I have read some of these trails are said to be over a thousand years old. When John Graves Simcoe first came to this fork in the Thames, this area is where they camped. Once an apple orchard, now left to go wild, it is easy to forget all ones cares and roam amongst the Staghorn Sumac and Asters, the grasses rustling in the autumn … Continue reading An Orchard Becoming A Forest
After spending some quality time with a broom and mop, we ventured out. Her on the pink cotton leash, me in my ugly hiking sandals. With no particular direction in mind, I turned left, or right, purely by accident, or design. Left, right, left, right we wandered the city streets and pathways of Downtown London. We found little neighbourhoods tucked away in secret places, and … Continue reading Wandering the Wilds of London
As the bile that rose in my throat brought forth a rage that I could not ignore, I found myself verbally attacking this racist, Nazi sympathizer. Young though he may have been (21 perhaps), the garbage he believed was quite unbelievable. I don’t know what crap he’d been reading, or what he was involved with, but at some point he’d been made to believe that the Holocaust was no big deal, and that there really were not that many Jews who died…that it was all this North American propaganda or some such. Continue reading The Neo-Nazi and the Dutch Guy
In 1909, three brothers got together (one of them my 4th or something Great Grandfather), and decided to have a picnic. The next year, 1910, there is a photograph of the Clan all gathered. In that year it went from a simple picnic, to a Reunion. I guess they had so much fun at the first, they decided to make it an annual event. And … Continue reading The 104th Clan Picnic
Stompin’ Tom Connors dies at 77 Stompin’ Tom Connors, the lanky, cranky country music legend who extolled Canada’s pastoral and working-class virtues in song has died. He was 77.[the Toronto Star] I gave a tear for this legend of Canadian Music when I read those words this morning in the Toronto Star online. Many outside of Canada probably have no idea who he was, and … Continue reading Death of a Canadian Icon – Stompin Tom
Fresh snow covers the land like a pure white duvet. The spruce and cedars are laden with their heavy globs of snow. It’s Family Day tomorrow, so it’s a long weekend and those with cottages have made the trip up to enjoy the fresh air and beautiful scenery. Across the road I can smell a campfire, as I stand at the window with my cylinder … Continue reading Hungarians & Irish Hugs
I had to, I couldn’t resist it any longer. This writing challenge finally gives me the excuse I’ve needed to use my photos from my trip to Montreal in 2005. I LOVE MONTREAL. Montreal, in three paragraphs? Only? Lets see. Located in Canada, in the province of Quebec, a visit to Montreal is like being transported to some exotic European city. It is vibrant, historic, … Continue reading Montreal Is…
Writing about Thomson in 1914, the younger artist David Milne observed: “Varley and Lismer pines are pretty conventional pines, well done but quite familiar … you admire their proficiency, that’s all. But with Thomson’s trees, it’s different. You can’t be indifferent. These few patches with knotted strings are powerful; there was strong emotion behind their making and they stir the same now.” Milne notes, too, … Continue reading My Favourite Canadians: Tom Thomson
by PaulaB 