Wise Words.

How Much Wood?

Can you trust what they say?

During my long walk on Wednesday I spotted a ground hog or wood chuck beside the TVP (Thames Valley Parkway*).

I said, "When's Spring coming?"

"'Bout 3 pm on Thursday," it said.

Happy with that, I snapped a few photos ("Are you the same as a wart hog?" I asked. It turned away. I took it as a 'no').

I then walked a few more metres to the '4.5 Km. marker', did my turn-around and headed back home, past the ground hog one more time.

"Are you related to the wart hog?"

Stone cold silence.

The following photos are from my Thursday walk. I headed north on the TVP toward the university and after my turn around I headed back home and approached Wortley Village at 3 pm.

1:15 PM - Magnolia Blossoms On A Gray Day

2:05 PM - I Walk Under The UWO Bridge. I Soon Turn Around At '4 KM marker'

3:05 PM - Sun Shines, Temperatures Rise, Magnolias Bloom. That's One Smart Hog!

At 3 pm I began the last half mile of my walk.

I passed the western entrance to Thames Park, and soon saw Wortley Village ahead. The clouds parted, the sun lit my path, the temperature rose and by the time I got to Craig/Askin and Wortley I had opened my jacket.

I recalled the words of the groundhog. (Not to be confused with a wart hog).

Spring was in the air and I heard an unmistakable sound after a nearby dog barked and robin sang.... winter's back was breaking. I'm pretty sure I heard the final crack.

Oh, It might give one more toss of its hand in parting, but it's already out the door. The above photo (taken at 3:05 pm) reveals the magnolia tree at Askin/Wortley, in front of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon's real estate office.

More Photos from Along the Way:

"Not a wart hog"

Final Thots:

*the TVP is a multi-purpose path, and its many users include walkers, runners, cyclists, parents with children on small bikes or in strollers, couples holding hands, roller bladers, dog walkers (with one, two, three, four, five or more animals), skate boarders on manually- or battery-powered skateboards, bird watchers, photographers, the occasional ham-headed dork on an electric scooter, etc.

The TVP winds its way beside the Thames in several directions all at once and on the weekend it is a very busy place because it is not always wide enough to accommodate, for example, a cyclist zipping - oft-times much too quickly - past a group of pedestrians who are walking shoulder to shoulder and hogging all the space while a pair of speedy runners are making their way around a family that includes a slow-moving oldster and three kids on bikes or in strollers and a dog on a long leash - all coming from the opposite direction.

The TVP can be scary and entertaining and colourful and present lovely, photographic scenes around just about every corner just about every day. And that's where you'll find me 6 - 7 afternoons per week because it's so much cheaper, and a heck of a lot more fun, than Cable TV.

The TVP. "Get Fit and Be Entertained, All at The Same Time." That's my motto.

Please link to Photo Study: Gateways to Greenway Park

Photos GH

Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay

North of Lindsay, More Photographs

You may already know: I am cleaning out photo files on my computer and have about 17,000 more to review and keep/delete/post on a blog, bore you to tears, etc.

Goal - to make room for 17,000 more photos in the future : )

The shots below are from a brief moment in time, late one sunny day north of Lindsay on the Trent-Severn Waterway:

The sky seemed an ideal mix of colours, the temperature was ideal and I had a pretty good camera on hand.

Please link to North of Lindsay, Part 2: Clear, Clear Day - Gotta Love the Water.

Photos GH

photos by prehistoric canadian (2).

Items From the Workshop.

A list of woodworking projects - with an artistic flavour - is getting longer as my list of workshop projects for others nears its end. I have had my fill of birdhouses and Swap Boxes and Little Free Libraries and custom orders and as my seventieth birthday approaches I am transitioning to a different gear.

My new approach will place an emphasis on a few hand-carved whales and projects that include the use of distinctive roof slates and bicycle gears. Oddities, I know, but they suit my nature.

 "Swim, Forrest. Swim!"

 I may add a blue, wooden frame to the above piece

 This is my first whale project using hand chisels. With frame. Sold.

 I'd like to try this again with different colours of paint

As well, WW2 research and writing - related to my Dad's 'Navy Days' - is high on my list of things to continue at least for another decade.

So, this prehistoric Canadian is in a mild curve in the road.

