Mums and Bums

 Birthday greetings today to Roy Lougheed, Mardi's nephew.  

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We had a good day of golf yesterday, although the grounds crew at Cambridge tried to mess us up.

The 18th hole is a short par 4, pond on the left, trees on the right, but lots of room down the middle.  A drive and a short iron gets you to the green.  But, that's when the trouble started.  The green has a very  narrow, mostly level, section on the right, but then everything drops to the left.  And yesterday the crew placed the flag at the edge of the drop-off.

So, this is where most of the balls ended up...........

..........and if you didn't hit it hard enough to get to the pin, you don't have to move.  Just stay where you are, the ball will return.

I got lucky - landed and stayed on the flat part of the green and, two careful putts later, I had my (only) par.

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This week Trillium Hill is doing Mum baskets and a crew of temps is braving the heat to get the job done.

By the end of the week, the front field will be full of thousands of Mum planters.

My interaction with the heat today was to ride the mower for two hours.  That was enough!  But I'll be back tomorrow.

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The Blue Jays looked like a real team last night as they beat the Mets.  But a return to recent form tonight - no offense.

Stay well and enjoy Canada Day.

Blue Or Blew?

 I haven't published for a few days so I missed sister Judy's and second cousin RoseAnn's birthdays on Thursday and Judy Rivers yesterday.  Today it's Liz Knapp's turn.  All the best!

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On Friday, Mardi and I headed to Port Colborne to join Bonnie and Steve at the Smokin Buddha for a nice lunch, followed by "The Beaver Club" at the Lighthouse Theatre.

Four women head to Dildo (so you know what kind of a play it is) Newfoundland.  Well done with lots of laughs and some moving moments.

Last night, after my usual digging and lawn cutting we headed to Burlington to fill in for a euchre night with long time friends.  We may not be invited back - Mardi won the money for most lone hands.

Today I dug for a couple of hours and cut grass a bit.  Then, headed to the Optimist Park where Mardi and Pat were looking after the booth for a T - Ball tournament.  Bought a coffee from the ladies and watched a bit of a game.

Lots of hits and good play.

Then headed home to watch the Blew Jay's game.  And sure enough, they blew their sixth game in a row.  I should have stayed with the little guys and their T - Ball game.

Fortunately, I had time to switch to the FIFA game and watch Canada beat South Africa 1 - 0 to advance to the round of 16.  So the afternoon wasn't a total loss.

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Stay well.

A Wildlife Day

 Last night was Kathryn's actual birthday so the family headed to Moxies to celebrate one more time before Barbara and Jo-Ann leave for Ottawa.  A nice time was had by all.

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In recent days, when I water plants at the "Cottage", the Killdeer do their wounded routine to draw me away from the nest.  Both the male and female got into the act this time.

They usually nest by just laying their eggs on gravel - no real nest per se.  When we find a nest we mark and protect it so that the eggs aren't stepped on.  But I couldn't find the nest anywhere in the gravel near the shed.

Sean figured it out when he was watering the baskets on the ground.

That basket won't be sold anytime soon (or later).  Maybe after the birds hatch I'll keep the basket as a souvenir for the cottage.

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And I saw a young deer cross the back field this morning while cutting the grass.  Sorry, no picture.

And I was treated to another Swallow ballet.  But, each year there seems to be fewer birds showing up.  Today there were just three - not a good sign.

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We've done a bit more thinking about our summer trip and have decided to put Newfoundland off until next year.  We'll concentrate on P.E.I. and Nova Scotia this August.

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I think that we've had more golf games cancelled than played so far this year.  Rainout forecast again for tomorrow and next Monday doesn't look very promising either.  How will I ever get better at the game?  Be quiet Al!

Stay well.

Saplings and Somethings

 Yesterday was mostly routine - cut some grass, cleaned up a garden.  But then, I had some fun digging up and potting six oak saplings that a squirrel planted under the pine trees.

