Wortley Village Crocuses

Just 24 hours after yesterday's picture was taken, these crocuses were sighted blooming in a Wortley Village lawn in London. Tomorrow, Good Friday, is forecast to be another warm, sunny spring day. Yes!

Iris Shoots for Spring

An early April London snowfall cools young Iris shoots days after they burst from the ground.

The Groundhog was Right!

Winter is revisiting southwestern Ontario. Believers in Wiarton Willy, our springtime seer, are rejoicing but those forced to suffer the cold, strong winds and icy sidewalks are not as happy. Sunshine returns Wednesay with an expected high or 4 degrees.

Memories – London Furniture Co.

For decades it was the Duthler Textiles store on Dundas Street in downtown London. Then the small Duthler chain closed and the store was reborn as the Honest Lawyer restaurant with Downtown Kathy Brown's immediately above.

The metal cladding that had hidden the original facade for decades was stripped away during the renovations. This unveiled the words London Furniture Co. and restored the building's strong link to London's past.

Ghost Ships and Sea Monsters

National Geographic photographer Emory Kristof has photographed the Titanic, led an expedition to recover the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald, documented the diverse sea life thriving around hot deep-sea vents in the Mid-Atlantic . . .

Starting as an intern with the prestigious magazine back in 1963, he is still planning new adventures 46 years later. Sunday afternoon the world renowned deep sea photographer/videographer gave a lecture on his career at the Wolf Performance Hall in the London Central Library. The lecture was sponsored by the Optimist Clubs of London, Ontario.

Event photo by: Archie Korbiel

Kristof spent so much time taking pictures of this Halibut and a starfish that he named the fish Herbie. Having grown attached to the large fish, Kristof happily watched as Herbie avoided capture swimming off into the ocean.

A Water Colour Day

The end of the work week and it rained all day. Saturday promises more of the same with a dash of snow thrown into the mix. Oh well . . .
Cheers!

Forks of the Thames

The historic Forks of the Thames viewed from Museum London. Lieutenant-governor John Graves Simcoe ordered the construction of a road from Burlington Bay to the forks in 1792. The road, Dundas, is still in use today and still carries the name Dundas. It can be seen on the left.

Months later Simcoe visited the forks in his search for the perfect spot to build the capital of Upper Canada. In a journal from that day, this is written: "We struck the Thames at one end of a low flat island enveloped with shrubs and trees; the rapidity and strength of the current were such as to have forced a channel through the mainland, being a peninsula, and to have formed the island. We walked over to a rich meadow, and at its extremity came to the forks of the river".

I owned a home at the forks and I can tell you that some of that rich land remains. The topsoil in my backyard was three-feet deep and you would not believe the corn I grew. It was amazing - large, sweet, beautiful. If raccoons could speak, they'd back me up. They loved that corn.