: 9th largest in the world

 

Canada's Royal Bank is larger than I knew. Retirees in Canada often have some Royal Bank stock in their portfolios. Why? Solid dividend income that can be trusted through good times and bad. In fact, all five of Canada's top banks have impeccable reputations when it comes to delivering on promised dividends.

Today in London, the Royal Bank logo marks the top of Talbot Centre in the city core. One might think that such a huge bank would own the building in which it conducts its business in London but it doesn't. Canada's largest bank, the 9th largest in the world, rents its downtown location and shares the building with other businesses and at least one other Canadian bank.

It's clear the Royal Bank didn't ascend to the summit of Canadian banking by wasting money on showy buildings and addresses when there are less costly alternative.

It's a basilica and not just a cathedral

 

Many Londoners know the large downtown Roman Catholic Church as simply St. Peter's Cathedral. Truth be known, the gothic revival style cathedral was declared a minor basilica in 1961 by Pope John XXIII. This is quite the honour as there may be only 25 minor basilicas in all of Canada.

Victoria Park and the Canada geese problem

 

Victoria Park is a popular park, popular with Canada geese. If you listen to my granddaughters, it's not as popular with people -- certainly not with them. Why? The geese, their droppings and their aggressive attitude. Canada geese, when fed in parks can congregate in large numbers, even into the hundreds, and can be downright pushy -- even frighteningly pushy if you are an easily frightened little girl.

Boer War monument

Known as the Boer War monument in Victoria Park,  The Soldiers' Monument is a tribute to those who fought in the South African War more than a hundred years ago. The monument was erected in 1912 at a cost at the time of $10,000.

Engraved deeply into one side of the base are the names of the local men, all privates, who died in the war.

Victoria Park hanging flower pots

 

Cities seem to love overflowing flower pots today. One sees them decorating islands in the middle of large streets and hanging from posts found just below the lamp on street lamps. In London, I believe, a lot of the flowers may be grown in the city greenhouse. Still, all these flowers cannot be cheap and keeping them all watered must take a lot of staff.

Stobie's: a popular take-out pizza location

Stobie's is not much more than a small sign on the side of an older downtown building. Inside there are few tall stools and a shelf to hold your slice of pizza but it certainly is not what anyone would call a sit-down restaurant. Stobie's is best known for its large, single slices of pizza.

Hungry? If you are in downtown London and close to either Richmond Row or Victoria Park, Stobie's is the place to go if a giant slice of pizza and a juice box or can of pop will suffice. 

Stobie's often has two to four kinds of pizza cooked and sitting in a warming oven. Pick the one you'd like, for instance vegetarian or pepperoni, grab a drink and head off for the park.

Kids love Stobie's. The pizza is simple and delicious. Parents love Stobie's. The choices are limited making it easier for kids to make a decision as to what to eat. Students love Stobie's. The price is right. And downtown workers love Stobie's. It is quick.

Big cities have lots of places like Stobie's. London has a few but they are located well distanced from each other. They are not grouped together offering a rich mix of fast, inexpensive food for those in a hurry.

Jenga Tower One and Jenga Tower Two

The National Post reported the new apartment tower in downtown London may be a knock-off of a building built a few years ago in a Toronto suburb.

Both are known by the nickname "Jenga tower" in their respective cities. The building in London was praised in The London Free Press for its “decidedly un-London design.” Sounds right. The London tower appears to have a decidedly Etobicoke look. 

https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/mirror-mirror-what-happens-when-a-brand-new-building-looks-very-familiar

No mask, no entry, no exception

 

I took my three granddaughters to Stobie's Pizza so each could have a piece of Stobie's excellent pizza for lunch. The plan was to grab some slices and then head over to Victoria Park and enjoy the park and our pizza.

I am so surprised at all the controversy surrounding masks. There is no question about mask wearing in London. Vaccinated? Good. But wear a mask anyway. Until this COVID-19 pandemic is under control, masks are going to be de rigueur in most public places.

