Vaccines and Vacuous Leaders

 Yesterday, Mardi and I headed to Winterberry Medical to pick up our final $470 cheques for our participation in their RSV vaccine trial.  I've lost track of how much we made on the trial, but it's close to $2,000 each I think.  Plus, the vaccine worked to save me from RSV when Mardi caught it.

So, when they asked if we would participate in a future trial, the answer was "yes"!  (My apologies to R.F. Kennedy Jr.)

We saw Ron King there - he participated too.  And he told me that I had missed seeing Judy and Monica at the garden centre when I was taking one of my days off.  Sorry ladies!  I hope that you found what you needed for your Christmas displays. 

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In other breaking news, Mardi's convertible has been put away for the winter.  I get to park in the underground for the next five weeks!  Yeah!

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As I write this, Trudeau is in Mar-a-Lago kissing the king's ring.  Hope it works out for us.

Stay well.

Work, Service and Celebration

 After a couple of lazy days I returned to the greenhouse today.  Worked about 15 minutes - after a couple of days off you can't overdo these things.  I wanted to look after a couple of small outdoor jobs with the forklift before the snow flies.

So now I'm off duty again until Monday when the Easter Lily planting begins.  Here are the 55,000 half filled pots ready for that project.  Most of those will be sold to brokers who will distribute them as far as the southern states - unless Trump's tariffs are still in place and interfere with that sale.  Fingers crossed.

And, after that is done there will be another 3,000 Lilies of another variety to be planted.

While I was there I enjoyed a coffee and wandered through the garden centre.  

It does lift your spirits to be in the midst of that Christmas colour.

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We joined Jo-Ann, Kathryn and Anna for dinner at the Banana Leaf restaurant.  They'll be leaving for Florida on Friday, so this was our pre-Christmas get-together.  

They brought me a beautiful gift from Barbara......

.........a wonderful addition to my native collection.

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Then it was off to the Optimist Hall for a joint meeting of area service clubs - the two local Optimist Clubs, Rotary, Lions, Kinsmen, Kiwanis and Little League.  A nice night.

Several Optimists attended, including Scarface Strecker.

He claims that he tripped on his deck.  Good story!

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Stay well.

Open House

 If you didn't get to Trillium Hill today you missed their Open House.  Coffee, hot chocolate, ginger bread men and other treats.

But, if you're good, Sean might make you a coffee when you come.

Lots of good Christmas stuff to check out.

I got to enjoy the treats because I showed up to do the final lawn cutting for the year.

That just leaves an hour or two of garden cleanup, but the remaining annuals are refusing to call it a day.  So it's some time later I guess.

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While I was cutting grass I saw a coyote again.  Today he was back near the rink.  The other day he was in the loading dock area.  Good looking animal, but as soon as I get the phone out for a picture he lopes off across the field.

David and the others have seen him near the greenhouse as well.  I have a theory.......some small animal has been chewing on the water lines so David put out a tray of water for it.  The chewing stopped.  I think that animal may be what the coyote is looking for.  Hope he finds it - throwing out dead plants that didn't get watered because of a useless water line and then repairing the damage costs money.

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Stay well.

Projects and Morons

 I finished my project!

It turned out to be a perfect day for digging.  No sun, no wind, and moderate temperature.  Glad that I was able to finish it today because the forecast calls for a lot of rain in the next few days.

Just a couple of small outdoor jobs left and then I can sit back and wait for the Easter Lily planting.  One of my jobs will be as a  defensive back, i.e. corner guard.  You'll see.

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Barbara sent this to me.  It's also going to be true again after 105 years.

You don't suppose that this could apply to Canada too do you?

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Stay well.

Satisfying Moments

 There are some highlights in your life that are kind of a measurement and mean something special.  Like hiking 70 miles through the high Andes to Machu Picchu at age 69 with Sean, or hiking across the Grand Canyon at age 77 with Ewen, or the other special trips that I made with my grandkids.

