summerCategory Archives

Still Retired…What’s Next?

Sometimes I lament about leaving my career behind; this seems to worry my husband who will then ask if I’m going back. My answer is solid: no, I’m not going back to teaching!

However, I have to figure out how to maintain my skills. That’s a tough one.

Since I was in the Student Success world for almost 15 years, I really became a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, especially through credit recovery: English (9 and 10, especially), ESL (almost all levels), Civics, Careers, Food and Nutrition, grade 9 Math (if you can believe that), French (not good enough to do anything with it). I even taught a new course in my last year (English Literacy Skills). I became very fascinated with reading skills.

Despite all those subjects, it’s really my history connections I want to maintain the most as that’s truly where my heart is! I have to say that my fantastic grade 11 and 12 world history classes this year brought that point home to me very strongly.

I will do some more work for the Champlain Society Education Committee for sure. I may reach out to OHASSTA again. Technically, I am still in the process of closing down THHSSSC (the old Toronto History, Humanities, and Social Science Subject Council) by distributing our funds. That will run into the fall, for sure, since some schools never even replied when I reached out to them. I’d like to make new connections at OISE to see if I can get some face time with teacher candidates through the history profs there (given that I had a lot of student teachers and did a really thorough job with them, if I may say so).

Lots of possibilities, aside from potential Student Success work through the OT list at TDSB. NO regular classroom supply work though. That is for sure!!!

I’m still not ready to process my career, at least publicly. In private, I had many hours to ponder the decades behind me as I sat beside my old file cabinets and kept or tossed piles and piles of student essays and projects. I couldn’t bring them all home, so I kept the ones that were near and dear to my heart!

For now, there’s gardening to be done, Blueberry to ride, Val to spend time with, pilates to do and painting to re-start!

And the cats, of course.

I don’t know how such a non-flexible cat contorts herself around this planter to get a good spot in the sun!

Ms. G

July 20, 2026

Cats, Retirement, summer

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Summer Things

Ms. G

July 27, 2025

summer

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A Tiny Provincial Park

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.

Van Gogh “Experience”

My sister-in-law Felicity and I went to the Van Gogh immersive at the Toronto Star printer building. Fantastic!

I absolutely love Van Gogh’s paintings. Seeing them deconstructed and highlighted at the same time using modern technology was fascinating and wonderful. We thought it was going to be a walk-through; instead, the audience stays still and the images project on the walls, moving and dancing to music almost.

While I thought the music was a bit overwrought, it was appropriate, generally following the flow of Van Gogh’s short life from Holland to France.

There are cafe scenes…

***Agostina Segatori Sitting in the Café du Tambourin***

And agrarian scenes… with hillsides winding while cypress trees climb up the screen and clouds wander by..

And images from his famous paintings of irises and “Starry Night…”

We stayed for two loops of the show and were quite mesmerized by its animation of something old in a thoroughly modern way. To truly bring it to life.

The only bad thing was the usual exit from spectacular art to pedestrian commercialism as you move straight into the gift shop. That’s the same thing at museums these days too, sadly.

Sunflower Photo Shoot

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

Summer Colours (and a Suggestion)

Summer 2021 Wishes

Hopefully Ontario won’t screw things up and move too fast on re-opening. While I enjoy going out and into a few stores (as long as they are not crowded), I don’t want to take it for granted that Delta variant is out there and we are all still held hostage to it in a way.

So, my wishes are:

vaccination rates increase EVEN more

people get to see their family and friends (safely)

students read something NOT on a screen

the weather permits lots of outdoor gathering

everyone stays healthy and safe!!

Bike Trip – Last Stop – Welland Canal

Val arranged an amazing bike trip for us again this summer. We just got back after six days of riding, starting in Cambridge and ending in St. Catharines.

Since the last day is freshest in my mind, I’ll start with it: the Welland Canal. Both Val and I (but more Val) love large industrial things. For instance, we enjoy going to the lift lock in Peterborough. Well, it’s mini compared to the gigantic locks in the Welland Canal which I have never seen. Val, he’s an old hat at it. We spent at least an hour, maybe more, watching a ship – the Algoma Equinox – enter into Lock 7 at Thorold, rise as the lock filled, and exit on its way to Thunder Bay to pick up grain. It was awesome to see.

All photos by Val Dodge, with permission.

Zim Sculpt

Truly beautiful works of art, sculptures by Zimbabwean artists at Edwards Gardens. Each one is perfectly placed in just the right location in the extensive gardens. There are a few other photos in my July post. I’ve been twice now and would love to go back at dusk.

https://torontobotanicalgarden.ca/enjoy/special-events/zimsculpt/