Dock & Walk

When we head downtown, we generally park in the little parking lot adjacent to the river and close to town hall, and we are often tempted to grab some photos. Yesterday was no different,

A little upstream, just beyond town limits and  well to the left and east of the ↓ photo, the river widens out into a lake, or at least what we call a lake. There are cottages and even homes along the lake, and a good proportion of those folk have boats. To facilitate access to downtown, the town has installed a dock with two piers extending out into the river. It doesn't seem get a lot of use, but I do see boats moored there on occasion.

Down to the dock went I, as I have done before, and took this ↓ photo that includes the bridge in the background. I included the bridge so that the viewer could orient themselves somewhat since I have photographed the bridge many times although usually from the far bank. Note: On this day, although I took my camera, I chose to leave it in the car and use my phone.

Turning back toward land, I wanted a photo of the sign, but I also wanted to get the scene, so if you can't read the sign at this resolution, I will tell you that it is Dock & Walk, which is also the title of this post.

I am standing oin the town dock, looking upriver past several private docks.

Turning back the other way, there is a building with at least one residence on the top floor, and I can't help but think what a very fine view they have from their elevated patio. I know that their deck is difficult to see in this photo, but it is there behind the railing near the top. They will sure have a great view of the fireworks tomorrow night.

We did our downtown walk (pictures tomorrow). When we returned there was a canoe situated quite well in the frame, and Sue took a shot. I did a little editing, including turning the light on, or at least attempting to fake it.

It Happened Again . . . And Again

I wasn’t looking to post of this again and had another topic in mind, but it just happened — again!

Too funny: very early this monirng I checked social media and saw that my friend, Nick, had posted two intriguing photos. In Comments, I wrote: “What a treat to see your art first thing in the moring while most of the rest of the world sleeps.”

Do you see how I typed morning? And do you see how I typed it (above) to introduce how I typed it? Well, I guess that you must see since I have now gone back and bolded them. 

It’s so weird. What is it about this word? I freely admit that I am a terrible keyboarder, but this word gets me almost every time. It even got me at the beginning of this paragraph, but I corrected it in this instance  

I swear that I do not do this intentionally. I also swear that I will never post of this again . . . this week.

Perhaps if I hadn’t been reduced to fewer than five hours of sleep on two consecutive nights,  I would type and write better. Seriously, it’s just a little after 7, and I have been awake since before 5. I’m on my second cuppa and may even get a Tims coffee later. 

Monirng, Strawberries and Tennis

I am going to be very brief this morning, and it is about spelling or actually typing the word, morning. I just typed it as monirng in a comment and was reminded that I once wrote about my difficulties in keyboarding said word. I wrote that post more then two years agp; this is whatI wrote: among other things, of course.

I am a terrible typist (keyboardist?). While I don’t exactly keep track of my mistakes, one recurring one that I have noticed recently is monirng when I mean monring oops, I mean morning. (I couldn’t type morning correctly even when I was paying attention. I assure you that it was unintentional.) 

The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?

Since I am here writing and posting when I didn’t intend to be, I will also mention that I have read two posts that mention strawberries. They have come in season here, and the stand around the corner is up, so I should definitely do something about that.

Strawberry season also reminds me that it is Wimbledon tennis time. I have signed up for the Canadian sports channel that carries the event. Every year, I subscribed for just the month, but I will have to remember to cancel once the event is over, so I’ve put a reminder on both Alexa and Google Calendar. I will have to renew it for the US Open in September. 

The Graduation

After posting The Graduate yesterday, of course you know that I would also post about The Graduation today or at least soon. As I previously wrote, I couldn't be there at the ceremony, but we did get a few minutes to grab some photos before the in-crowd set sail for the high school.

First, however, this was from our family party on the previous evening. The photo was fine in colour, but I had a yen to convert it to b&w, maybe because my and Sue's grad photos from college were in b&w. That was back in the dark ages when big phones were still attached to cords and walls, but mono still seems good and proper to me.

As you know the hinges on the proverbial door to you-know-where have been exceedingly hot lately, but yesterday was pretty cool and rainy. Fortunately, the rain abated just before it became photo time. There followed a frantic 20 minute of various people shooting phones from various angles, so that Danica or others never knew where to look. While I would have loved a half-hour, quiet and dedicated photoshoot in the park with just Sue, it wasn't meant to be.

However, two of my more-liked photos were snapped before the larger gathering um gathered. Danica had just stepped from the car.

We moved to the front of the house and soon began to take family photos.

