Birds and Trees

 I didn't post yesterday, so I missed wishing Jacquie Court a happy birthday.  Besides our best wishes, Jacquie needs our sympathy - she has to cope with her dad Sven a lot, a very difficult job!

And today is my Fishguts friend Barry's birthday.  All the best Gill!

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Got a green light from my family doctor this morning.  Everything looks OK.  While the collateral artery that my body created doesn't have great capacity, it's as good as a bypass according to the doc.  Circulation is good.  Back to work!

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As we were leaving the condo this morning we came across a Kingfisher that had probably broken its neck hitting a balcony glass window.

A beautiful bird.  We dropped it off at A.J.'s so he can have it stuffed and mounted for the cottage.  But Michelle is apparently not excited about having dead things in her house.  To be continued.

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Mardi's Peace Lily had become pot bound, so today while I cut grass she split it into six plants, one of which she brought back home.  It's in the picture below, taken in front of a Chestnut tree that started as a squirrel planting in the garden at our Gateshead condo.  It was six inches tall when I transplanted it at the greenhouse.

Can't wait to play Conkers when it starts to carry chestnuts.

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Tomorrow it's back to golf.   Hopefully the operation has improved my game!

Stay well.

Six Nations Pow Wow

 Our neighbours Pat and Gillian joined Mardi and me for our trip to the Six Nations Pow Wow today.  The event was much bigger than we have seen in the past, with hundreds of dancers and singers participating.  They just kept coming!

Some of the dancers outfits were exceptional.

And I had my picture taken with two finely outfitted gentlemen.....

..........wearing my new "Every Child Matters" cap.

I didn't get any pictures of Pat or Gillian, but I was sent a pic of Mardi as she hitchhiked to the van, leaving the rest of us to cover that kilometre on foot.  That's me to the left with my orange hat.

Since Hewitt's Dairy in Hagersville was "on the way" home (Gary will attest to that - it's on the way home when he and Jill travel from Niagara Falls to Burlington) we made a side trip for some waffle cones.  Yummm!

All in all, a nice relaxed, but very warm, day.  The ice cream topped it off!

Stay well.

Walks, Water and Wow

Today is Mardi's grandson Ethan's birthday, and his mom Angela celebrates hers tomorrow.  Best wishes to both.

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Yesterday, I headed out for a brisk mile and a half hike along the waterfront.  

Did the same this morning with no problems except a bit of chest "discomfort" at times.  Max heart rate yesterday was 99, today 96 with most of the trip at 92.  So I suppose that is progress.

My problem is that I don't know if what I'm feeling is because I'm old, out of shape, or still have a heart issue.  In any event it seems to be an improvement over my experience prior to the operation.  Fingers crossed!

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This afternoon, sister Judy visited with her granddaughter Molly.  She came to pick up the geranium basket I set aside for her, but at Mardi's suggestion she made sure that Molly brought her bathing suit.

Judy and I watched as Mardi threw a loonie around the pool and Molly retrieved it.  I'm sure that she spent more time underwater than above!  Great little swimmer!

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Tomorrow we head for Six Nations and their Pow Wow.  Love watching the kids dance!

Stay well.

Theatre Day

 My personal chauffeur/caregiver/nag drove us to Port Colborne this afternoon for a performance of "Bed and Breakfast" at Roselawn Theatre.  An incredible performance by two guys playing about 20 different characters, male, female, straight, gay and transgender.  Don't know how they did it!  But it was an excellent show!

It carries on until July 30 - we highly recommend it!

Afterwards we headed to the Canalside Restaurant, beside the Welland Canal.

Food was good, and reasonable - and a 10% discount on food for showing your theatre tickets.

Lobster Bao Buns with Potato Soup for me and with House Salad for Mardi.

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My Blue Jays dropped their second game in a row to the Padres.  Pitching is OK, bats are dead.

Stay well.

The Gory Details

 As Mardi advised, I am reporting "the rest of the story".

Does anyone remember the Paul Harvey radio show, Rest Of The Story?  I loved his obscure anecdotes and his voice.

Back to my story.  We arrived at the General at 8:45 this morning and left at 4 p.m.  Fortunately, everyone, registration, nurses and doctors were fabulous. Friendly, knowledgeable, helpful and in good humour, which made the long day bearable.  Having Mardi at my side for everything except the hour in the operating room helped too!

I was always led to believe that my heart was shaped like this 💓, but in reality it's more like a ladies bikini clad bottom!

Turns out that the position that I have labelled A was 85% blocked, as was position B below it.  Stents were installed at those two locations.  Position C is 100% blocked, but my amazing body created an alternate route (the ass crack) and, since the repair at C site would be more complicated, the decision was made to wait and see.

The critical issue at this point is not the heart, but the wrist wound where the artery was entered.  I have been told to treat it as if it were broken and not to use it for the next few days,  Otherwise there could be a life-threatening geyser of blood pouring out of the wound.  So, no golf for a week or so, and my work with an adze and shovel in the garden under repair will also have to wait.  And Mardi will pour the drinks, I hope!

For my golfing buddies, I plan to skip next Monday, but I do intend to show up at Puslinch on Tuesday.

