Fries 'R' Us, St. Thomas

[Since writing this I have been told I was right and I was very, very wrong. The picture shows the actual fries I was given and on which I based my post. Please read the comments for updates. Also, this chip wagon may have moved.]

The London Free Press has a history of running excellent, quirky little pieces, like Staycations or Our Five Your Five. I took careful note of the the OFYF article Five Great Places to Get a Bite on the Run. I learned about Fries 'R' Us in St. Thomas from that piece. Driving from London, the red wagon is on the left, at the top of the Talbot Street rise leading into the city. [ . . . or at least, was.]

I thought the fries were good last year but they were even better today. Freshly cut potatoes fried to a crisp golden glow, crunchy on the outside, white and almost creamy on the inside. Was I just lucky? I don't know, but I do know that the business was recently sold and the new owner was in the kitchen.

I just must go back and research this topic some more.

Cheers,
Rockinon.

Northern Walking Stick in London

Addendum: This is the back! What do I know of Walking Sticks? Not much, obviously. Go to my newest picture of a Northern Walking Stick and meet one face to face. Cheers, Rockinon
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I think these are among the neatest insects in southwestern Ontario. Walking sticks are found around the world but mostly in tropical regions. Only one is native to Canada, the northern walking stick, and it occurs only in southern Ontario and Quebec.

Saturday my wife spotted one on the side of our car. Very agile, with both claws and sucker pads on their feet, it had no problem walking about on our car's front door panel.

These insects are so well camouflaged, they look just like a short, thin twig, that kids capture them, put them in an aquarium filled with small branches and leaves, and then they promptly lose sight of their skinny pet.

It's best just to take the little insect's picture and leave them running free. Quite delicate, one can unintentionally injure a walking stick by handling them. Look but don't touch.

Later, I'm going to write a little on Rockin' On: Photography about how this shot was done. It will be a little photography lesson.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

If memory serves me correctly, this was a Toronto Dominion Bank when I first moved to London some decades ago. Slowly many of the core bank branches, housed in glorious older buildings, have been closed. If these buildings were to be saved, new uses for them had to be found. This one at the Dundas and Wellington Streets intersection was a tough sell.

Again, if my memory is correct, this building, which now houses the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, was originally facing demolition. It was city owned and thought to be a bit of a classic white elephant. But it was saved, beautifully restored, and renamed the J. Allyn Taylor Building after the very interesting, very warm, very civic minded gentleman, and he was a gentleman, who headed London-based Canada Trust, retiring as president in 1979.

Orange Pekoe

It has been a bit of stretch this week but the fact is that London is close to a great many interesting places both in Ontario and in the United States. London's location is one of the things that makes the city so appealing. A five minute drive down Colonel Talbot gets me onto the 402 and soon I'm booting east on 401. Less than four hours later I am on Lake Ontario at Presqu'ile Provincial Park. When I was young and loved driving, I would have considered Presqu'ile a destination worthy of a fast day trip. I'm older now and I think of this as a weekend trip. Tomorrow I'll be back posting pictures from London, Ontario, but for today just enjoy Pekoe.

Note: the angle used in shooting Pekoe. The rule: when shooting kids and animals try to get down to their eye level. Generally, it is not a good idea to stand tall and shoot down.

Presqu'ile pine grove

The largest known example of striped maple in Canada is found in Jobe's Woods in Presqu'ile Provincial Park in Ontario. I guess I'll have to go back to the park because I missed them. What I didn't miss was this stand of pines. Planted in a neat rows, these neatly spaced and incredibly straight trees made a picture. Maybe if I go back, the striped maples will make a picture, too. After all, it is only a few hours from London.

4 hours from London

A quick four hour drive east from London takes you to Presqu'ile Bay, beside the provincial park of the same name. My wife and I have friends with a compact but room-rich cottage on the edge of the bay just outside the park. A few years back they bought the cottage, repaired it, remodelled it, and now they enjoy it.

My test of a country home: "Can I buy my milk within a five minute drive?" The town of Brighton is nearby. Their little bit of heaven passes my test.

Late summer blooms

One of the best things about London, Ontario, is its location in the middle of southwestern Ontario. It is an hour or less to get to either Lake Erie or Lake Huron and Lake Ontario is only a couple of hours distant. In the coming days we will post pictures from a destination on Lake Ontario which, thanks to Highway 401, is less than four hours from London.

In the United States, bumblebees pollinate an estimated 15 percent of all crops, crops worth an estimated $3 billion. The American bumblebees are particularly valuable for pollinating greenhouse plants in the U.S. such as tomatoes, peppers and strawberries.

Seeing the bright yellow, orange, violet and foliage green I could not resist posting this image taken while walking near Lake Ontario south of Brighton, Ontario. I was on weekend get away just hours from home.