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Published: August 22nd 2007
Hola everyone!
First thing - happy birthday to the Blackshaws - hope all is well Chris and Lisa!
What's new? Well, I didn't think a whole lot, then I realised that I hadn't written since June, which is very slack of me. Work is slowing down - the nursery is actually closed for the season, with a few plants and bagged goods outside in the "cash and carry" section. An old guy today was caught trying to avoid the "cash" section of the aforementioned cash-and-carry. We managed to get some of the stock back, but we'll just have to keep an eye out for the bad seeds in the future. So I will have a little more spare time over the next few months, only having the odd couple of day's work here and there (it's necessary more for my sanity than the cash), cleaning up after the mayhem of the season, and helping the owners to prepare for next year.
The weather has only started to cool down in the last couple of days, the previous 6 weeks being very hot and humid ("hot" in Canadian terms is anything over 25C, but with the humidity it sometimes
feels worse than 40C). So now it's feeling a little more like fall, which won't officially kick in for another month. All of the students are back in town to return to college/university, the tourists are all going back to the U.S. and the military folk are ever-present. I'm looking forward to some more trips around in the fall to get some good foliage photos.
This weekend is a trip up to Quebec to help put the roof on a cottage. Packing the bug spray and poison ivy soap, both being formidable foes to the novice Canadienne. I think the rule is don't touch anything, and don't let anything touch you. Poison ivy is a fairly nasty thing to tangle with if you are one of the lucky few who are particularly susceptible to its attacks (like Clive), which basically means spending the following two weeks covered in Calamine lotion and popping anti-histamines like M&Ms.
Photos: the first few are from the "Snowbirds" airshow in Kingston on Canada Day (July 1st). Everyone piled along the waterfront, anticipating a mid-air collision. Luckily this was not the case. The big freaky fish I think is a carp, about 2.5 feet
long (or about 75cm for those who don't have to work in imperial measurements). The next batch are of the Kingston Canada Day celebrations. Canada and the U.S. are both big fans of the hometown parade, and Canada Day is no exception. Everyone dresses up in red and white and wanders down the main street behind the brass band and local bigwigs.
Next are a few photos of my birthday present - a trip to the symphony at the Fort Henry historic site in Kingston. They played the Tchaikovsky 1812 symphony, complete with canon firing and live artillery. The sky was amazing, and was much more interesting to watch than the crowd.
And the last few are of my last day trip - touring Prince Edward County, just west of Kingston, and a very popular tourist trap/attraction in the summer, as everyone heads down to their summer cottages. It's a bit of a foodies tour too, with ice-cream and cheese factories and vineyards and plenty of roadside produce stands, so we returned stuffed to the gills.
Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll try and take some more pics now that I have some more free time.
Notes re:
the end of year trip - another change of plans. Depending on the airfares, we'll either fly to Panama or Costa Rica. Rough time schedule remains (end of the year/early next year). What are everyone's plans for then? Ciao for now xxxE
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The Snowbirds in action
Carole Goldsmith
non-member comment
I never thought I would say this!!
Only 25 degrees in Kingston - well lucky you! This summer, here in the UK, when the temperature has reached 20 we have thrown a party. What with the floods and constant grey skies "It sounds like you are getting a lot of better weather than we are". Crips what an admission. Hey ho lets hope it improves for next year. A great birthday present Em (much envy) keep the news coming. Carole x x