A Full Day

 Watered the new plantings this morning and then cut the grass.  I think that if it's all pieced together, it adds up to about five acres and over two hours of work.

Some of the accent pieces are starting to bloom.  The Flowering Dogwood is looking nice (ignore the weeds - their turn is next week).........

...........and the Peonies (and can't remember the name of the white flowering shrub behind it) too.

Even the wild areas are looking good.

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I attended a Celebration of Life for my friend Doug Green this afternoon.  It was held on what would have been the 61st anniversary
of his marriage to Judy.

Doug was also a Past President of the Optimist Club, but my main connection to him was through golf.  They even had a picture of us on display.

That's Lyle Tweedle on the right, Doug next to him.  Don't remember the next guy - he must have been a fill-in that day.  Normally Jim Barlow would have been our fourth.  We played together at Glendale all the time.  Of course, I'm the guy in the orange pants 😕.  

And I'm the only one of that foursome still standing.  Makes a guy think!

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Tonight Mardi and I joined Liz and Al at Teddy's for wings (except Al went off script and ordered fish and chips) and beer.  

Nice to see Liz again (I see lots of Al 😖).

Enjoy life and stay well.

Another Garden

 I did some more gardening today.  And I rebuilt a ramp for Sean - it had become a safety issue.  But the picture of the day goes to the other gardener in the family, as she plants our "home garden".

Those pots will soon be overflowing.

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That's it for today.

Stay well.

One More Done

 Who says that hanging baskets have to hang?  They can make instant gardens.  Lots more fun!

While I was doing that garden, daughter Kathryn dropped by.  We had a nice visit.  Wish the ladies in Ottawa were closer.

Stay well folks.

Gardening 101

 I haven't posted in a few days because, quite frankly, it's been a boring time.  Dig weeds and field grass out of a garden, plant something, spread mulch, cut grass, dig another garden, etc.

But, today we have a result to show.  Two gardens that are (temporarily) under control.

The cactus has started budding up........

...........and we should have a beautiful show next month.  It only blooms for about a week, but it is incredible!  Makes it worth while dealing with the hairlike thorns the rest of the year!

And, I've started working on this garden.  The field grass roots reach in about a metre sometimes so I start from the edge and work in to try to get them all, but there are always some that escape.

Should finish this one tomorrow, weather permitting.

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These days I'm putting in between 15 and 20 hours a week at the greenhouse - not bad for an old guy I guess.  But it doesn't come close to Sean's and David's 80 plus hours each.  And for David, some of those hours are middle of the night, as he takes his product to market and brings home product from other growers.

May and June are demanding months for sure.

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Stay well folks.

Botany Plants?

 Welcome to Trillium Hill!  This morning I helped Jenn update this sign.  Love her sense of humour!

Here are two views of what you could be shopping for.

And more product is coming in every day!

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Did my gardening and lawn cutting schtick today.  Golf takes precedence tomorrow.

And tonight Mardi and I attended an Optimist meeting.  We sponsor these young grade 10 people from three local high schools to the Central Ontario Leadership Seminar (formerly called The Hugh O'Brien Scholarship - remember him as Wyatt Earp?  He did a lot to advance the learning of young folk) which will be held at Guelph University this weekend.

This is an annual event for our club, and often, the kids come back in following years to mentor those attending for the first time.  A life changer for most of them.

Stay well.

I Did It Again

 I screwed up two ways this time.

First of all, by not publishing yesterday I neglected to mention Sue and David's 34th anniversary.  Sorry kids.

However, I spent a rather unexciting weekend as parking attendant, soil skid mover, lawn maintainer and a bit of gardener.  Not worth posting.  That's my excuse.

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Today was the busiest of all and I spent most of the time helping helpless people park.  There are some really stupid drivers in the world 😓, but they buy plants so they can't be all bad 😅.

And then came the second screwup.  I got the fork lift stuck again.

Just so you know, I didn't tip the skid.  Mother Nature did that last year.  But, with Ewen's help we got the fork lift out, moved the skid that tipped, and I was able to get the full skid at the back and bring it up front for sale.  Life is never dull!

I'm on my first rye and coke, so things are more humorous now.  They'll be even better after the next one!

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Blue Jays won their second game in a row!!!  I think they're toast as far as any World Series action, but sometimes fun to watch.

Stay well.

Wayne and Shuster?

 Today was golf day for the Dofasco League.  Unfortunately, Matt and Gary were not well enough to join us, so I invited John Buckley to fill in again.

