Grapes . . .
How shall we corral this healthy berry into a simple framework? They can be eaten raw or used for making preserves, wine, juice, jellies, raisins, vinegars and grape seed extracts. They come in a wide range of colours (“white” grapes are actually green). Their clusters can have as few as 15 grapes to as many […]
Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb
Ok, ok, already! I’ll not rush into spring planting! I’ll hang on ‘til the conventional 2-4 weekend. Keep a watch on the rhubarb as long as the weather doesn’t throttle it. Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb: In Shakespeare’s time and beyond, the muttering of the word was given to the extras on stage to represent a grumble. […]
The case of the Peterborough puppy
Sometimes, you can’t beat an Ontario court case for old-fashioned drama—and value for money. Take this excerpt from the Reasons for Judgment of Justice Charles H. Vaillancourt in the case of Her Majesty The Queen and Michael Dennis Duffy. (Text in square brackets ([…]) has been added for context. The excerpt has been edited down.) […]
The pits
Taxes. Yep, the deadline for filing your personal income tax is just about here. May 2 at midnight is the magic line drawn in time (since April 30 falls on a Saturday). Federal income tax is something that boils away inside my head year-round. Even though I don’t think LOML and I have anything to […]
Augusta James
The official title of the golf tournament I attended last week is “Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial Tournament”. It is a combination tournament that includes golfers from the Symetra Tour and others from the Legends Tour. The ladies from the Symetra Tour played a four-day, 72-hole tournament, whereas the Legends group played a 36-hole, Saturday and […]
Blame
It would be difficult to believe that Ezekiel Stephan’s parents didn’t love and care for their child. In fact, from accounts of their testimony, the horror of losing a young son is palpable. Ezekiel died in 2012 from bacterial meningitis, a disease usually treatable by a round of antibiotics. He was only 19 months old. […]
A place for wine
Our ever-increasing interest in purchasing wine brings with it the question of where to best store our precious treasure. Even if you have not invested in a small dualtemperature wine cabinet or (if you are truly an avid collector) built your own wine cellar, there are some good places in your house to store wine. […]
For successful but lazy artists
You’ve probably heard about the next big thing in digital intelligence. A computer is now able— for better or worse—to replicate the style of an ancient master painter and create a brand-new work that might as well have been made by the master himself—if he hadn’t been dead for nearly 350 years. The painting—dubbed The […]
Boys and girls
Ah, it’s springtime and the young-at-heart turn their thoughts to love. Recently, someone posed a question, on social media, asking why we continue to teach our children that showing your love for another person sometimes means abuse. Huh? How can that possibly be right? Well, let me explain. When I was a kid in grade […]
Trust
Writing the news can be a precarious business. Especially in a small place like the County. Conflicts of interest are bound to happen as journalists inevitably mix with other members of the community and get involved in organizations and events. Even larger news organizations must be careful, balancing a fine line between neutrality and revenue— […]