Life is Precious

Life is precious
We had a pair of Cardinals that frequented our bird feeders. He would always crush some sunflower seeds and fly to her and feed her first. It was interesting to watch the love of a mate. One day, only the male came and he spent the next several days calling for his mate. We could tell by the sound that he was stricken with worry.


I recently received an e-mail that reminded me that all things big or small cling to the principles of love and life.

In the EYE of a SPARROW

A female mate was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road, and the condition was soon fatal.

Her male mate brought her food and attended her with love and compassion.

He brought her food again, but was shocked to find her dead.

He brought her food again, but was shocked to find her dead.

Aware that his mate was dead and would never come back to him again, he cried with adoring love...

...and stood beside her with sadness and sorrow.

Millions of people were touched after seeing these photos in America , Europe, Australia , and even India .
The photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the most famous newspaper in France . All copies of that edition were sold out on the day these pictures were published.

And many people think animals and birds don't have brains or feelings. You have just witnessed love and sorrow felt by God's creatures. The Bible says that God knows when a sparrow falls.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly.

Mother’s Day, another trip down that dusty road of life.

Mother’s Day is all over, but the week before was an extremely busy time for the flower business. I helped my daughter and her husband with deliveries. Load after load delivered to super markets and garden centers. I was glad to see the week come to an end. The week ended with severe storms on the Saturday.
Of course, that is not the end of the season,just the beginning. I help just during the rush towards Mother’s Day. I prefer my comfort zone of retirement, doing what I want to do when, I want to do it.

It is amazing, the different attitudes that I come in contact with. Some people believe they walk on water, while others couldn’t be nicer and more helpful. I have come to believe it is the store managers that make the difference. One such store refused delivery on the Friday of two trucks that had traveled 2½ hours because they were concerned with the coming weather front. They couldn't phone and say hold the shipment; but they phoned the next day and wanted their shipments sent as soon as possible. There is a lot more to the flower business than just growing. There is the control that is required to avoid confrontation and the overwhelming desire to beat some dipstick manager with in a inch of his useless life.

There are a few more baskets to deliver.

Sample the baskets.

Timing is everything. You need color but not too much.
These turned out perfect, we had lots of favorable comments.

Time to load the truck and head out for another delivery.

The Demise of Roadfood Junkie

The Roadfood junkie website was taken down in favor of blogging. There was more work and costs to maintaining the Roadfood-junkie website than I was prepared to put into it. The website was gaining in popularity but I just wasn't getting the advertising dollars to support the site. Websites rely on a visit to the sponsors to help with maintenance costs.

Blogging seems the easy way to go and Blogger, makes it so easy. Where it took me hours of coding before to get up a web-page; I can now get a blog up in minutes.
Roadfood-junkie Travel Journal was my last creation and where I transferred some of my web-pages to.
It is a long dusty road out there, and I never want to stop learning. I will no doubt try something else, there is more to computing than just emails.

So visit my Roadfood-junkie Travel Journal along with my Dusty Roads Blog and at the bottom of every blog is a comments link. Be nice to know, who is reading the blogs.It makes the effort all worth while.

Spring Flowers

It was a lot of work getting the flower beds into some kind of shape and the weather never always co-operated. But the housekeeping is done and now we can sit back and enjoy the spring flowers.

After a long cold winter, it is uplifting to see a return to life all those bulbs and roots that made you sweat a year prior when you were planting. Although, I must admit most have been planted over the last couple of years.

This is the first year in many that we feel ahead of the game. Two reasons; first- we did a better job of fall clean-up and second… and most important, no greenhouses business to contend with. We do miss the planting & growing aspect of the greenhouses. The cold snowy days of winter working inside a greenhouse and enjoying being the creator of plant life was very therapeutic.

Our gardens kind of come in stages, right now, it is the yellows of daffodils & Forsythia bushes or the reds of spirea, dogwood, azaleas’ or Magnolia bush’s, along with purples of hyacinth, followed by red tulips. Hostas are showing their heads and buds are forming on Clematis and rose bushes.
The first flowers I see when I turn into my drive.


It won’t be long and the Iris, Peonies and Lilies will be coloring our world. Although we no longer grow as a greenhouse business; we do some plantings for annual color after the perennials peter out. We over winter, Bougainvillea’s, Brugsmansia, Elephant Ears and miniature orange trees for containers around the yard and this is the time to try and kick started them back to life after their meager existence.

I get great joy in seeing my wife stroll around the yard each morning, scissors in hand looking for flowers to cut, or a weed to pull. She has had such a tough time physically, health wise, gardening uplifts her spirits.
She always trys to have fresh flowers on a table.

The birds are singing and gathering materials for nest building. Currently we are awaiting the return of Baltimore Orioles & Humming birds, so put out the nectar feeders early. Last year we had six Orioles that spent more time in the backyard than I did. We feed the birds and with so many shrubs and trees around we seem to have an abundance of varieties. One thing we have learnt, feed the birds and they will come.
Cardinals are a constant visitor to the feeders, summer and winter.