In a silly way, yesterday was one of those moments for me.  It started with a flat tire on the mower, so I had to abandon the loaded wagon.  The tire can't be repaired until Monday so I had a choice - quit and go home, or use a wheelbarrow to continue my chores.

Reluctantly, I chose the latter and I'm glad that I did.  As I'm pushing the loaded barrow a hundred yards or more up and down the driveway these last two days, at age 87, I had a similar rush of satisfaction to those other special moments.  I can still do it!  Felt good!

And, despite the setback, I'm making progress.

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Congratulations to the Toronto Argonauts for their convincing win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup.  And they did it with a second string quarterback and an injured kicker.  Well done!

And for those Hamilton fans who don't like the Argos, just think, if Hamilton hadn't dumped Zack Collaros a few years ago they might have played in some Grey Cup games too 😏.

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Stay well.

Clowns and Turkeys

 Steve shared a Turkish Proverb with me:

"If a Clown moves into a palace, he doesn't become a King.
The palace becomes a Circus"

I think we're facing something worse than a circus and would perhaps amend that to read:

"if a criminal moves into a palace, he doesn't become a King.  The palace becomes a crime scene".

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When I arrived at the greenhouse today there was a transport with a load of soil to be unloaded.  David and Sean were unavailable, so the old guy started unloading as soon as Mariah undid the strap.  Got a dozen or so skids off the truck before David and Sean returned.

Then it was time to get back to my digging.  Cleaned up another small section of the tree line, enough to use up three bags of mulch.

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Tonight it was Turkey Roll time.  Mardi and I sold seven and half cards and we had a winner on all of them.  Congratulations to Al, Steve, Lorena, Calvin, Maureen, Monica, Lenore and yours truly.

The "turkeys" this year are $40 gift cards.  Al and Calvin, I will deliver your prizes at our Christmas luncheon, unless I see you sooner.  Mardi will deliver the rest.

There were some draw prizes as well, and Barb Galina won $50.

But the best part of the night was the turkey races.

I bet on Stuff It,  #6, and he should get stuffed!   Nobody came home a big winner, but we all had an exciting time.

Thanks for the support!

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Stay well.

Odd Job Day

 First, I watered the sod that I transplanted the other day.  Next up, a repair to a bench that Sean had requested.  Then, repair of this solar lamp stand that had fallen and broken.

The threads were stripped so I had to use plumber's tape to fix it.  Then added some stone to the pot so the problem wouldn't repeat.

And finally, did an hour's digging along the tree line.  I am definitely a jack(ass) of all trades.

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While I was doing all that, the planting line was busy.  First step in the Easter Lily planting process is to run all the pots through the soil machine and half fill them so they're ready for planting when the bulbs arrive.

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Tonight, Mardi and I attended the Optimist meeting.  It was Youth Appreciation Night and we honoured our volunteers.   Including this young lady.

Pat helped the club all three days at the Winona Peach Festival.  And she joined in this picture with our other young volunteers.

We are indeed fortunate to have these folks in our community!

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Stay well.

World Kindness

 

Thanks Jill, for responding with the information we had requested:

About my Mom….born and raised on a farm in England. She decided to do her part in the war so she moved to the city and joined the ATA as a driver…. Air Transport Auxiliary.
The ATA was a British civilian organization that piloted new, repaired and damaged military  aircraft from factories, assembly plants and maintenance depots to active service squadrons and airfields. The pilots involved were men and women that weren’t able to fly for the RAF for various reasons….physical issues usually. Some were Canadian.
My Mom wasn’t a pilot. She was a driver and drove the pilots to and from airfields….kinda like a taxi service.  

My Mom and Dad knew each other for only six weeks before getting married in England near the end of the war. Dad came home with the RCAF and Mom came to Canada with the “war brides”. Baby Jill was born in 1947!

