Unforgettable!

I subscribed to a New York Times e-newsletter a few years ago - during COVID. I was curious to know how people in other places were coping. 

I still get the e-newsletter and peruse the headlines (though some stories are hidden from me, since I'm not a paying subscriber).

One free article that intrigued me last week was about how therapeutic it is to breathe fresh air and hear birds, even through an open window. 

I can't argue about that! 

But I was surprised by one of the therapeutic outdoor activities mentioned... 

Quilting outdoors!

I've quilted a lot over the years - but I've never plugged in a sewing machine on an outdoor picnic table (for fear of being electrocuted)!

Or cut fabric on the grass!

With cows and goats nearby, was there a fear they might come over to investigate?!

All problems aside, I'll bet - for those who attend these two-day outdoor quilting workshops - the experience is truly unforgettable!! 

(But I'm not sure it's for me!)

Crumbling Boulders

At the end of the street are six boulders - meant to deter drivers from taking shortcuts along pedestrian pathways on the college grounds. The boulders have been there for years - but most are now crumbling.

Strange as it sounds, there once was a small truck in the neighbourhood that made this opening his secret shortcut.

Once college gardeners realized what was happening, they added the boulders.

Since then, the large rocks have been hit many times - usually by snowplow drivers who mistake them for mounds of snow in winter. Each crash makes them crumble more!

A few cars have crashed into them as well... and not only when there was snow on the ground.

(What were the drivers thinking?!)

Most recently, a small car tried to muscle through at 3 AM. Terry heard a loud bang. 

He grabbed his flashlight and went out to see what had happened. Several people were getting out of the vehicle, which had stopped a few meters away, leaving tire tracks in the grass.

Terry returned home to call college security.

Half an hour later - at 4 AM - the phone rang. A police officer wanted to ask Terry a few questions - since passengers and driver had all disappeared...

I guess that means that no one was seriously hurt! Good!

(But how do you fall back asleep after an eventful night like that?!)

The Month That Was

Our summer is half over!

As I review my phenology calendar for last month, it's the weather that stand out - the rainstorm that brought flooding to our street on July 1...

And two 3-day heat waves - the first starting the same day as the flood. 

A second 3-day heat wave followed two weeks later.

No animals noted on my July 2026 phenology calendar - though squirrels and chipmunks continued to scurry around the yard, and one even stole a few almost-ripe tomatoes from my son's two tomato plants. 

I guess I was too busy with post-flood recovery to notice!

Mystery Solved!

I'm currently on a virtual walk in New South Wales, Australia.

Some of the paths I've been (virtually) travelling on have "street views" - though they are too steep and narrow for vehicles to drive on... 

How do they get the street view of the area for the google maps?! Elsewhere, most are photographed by a camera on the roof of a car.

Perhaps camera drones?! I wondered...

But then, on one "street view" in the woods, I noticed a camera - and a black baseball cap!

Someone appears to be carrying the google camera on his or her shoulder!

Here's another - this time the person is wearing a hoodie...

So that's how they photograph "street views" on narrow mountain paths?!!

Family Birthday!

Today is my older son's birthday...

He celebrated with his brother and niece last weekend at...

... a video arcade!!

Memories of childhood video games!

Then Ivy decorated a cake for him!

A fun, memorable day!

(Now what will we do today?! It's hard to match 5 hours of video game fun!)

New-fangled Wheelchair

When is a car not a car?!

When it's driving on the sidewalk, I guess!

This one crossed in front of us and continued down the sidewalk. It looked as big as some of the smaller cars I've seen. Terry said it's considered a motorized wheelchair. (Do motorized wheelchairs go on sidewalks or bike paths?!) I notice that it's as wide as the sidewalk it's on. 

I wonder - who moves aside if it approaches a pedestrian?? What about a baby stroller?!

It must be quite a challenge for city engineers to determine the width of city sidewalks and designated bike paths.

I'd guess it would fill up the width of a bike path, too.

Lifelong Passion??!

Years ago my two young sons loved to watch - and imitate - wrestlers they saw on TV.

Not classic Olympic-style wrestlers - but over-the-top, larger-than-life heroes like Hulk Hogan - and others whose names I've forgotten... who would throw challenges at each other and fight for various championships and belts.

This was the after-school life of my young sons - talking about their favourite wrestlers, upcoming challenges, and who they thought would win. 

(I even created several "championship  belts" for their pretend wrestling matches.)

Then it seemed to end - this wrestling mania.. and for years I didn't hear anything about it - except for occasional retrospective documentaries about former wrestlers.

But then - last weekend, one of my sons informed me that he had bought tickets for a wrestling show in Montreal.

Really?! They still do that?!

And from the pictures he shared, the whole wrestling phenomenon, as I remember it, seems to have come back again!