Monster Homes Once Called Mansions

As our daughter waited patiently to give birth, I went for a walk. The hospital, as old as it is, has some features worth photographing. But, I didn't. Instead, I walked over to Wellington Street and down Wellington to Oxford Street. This is a gorgeous street. It is one of the nicest in London. The sizes and the architecture of the homes say "story." When I read about monster homes as if big houses are something totally new, I thought of neighbourhoods like this and thought "no." The difference, and my wife agrees with me on this, when we were young we called these homes mansions. I know that my friends and I thought these big homes were cool and we wanted one. So why is it a surprise when many of those kids, and many of my childhood friends have accomplished it, grew up to own their own McMansions?

She here and she's perfect.

Not much is perfect in life. In fact, I am not sure that anything has ever seemed perfect before. But Fiona is perfect. She is just such a beautiful sight. I'm too tired to write much and will fill this out tomorrow. Tonight, I am going to be content to share with you this picture of my granddaughter taken just minutes after her birth.

Cheers,
Rockinon

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.