I googled the Air Transport Auxiliary site - very interesting.  The women who flew handled every type of plane, including Spitfires and Lancaster bombers.  Sometimes during transport they were fired upon by the Germans so their guns were loaded so that they could fight back.  Pretty damned incredible!

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Wednesday, Nov. 13 is World Kindness Day. First organized by the World Kindness Movement in 1998, it calls for us to inject a little more kindness into our day-to-day lives.  Here is a list of things you might want to do on World Kindness Day:

• In a hurry to get where you’re going and frustrated by the construction that seems to be on every street in Hamilton right now? Let someone in who’s trying to merge into the single lane of traffic past the construction site.
• Pay for the person behind you at the coffee drive-thru, or the person ahead of you in line at the grocery store who is short of funds and needs to put items back. It will put a spring in your step and save that person’s day.
• Know someone who is going through a tough time? Maybe they’re stuck at home sick? Show up with their favourite snack or offer to take out their garbage.  (Mardi does stuff like this all the time.  She is currently helping a childhood friend who has entered the world of dementia.  Have I mentioned that I love her?)

It doesn’t take much to celebrate World Kindness Day with a kind word or gesture. It will make someone feel better and will make you feel much better too. And if you miss your chance tomorrow, don’t worry. You don’t have to wait 364 days for the next one to fill the world with kindness.

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Dug some weeds and grasses out from under another stretch of trees today.  Not exciting, but we're getting there.

Stay well.

Remembrance Day

I didn't post yesterday so I missed Barb Galina's birthday wishes.  Sorry Barb.  Hope you have a nice dinner with the ladies on Wednesday.

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This morning, Mardi presented a wreath at the War Memorial on behalf of her church, Stoney Creek United.  I couldn't get into a position to take a picture of that event, but I did catch her on her return.  Well done!

When I listed our family connections to the military I forgot to mention Mardi's Uncle Arn and Aunt Kay - Cousin Jill's parents.  He was a second world war air ace who did three tours.  

We've asked Jill for more info about her mom's service and will pass it along.

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I took yesterday off due to the rain.  Took today off due to lack of interest 😎.  But I'll be back to work tomorrow Sean.

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Took my date to Chuck's Roadhouse for steak dinner tonight. 

 Their beef is excellent - the wine and beer are OK too.

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Stay well.

Lest We Forget

 Completed another project this morning.  What used to be here....

.......is now here.

By spring that should look a lot better.

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Tomorrow's forecast calls for a lot of rain and I won't likely have much news for posting.  So, as we approach Remembrance Day, lets celebrate the folks who protect us.

I was named after a great uncle who was a Grenadier Guard.  And I had an uncle who participated in the liberation of Holland from their German nightmare.

Mardi has much closer ties with her son, Warrant Officer Greg Bullivant (on the right), who served in Cambodia and Afghanistan, and grandson Officer Cadet Ethan, soon to graduate from university and become Lieutenant Ethan Bullivant (and outrank his dad!). 

Lest We Forget.

A Late Tribute

 I didn't publish yesterday so I missed recognizing the following:

Birthday greetings to Rose Strecker.  I hope that Ed did something really special for you Rose.

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Spent a bit of time yesterday repairing a couple of benches that I made a few years ago.  The humid conditions in the greenhouse take their toll, even on pressure treated wood.  Replacement is eventually on the horizon.

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We're getting close to Remembrance Day and I thought that it  appropriate to recognize what has been created near the Stoney Creek War Memorial.

Mardi and I will be there Monday morning.  She will be presenting a wreath.

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My current project at the greenhouse is to repair the area where Braden piled up the sod he removed while expanding the circumference of the tree garden.

So far we've gone from this...

to this..........

Tomorrow I hope to have that area covered once again with sod.

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Stay well.

Uncross Your Fingers

 While most of us are dismayed by the election results in the U.S., for Mardi and for me there is a bright side.  If the Democrats had won we would have headed in January to a country where the Republicans where fomenting a civil war.  Since the Republicans won we can count on a sane transfer of power by the Democrats.