More to follow.

Please link to photos by prehistoric canadian

Photos GH

Motorcycle Miles 2019 (2)

Prose From the North Shore

Where the land and sky meet the sea,

That's where you will find me.

*****

Question: Is Port Bruce the place where land, sky and sea meet in perfect harmony?

Answer: It is one of the places where natural peace and harmony occur, surely not the only place. But it works for me.

The small port is 58 km. from my front porch. It's off the beaten track, the beach is gravelly, so it is not a hangout for 1000's at a time.

The Corner View diner makes a great BLT, a decent cup of coffee and usually advertises Key Lime ice cream on its shingle. What more can I ask for on a sunny day?

Bob Dylan never discovered Port Bruce, never wrote a long and rambling tune about the place, but I find - thanks in part to the rhythmic hum of my motorcycle's engine - song verses spring to mind as I exit Sparta (still several kms from the port) or as I begin to gear down while approaching my first good view of The Bruce. 

Where three natural elements - vividly coloured - present themselves in some sort of powerful, lasting unity, that's where I feel at home. But actually making it home would be another long story, rife with tough decisions. Where's Bob Dylan when I need him?

(Pat doesn't want to leave Old South. And we can't have homes in both places. So, I catch my dream between my fingers on a regular basis but can't keep it for more than a few hours at a time. However, I've been good with that for many years and I won't make waves.)

"I'm down to four shirts, one hat, a pair of shorts,

Breakfast is coffee and a wide view from my deck.

Life aboard Dream Catcher is a quiet, never lonely affair
And I keep busy, productive, by turning 'found objects'
into personal history, all for sale at low prices."

Could my bike be a down payment on Dream Catcher?

Tune in on Sunday.

Please link to Motorcycle Miles 2019.

Photos GH

Motorcycle Friday Pt. 1.

Cool, Windy, and a Seasonal BLT.

[Photo: Expert gulls fighting a stiff breeze]

Company was expected to arrive at my front porch by 2PM, said a note on the dining room table.

I glanced at my watch, morning coffee in hand. 830AM. 

If I leave by 10 I can be home by 1:30, I thought.

I was gone by 9:45, parked beside the channel at 11, and noticed right off the bat that gulls were fighting the same stiff breeze I had while travelling on my motorcycle toward Port Bruce.

BLT and coffee at noon. Last shots taken while sitting beside the channel.

And I was back home in time to meet my son and grandson at the door.

Please link to Enhanced Port Bruce

Photos GH

Enhanced Port Bruce

iMac Helps Me Turn Blue.

 Photo: Last Sunday, on north shore of Lake Erie.

Port Bruce is a humble lake-side retreat for a very, very slowly-growing number of Canadians. And that's the way I like it.

The water's edge is gravelly and occasionally I have to exit the water by crawling on hands and knees. And that's the way I like it.

 "Come on in. The bright blue water's fine!"

Sometimes I press the "enhance" button on my iMac's iPhoto software program and the colours jump from normal to brighter or darker or both. And that's the way I like it. 

After a short swim on Sunday I ordered "the usual, please". BLT, can of sodee-pop, followed by dessert - Raspberry and Truffles ice cream. And that's the way I like it.

Big lake. Small, humble boat.

The beach is partly covered by long grass. The pier is short and sweet. The channel wall is often host to a healthy gull population. I can walk around snapping pictures and not worry about crowds, busy traffic or nuisance noises. 

That's the way I like it.

More trips to Port Bruce and lovely Lake Erie to follow.

And maybe a visit to St. Marys as well, for an old-timer I know. : )

Please link to photos by Prehistoric Canadian

Photos by GH

photos by prehistoric canadian.

wild majestic turtles swam alone.

"There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run"

Last night before bed I looked through old photo files from a ways back. Not a long, long, long ways back, but a ways back nonetheless.

oldies but goodies:

 old snapping turtle turns up his nose, at bridge 1984

 as the mud dried, swallows lost two nests (out of 90)

at Crossley-Hunter bridge

 1994 Virago is a champ for prehistoric rider

 ancient rock art: "go west, young man, not to cleveland"

Please link to Motorcycle Miles 8: Vivid Blue Over the North Shore.

Photos GH