No pictures!

 

Saying no to pictures is so today. When I started taking photos for publications in the late '60s, the risk one ran when taking pictures in public was being harassed by folk yelling, "Take my picture! Take my picture!" People thought it cool, even an honour, to be thought important enough to have their picture taken. Not today.

I saw a small group of young people in downtown London setting up for a shoot of some type. I thought they might be students from the community college or the local university. I asked and they said, "No pictures," and refused to say anymore. They turned their backs to the camera.

A young man insisted they did not have the time to answer any questions. I told him a one word answer would suffice. Are you students from Fanshawe? No reply. From Western? No reply. But they did have time to insist that I not take any pictures. Never tell a photojournalist not to take your picture. I have shots of police, military and criminal gang members all taken because of that order.

If you are up to something that you feel uncomfortable having photographed, that is worth a picture. At least, it might be worth a picture unless you are just going with the flow and turning your back on the camera because it is the in thing to do.

$25 will get you onto the water for an hour

 

 

The Avon River, where it forms a reservoir behind a flood control dam in Stratford, Ontario, is more than a place to store excess water. It is a place for fun and fun is never excess. Rental paddle boats, canoes and kayaks are all available, complete with life jackets, from Avon Boat Rentals.

Contact the cloud for electricity

 

The Noodoe EV charging stations at the soon-to-be-opened Tom Patterson Theatre are interesting installations. To charge their electrically powered vehicles, drivers use their smart phones to scan a QR code, select their preferred payment method, and charge their car while off enjoying a performance at the nearby theatre.

Noodoe EV is a Taiwanese maker of electric vehicle charging systems has operated in Asia and Europe for the past decade. A few years ago Noodoe EV expanded into North America and has now installed nearly 1,000 EV charging stations in the U.S. at casinos, hotels and shopping malls plus more.

The feature that Noodoe EV most likes to brag about is its use of a cloud-based platform. Does the cloud connection benefit drivers? Yes but it benefits the owners of the Noodoe EV charging stations more. Noodoe EV provides the parking lot owners with the charging stations with a wealth of information: how long does the average user charging their car, how much power is used during an average charge and how much profit is being made from each charging unit.

Noodoe EV like to brag that its technology transforms parking lots into "hands-off revenue generators."

Upper Queen's Park in Stratford, Ontario

Upper Queen's Park is right next to the Festival Theatre. One can stroll into the park from almost any direction, it is not surrounded with a barrier of any type. Yet, it does have a proper entrance off Water Street. It is clearly a proper entrance as there are two matching stone arches over both sidewalks bordering the roadway. In front of these, there are two dogs, two pleasant dogs. One might expect lions, or at the very least large guard dogs, but no, these mellow dogs look like a couple of family pets.

Shakespeare at Stratford

 

The occasional intermingling of the two Stratfords, the one in England and the one in Canada, shows up in the most surprising places.

The statue of William Shakespeare in the garden at the Stratford Festival was done by Frank Holte. Holte headed the Stratford Festival prop department for some 39 years. And, this is where the link appears, Frank Holte was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

No drought in Ontario

 

The American Southwest is in the middle of a drought of historic proportions, but not Southwestern Ontario. The southern most province in Canada, Ontario, is having a rather wet summer. There are weeks when residents don't have to water their plants at all. In fact, some of the local strawberries have had their flavour diluted by all the rainfall which has made the berries bigger, wetter and with a less intense flavour than one expects.

Making a town a destination

 

Stratford, in Ontario, is a town that knows how to make itself more than a stop but a destination. Without going into all the details, Stratford chased and embraced the dream of the English theatre director and stage legend, Tyrone Guthrie. 

At the time, Stratford was known mainly as a place specializing in repairing steam locomotives. In other words, Stratford was facing economic disaster. Today the locomotive repair facilities are long closed and the theatre arts are the big driver of the local economy.