Some of you know John.  Some of you know Al Knapp.  Some of you know both.  And now they know each other.  And you can guess the rest of the story.  Calvin and I couldn't stop laughing at their repartee.   Reminded me of Wayne and Shuster (I know that a lot of my readers won't know who they were).

It was a beautiful day for golf, although we didn't do the game justice.  Probably having too much fun with our good friends.

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As requested, Monica sent me a picture of her parking performance today.

Hope you approve of my parking job!!!!

Monica, I approve.  And I hear that you and your friend could hardly fit into the car after you loaded it with plants!  I definitely approve of that!  Thanks, and enjoy your ferns!

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Stay well.

Stuck

 Cut the grass as planned yesterday, but I got the mower stuck in a wet area (looked dry before I made a mess of it).  Sean came out to give me a push out.  After I finished my cutting I took four bags of soil (broken or ripped bags that can't be sold) and built up the low spot.  Added some grass seed and solved the problem (or moved it to a different location).

A few days ago I got the lift truck stuck in some loose gravel while moving soil skids to enlarge the parking area.  That time I had to ask Ewen to haul me out with the tractor.

I imagine when I walk in the door my grandsons ask themselves "What has Grandpa done this time?"  But Sean hasn't fired me yet so we carry on.

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Today was a mixed bag of duties.  Parking attendant until I got the four lines of cars organized, thanks to some cooperative customers.  Then replenished and reorganized the soil skids along the driveway.  Dumped some more broken bags of soil in low spots in the back field.  Cut a bit of grass that I had missed yesterday.  Routine.

Stay well.

I'm In Demand

 I spent my time at the greenhouse this weekend as a parking attendant - felt good to achieve my full potential.  Mother's Day weekend increased the traffic by quite a bit - exceeding our parking capacity at times yesterday.

When I arrived this morning, things were a bit messy.  The cars on the right should have been in line with the white car at the front.  And the ones on the left should have been lined up with the dark van.

Once we got that straightened out I was able to add one more row down the centre and accommodate the crowd for the day.

But I took a 15 minute lunch break to enjoy the pizza that the boss provided for staff.  And when I got back, they were parking down the driveway..........

.............while the parking lot was half empty.

Straightened that out with some waving and smiling.  The best part is that the customers who are here want to be here and enjoy the plants that they buy.  Makes for lots of good friendly waves when they leave.

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David sent the following picture to me today.  It's a coyote den that he and Charlie found in the back field.  The mother coyote was growling in the den while they were there.

Mother Nature doing her thing.

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Tomorrow it's back to golf.  Tuesday cut the lawns.  Wednesday some gardening.  Thursday golf.  Friday gardening.  Weekend cut grass and parking.  And so it goes.

Stay well.

A Bad Plant

 If any of you see a plant like this in your gardens, with its dainty white flowers, get rid of it FAST!

It's garlic mustard and it is toxic for other plants.  Particularly the Trillium.  When David purchased the farm there were lots of beautiful red Trilliums along the edge of the escarpment.  No more.  Just lots of garlic mustard.

Now, the only red Trillium on the property is this one.

Today I weeded and mulched the petals.

Then I got going on the lawns.  In May, they need cutting every four days.  While I was in that process, I came across a pair of Canada Grease who looked like they were planning a family.

There is no way I'm going to wait for 30 days to cut the grass again, so I chased them off.

When I was a young boy, Jack Miner was a hero.  He created a bird sanctuary that was credited with saving the geese, who at that time were diminishing in numbers.  These days I think he did too good a job!

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The Leafs have started to dismantle and reorganize after the sad end to their season.  Based on how the Blue Jays are playing, they'll be doing those things long before their season is officially over!

Stay brave.  Stay well.

Wounded

Joyce is the young lady celebrating a birthday today.   Have a great day!

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Enjoyed a sunny golf day (the opposite of an absent someone's forecast).  Calvin and I were joined by John Buckley.  Despite being mortally wounded......that's blood on my pant leg......I only let John beat me by one stroke.  Of course we're not going to publish our scores - too embarrassing!

Apparently, when I banged my leg getting the golf clubs out of the car it started bleeding (my leg, not the car Al) and kept bleeding for a while thanks to the blood thinners I'm on, but I didn't notice it.

We were joined by several other beings while on the course. 

Seems to me that a brood of 15 goslings is overdoing it a bit!

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That's today's news.  Stay well.

Optimist Robots

 At our Optimist meeting tonight we were entertained by the Orchard Park High School Robotics Team.

