The theme yesterday was solitude. In looking through my files, I was surprised at how many images could be interpreted as illustrating solitude. This lady sitting on the park bench seems to be enjoying being alone--at least as far as being with other people is concerned.
Maybe she is not interacting with other people but she is interacting with a flock of geese. And the birds she is feeding are not the more common Canada geese. This hungry pair resemble a Eurasian species.
But London, Ontario, may have potentially the second best place to take a family skating. The city constructed a 250-metre, 10,000 sq. ft. skating trail loop in Storybook Gardens inside Springbank Park.
It may be big but it is no Rideau Canal. It's small size and COVID-19 restrictions have made reservations necessary. Cost is another downside to the London trail. While the canal is free, it can cost a small family $20 or more to skate on the London trail. (File images)
To successfully beat the COVID-19 pandemic it is being fought on many fronts. One front, and an unlikely one, is the boot rental area at the local ski hill. Only a few skiers at a time are allowed entry, they are given a pair of boots and then their regular footwear is taken and stored in the numbered compartment which had held the ski boots they are now wearing.
The storage area for all the footwear left by the renters is now closed. Signs saying "Please do not use!!!", block the footwear storage compartments.
To return the boots, the skier goes to a table outside the rental building, the number on their rental boots is noted and their regular footwear is brought to them. The skiers change into their street wear outside in a sheltered area and then leave the rental boots for the staff.
This COVID-19 fighting method encourages social distancing, minimizes indoor contact between skiers and staff, and is actually more efficient than the method used in the past.
Now and then over the past few months, I've toured Ukraine using Google Street Views. My memories of what I found haunt me as the Russians mount an offensive with the apparent aim of taking over the whole country and leaving untold destruction in their wake.
Needing to turn from the televised images of needless, uncalled for destruction, I went in search of my youngest granddaughter. She was busy making an elephant, a frog, a gramophone and more using the Lego brought by Santa.
It was a beautiful sight.
One would think ice-coated overhead wires gleaming brightly in the sunshine would make an easy picture. Althought it looked spectacular viewed from a passing car, it lost its dramatic visual punch when viewed safely from the sidewalk. Shooting from the middle of the road was the best vantage point but the passing drivers clearly disagreed. Damn, those horns were loud. Oh well, what did they know.
Winters in southwestern Ontario are cold but interspersed with the freezing cold days are the occasional thaws when it climbs above freezing. It may even rain. The other day it did both. The result? The pavement in London began breaking apart and deep holes appeared, pitting the roadways.
Today city crews were out spreading asphalt cold patch. This is a mixture of aggregate and bitumen which is more durable than one might think. The repairs last indefinitely.
