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By Ms. G, April 8, 2024 6:59 pm

Well, it was cloudy, but we did see some cool stuff! When it went dark, the horizon out on Lake Ontario was glowing a beautiful pink. After, we stayed around and waited to see the chunks of the sun returning. Unfortunately, Val didn’t get to use his fancy filters, but he got some great shots of the pac man sun.

See video below.

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By Ms. G, March 26, 2024 4:43 pm

Pairs were first up! All the pressure was on Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek (age 40, yes, you read that correctly!) and Maxime Deschamps, who live and train in Montreal. They had two great skates. Their fellow Canadians Lea Pereira and Trennt Michaud and Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier also had great short programs! The crowd went crazy. I had my “Go Canada” sign at the ready. The other two Canadian pairs didn’t have the greatest free programs but still did well. I didn’t take any pictures of Deanna and Max’s free program because it was just too tense and exciting an atmosphere. The Japanese pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (who train in Oakville) put up a great defense of their gold medal from last year despite not skating most of this season. Unbelievable excitement in the final flight. Go Canada!!!

I was really there for the ice dance!!! The rhythm dance with its 80s theme was very exciting and loud. Since it was almost a home competition for so many (the Canadians plus the 13 teams that train in Montreal) the crowd was immense and intense! I didn’t take pictures of everything – just too much excitement – but here are some highlights. I have so many teams I love, but Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier are of course my MOST favourite. I had my “Piper and Paul Gold” sign ready to go! They finished in third place after the rhythm dance – not a surprise. Their program to “No More I Love Yous” and “Addicted to Love” is still the best, in my opinion, at catching the 80s ethos. There was WAY too much Bonnie Tyler for my liking.

For the Ice Dance free dance, the competition was incredible. The crowd was crazy loud! Again, I have so many teams that I love. Piper and Paul came out and skated so well under such intense pressure. They won the free dance and finished second overall. That’s one place higher than the last two years. And that is huge in ice dance. Their Wuthering Heights program is a masterpiece. I was far too nervous to take photos. Thanks Val for subbing in!

I didn’t take many photos from the men or women but they were both fantastic. I love Kaori Sakamoto!! Ilia Malinin is not my favourite skater but his technical prowess is unmatched. Seeing Yuma Kagiyama skate in person was sensational!

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By Ms. G, September 4, 2023 8:25 pm

First day of school – it will be great (if overly hot)!

Have a wonderful year.

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By Ms. G, September 1, 2023 8:55 pm

Our flowers would agree.

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By Ms. G, May 27, 2023 8:52 pm

A train weekend: we went to Doors Open Toronto at TTC McCowan Yard. We took the Scarborough RT. It was kind of sad since it’s slated to cease operations in November.

We also finished watching Tripping: Train 185 on TVO. It’s the 480-km journey of the flag stop VIA train from Sudbury to White River, Ontario. It is a beautiful trip through the boreal forest. I don’t want to take it though: I’m not into fishing camps.

https://www.tvo.org/tripping-train-185

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By Ms. G, August 5, 2022 8:03 pm

Mark S. Burnham in Douro, just outside Peterborough, is the smallest provincial park I’ve ever seen (not that I’ve seen that many). It has no staff, just paid parking.

We went on a very hot day and were met with a very cool forest. Unfortunately, the trail was blocked off at a certain point as they are still cleaning up from the wind storm in May. It feels pretentious to call it ‘derecho’ but I will.

At the entrance it says that the land was owned by the Burnham family who never cleared their land. Therefore, what you see is what the land might have looked like over a hundred years ago, probably more. The sign also says to look up as some trees have their ages on them from sometime before 1975. I’m guessing that’s when the land passed to the province? We only saw one such sign near the entrance to the trail. When I started taking pictures I didn’t notice that I had the camera set to “illustrated” mode. So here’s a kind of funny take on that tree. And then the actual sign.

Actually, the land came to be a provincial park in the 1950s. Here’s what its management plan says about its history: “This land was donated to the Province of Ontario in the1950’s, by the descendants of the Honourable Zaccheus Burnham, a judge from the Town of Cobourg, who originally acquired the land in the 1830’s. From the 1830’s to present day, the woodlot has not been substantially disturbed, except for the removal of fuelwood for the needs of the Burnham family.” (Source)

Even though the park is just off Highway 7 with quite a lot of passing traffic, including lots of trucks, I didn’t mind the sound: reminds me of walking in the Don Valley where you are usually not far from the DVP. It does not take away from the experience of nature, in my opinion.

There are a lot of trees down in this park, and a lot of signs down, too. So I don’t know what the signs said. The one sign still readable was at the start and it said to watch for woodpeckers. I didn’t see any but here’s some evidence that they’re present!

It’s a lovely small park, very accessible. I look forward to going back when the trails are cleared.

After visiting Mark S. Burnham we drove around in Peterborough, including on Ashburnham and Burnham. I must look into these Burnhams more. One funny thing: the locals apparently call the park Burnham Woods. That’s a nice little play on Birnam Wood in Macbeth. I don’t know if that’s intentional, or not.

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By Ms. G, August 31, 2021 7:05 am

My aunt and uncle brought us beautiful sunflowers. Here’s the photo op:

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By Ms. G, August 24, 2021 4:13 am

I don’t have a dog, so it can’t be the dog days of summer for me. But I have tomatoes aplenty thanks to Val’s planters. And despite the squirrels’ efforts to steal them.

Also, these oyster and shiitake mushrooms from Waymac Farms (via Peterborough Farmers’ Market) need to get an agent! They are so beautiful and delicious. And obviously fun to photograph!