Sumac spectacular in fall

 

Many species of sumac boast striking red-leaf displays in the fall but some sumac turn bright yellow and others a deep but rich orange. Every fall, I watch for the moment the sumac changes. I find the brilliantly coloured stands breath taking.

The Forest City

There are those who argue that London is no longer the Forest City. From where I sit on Lookout  Court in southwest London, in the former Byron community, The Forest City seems a perfect moniker for our town.

According to the London St. Thomas Association of Realtors, 

London received its nickname of The Forest City from the British Government to poke fun at Governor Simcoe, as he envisioned a prominent, prosperous city at The Forks of the Thames, when it was only a time village carved out of the centre of a forest. Since then, London has prospered and continues to live up to the name "The Forest City" by caring for, continually planting and respecting the history of its trees.

Vine covered barrier lush and colourful

 

The new cars sit in the corner of the new car lot in front of a high wall of lush, colourful foliage. The red leaves are sumac and the nearby green and yellow leaves tumbling downward waterfall-like are a vine the I don't recognize. The thick foliage not only looks beautiful but it also muffles the loud rumble of the Canadian National Railway freight trains that pass regularly through the city.

Is this native or invasive?

 

I thought the tall grass was an invasive grass that has been spotted flourishing not only across the province but throughout North America. I may be wrong. This may actually be a stand of native phragmites. Both plants grow in the wet soil at the bottom of the ditches found beside provincial roadways.

The best ending to a day at school

 

An amazing number of children take a bright yellow bus to school in the morning and to return home in the afternoon. When I was a boy, I never saw a school bus in the city. Still, there are children who are walked to and from school each day. Maybe mom doesn't work. Maybe with COVID-19 mom is working from home and can take a break to walk over to the neighbourhood school. Whatever the reason, I'm sure the best ending to a school day is walking hand-in-hand home from school with mom.

Cooper's Hawk visits backyard

My youngest granddaughter was excited. Gug, get a camera! There's a big bird on the  fence in the backyard. Come quick, Gug!

It was a Cooper's Hawk also known as the chicken hawk of Colonial America. Small birds and little mammals are often on the menu. The large fields growing wild in today's environmentally conscious cities provide a chicken hawk with lots of opportunity to snag a meal.

This is the first chicken hawk that Isla has seen in our backyard but it won't be the last. This worried my wife but Isla set her mind at ease. I know what is worrying you, grandma, but relax. It is all part of the food chain.

Eat carefully, take your meds and keep your fingers crossed

 

My nephew is not fifty-years-old. But the other day he had a heart attack. Is he overweight? No. Does he not get enough exercise. Hell no! Then why? Genes. He has bad genes. His grandfather died from a heart attack and two of his grandfather's brothers died from heart as well: one at only 39 and the other in his early 40s.

Canadians are lucky. We have good health care with which to deal with medical emergencies. As soon as the doctors had his heart stabilized, my nephew had two stents inserted into his plugged arteries. He was then put on some drugs to fight the future build-up of plaque. 

As his uncle with the same family history, I have a good idea what his doctors are going to ask him to do. Watch the diet. Slash the amount of cholesterol consumed.

Our bodies make most of the cholesterol found in our blood. Only about 20% comes from the food we eat. For that reason statins are often prescribed to those who arteries are plugging. Statins help to block the body's production of cholesterol. 

So, why watch one's diet? Why cutback on the cholesterol we consume? Simple: with healthy folk, the 20% does not cause problems. With those with heart disease, cutting the amount of cholesterol found in the blood, even cutting this by a small amount, is important. There is even a class of drugs to help prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol from food. Ezetimibe 10mg is the cholesterol absorption inhibitor that I take. I believe there are number of choices here as well as different statins from which  to choose. 

But that does not mean I don't watch my diet. I do. 

• First rule: only eat red meat, if at all, once a month. Go for fish first, then chicken or turkey and only have these every other day. One become an every-second-day vegetarian.
• Second: eat lots of veggies every day. 
• Third: give fried foods a wide berth and when using an oil for cooking, lean towards olive oil. 
• Fourth: no eggs. Period. I aim to consume no more than 100gm of dietary cholesterol a day. Two large eggs can have five to six times my daily limit. Replace eggs in recipes with something like Egg Creations.
• Last rule: enjoy your food. If you like nuts, have some. Don't overdo but nuts can be part of a balanced, healthy diet. Be creative in the kitchen and you will enjoy dining. In fact, one's heart-healthy diet may turnout to be more delicious than your old plug-your-arteries diet.