I'll keep them watered so the root systems develop and plant them in September.

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Today we held a birthday party for Kathryn to celebrate her 60th.  Don't be surprised - you knew I was really old, so it figures!

I rented the Optimist hall and friends and family were invited.  I didn't remember to get the camera out until the friends were gone and we were stuck with just family.  Sorry, but I'm too lazy to crop the picture.

The Craig boys were there in force.  I'm the tiny one in the middle.

But the prettiest were these two ladies.

Happy birthday Kathryn!

Stay well everybody.

 To get me to church, they have to either provide food or entertainment.  And this past weekend they did both - dinner on Saturday and a choir performance on Sunday.  My sweetheart sang her heart out.  She's centre back.

And other than gardening and pretending to play golf that's about it for the past four days.

But, today was different.  First, a wild turkey sighting in the back field.

Then, Kildeer pretending to be injured, to keep me away from their nest or chicks - some have hatched already.

And finally, being the Pied Piper of Swallows as they swooped around the mower picking off the insects that I disturbed.  I love those moments.

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Before I cut the grass, this was my morning project - to turn this weed filled scene...............

....into this.

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As Mardi and I navigate our aging decline we have decided that it's time to revisit some of our favourite places.

First up, hopefully in late July - early August, will be a trip to Canada's east coast.  P.E.I., Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.  

Then, on our March return from Florida, Biloxi's sand beaches, New Orleans and Nashville.

Finally (for now) a trip to Hawaii in April.

Sorry about the inheritance kids!

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Jays have won two in a row from Boston.  Time to start believing again?  Maybe.

Stay well.

A Winning Day

 Mardi returned from her sojourn with the ladies in time to join  Kathryn and I at Chuck's Roadhouse.  She was on cloud nine while she was away.

They saw a show in Grand Bend, then went Mexican as seen below, before heading to Forest for an overnight bash and golf yesterday.

Certainly sounds like fun!

And Maureen got home in time to celebrate today her 22nd anniversary with Matt.  Congratulations!

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And we welcomed A.J., Michelle and Reggie for dinner.   More of that Miceli lasagna and garlic bread!

Hate to brag 😇, but I won the Uno game.

Canada did well in their soccer match and Kirk's return to catching (and hitting!) carried the Blue Jays to a win over the Yankees.

A good day.  Stay well.

 A bit of a gardening update.  I started on this garden the other day - Mother Nature was looking after it up until now.

I wasn't happy about the weeds and field grass that she had cultivated, but lo and behold, I did find a couple of items to be saved.

One was this Oak tree.  I don't know where she found the acorn.  The only Oaks on the property are the three that I transplanted here and they haven't started bearing acorns yet.  And I've never seen squirrels on the property.

The other was a Smoke Bush.  A seed must have blown from the one that I planted a few years ago on top of the hill - it's about 80 yards away from this one.

The one on the hill is getting ready to blow smoke.  I'll get a picture when that happens.

In any event, the garden looks somewhat better.  Now it will go on "hold" until I clean up some other areas.

A bit more tidying and the front will be finished.  Then I'll start to work my way up the driveway gardens for a stretch.

I finished my "day" with a couple of hours cutting grass.  Enough time in the sun!

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At our Optimist meeting tonight we celebrated three students who we sent to the Optimist Central Ontario Leadership Seminar.  It started in 1958 as the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Foundation - remember the actor who played Wyatt Earp?

The kids (and their parents) commented on the positive things they had absorbed at the seminar.  

And the winner of our Essay Contest read her composition on "Community".

A very rewarding night to hear how our work is affecting our youth.

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Mardi is away on a fun junket with "the girls", attended a theatre performance in Grand Bend tonight and probably having a drink as I write.  So I'm batching it.  Dinner tonight at the Optimist meeting, tomorrow night with Kathryn at Chuck's Roadhouse.  I think I might survive until my sweetie comes back to me.  I'll drink to that!

Stay well.