Daffodils come in more than just yellow.


There are white ones also.


These hyacinth were from an Easter Basket of flowers a few years ago and are still going strong.


Our Magnolia seems to be slower than most to open up. Must be the variety.


Of course, there are lots of magnificent Forsythia bushes to bright our world.


What a glorious time of year to watch life unfold.

Soon after I took these pictures, it snowed.

Texas vacation

Those dusty roads were covered with snow and ice. Jack Frost was nipping at our heels, it was time to get out of Dodge. Weatherman said a snow storm was imminent with in the next 48 hours. We hadn't had much snow to date; it was going down as one of our mildest winters on record; None the less, it is always good to get a winter break.

Friends invited us to South Padre Island,Texas. We had been there a year before and liked it. This time we made our own reservations with the help of our daughter who is a whiz on bookings. She managed a package deal and everything went like clock work; a far cry from the Travel Agent we had last year.

We left our car in Buffalo, NY. Flight plans were from Buffalo to Newark NJ. to Houston TX. To Harlingen TX., pickup a rental car and drive approx 3/4 of a hour to South Padre Island and our Hotel at Blue Bay Inn. Everything went without a hitch. We left at 5am and arrived at destination at 5 pm. Blue Bay Inn was perfect with a balcony view of the bay and night views of the mainland of Port Isabel and its connecting bridge. I could sleep in a tent, but cleanliness is important to the wife and Blue Bay Inn was perfect. We had daily maid service so she was on a truly relaxing vacation. We had a Osprey that would sit most days outside our room on a pole, that was interesting along with many shore birds, like the big snowy white Egrets and a raft of redhead ducks.

South Padre Island is connected to the mainland at Port Isabel by a two mile long bridge. Our friends were on Port Isabel side so we traveled the bridge frequently. Most shopping is on that side anyway unless you want - tee shirts, beach wear, and coffee mugs. One business next to our hotel advertised 60,000 items under $6.95. That is a lot of shot glasses, a coffee mug was $12.95. Ahhh! the power of bullshit would make their nose grow.

Two of our favorite roadfood eateries were in Port Isabel. Whenever I wanted more than a free continental breakfast at the hotel, I would head for a wonderful breakfast at Fisherman's Restaurant. Or a pasta dish at Marcello's Italian. More on these places on my Roadfood junkie Blog

We attended a cookout at a fairground in a town a few miles away. Sampling excellent barbecue from competitors from all over the great state of Texas and beyond. I signed up to be a judge but withdrew when I found out there would be no Barbi or Bikinis.  

Weather in Texas was a little cooler this year, I was in shorts all but one day,but it would have been too cool to toast buns on the beach. Fishing was off, they were dredging the shipping channel and blowing water and sand miles down the beach. I am sure this was affecting the fishing, besides a red tide earlier in the year.

 The channel was being sucked clean with this Sump sucking giant vacuum. It would blow sand and water miles down the beach. They were working to complete the operation before Spring Break.












Two such water spouts kept the bulldozer busy moving sand from the channel down the beach.












They say, thousands of fish a sea-life had washed up on the beaches during the Red Tide. We seen no trace of it though. Fishing license in that area were a rip. You could purchase a one day for $15 or a season pass for $67, with nothing in between for a two week vacationer. I don't understand their logic, fishing brings in lots of revenue to local businesses.

The Jetty, where we normally fish from. But there was not much being caught, so I never bothered.










We would go down to the beach daily and watch the progress of dredging, sit and read, play cards with friends, sight see, eat out at many different restaurants, sample the odd beer wherever it was 2 bucks for a 20oz draft (which was everywhere).
Just a general relaxing vacation that helped me unwind after the death of my brother; just prior to us leaving. We left for vacation immediately following his funeral. Some may think; how could you? Plans had been made prior and it was non refundable and canceling vacation wasn't going to bring him back. I will miss him terribly, he was the best brother a person could ever wish for.

This was another trip down that dusty road of life.

Another journey down that Dusty Road of life

After much deliberation, we finally decided to list our farm for sale. It was not an easy decision but one that the two of us have agreed upon. There comes a time when new steps must be taken.
Our kids were raised here. They are also satisfied that it is the correct decision.

We had a flourishing greenhouse operation, that we shutdown a year ago.

My wife was no longer capable of carrying on the day to day chores required to grow top quality plants; due to health issues. She handled the grooming, and attention to various color combinations.

I handled the growing aspect,bull work of hanging and loading, lifting etc.There was too much work for one person and not enough to hire. Besides, we were a team. It wouldn't be the same without each other. We could always count on our family to pitch in, whenever extra hands were required, but they have their own life and we feel the time has come to move on.  

We will no doubt move into town, become bored with life and want to travel. That can't be all bad, accept for the fact, that it is impossible for Carole to get travel insurance.
Another of life's little roadblocks along that dusty road.

Remembrance Day

Remembrance day is just a week away.
Have you bought your poppy a gesture of appreciation  to all the veterans?

