Missed It!

My son texted me this on Saturday evening...

Oh no! I missed it! 

I'm obviously not aware of everything going on in our neighbourhood! This is an event I would probably really enjoy!

Beautiful Drive Home!

On our return trip home from Toronto last week, we took the back road - along Highway 7 - through Tweed.

We wondered if most of the leaves would be down...

In some places there weren't many fall colours...

A strong wind must have passed through, pulling the leaves  off!

But by and large, the scenery was stunning!

Lots of trees and lakes...

It was a tranquil ride home.

Kingston Farmers Market

A few days ago, Terry and I passed through Kingston...

It was market day, so we stopped in at the downtown Farmers market.

Terry likes to chat with vendors, especially local maple syrup producers... 

Which is how we met Todd Vader, many years ago. Now we often stop by his market stall, whether we need maple syrup or not.

And finally, before leaving town, we enjoyed some White Mountain ice cream!

Breath of Fresh Air

There's a lot of politics in the media these days. I recently sat through half a TV debate of four middle-aged men running for mayor in our city. Nobody cracked a smile... Everyone was angry... None of them spoke as well as I had hoped.

That's why I was excited to read this story of a young man running for city counsellor in my former hometown, Kelowna BC.

His signs made me smile...

His instagram account was full of details of how he'd like things to change in the city.

He seemed approachable. 

(Hopefully his enthusiasm won't wane now that he's been elected.) 

He's a breath of fresh air in city politics... I wish him well!

Silver-Golden Beaches

My current daily exercise is (virtually) hiking along the east coast of Australia...

By virtually hiking, I mean that as I walk (here and there in Canada), my cell phone walking app counts my daily steps, calculates the distance of those steps and moves me that distance along the path I have chosen.

Much of my current trek has been through forest - though occasionally I head down towards the beach. 

The sand is a lovely silver-gold colour...

I am reminded that boat-loads of this sand was once transported from Australia to Hawaii - to cover the black volcanic sand that occurs naturally there.

When pineapples were shipped from Hawaii to Australia, sailors hunted for cargo to send back on the boats, to weigh the empty boats down. What better cargo than beautiful golden sand?!! 

This created an interesting connection between Australia and Hawaii: Many of the beaches in Hawaii are covered with golden Australian sand!

Critters!

Friendly looking little critters...

Babies almost ready to leave the nest?!

Cute - but not what I would want living in my garage roof!

October Drive - in Fall Colours

Terry and I recently drove down the back roads en route to Toronto.

The leaves were beautiful...

The day was sunny...

Sunlight gives fall leaves their translucent glow...

Like stained glass.

I find that going out for the express purpose of enjoying nature enhances my mood. 

As Terry once noted, we are happier when we are travelling! It's as though we're escaping our daily concerns. Even a day trip becomes a mini-vacation.