VOTE

 I missed Ron Leach's birthday yesterday.  Sorry Ron, I think I was too focused on butter tarts!  Hope you had a great day.

And today, another of my golf buddies celebrates the aging process.  Best wishes to Calvin Wong.  See you Tuesday, unless we all panic about the rain in the forecast.

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Finished removing and shaping the dirt for my little landscape project.

Should be able to finish the sod tomorrow.

The earth that was removed is useful in helping to correct a couple of drainage issues.

In any event, my work is appreciated by this little guy who is testing out a newly sodded area.

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Blue Jays won again, putting the Yankees in their rear view mirror for now at least.

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Don't forget to vote tomorrow.  It's an important responsibility and gives you the moral authority to complain later when the politicians screw up.

As I have said, I will be throwing my vote away on the Conservatives.  The Hamilton East - Stoney Creek riding is one of lower income and traditionally elects the NDP or the Liberals.

So my vote won't count.  Even if it did and the Conservatives won more seats than any of the other parties, they would not be allowed to take power.  Trudeau would be asked to form a government first and the Liberals and NDP would quickly come to a power sharing agreement that would leave the Conservatives as the Loyal Opposition.

I really hope that happens, because it should signal the start of the end for Trudeau.

I would not vote Conservative if there was a chance that they would come to power.  Erin O'Toole is progressive, but they have too many of the Trump-like Reform folks in their tent.

Anyway, that's my take.  Make your own choice.

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Stay well.

Butter Tart Fest

 I joined Mardi and Judy for their garage sale excursion this morning.  Mardi picked up 5 crystal glasses for $1 total, and some other stuff, but no real treasures.

It was a short morning and we ended up at the Hamilton end, so we dropped Judy off and headed home to unload and grab a bite.

Then it was off to the Grimsby Butter Tart Fest (you wouldn't have liked the crowd Judy).  Here we're lined up to get in, but as you can see, inside the fence it's pretty busy.

Nevertheless, it was really easy to maintain physical distancing.

There were no sample tarts to try out, so we bought a dozen raisin tarts from this booth (they came from the Kawartha Wholesale Bakery in Lindsay - behind the Canadian Tire, according to their packaging).

Too sweet for my taste though.  It's going to be a tough job to get through the dozen😇.

This will give you an idea of what other booths had to offer.

There were about 10 booths selling tarts, and another 20 or so with crafts.

So, we paid $15. for 12 tarts.  Add the $5. each for admission and the price of our tarts ended up just over $2 each.

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Stopped by the greenhouse to do my watering, but it was too hot and humid for digging, so that will be put off until tomorrow.

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Blue Jays won and are back in the thick of the playoff race.

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And a note of thanks to Yancy for sending shirts to Mardi and me to honour the children lost in the residential school tragedy.  We'll be wearing them on September 30 which is Truth and Reconciliation Day.

I don't want my friends to panic though.  We'll still be voting Blue, not Orange, on Monday.

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Keep your sense of humour, and stay well.

Same Old, Same Old

 Dug some dirt.  Moved some sod.  Cut some grass.  Opened the bar.  Blue Jays lost.

Hang in there.

Butter Tart Fest

 Recovered well and did my digging and grass cutting today.  But I'm glad that I don't have to sit on a bicycle seat!

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No other news except that, for butter tart fans (my golf buddies in particular) the Grimsby Butter Tart Fest is happening this Saturday from 11 to 4.

From the Queen E. take the Christie St. exit and head south.  It becomes Mountain Rd.  Continue up the hill.  At Mud Street you will find the West Niagara Fairgrounds.  Admission is $5.  

I will be yard saling with the ladies and plan to end up at the Fest.

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No Jays games.

Stay well.

The Guelph to Goderich Trail

 Couldn't post yesterday because we weren't given an internet password.

So...........we skipped golf in the morning because they wouldn't allow power carts out due to the heavy rain.  The last time this happened, we had a tough time with the pull carts due to the soggy soil, thus our decision.

David and I then headed to Blyth to meet Doc and Gary who had scheduled a 75 km bike ride for the day.

The Three Sisters Boutique Hotel consists of three rooms on the second floor of this old building.

David and I were in the middle sister, Doc on the left and Gary on the right.

They were totally renovated with quality furnishings, including the deck patio area.

Doc and Gary finally showed up an hour or so after we expected - they made a wrong turn along the way!

We headed to the Cowbell Brewery for dinner.

And beer.

Great spot!

After discovering that the TV couldn't find the Blue Jays game and that we didn't have a password for the internet, we headed for bed.  A heavy duty rain, thunder and lightning event followed.

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Which brings us to today.

David and I went to Tim Horton's for breakfast.  Turns out they were flooded by the rain last night.  Their parking lot is on a slope and the rain flowed down, crested over the sidewalk and entered the restaurant.  By the time we got there they had cleaned up most of the mess.

Doc and Gary were a bit slow getting started this morning.  Apparently a 75 km bike ride does that to you.  But after arranging for my van to be delivered to the end spot by a friend of Doc's we were off.

I must say that the view from my vantage point wasn't the best.

But at least he couldn't tell when I was loafing!

There were some hilly sections.  We managed a lot of them, but David had to push the bike up 4 or 5.

We bypassed fording the river due to last night's downpour but we did cross a historic bridge.

And we did cross other bridges.

Another excellent "Tromper" adventure, a 40 km challenge.

Afterwards we had a farewell meal with the boys and challenged them to ride the bike for two before we headed home.  They didn't fall off.

Thanks Doc for setting everything up.  Thanks Gary for only mentioning your birthday one time!  

I had a great time with very special friends!  And a father and son bonding event as well.  A fine day!

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Blue Jays lost the game played last night.  Maybe just as well that we couldn't get the TV to work.

But they won today while we were on the way home.

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Stay well while I rest my sore butt!

An Upcoming Tromp

 Blue Jays 8-1 over Tampa Bay Rays.  The beat continues!

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Tomorrow, David and I head to Blyth, Ontario to join Gary and Doc for a Tromper event.  It will be either:

a) a 30 kilometre bike ride with a river crossing - wading while carrying our bikes, or

b) a 40 kilometre bike ride with a detour to avoid the river.

We'll see!  Fingers crossed!

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Stay well.

Wow

 Blue Jays won 22-7 over Baltimore.  With a score like that, they're ready to take on the Tiger-Cats!

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No other news.  Stay well.