Quilting and other Things

On Father's Day we went to visit the Ontario Regiment Museum in Oshawa, Ontario. It is a very interesting museum and well worth a visit. The regiment dates back to the early 1800's. Ontario refers to Ontario County which was part of Upper Canada prior to confederation. This sign explains the Regiment's history. The museum has the largest collection of operational historical military vehicles in Canada. We arrived at the museum just as a group of vehicles were returning from a parade in Oshawa. Rather than visiting the inside displays, we were taken through to the back so we could see the vehicles being put away. We explored the collection outside. Dad is a Bob so a photo with the tank Bobby seemed appropriate. Dad is watching more vehicles come into the compound. Karen is checking out the driver's seat in this vehicle. None of them are spacious and none looked comfortable. Inside, there are displays that trace the history of th...

It poured on Saturday, so Dad and I went hiking on Sunday. We went out towards the end of the Iroquoia section and parked at the Calcium Pits (km 107.1) and hiked through the Crawford Forestry Tract to were the trail crosses Guelph Line (km 109.4). According to the maps, this is suppose to be a little flatter than continuing at the other end. (I hiked km 109.4 to 125.5 last fall -- those pictures are still to come). This week, Dad has his own pack and his (Mom's ?) walking stick. Part of the trail is nice flat forestry roads and there are some ponds and streams. The dragonflies were all over this one. Then the Bruce trail veered off the forestry road and head down. Dad paused on the way down to take a picture of some flowers. He was playing with the flash We paused here to admire the water bugs. Volunteers build the bridges and walkways over marshy bits. We saw several frogs And some frogs in waiting. They are very shy and disappear before you know somethin...

I've known the gardens were there for a long time but I've never remembered to stop in the spring for a visit. This year, I finally took time to go to the Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens. Actually I've made several visits. The first visit in mid-April was when the Magnolias and Azaleas were in bloom. Its also when Dad got his new little camera so the pictures of Dad and I and of Mom and I are some of the first pictures taken with the camera. Apparently, the flowers start blooming in April and go through to the end of June. In mid-May I went back and this tree was in bloom. I'm not sure what it is. It has tiny flowers like a lilac but they are all over the branch. Its very beautiful. (Its a Red Bud Tree -- Thanks Elaine!) The fruit trees and rhododendrons had also started bloom and the bees were very busy On the May long weekend, after Dad and I went hiking, the three of us went to visit the gardens again. I think I'll try to swing past the gardens ag...

Karen did get her white Christmas (along with the rest of Canada). But Christmas eve it start to rain a bit. Then on Saturday it rained a lot. By Monday and Tuesday, the front yard looked like this (just a little different from Karen's photo last week. Tuesday night it snowed again. The yard is back to this. The lump by the fence is the pretty mums I bought this in the fall. When I planted the bulbs, I planted the mums as well to see what would happen.

The general consensus was that it should be longer. But it was made to be a seasonal wallhanging for the top of my stairs. If it was longer, it would be too long. Mom Testing out new quilt Dad approving the new quilt Winter Sunset Karen's walk after a snow storm The pigeons look very cold Front of my unit -- just a bit of drifting A garbage can is under here -- do you see a teddy bear face in this mound of snow. Karen showing off the snow bank in the parking lot Walking on a cold afternoon The creek near home Still a bit of open water Christmas Day Dinner