It will be an "interesting" time, but presumably non eventful.

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I took a helper bee to the greenhouse today.  Our project was to remove several wagon loads of hay from the rink.

I think that we filled about ten wagon loads.  There may not be ice here this winter, but at least the area will look good.

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I  thought that Kamala's speech today was right on.  She accepted the results of the election but noted that the fight for democracy is not over.  I hope she is the candidate next time and that she triumphs.  But, that will only happen if the Democrats manage to get more in tune with what the people want and need.  Not sure if that can happen.  Closer to home, will the Liberals get more in tune with what Canadians want?  Unfortunately, both of those parties seem unlikely to change as much as they should.

But stay positive.  Stay well.

Dry Gardens

 Birthday greetings today to Diane Lougheed who is being treated to  a birthday dinner with her family tonight.  Enjoy Diane!

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Did the Dad thing and cut the lawn on Hunter Road, to welcome Sue and David home.  Sean would have looked after that, but their lawn mower balked.  So I have cut it twice.

At the greenhouse, I cleaned up this garden a bit.

The plants and shrubs in this area (succulents, including Hens and Chicks, Sedum, Sage, Irish Moss - more about that in a minute, and more recently, Cactus) don't require watering, which is an important feature in my book.

At one time, the Irish Moss covered about three square feet, but the Sedum has taken it over and this little bit of green is all that is left.

Some of the succulents have been overtaken by the dominant Sedum as well.  To some extent I try to let Mother Nature decide these things, but this time I'm going to clear the Irish Moss and see if it can recover.

Next year, I may try to establish some Irish Moss elsewhere, in an area where it can succeed without fear.  It is a nice groundcover and you can walk on it without hurting it.

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As I post this, the U.S. election is unfolding and it's a bit scary.  Kamala may still win, but it's a real tossup at this point and Trump is doing better than expected in several areas.

Stay positive.  And stay well.

The Lazy Gardener

 Today's project was to clean up the Day Lily garden.

These Day Lilys didn't come from Trillium Hill.  They're the common orange guys that you see growing wild along Ontario's roadsides.  I figured that being native plants they would survive without any special attention (a priority requirement for me).  Right on!  For several years the only time that I have spent on this garden is when I prepare it for winter.

The smaller plants to the right are Forget-Me-Nots.  Mother Nature decided to put them there.  I have no idea where they originated, but once again no special treatment required.  I assume that as the Day Lilys spread in that direction the Forget-Me-Nots will have to retreat.  That's their problem, not mine.

And this is how that space looks now as we head into winter.

One more small step for mankind.

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I don't know if I'll be able to keep my fingers crossed all night, but I sure do hope that Kamala can pull off a victory tomorrow.  Trump seems to be acting desperate, which could be a good thing.

If he loses, there may be a civil war. January 6, here we go again!    

They used to hang folks for treason.  Not likely to happen this time but, eventually he may go to jail in disgrace as he deserves.

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Stay positive.  Stay well.

Remember

 Got my flu shot this morning.  Next up is a Covid one.

And I blew out the outside water lines.

Based on the forecast I may have been a couple of weeks early.  Might have to open one up again so the folks can water the plants at the front of the greenhouse.  Otherwise they'll need to use a hose from inside.  I'll talk to the boss tomorrow.

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Tonight Mardi and I filled in at a euchre game at Maureen's and Matt's, for a couple who were taken ill.  Mardi won more than I lost.  That's good, right?

I decided to dress up for the occasion.  It is close to Remembrance Day after all.

Thank you Barbara.

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Also, I hope you all Remember to reset your timepieces so you aren't late for church tomorrow.

Stay well.

Done Dirt

 It was parka weather this morning, but I finished both dirt projects.  Tomorrow I can relax and ride the mower for a bit.

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That's it for today.

Stay warm.  Stay well.