Last weekend I was in Toronto...
One of my favourite memories of my visit was the sunrise last Tuesday - the day I returned home.
The magic started at 6:45 AM....
And just got better and better.
But it doesn't last long!
By 7:05, the "fire" was gone!
A few days ago, Terry and I took our grandkids to an interesting "market garden" farm - where they also have "free range" chickens - and cats!
I'm not sure if these hens lay the eggs that are sold in the shop...
But we enjoyed just hanging out with chickens of all sizes and colour combinations.
My favourite was this black and white striped one with a cute tuft of black feathers on top of its head. I think its beak is white!
This one reminded me of a cartoon rooster I remember from my childhood days.
Jericho looked around for eggs. Last time he found one tucked behind a box. No eggs found this time...
But he did find a cat! (See top photo)
It was fun just to hang out with these "free range" animals...
... and walk a pumpkin maze in progress.
I'm not used to living with a cat - not used to the door quietly moving - and there he is...
But I spent a few days in Toronto last weekend, staying with my daughter and her cat. He showed me the best view of the city...
"Nice, isn't it?!"
He was right!
Later, he joined me in the bathroom...
"Don't mind me - I like watching people brush their teeth..."
I'm glad I didn't notice the "no photography" sign until I left the pool area...
I haven't attended a swimming lesson for years, so I had no idea how my grandkids were doing now.
(Even they were interested in seeing pictures of themselves in the pool.)
Jericho - whose class was over - entertained me by hiding!
("Grandma, can you see me??")
Never a dull moment with kids around!
The sky...
Daisies in a neighbour's yard.
All too soon the leaves will be turning yellow, too.
You don't have to go far in Ottawa to come across Canada Geese! Here they are - next to some office buildings.
Rivers and creeks criss-cross throughout the city - and geese are never far away!
I've seen a mama goose sitting on a nest on a cliff above a river - and another in a planter in a shopping centre - with no river in sight...
I find them beautiful - and interesting - but I'm no expert on them.
I was recently listening on a podcast from the UK when the speaker, a bird watcher, mentioned birds she enjoyed watching. Among them were Canada Geese, migrating to the UK for the winter...
I was surprised! Really?!
So I looked it up online: Do some Canada Geese migrate from Canada to the UK for the winter?
The answer was NO - but... apparently more than 150,000 Canada geese live in the UK permanently. They are the offspring of some that were taken to Britain from North America in the 17th century to live in St. James Park in London - as exotic birds.
Unlike in Canada, they can be hunted in duck- hunting season.
They have been known to migrate - to Europe - if there is a food shortage for them in the UK. But otherwise they don't normally migrate.
Interesting!
On warm summer days, I enjoy eating uncooked meals, like this plate of cottage cheese, tomatoes fresh off the vine, smoked garlic sausage - and, in this case - leftover tortellini and part of a " veggie-burger" made of walnuts and lentils.
That's called a "girl dinner" my daughter informed me, when I told her what I was eating.
Why?
I don't know. Possibly because it involves no cooking.
Is there also a "boy dinner"? I asked...
Barbecued chicken (bought pre-cooked at the supermarket) with a diet coke to drink, she replied.
(I had no idea!!)