But great theatre is not enough to propel a town forward decade after decade. London, Ontario, can attest to that -- but that is another story. If you want to find a fine restaurant, think Stratford. And the town does not just have high-end eateries. You can get a very good shawarma, submarine or burger there as well. 

If you cannot afford the theatre, it is not cheap, there are smaller venues with smaller ticket prices. If you only visit the town to enjoy a take-out lunch beside the river, you might be lucky enough to catch a singer giving a fee performance from on a slowly passing boat.

Stratford is lovely and full of lovely surprises.

Avon River Cruise

 

Before continuing, I must mention why I have not posted since last Sunday. My other computer crashed and may be down for the count. I was out of town, in Stratford, unable to find another computer to use for filing.

Stratford, Ontario, was not always famous like it is today. The first theatre production opened on July 13, 1953. Today Stratford has at least three theatres and possibly more. The new Tom Patterson Theatre is now finished and is simply waiting for the O.K. to open. COVID-19 threw a wrench into the entire massive theatre operation. Until COVID-19 buses from across North America rolled into Stratford attracted by the now world famous theatre.

Stratford in Ontario sits on the Avon River and where the river runs through the city a damn has been built and a long reservoir formed. The river has become a secondary magnet to hold people in town who are first attracted by the theatre. There are small paddle boats and even a small cruise boat to be seen on the river.

To know more, click the link: Stratford Festival.

Stratford on the Avon River

 

Yes, you read that right. Canada has a Stratford on the Avon just like merry old England. The early settlers of Ontario were not all that imaginative when it came to naming new towns. One must wonder if they were somewhat homesick.

The Stratford in Ontario is a wonderful town. It is attracting lots of tourists even today despite COVID-19. The lady was spotted walking along the Avon River. The plant is growing in one of the gardens at the new 100 million dollar theatre which is still waiting for opening night. The virus has kept the new theatre closed.

A backyard and not a park

It looks every bit like a public park but it isn't. It's a backyard. A well designed, well cared for backyard. It is amazing what folks are hiding behind their suburban homes.

No mask, no service.

 

Both cable and network news are filled with stories about folks refusing to wear masks. In London, many businesses have no problem asking customers to wear masks. And if the customer refuses to wear a mask, masks are always available for those who arrive without one, then the customer is refused admittance. No mask, no service.

Ford Motor Co. Canada in London

 

Once, more than a century ago, Ford Canada had a London, Ontario, assembly plant. It was in the heart of the city, nestled into a residential neighbourhood. It was much smaller than any plant built today. In later years its small scale may have been it undoing. 

On the plus side it is a good looking building and that fact may have saved the building from the wrecking ball. Sadly, its good looks did not save the operation. Ford closed the plant, sold the building and left London. The building has gone through a couple of hands since then but it is still a good looking building and considered a plus for the area.

In later years, Ford opened a very successful assembly plant south of the city. It was often honoured for its excellent efficiency, high quality output and solid employee dependability. But these pluses were not enough to save the plant. It closed and the building was demolished. The newer plant was not guarded by an aura generated by attractive architecture. The newer plant was big, sprawling and ugly. In this case demolition was a plus. The land was worth more with the building gone.

It is not just people who travel

It is called Bear's Breeches. This perennial came to southwestern Ontario, Canada, from southern Europe, from countries around the Mediterranean like Italy and Turkey. It has incredibly large, spiky leaves at the base. I thought the leaves would discourage rabbits. No. They love it, or at least have in the past. This year it has been given a reprieve. It towers almost three feet into the air and sports oodles of wonderful, purple flowers.

Rabbit food

The gardening centres call these cone flowers. My neighbours and I simply call these rabbit food.

A truly giant one scoop ice cream is still to be had

 

A truly giant one scoop ice cream is still to be had. You just have to know where to go and these little girls had the answer: The Scoops in Hyde Park on Gainsborough beside Unger's Market. I had to wonder: did person behind the counter at The Scoops make a mistake? These are the biggest single scoop ice cream cones that I have ever seen.

