Around the blend
Meritage is a rather new word that signifies a blend of varietals, in the manner of a Bordeaux wine. In the past, if a blended wine contained 75 per cent or more of one grape, federal regulations required it to be labelled under that varietal’s name. This law frustrated the wish of some winemakers to […]
Wild geese and the moon
A black squirrel lowers on a tree branch that intersects the frame of the window. The western light makes cranberries of the buds popping on the red maples. It paints a garden of Belgium lace on the curtains of the guest room of Dad’s place in Ottawa. I have just come in from the County […]
Tough guys
Boxing is a brutal sport. That much is undeniable. The fighters, like gladiators, don protective gear that hardly protects them from the ravages of bones and brains battered by the blows of a professional boxer’s powerful fist. That may be the sport’s appeal to its fans. It’s the kind of rough treatment that is best […]
The synergies of donuts
It’s coming closer to fruition. Last week, council approved the site plan for a wide swath of east Main Street (in the non-heritage part of Wellington, right next to non-heritage Tara Hall) to allow for the development of a gas station, convenience store and Tim Hortons outlet. The erection of the gas station was the […]
Of circles and hills
On Sunday, I volunteered to be a cheerleader for the Hike for Hospice hikers. As luck would have it, I was given pom-poms, a sign and a walkie-talkie and sent off to my post. You guessed it, the infamous Town Hill. Woo hoo! Who doesn’t like to spend some quality time grimacing, wincing and whispering […]
Alpha dogs
I should come clean before I begin. I am one of those people who believe dogs should run free. I understand the difficulty the people at Quinte Conservation have encountered. It’s the problem any organization tasked with managing wilderness trails will eventually run into. People like me, who believe dogs should run free, think they’ve […]
Carleton’s remarkable coach
I have spent the last few years south of the border during the basketball season called March Madness. It is a time when many Americans wave the flag of their favourite college basketball team. It is not necessary for a fan to attend the school they support. In fact, there are many Kentucky fans, for […]
Meanwhile, in hockey poetry
Do you ever get the feeling that sports reporting is a trifle overwrought? That sometimes it gets just a little bit boring and repetitive? No, me neither. Still, I wonder whether the sports reporting powers that be have considered moving to a more concise form of explication—putting sports news into terse verse. With verse, you’ve […]
Around the blend
While stocking up at the Picton LCBO last Wednesday, Kimberly and I got into a conversation with Tom, who suggested an article explaining the differences between single varietal wines, blended wines, and meritages. I suspect each and every LCBO employee fields this question on a daily basis. The single varietal is easy to explain: the […]
Spring has sprung
Spring cleaning. What the H E double mop heads is that all about? The good thing is, I’m not as fanatic as I once was about spring cleaning. Spring cleaning used to be a distraction from real life’s ups and downs. In bygone days, the moment the snow was gone from the corners of the […]