Song for Elly
Spring wardrobe, scant on the forest ridge; scrublands of dogwood, chokecherry ragged. There’s a breeze. Sou’wester off the lake: seagulls inland. A plover takes to her trickster habit; feigning hurt to attract me away from her nest. Now the park, playground quiet; voice of the wind guides the swings in the breeze; in the silence […]
The lottery gambit
The latest innovation to hit the Ontario election campaign could come from the unlikeliest of places—Slovakia. And what is this innovation? It’s the Slovakian value added tax receipt lottery. Say again? The Slovakian lottery gambit. Slovakia’s revenue from value added taxes (the equivalent of our HST) has been shrinking. It seems that the only explanation […]
Meh
Raise your hand if you are confused about the upcoming provincial election. Go on. Don’t be shy, ain’t no one sitting nearby who isn’t as glazed over as you. Ontario provincial election day, June 12, is fast approaching and I’m just not sure how it’s going to go down when I get into the poll. […]
Tim Horton – Memories
Last week I posted a note on Facebook regarding the 50th Anniversary of Tim Hortons. The restaurant people celebrated by giving customers a piece of cake and a coffee. There are several thousand Tim Hortons shops in Canada, and a few in the northern states. I discovered one in Florida. It is in Sunrise, in […]
Magnificent Merlot
The Merlot grape travels well. And, despite quibbling in the movie Sideways, it can create a wine of exquisite beauty. Merlot was first cultivated as a separate species in the late 1700s. It has only recently been identified as an an offspring of Cabernet Franc by the University of California, Davis. It is also related […]
What goes on in the cranium…
Have you ever had the experience where you’re lying in bed, and you know you should be getting up, but a pleasant dream comes to mind? Let’s say you have entered a crowded room full of beautiful people, who murmur of your arrival to one another in hushed tones. They turn to look at you, […]
Lady killer
It’s the long weekend. The County is filled with folks here to enjoy time away from the grind of their everyday lives. Here to get the summertime off to a good start, to get into the mood for whatever it is that turns their summer-funcrank. As I watch our guests relax and dig into the […]
Mother’s Day stroll
There is sheen to the land. Dew caught in the dawn, wet varnish: On the branches of the dogwood; the tin roof of a drive shed; on the holding wires tracing turned-up ground of a vine patch. A sweet scent of manure and earth; bitter ash from the fire of yesterday’s clean-up; last night’s road […]
Patient discipline
The rich rewards of the Nebbiolo grape requires great patience. While it customarily offers notes of violets, tar and anise, it may take at least a decade of aging to manifest its deep flavours of orange, black fruits, leather and spice. Grown almost exclusively in Italy’s Piedmont, the Nebbiolo vine readily demonstrates the influence of […]
The Road to Hockeytown
To say that Jimmy Devellano is a sports fan would be a gross understatement. He lives and breathes sports virtually 24 hours a day. He has executive roles with the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers, and he follows other sports and teams as well. Jimmy grew up in Toronto and, as a kid, […]