Time Out

 Golfed at Willow Valley this morning - EARLY this morning, like 7 a.m.  Woke up at 4:30 for my old man pee and decided that it didn't make sense to go back to bed.  I'm getting too old for this!

The four of us (Ron, Al, Calvin and me) had a good time, but I just have to share the following picture with you.    

The tee on that hole is on the other side of the bridge so I don't know how the ball ended up on this side of the tree.  Ron took a penalty - I'm surprised that he didn't cut down the tree.

I think he's smiling because he took some money off us today.

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After golf I cleaned up the Trillium garden out front and watered the Mums.  Which clears my calendar for a few days at the greenhouse.

Tomorrow, Mardi and I are heading for A.J.'s cottage in Tweed for a couple of days of R & R.  No T.V., no internet, so I may have to spend time in a pub to see the Blue Jays and put out the blog.  We'll see.

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Meanwhile, tonight's Blue Jays game is rain delayed with them ahead 5 - 3.  Watched Bianca Andreescu advance in tennis - incredible athlete!

Stay well.

Pancake Breakfast

 We started our day back at Sprucedale for a pancake (and many other treats) breakfast in the hangar.  

Lynn and her siblings were wonderful hosts.  It was a special weekend.  They are very genuine people and would do anything for you (except probably loan you money 😍).  Self made folks who have beaten the odds despite difficult childhoods!  It has been a real pleasure to watch them mature and succeed.  (Lynn, please pass along our thanks and best wishes).

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But, after we took our leave, the Gods turned against us.  Stop and go traffic all the way from Bracebridge south.  When we got to the 400 it became apparent that things weren't about to improve.

So, we headed cross-country, stopping at Tim Horton's in Tottenham along the way.  Total time was five and a half hours, just about twice as long as it took to go the other way.  But the last half was scenic and peaceful and we weren't held up by traffic for the rest of the way.

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While we were away, the Blue Jays lost their second in a row to the Twins, but came back today with a 3 - 2 victory.  We'll have to watch that on "Blue Jays in 30".

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Tomorrow it's back to the terrible game of golf.

Stay well.

Destination Novar

 Had to skip the yard sales today since we were heading to the Huntsville area for a Celebration of Life in honour of my ex brother-in-law, a chance to see my nieces and nephews.  Picked Kathryn up at 7 am. and we were in lots of time for the 11:30 event which did a fine job of honouring their father.  Well done Lynn, and others.

Lunch afterwards and then Mardi and I headed to Huntsville to check in to our motel.  

Decided to stop for a beer along the water.  This sign triggered that decision.

However, the reverse of the sign said this:

For some reason, Mardi decided that we would go somewhere else for our beer. 😖

So we chose this place instead.

The waitresses did not flirt. 😞

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Following the lunch we all headed to Charlie's house in Sprucedale.

Charlie didn't fly in from Belize - that plane is being overhauled and was temporarily evicted from its hangar to make room for the food tables.

Kathryn, following Jo-Ann's instructions, led the smudging ceremony.

....with some help.

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As I write this, the Blue Jays are losing 5 - 2 to the Twins in the bottom of the 7th.

Stay well.

Refugees

Today is "Underwear Day".  Boy, that crept up on me!

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Did the usual at the greenhouse.  I know you're tired of hearing about that.

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Tonight Mardi and I had dinner and went to Theatre Aquarius with Bonnie and Steve.  The show was called "Old Stock: a Refugee Love Story".  Sounds romantic, but it was mostly a powerful story of the difficult life that some of the refugees to our country endured - particularly the Jewish refugees.  The awesome, talented singing storyteller was worth the price of admission.

Made me think about what the current wave of refugees go through as they try to meld into our society.  We don't realize how lucky we are!

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Stay well.

Hot and Humid

 Birthday wishes go out to Therese.  Hope you enjoyed your special meals today!

Mardi and the ladies cancelled their golf tee time based on the weather forecast.  Wise move.

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Watered the plants down front at the greenhouse.  By the end I was almost as wet as the plants.  Don't you love heat and humidity?  Not!

But the thunderstorms didn't happen as per schedule.  We did get one good burst later in the afternoon.  The forecast called for thunderstorms all tonight, but we got a "Red sky at night, the sailor's delight" so I assume the rain may have ended.

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Blue Jays 9, Twins 3.  Two of our new additions contributed to the win.

Stay well.

Be Careful Charlie

Birthday wishes go out to Michelle Bullivant today.  All the best!

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Lasted three hours at the greenhouse before the heat and humidity convinced me to head home.  Completed removing sod from the circumference of yesterday's tree and mulched the garden.

Said hello to Charlie.  Today's diet included a plastic drink cup top.

Just after that picture was taken he decided to lay down on top of some trays of plants.  He got chased off before I could get the camera out.  Living dangerously Charlie!

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Blue Jays beat Tampa Ray 3 - 1.

Stay well.

Teamwork

 The usual digging and watering, until the heat drove me home.

Sean helped me by removing a shrub which had started impacting on the growth of the tree behind it.

As a matter of interest, that Spruce tree behind it was my first "Charlie Brown" planting.  It was about five feet tall and had a half dozen spindly branches - not saleable.  Look at it now!

The shrub wasn't flowering much any more and it can be a carrier of Plum Pox as well, so maybe that was part of the problem.

Hook up the chain and away it goes.

Thank you Sean.  We're a good team!

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Spent a few minutes with Charlie.  In the two weeks he's been on staff at the greenhouse he's added a third of his weight - from 22 to 29 pounds.  He's going to be a big boy.

Sarah-Jean says that part of his diet is phone charging cables and dining table legs.  Not much nutrition there Charlie, and that diet can be life changing - you may end up in a cage for parts of the day!  Don't wear out your welcome!  

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Enjoyed our first feast of Snyder's corn today, courtesy of Matt "Door Dash" Donaldson.  Awesome feast as usual!  Thanks Matt!!

No Blue Jays game today.

Stay well.