Winter damage
Recently I posted several photos on social media of my trees and plants covered in a sheet of ice. I received so many questions and emails asking about the unusual weather patterns and how this will affect the gardens. People are worried about their outdoor spaces and the impact and global warming. Here are some […]
Blank space
So, it’s a “where’s my Chat- GPT I’m having a blank page staring at me” kind-of-day. I rarely have a problem getting ideas onto a piece of paper. However, here I am. Actually, there was one time when I was stopped dead in my writing margins. When I was an undergrad at University of Waterloo […]
Slowpoke
Dave Gray was a regular visitor at The Times office. Most often he would stop in with a short but punchy letter to the editor. He wasn’t afraid to voice his concerns or opinion, although he would often ask if I thought he would upset anyone. I recall one particular visit. Dave brought with him […]
You want to do what? Where?
I’m going to paraphrase a Native American saying, “Only a fool would cut the top off a blanket, sew it to the bottom and think they had made the blanket longer.” The original saying was in reference to the supposed folly of Daylight Savings Time. I’m going to scramble that saying a little bit more […]
Welcome to 2023
As this is my first article for 2023, I wanted to take this moment to sum up 2022 and talk about the year ahead for gardening enthusiasts and homeowners who enjoy their outdoor spaces. Twenty-twenty-one and 2022 saw a lot of Canadians in transition. Housing markets were up and down all over the country. Personally, […]
The best is yet to be
If you thought my first column of 2023 was going to be about New Year’s Resolutions, think again. I’m no longer interested in imposing outrageous goals upon myself, only to wake up every Monday morning to start afresh. Nope, I’m not doing that anymore. I no longer want to hop on that bus. But in […]
Christmas gifts for a gardener
Every year around this time my friends and family ask me what I want for Christmas. I always think its obvious—things for the garden or about gardening! Somehow that translates into sweaters, socks and board games. So this year I thought I help my family out with some great ideas. Dear Santa… Bulbs are always […]
Tradition! Tradition!
A very, very long time ago LOML and I gave up on having “The Perfect Holiday”. We came to the County in 1972 for a new life. We thought we’d be here for a couple of years and then head back to Toronto, but here we are. Fifty years of trying to decide the W5 […]
Where in the world
Where in the world is the Children’s Tylenol, or Advil or Motrin for that matter? And, it’s not just the OTCs missing in action, but prescription antibiotics are hard to find, too. DANG! Well, well, well, what the heck is going on? According to Health Canada earlier this month, as regards these products, “the demand […]
A Wedding Dress, A Uniform
So, here I sit. It’s November 6th. It’s unseasonably warm, a bit overcast and not very November- y. This week, like a lot of you, I’ll be remembering the women and men who served, and who serve, to ensure peace and prosperity for people like me, and like you. My father served in the Second […]