Glow-in-the-dark golf

Recreation destinations such as the Fleetway activity centre may be open but many are understandably still quite frightened by the continuing threat of COVID-19. Adult vaccination rates in Canada are among the highest in the world but that leaves many concerned for the health of their young children.

The fear of COVID-19 is keeping many away from places like Fleetway. When our small party of seven played indoor glow-in-the-dark golf, we were almost alone in the huge facility. Bowling lanes sat empty, pool tables were unused and the links at the fun, little putting course were strangely free of crowds.

(Three golfers can be spotted in the dark room if one looks carefully at the upper left corner of the photo.)

I am constantly amazed at how much life changes just over the course of one lifetime. As a boy in the 1950s I recall the large vans carrying ponies that visited our neighbourhood. The vans would visit a neighbourhood a number of times each summer. The trucks would stop, a half dozen ponies or more would be dropped off along with a photographer for every pony. 

The photographer/pony teams would fan out across the neighbourhood going door to door to see if anyone wanted a shot of their child posed on a pony. Clearly my mom went for the offer. I once had a number of these photos. One never sees a travelling pony photographer today. Never. (My wife looked at this post and remarked: "Didn't every child once have a photo like that?")

Glow-in-the-dark golf with tigers thrown in

Prior to COVID-19 Fleetway was one of the most popular places in London to take one's family for a fun time. There's both 10 and 5 pin bowling, an arcade games room and a large billiards room. But what brought my three granddaughters to Fleetway Friday was the 18-hole indoor glow-in-the-dark mini golf course. The course, decorated with sculptures and paintings, truly does glow under the illumination of the black lights.

A future heritage home?

It is tough, if not downright impossible, to foretell the future. When the small, simple Ontario cottages were built in the downtown core, no one thought that a century later these homes would be valued as heritage structures worth making sacrifices to keep.

Today there are homes in some of the suburbs that reflect an attitude, an approach, to filling the need for housing that is no longer in vogue. It has only taken three or four decades but the Tudor style houses that dot this southwest London suburb are no longer in style and no longer being built in any number.

Will these examples of life in the 1970s and '80s be desirable in a hundred years? Many today would say no. Many might even argue that Tudor homes are not even all that desirable today and with some of the homes in question they would be right.

But this home has a certain charm, I feel. Will the features that make this home be retained over the passing years? Avoiding being updated will be the first hurdle that must be cleared if this home is to ever gain heritage status.

Heritage home gone

Did a heritage home sit on this property. If so, it was most likely built between 1870 and 1890. It is now gone. Some in London would mourn the loss but other will celebrate the missing home and the lot now available for redevelopment. 

How to redevelop a heritage area while retaining the heritage feeling is tough. Very tough. It demands a lot of imagination and creativity on the part of the developer. From  the look of the few highrises that now dot the area, imagination it seems is in short supply in the Soho neighbourhood. Soho meaning South of Horton with Horton Street being the northern boundary of the heritage neighbourhood.

A young doe among the headstones

This is another shot from the Woodland Cemetery. This photo shows a young doe among the headstones.

Cemetery visitors drawn by the deer

The Woodlawn Cemetery and Crematorium on Springbank Drive east of Wonderland Rd. attracts a lot of visitors with no interest in the graves. What attracts these folk to a cemetery? Deer. Lots and lots of deer. One never fails to see one or more deer during a visit to the cemetery.

Were freeways necessary?

 

It's been said that the German Autobahn system, with its four land divided highway and limited access, was the inspiration for the freeways that today criss-cross farmland around the world. The first Autobahn motorway was, opened in the early 1930's. It was the world's first freeway but it was far from the last.

Canada's busiest freeway is 401 passing over Toronto. Its first section opened in 1947. Since then it has grown in length and width with the passing years. My father had been a farmer. He understood the need

for highways but he had reservations about 401. He saw it as a land hog.