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

Stay well.

Gary, gardens and games.

 Not much news today, but I had to do a blog in honour of my good friend Gary's 80th birthday.  

He also celebrates birthdays for his alter egos, Andy, Fudd, Ned, Sven, Arnie, Annie and Andre, but we'll ignore those for now.

Enjoy your day my friend!

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Worked on another garden space today.  Took out about a foot of sod from around the circumference, then dug out the weeds and field grass that had invaded further in.

Add some red cedar mulch and voila!  A statement piece.

Old age and the humidity prevented me from finishing the job today, but the side that the public can see is done.  I'll get at the rest later.

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My Blue Jays are doing very well and looking like the team they were supposed to be.  Swept the three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks following the All Star break and have now won 8 of their last 9 games.  Fun to watch again.

Stay well.

Dogs and Houses

 I cut the dog walking path out back today and was surprised to see it being used!  But by the time that I got the phone on camera mode the young coyote had moved to the neighbour's field.

Nice to see something you've done being used and appreciated😉!

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Sue and David took possession today of the house they bought on Hunter Road - it's just 600 metres from that driveway to the greenhouse driveway.

The house is almost 70 years old so there is some work to do before they move in - basement windows, bathroom, etc.  Charley has approved the move -  just need a gate across the driveway and he'll have some running room in the backyard.

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Blue Jays came out of the All-Star break looking like the team we thought they were.  Let's hope that they can keep it up.

Stay well.

Love and Flowers

Happy birthday wishes go out to Maureen.  And Matt's (and our) golf was cancelled today so he can concentrate all of the day on his love.

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Sister Judy  is on vacation and asked me to pick up a geranium basket for her.  It will reside on our balcony until she returns.

This is what you get for $5 folks!  Still lots left.

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Stay well.

Geraniums Anyone?

 I was weeding for a couple of hours before I noticed the sign.

Sounds like a deal!

Enjoy!

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The Blue Jays scraped together two victories in their three game series with Detroit.  But it wasn't easy.  Hope they get their bats going after the all-star game.

Stay well.

100 Years Young

 Mardi and I joined John and Rada today to head for Chartwell Deerfield Retirement Community to wish Stella a happy 100th birthday.  

When Mardi owned CAPS Nursing Service back in the 1980's, Stella was her office administrator.  She's still sharp enough to do the job!

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Climate change appears to be moving along faster than predicted.  Wild fires in June and the warmest days in history have a way of waking us up to that reality.

I have seen another possible indicator recently.  Normally, at this time of year, a flock of swallows are doing an air show around me as I cut the grass and stir up insects.  But, yesterday I cut for over two hours and didn't see a single one.  Sad and disappointing!

Fortunately, the Mocking Birds are back.  I love to listen to their medleys as I work in the garden.

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Stay well.

Miscellaneous

 Birthday greetings go out today to my grandson Yancy, and to Mardi's great nephew Jonah.  All the best to both.

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Had a nice lunch today with Mardi and friends Jo-Anne and Doug, at Mezzaluna Cafe, located in the industrial area on Arvin Avenue.

Great food.  We'll be back there in the future.

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Other than that, no real news, so I'll simply bore you with pictures of two multi-sport athletes who played Quoits yesterday.

A future champion and a former champion.  What can I say?

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I do need to share a picture that Monica sent of her flowering cactus.  Pretty nice!

Well done Monica!

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Stay well.

Quoit Champions

 I previously mentioned the walking path that I cut around the perimeter of the back field.  It is probably about a half kilometre long.  Starting and finishing at the greenhouse would make it about a one kilometre walk.

I got a really nice message from Sarah-Jean today.

Thanks for the path grandpa! Charlie, Ewen and I have been using it! It is very helpful:)
Xoxo SJ

That message made my day!  Thanks Sarah-Jean.

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Today's excitement was our annual Quoits tournament at Gary Parker's.

Barry (sitting) was our tournament director.  Gary (between Barry and me) was our gracious host, who made sure that we all had enough burgers and beer to get through the afternoon.

Doc took the above picture, but we don't want to forget him, so here's a picture of Doc in action.

David and Gary were in the final, but the champions were Al (who was making his first start after his traffic accident) and Sandro.

They were presented with the championship trophy by the host.

A fine way to spend a day with good friends!  Thanks Gary!

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Blue Jays won tonight.  They're going to have to hang in there to make the playoffs.  Fingers crossed.

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Stay well.

The Day After

 Mardi decided to wear a different coverup to the pool yesterday morning.

A nice Happy Canada Day!

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But it was hot and muggy so I limited my activities at the greenhouse to sitting on the mower.  Managed to get all of the grass cut, including a path to the escarpment for Ewen and Charley.

Dog Ticks are resident in the back field and, although they do not transmit Lyme Disease, they are not much fun to deal with.  The cut path will minimize the chance of having one hitch a ride.

Charley has to be inspected regularly to make sure he doesn't carry any hitchhiking ticks inside.

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This morning, I volunteered at the Optimist Booth while a baseball tournament was going on. 

Mardi came in to take my place after church, but the rest of the day was cancelled - the field was too soggy to continue with a second game.

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Stay well.