I really feel passionate about this.
I go into the local small town grocery store and outside stands a veteran selling poppies. Inside the store not one of the staff had a poppy on. Men and women put their lives on hold, and some lost their life, so we could live in a free society. And here, we have business people not giving a damn. They don't even stop at 11am to give a moment of silence (last year). How dreadful.
I told the store manager what I thought, I was miffed just enough that I didn't care. Maybe I will write corporate office.

If nothing else I hope to spread this word and make a little difference in our otherwise thoughtless unapprecative world. Please show your support  and bring attention to this lack in attitude.

Autumn

I have always thought of the end of October, Halloween, as the defining moment when our autumn changes to winter. In the past, I would bring the cattle in from the fields and start to feed them hay and grain, they would not go out again till spring rains passed.

Actually, they would spend all winter out, but were limited to a corral behind the barn. They had the option to go in or stay outside, a door into an inside stall was always open. Cattle are healthier out than in, and love to be out. I have seen them stand outside with 6” of snow on their backs. They would only go into the barn to sleep and eat.

Seems like a long time ago that we raised livestock. Never had a digital camera in those days and a lot of memories were lost. Now I am a regular shutter bug and take pictures of every thing.

The winds of winter are nipping at our heels. It won’t be long and the nip will turn into a bite. We have not had a great autumn this year, it has been wet and cool but there have been sprinklings of sunny days. One such day was yesterday, and I made good use of it and took a trail walk.

Such a gorgeous day to be out and about enjoying the last hoorays of fall. There is a silver lining, the colors this year are more vivid and the trees have held their foliage longer.

I took my camera and went walking. As I stepped out the door I realized there was beauty in my own back yard. The deep yellows of Harliquin Maples were more brilliant from the contrasting rust of the Birch.

 
The reds of a Japanese Maple had its own glow from the early morning sun. I realized it should have been planted more out in the open where it would be more easily viewed. Live and learn, the tree was growing bigger than I thought and had been wrongly situated.

A lone rose peaked out of the trellis, giving a view of the beauty that would soon be history for another year. Or was it a preview of the year to come?

As I drove to the country trail where I would begin my walk, it was hard to not stop, periodically and take a few pictures of Autumns splender.

Corn fields awaiting the harvester have had several reprieves from the knives due to many wet days. Some of the corn will have to wait until the ground freezes before the huge machines can get on the ground.

    Rows of Cherry trees sit waiting to shed their leaves.

 I finally arrived at my walking trail. Know one else was around but myself and nature. What a glorious fall day.

Sparkling waters as I cross over a bridge.

And waterfalls in the distance.

 Seems no matter where I go, sooner or later I wind up down at the lake.
The fog horns will soon be silenced for another season.

The boats are put to bed for the winter and the Marina has become a ghost town.

The beaches no longer have multitudes of bathers but the odd hardy soul still walk the beach bundled against any raw winds off the lake.

 

The ducks will soon move inland in search of food.

They have been well fed all summer. It must be tough wondering where the next meal comes from.

 

I love the fall, I love Ontario.

As they say, "Ontario yours to discover".

Thanksgiving in Ontario

Well it is another year to be thankful, traditionally, Thanksgiving in Canada is the second Monday of October. This is a time for family to sit as one, and appreciate a great meal, giving thanks to the end of another bountiful season.

Fall fairs are in full swing right now; without a week going by that you can't find one somewhere. 4H club's showing off their prize winning livestock, vegetables, or baked goods and the sights and sounds of the midway, the smell of onions and hamburger patties being tossed around on a hot grill. The fall colors of trees are in full swing awaiting a hard frost and a windy day, to shed their canopy. A signal winters fury can now enter another stage of our life.

There is nothing more important in our life than to sit down to a table surrounded by family. Family values are important.
A traditional day such as Thanksgiving is one of those days, a day of fond memories.

My youngest daughter and her family have a beautiful home in the country, and space to hold our immediate family of 15.


Entrance.



Table is all set and awaiting the arrival of the rest of the family.



The Mom and daughter working like beavers in the kitchen.




Tania is a wonderful cook and hostess, everyone brings something. The good woman, and mother of our three beautiful daughters, brings the pies. This year it was apple, lemon and pecan which replaced a pumpkin by a vote of 2 to 1.



A couple of views out the kitchen window looking for those wild turkeys.



They won’t be in the pool but maybe the woods in back.



Oh! here’s the turkey.... Tom was hiding in the oven.
This turkey was the moistest turkey ever encountered; 30lbs of golden goodness cooked to perfection, a job well done....Tania.




Lets get him plated up. I’m hungry.



One of my most challenging feats is to get a good picture of the grand-babies, they usually turn their heads, put their hands up, or act like their mother’s when facing a camera. This year, I almost got a good picture.



Well I have had my pie. They would all win an award of excellence.
Apple would certainly rank as deep dish blue ribbon quality, but my favorite was the lemon.



This is where I take a break, “please keep the festive mood down, where is the couch”?

Everything about this day and this meal was perfect, except for two Grandsons that couldn’t make it this year.