The King's Highways, as the older, two lane roadways were called, seemed adequate to my dad for hauling goods over long distances. He believed a well designed rail network would be more efficient than the growing freeway system.

In some ways my dad's fears have come to pass.

A well visited cemetery

 

Leaving small rocks on the tops of a headstones is apparently a common practice. But, until the other day, I had never noticed the  stones and when I did I was left to wonder about the significance. After asking about I found the most frequent explanation, and there were a number, was that this is based on what was originally a Jewish tradition. The small stone indicated that someone had visited the grave. Someone had shown respect for the deceased.

Look closely at the headstones marking the graves of soldiers who died in the Second World War and you will notice that many of the headstones have a small rock on the top of headstone. Clearly, this is a well visited cemetery.

Turkey vultures common in SW Ontario

 

 

Turkey vultures are common in Ontario and very easy to spot, even in silhouette, thanks to the very distinctive head and beak. These are large birds that are often spotted soaring in large circles high above the ground. Turkey vultures take advantage of warm air rising off dark fields and even dark pavement to soar and move about in the sky.

There were about a half a dozen vultures perched in this bare tree sitting on the edge of the City of London landfill. Vultures are very opportunistic. These migratory birds head south when it gets too cold for comfort in Ontario.

Turkey vultures keep our natural world clean. They eat carrion. Ugh! Thanks to their dietary habits, these birds have developed incredible immune systems; they can eat carrion without getting botulism, anthrax, cholera, salmonella and even rabies. Amazing.

Is this a teen wearing a hair mask?

 

Little known fact: when it's not the Christmas season, Santa keeps himself fit rollerblading in Springbank Park in London, at least that was my take on this photo. My granddaughter, Eloise, thought that this was a teenager wearing a hair mask out rollerblading. I'm sticking with my Santa story.

I posted this yesterday but neglected to click the post button. Oops! 

Some craftsmanship is still to be found

It seems that folk love to complain. All too often I read how this or that is not as good as it was when . . .  And I admit that I am guilty of doing this as well. Oops!

Well, let's score one point for the optimists. Exterior doors used to be solid wood. Nice to look at when new but they aged, often poorly, and the old doors were not always good at keeping the heat in in the winter. 

Today there are dozen of choices when it comes to exterior doors. Fiberglass and metal are very popular and if you insist there are still solid wooden doors to be had. But these wooden doors are actually an improvement over many of the wooden doors from the past.

This home has a new door. Neither the door nor the trim will ever need painting. The glass in the door and the sidelights is a double glazed design with a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired leaded glass look. It wasn't all that expensive and the entire affair was installed in less than a morning. And it was made in Ontario, not all that far from London.

Energy efficient windows and doors are now common. Windows no longer need painting, nor do windows require storms during the winter months as all are either double or triple glazed. Yes, somethings are better today.

Go easy on the air

The mix of intense heat and drought is causing wildfires in Western Canada to generate their own weather systems. The phenomenon, known as a pyrocumulonimbus firestorm, has been noted in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.

But not tonight. At least not in London, Ontario. London got haze, thick haze, as it has for the past few days. The sun does not so much set as fade away into a smokey haze so thick that we no longer even see a glowing orb.

People with breathing difficulties are finding the poor air quality a problem. The health department is recommending that on hazy days, folks with health issues should remain indoors. Adding to the misery, today there was a heat advisory. So, drink lots of liquids but go easy on the air.

Ruby meadowhawk

 

Dragonfly or damselfly? Until I took a picture of this ruby meadowhawk and hit the Web seeking to learn more about my subject, I had thought that dragonflies and damselflies were simply different names for the same flying insect. I was wrong.

Dragonfly adults have robust bodies, and perch with wings held out to the side. The eyes are huge and may meet at the top of the head. The bodies of damselfly adults, on the other hand, are slender, and most damselflies fold the wings together over the abdomen when resting. 

