Home County Folk Festival...Unstoppable

A tradition for the past 35 years, nothing stops The Home County Folk Festival held annually in Victoria Park in downtown London, Ontario. Billed as an event for the whole family, bringing together generations with music, dance, arts, crafts, and food, it is clear one kid hasn't got the word. Prepared for the rain, he brought a large umbrella; he was also prepared for the folk music as he was hunkered down under the umbrella with a notebook computer running computer games.

This year the festival presented an energizing mix from folk/rock to blues, bluegrass, Celtic and Acadian delivered by a rich brew of regional, national and international artists. It took five stages to handle the more than 132 performances presented over the three day event. If you missed this year's festival, watch the Web and mark your calendar for next year. With luck, it won't even rain.

Cadillac Was King

This is another in my posts celebrating the Thursday evening Hyde Park Lions Club Country Cruizin' nights held at Steve Plunkett's Fleetwood Farms. The events are free but those attending or showing cars are encouraged to give a donation to the Special Abilities Riding Institute in Arva. The institute offers horseback riding for children with disabilities. 

Expect to see several hundred cars at each event, mostly beautiful Detroit iron, but there are always a few vintage English sports cars and other memorable vehicles to be seen. The historic Cadillac, above, is part of Steve Plunkett's private collection. Leaving the grounds Thursday night, I noticed this classic beauty sitting in front of Plunkett's newest building, which was constructed to house Plunkett's most interesting cars. 

How Plunkett chooses which dozen or so cars to include in his top tier of classic Cadillacs is a question. If all this sounds interesting, for directions and more details, visit: http://www.countrycruizin.com.

Misty River Morning

I had some stuff that I was going to post, but it was all thought provoking and maybe a bit on the downer side of life. I just don't feel like posting those images or those thoughts today. Maybe tomorrow.

Today I will share with you a picture of the Thames River taken a little after sunrise. Walking to the kitchen for my morning coffee, I looked out my front door and could see a solid line of mist delineating the route of the Thames through the west end of the city of London, Ontario. I grabbed my camera and bolted for the door. In just minutes I was viewing the river from the Sanatorium Road bridge, but no mist. By the time I found this spot, still with some lingering mist, the sun was too high in the sky, the mist was quickly being burned off and I had a so so picture. Oh well, another day and another attempt. Someday I will be successful.

Hens, Chicks and Weird Flowers

Until I started this post, I had no idea that Hens and Chicks are native to southern Europe. That still doesn't explain their hardiness. Neither the ferocity of a Canadian winter nor the hot, often dry, southwestern Ontario summers seems to bother these weird plants.

Succulents providing a ground cover of clusters of rosettes, I grow these plants mainly for their foliage. The largest rosettes are the 'hens', and the smaller ones springing from them are the 'chicks.' But these birds do produce flowers which sit on the top of tall, erect stalks that tower up to a foot over the foliage.

Each time our hens and chicks flower I think, "Weird."

EOA Ontario Cottage

EOA is short for East Of Adelaide. There is a rich, complex urban story contained within those three letters. It's a story that I cannot deal with adequately in a simple cutline. Possibly, I will blog about this later on Rockin 'On, my other blog. This Ontario cottage captures the best of the EOA neighbourhood immediately east of Adelaide Street. It is a classic, Ontario cottage with a gable over a small, round-arched dormer window. The home has the typical central door entry. Often built for working class folk, these homes were simple, efficient, economical and yet quite beautiful.

For a glimpse into the philosophy that inspired these designs, see The Architecture of Country Homes by A.J. Downing, an early 19th century American architect.

Cheers, Rockinon.

I'm here to see Dr. R2D2.

A painter brightens the University Hospital sign at the large teaching hospital north of the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. There is a fond place in my heart for this facility as it was here that I went to have my heart robotically repaired. Dr. Alan Menkis, now the medical director of the Cardiac Sciences Program at St.Boniface Hospital in Manitoba, was the skillful surgeon controlling da Vinci, a surgical robot, during my delicate heart operation to repair my failed mitral valve. The minimally invasive surgery used very small incisions, so there was no need to open my breast bone to reach my heart. Impressive!

City Centre Cottage Country

This small pool, stocked with gold fish, is in the side yard of a London, Ontario, home located right on the edge of downtown. A rambling bungalow, steeped in cottage country atmosphere, the owner agreed that the look is no accident. If I am ever offered the opportunity, I will document the place and post the pictures.