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.

Happy Hallowe'en

 A few weeks ago, Trillium Hill had a student volunteer helping out.  Braden wanted to get into landscaping, but couldn't find a landscaping company that would take him on.  Probably because he was only available for an hour and a half each morning, and since they're all over the map with their customers, transportation would be an issue.

In any event, I explained to him what this layman had in mind when the various gardens were established, why I picked particular plants, and what mistakes I had made.

In exchange, he widened the perimeter around this tree line area for me.

Now, I need to remove the pile of sod and dirt.  It will be moved to the back field to fill in a couple of tractor ruts.

On the return trip I will pick up some broken bags of soil and use them to smooth out the swale that Mother Nature changed during the flood.

Before the strong wind finally drove me home, I completed about half of each task.

Fortunately (unfortunately for David) we have lots of broken bags available to complete the task.

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Due to the congestion in the hospitals and the costs of medical tests, your alternative is to pee under a tree and wait for a bit:

-if ants gather, you've got diabetes.

-if the grass dries up, it's high salts.

-if it smells like BBQ, your cholesterol's high.

And if you forget to pull up your pants, you've got Alzheimer's.

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Spent a few minutes in the lobby tonight watching the goblins come in.

This guy's cute.

And, so are these two.

Other than the high wind, the weather was great for tricking and treating.

Stay well.

Flower, Fern and the Fifth

 Finished the front corner today.

From this.........

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

Spread some broken dirt bags of soil in the upper swale where the flooding took place.  Mother Nature carved out some different routes while we waited for the new drain lines.

While doing that I admired the Sun Flower crop next door.  They've harvested once, not sure if they intend to do it again - they cut them before they were open the last time.  But, it does make a pleasant sight for us.

Meantime, Sean and crew were hanging the Boston Fern baskets.

Still lots to go.

Monica, I saw your name on quite a few!

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Wow!  What a World Series game!

The Yankees were dominant in the first half of the game, going out to a 5 - 0 lead.  Then, in the fifth inning, they decided to play Little League quality ball.

Three errors, a pitcher failing to cover first, catcher interference, hit batter, and a balk.

The Dodgers tied it in the fifth inning.  And they ended up 7 - 6 to win the series.  Well done!

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Stay well.

My Hallowe'en Treat

 Rainy day today so I took the day off.

Besides, this is an important time in my life.  Twenty-one years ago I invited Mardi on our first date (thank you for the intro Ed) which was a golf date at Scenic Woods on Hallowe'en (the weather was warm that year too).  She let me win (I subsequently realized that was a trick), she made dinner, and I helped her hand out candies to the kids.  Then went home in a daze.

We attended a dinner dance to support autism two days later and I was hooked.  Never looked back!  Thank you Mardi!

Interestingly, I first saw Mardi across a room at a party at my secretary's home over twenty years earlier.  Our eyes met, that was it, but on our first date we both remembered that night and both remembered what the other was wearing.  You can't fight destiny!

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This is my current project at the greenhouse.

Day Lilies in front, Sage behind, both fighting it out with field grass.  Weeds to the left.  That's tomorrow's challenge.

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Watched Kamala Harris' speech tonight.  Powerful!  I think that she touched all the bases.

Then I watched the World Series game.  Although Freddie Freeman continued to set records by hitting a home run (that's six straight World Series games he's done that) the Dodgers got tromped.  Hopefully, they can complete the series win tomorrow.

Stay well.

Getting Ready For Spring

 Some of the annuals are still hanging in there......

.....but some are not.......

..........so it's time for cleanup.

There, that looks better.  One done, more to do.

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That's it for news today.  Spent the afternoon watching Blue Bloods reruns.  Sorry.

Stay well.

Odds and Ends

 Greetings go out today to niece Lynn as she celebrates her birthday.  Enjoy your special day Lynn.

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Managed to remove the sod and earth from the drainage site this morning.  Once again it was a good cool day to do that kind of work.

More digging at a different site tomorrow, before it starts to warm up again.  Then it will be time to cut the grass.

And David, I cut the grass in the rink today.  But that's probably a waste.  With climate warming that rink may never again be useful for its intended purpose.  And I read today that they are renovating the Peach King Arena.  The Peach Kings will still play their home games there, but the lobby will be closed.  In any event, I assume that your old guys' league will still be able to skate there.

David reported today that he was enjoying a glass of wine outside the Alpenrose Hotel in Germany, where he worked one summer as a teenager.  Nice spot!

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On a couple of occasions lately, the Stipley Lions Club (they're located in the Hamilton city centre) have joined up with our Optimist Club to support kids' acivities.  This morning, Mardi headed over to Little League Park to help set it up for a kids' Hallowe'en party.

The Stipley folks used to use Gage Park, but experienced poor support.  Gage Park's loss appears to be Stoney Creek's gain.  Thanks to the Lions Club for working with us in our joint youth work.

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Stay well.

Drains and Banes

 I finished the stone stage just as the rain started today.

Some of that soil will be put back on top of the gravel, but any grading changes will have to wait until spring, when the disturbed ground has settled.

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I'm including a download that John Buckley sent out recently.

I don't know about you folks, but I find it incredible that Harris and Trump are still tied in the polls.  Hard to believe.

But, if you think about it, it can be understood.

Compare it to our situation here in Canada.  I think it is pretty obvious that Pierre Poilievre shares some of the far right idiocy that Trump expounds on.  Yet, the polls show that a significant majority plan to vote for him.

The cause?  We see our country spiralling into a deep debt crisis with a grossly expanded bureaucracy that seems incapable of running the country properly.  So a term with Pierre Poilievre might break that cycle and get us back on better financial ground.

I count my self as a Progressive Conservative, progressive on social issues and conservative on fiscal ones.  Unfortunately, that party no longer exists.  We are faced with the choice of a left wing party or a right wing party, neither of which will run the country the way I would like to see it run.

So, I along with a lot of others, will vote Conservative in the next election to try to break the current cycle.  And then we'll see.

And I think that's what is going on in the U.S.  They are deep in debt and have to keep expanding the debt limits.  The left leaning Democrats don't seem to know how to change that.  So, the electorate will hold their noses and vote for Trump, hoping that somehow he is kept from destroying democracy.  

Cross your fingers!

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Stay well.