Damselfly eyes are very large and are set to the side of the head rather than dominating the front as with dragonflies. The two even look different when in flight. Dragonflies have a smooth flight path while damselflies flutter.

The meadowhawks are skimmers. Why these dragonflies are called skimmers is a good question. It certainly is not because of how they catch their prey. Meadowhawks perch on twig and rocks, sit quietly and scan the immediate area for flying insects. The ruby meadowhawk in my photo is seeking a meal on the wing.

Efficient helicopter cropdusting

When I first saw the helicopter it was twisting about just a short distance from the highway. I feared I was about to see a crash. But the helicopter completed the twisting manoeuvre, flattened out and disappeared in a white cloud. It was a crop duster.

I've learned that the small fields in the area, filled with obstacles and surrounded by busy highways and suburban home are best served by helicopter crop dusters. For dusting big, open fields, the airplane excels but not here.

Helicopters are more expensive to operate and maintain than airplanes. Helicopters carry smaller payloads and fly at slower airspeeds than the fixed wind competition. But an experienced helicopter pilot can completely dust a small field very efficiently. One of the efficiencies is the the pilot's skill at smartly flipping his aircraft around at the end of field and making the next pass almost immediately.

The pilot I saw seemed to be  very efficient.

Round bales superior to rectangular

 

Hay bales were rectangular and much, much smaller when I was a boy. I've often wondered what the advantages the big, cylindrical bales offer over the older, smaller rectangular bales. It turns out that a lot of city folk ask this question.

• More hay is stored in a cylindrical bale. Cylindrical bales can weigh up to 1500 lbs. The older, smaller, rectangular bales topped out at about fifty or sixty lbs.
• Because of the great difference in weight, it can much longer to transport, stack and store the smaller rectangular bales.
• Large bales are not as prone to mold and rot. This makes them a healthier food choice for a farmer's animals.
• Hay is dried alfalfa and assorted grasses that is fed to cattle and horse during the winter. A big operation, with a large herd of cattle, can feed far more animals with one bale when it is a large, cylindrical one and not one of the older rectangular bales.

And there you have it. The technology making the large, cylindrical bales possible is a big improvement over the older system. Storing bales used to be a job for three or four people. Today, it is a one-person job.

Wild turkeys moving into town

 

Decades ago over-hunting eliminated (extirpated - made locally extinct) the wild turkey in Ontario. Reintroduced to southern Ontario in 1984, wild turkeys are now found everywhere, even in the city. This one was sighted strolling about the court on which I live in London, Ontario.

Coneflowers are native to North America

 

 

Coneflowers originated in North America. Then the English discovered these wild-growing New World flowers and took them back to England where the coneflower fared very nicely in English gardens. After a little over a century on the island, Lewis and Clark sent specimens back to the United States to the attention of President Jefferson.

But it was the Germans during the flower power era of the 1960s who finally gave the coneflower the attention it deserves. The German plant breeders cross bred various coneflower species to create an improved range of colours, forms and growing habits. By the 1980s American plant breeders had picked up the work. Today there are possibly 100 hybrids and cultivated varieties of coneflower available.

Bootleg fire in Oregon cause of red sun in London

 

The Bootleg fire in Oregon in the American northwest is the largest fire burning in the U.S. at present and it is immense. It has burned nearly 400,000 acres. The smoke from the Oregon fire is drifting right across the continent resulting in hazy red sunsets in London, Ontario, Canada, 2500 miles away.

The New York Times reported that New York City residents are now awakening to a hazy red sun thanks to the smoke from the west coast forest fire. Some experts estimate that the Bootleg fire, which at this point is still growing, may not be under control until sometime in November!

Yard Sail: not my spelling

Is this homemade poster advertising a yard sale really a child's work? Why do I wonder? The spelling of yard sale as "yard sail". It seems a little too cute. It is posted in a good location. A location where it should get lots of attention. It is stuck to the children's playground monkey bars installation.