This year they have won two divisional championships, an Ontario championship and, as you can see on the banner, the Galileo World divisional championship.

Nice to see that Arcelor Mittal Dofasco is one of their sponsors (as is our club).

As a guy whose major accomplishment in high school was making a pair of wooden bookends, I have some difficulty relating to these young geniuses.  Very impressive!

Also impressive is the fact that we inducted four new members to our club tonight - and we're close to our 70th anniversary (I've only been involved for 64 of them).  When many clubs are failing, ours is thriving.  We'll be able to continue our good work thanks to these new, energetic members.

Stay well.

Friends and Turtles

 Ten years ago today, Doc Jewett asked three Dofasco guys to accompany him to the Burlington Performing Arts Centre for a show that Doc wanted to see.  We were held up in the lobby for a bit as Doc chatted with a lady, and we all wondered where that would lead.  Fast forward to today and Doc and Nadine are celebrating the anniversary of that event.  Congratulations my friends!

Fate does some interesting things to relationships as Mardi and I can attest.  

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I displayed all of my talents today at Trillium Hill.  Landscape architect, lawn maintenance, parking attendant, fork lift operator, farm labour.  But, probably most important, conservation officer.

I came across Toby Turtle while cutting the grass.  He had been crossing from the neighbour's pond to David's pond.  Stopped and squatted when I approached on the mower.

He measured over two feet long from his snout to the tip of his tail.

I backed the mower off and he resumed his journey.

But, don't tell Sarah-Jean or she won't want to swim in the pond!

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Stay well folks.

A birthday and a dance.

 We had a great weekend.  Yesterday morning we headed to Forest (near Sarnia) to help Sandy celebrate her 80th birthday.

Mardi and Sandy have been good friends for the majority of their lives.

Her family did a fantastic job of honouring the matriarch of the family.  Started with lunch and continued through dinner (we missed that part) and finished with breakfast this morning.

Mardi and I stayed overnight at the Forest Golf Hotel (no golf) and rejoined the group for breakfast.

Then we made a two hour drive to Kincardine and had lunch at the Erie Belle Restaurant.  Their cod fish and chips were excellent - reminded us of our trip to Newfoundland!

Then it was down the street to the Kincardine Legion, where our buddy Doc and the Lighthouse Swing Band were playing from 2 to 5.

That's Doc on the left.

Lots of dancing.  Seems like I have less problems staying upright when I dance better than I walk (fell flat out on Friday at the greenhouse).

We'll be back Doc, hopefully with other dancers.  The schedule folks, is shown below.

Stay well folks.

Driver Required

 Today was son David's 64th birthday.  I think that means I'm getting really old!  

Wished him all the best yesterday because today I was heading to Chippewa Creek for golf.  But it was not much fun.  It was cart path only for the carts, and I'm not smart enough to hit the ball near the path, so I did a lot of walking back and forth.

Only lasted 15 holes before I called it a day.  Al lasted 16, Matt 17.  Only Calvin (who was walking - but not sideways like the rest of us) finished 18.  

Better days ahead!

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Our vacation at Orange Lake for 2025 has now been booked.  We're in a 2 bedroom, in a high rise in the River Island village (where the water park is) from January 5 to February 28.  Love our timeshare!

The next step is to find someone to share the driving on the way down with me in exchange for some vacation time with us.  Mardi hates the drive down and intends to fly.  Any volunteers?

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Watched my second hockey game in years tonight.  Leafs have won both games.  Perhaps I'd better watch the next one too.

Stay well.

Ribs

Yesterday, I was impressed with Gary and Jill completing 58 years.

Today, my heroes are my childhood buddy Wayne and Judy who are marking their 63rd anniversary.  Awesome!

Doc and Nadine are also celebrating an anniversary today.  Six is not as big a number, but still a happy day.  See you in Kincardine on Sunday folks.

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I only spent an hour and a half at the greenhouse today.  Busy day planned.  But, I managed to clean up and mulch one garden.

And, planted some spent Tulips in another garden.  You won't see the results of that until next spring.

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Matt and Maureen joined us this afternoon for a game of Skip-Bo.  For some reason the ladies won 😠.

Then we headed to Chuck's Roadhouse to see if the rib special was as good as the steaks we previously enjoyed.

You get this plate, a full rack, for $15.00 on Wednesdays.  Sorry, I started eating before I took the picture.

The verdict from Matt - a 9.  He rates Miller's Ale House in Florida as a 10.  Considering that Miller's $15.99 price converts to over $22 Canadian that's not a bad rating.  And he will be returning.

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Stay well.