Convoy of truckers made headlines across Canada

 

A convoy of truckers opposed to the cross-border, truck driver vaccine mandate made newspaper headlines right across Canada. First Canada barred unvaccinated American drivers from entering Canada, then the U.S. moved to mirror Canada's border restrictions by banning unvaccinated Canadian truck drivers from crossing into the States.

It is believed that a vast majority of the drivers affected by the mandate are vaccinated. Yet, the small percentage of unvaccinated drivers are attracting attention out of proportion to their numbers. As the day wore on, the convoy protest seemed to morph into a protest against all COVID vaccines and COVID-related shutdowns.

Many participating in the convoy and many of their supporters lining the route said they were not convinced of the need even to vaccinate against COVID-19. 

How does the Canadian Trucking Alliance feel about the convoy? It strongly disapproves.

The Heron Says, This is Our Home

Condo developments more often than not are composed of row upon row of identical housing units on nondescript private streets. Move in and until one has lived there for awhile, it can be tough telling your unit from all the others. 

One solution: a metal heron. Only one home has a metal heron standing guard at the front. The heron says to the owners, this is our home.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Days like this make me recall Canadian singer Michael Bublé singing a duet of "Baby It's Cold Outside" with Idina Menzel.

Once there were seals

At one time London's Springbank Park had a small zoo with a number of exotic animals. The most popular exhibit was the seal pool. At one point a seal named Slippery escaped from the enclosure, made it to the nearby Thames River and travelled down the river to the Great Lakes. It was captured near Cleveland and returned to its London home. The now famous seal attracted thousands of folk to the small zoo over the following years.

But zoos are no longer the attraction they once were. In fact, today many people take offence at seeing wild animals held in small enclosure and locked in cages. The London zoo was shutdown and the animals sent to other facilities to live out the remainder of their days. 

Unfortunately for the seals, most died in transit. The London seals were true zoo animals, born and raised in captivity. They did not handle being forcibly removed from their London home and placed in small tanks in the backs of large trucks. 

Possibly the trucks were too hot, or the the tanks too small, but whatever the cause, most of the seals died in the backs of those trucks. Very sad. The seals are still missed today.

London photographer shoots "Liquid Mountains"

A London photographer specializes in capturing the wild fury of the Great Lakes. An Australian friend, on seeing some of his images, told Dave Sandford that Sandford was shooting images of "liquid mountains."

The local paper, The London Free Press, did a story on Sandford and his passion. The reporter was impressed by both Sandford and his photos. Check out Sandford's photos for yourself. I'm sure you will be, forgive me, blown away: see The Great Lakes collection.

The world is not all the same

 I have, at times, heard people say that the world is all the same today. A city in Canada is in many ways the same as a city elsewhere in the world. I have to concede that in some cases, they are right. Modern glass buildings, whether apartment blocks or commercial districts, can often look very similar no matter where these structures have been built.

But then there are things like fences. These two fences, which I found in the eastern Ukraine using Google Street Views, are unlike anything I have ever encountered anywhere in North America. I wonder how old these fences are and whether or not this style of fencing is still be installed in the East European country. And is it common elsewhere in Europe?

Racing at Boler

 

Watching this racer Saturday at Boler Mountain made me think of two of my granddaughters. They have both been taking skiing lessons at Boler Mountain in London for a few years. The oldest is outgrowing the classes and looking for someway to extend herself. The eight week junior ski program at the local ski hill is looking more and more attractive.