This one with me and Sue came from two blended snaps because I needed two tries to get us all looking at the same camera. Somehow, we missed getting a photo of just me and my grand girl. I passed my camera to JJ for this photo while I stepped into the frame.

Because I could and because I wanted to, I converted the next photo of Dani and Jonathan to mono.

Outtakes: the first of Sue and Dani, the second of JJ looking rather pensive. I really like that candid.

That's not all that I have, but that is enough. If Sue goes into her composite-making mode, I may make a subsequent post.

The Graduate

Today (actually yesterday — I forgot to post this), Sha and the kids and their girlfriend and boyfriend will drop over at suppertime for a quiet family celebration honouring Danica's graduation from high school. The actual ceremony will take place tomorrow, but, with seats at a premium, we won't be attending. We do, however, already have a copy of her grad photo, and just maybe there will be an opportunity for our own photos if time and weather permit tomorrow.

I first posted about Danica on the day of her birth, April 19 2007, and she became the star of my blog for years along with her brother, Jonathan after he joined the family. I looked back at that post, Freight Train Smudge, to see if any of you were with me back then. You weren't, but a few of you might remember her when she was still young.

We took tons of photos for many years, and, especially in the early years, we also took many videos. If memory serves, videos were a little tougher to post back then, at least partly, due to slower uploads speeds, but I did manage to get many up on YT although not too many here on this blog.

One video that I recall and, indeed, I don't need the video to be reminded, was that I would dance with the baby to get her ready for bed if we were over there at the time. Sue and I did line dancing in those days, with a favourite being Waltz Across Texas. We would play it for Dani and dance her around, and I would often sing along and change it to Waltz Across Lanark, the county in which we reside.

When Shauna brought over a huge card for everyone to sign, I decided to write a message hearkening back to those Waltz Across Lanark days.

It seems like yesterday to me, although a lifetime for you, that I waltzed across Lanark with you in my arms. From there you have waltzed through kindergarten, elementary school and high school, and soon you will waltzing off to university. We no longer step as closely together as we once did, but I will always hold you close in my heart, and in my own way, I will step with you as you head off to Carleton U.

Congratulations on your graduation and for stepping so very well through school. I send best wishes and hopes with you as you step smartly into the next phase of your young and beautiful life.

Somewhere, there is a version with the actual music playing, but this is just me trying to sing a Capello  – no, I am not a good singer. Just play it for a few seconds if you are so inclined. (By the way, we called her Smudge for blogs and videos back then.) 

What is in Bloom at the end of June

Although it is ever-so-slightly cooler today than yesterday's 35C/95F, it is still pretty steamy. I went out to open the car while Sue was still getting ready for our very brief stop at the grocery store. Then I thought to copy Granny Sue and others and post about what is blooming now. 

I pulled out my phone and started to take some quick shots. My first photo was of the one little salvia/sage plant in the very dry and hot spot near both the driveway and the sidewalk. There were once two of these plants in the vicinity, but this is a really tough spot, so good on this one for trying its best.

Beside the salvia and even closer to the sidewalk is the penstemon/beardtongue. It was rescued from a spot where the shade was doing it in, so I just stuck it in here a few years ago, and it has decided to expand its horizons this year. The picture isn't good, but these are small pinkish flowers on a plant where the leaves are a bit purplish.

In front of those two and even closer to the sidewalk than the previous perennials is a bought pot that is showing quite well.

So much for the border along the driveway, the main part of which is full of daylilies, but they won't bloom until July.

In the centre garden, I planted a Shasta daisy this year. We tried them elsewhere in the garden some years ago, but they gave up the ghost. But I like daisies, so I purchased one plant this year: so far, so good.

The one flower that takes off in our garden is echinacea (coneflower), which is a plant that I really like. Over the years it has spread itself on the sunny side of the garden while vacating the shadier side. It has even spread beyond the edges of the garden into the lawn. The first flower unfolded in the heat yesterday, and there are several more blooms today. There should soon be quite a good showing that will endure for some time.

Finally, we have heuchera or coral bells. As far as I understand, gardeners tend to call the shady-tolerant variety heuchera and the sunnier-loving ones coral bells, but I won't die on that hill. The flowers are tiny but pretty although I think heuchera is mostly grown for its purplish leaves that look good in the shade. We have it beside a Hosta, which is not in bloom right now although the leaves are looking rather grand.

The photo does not do it justice, but I am not going to get
too picky in the heat.

Finally, I took a shot of the front of the centre garden as one would,  more or less, see it from the street.

I have finished the coffee that we picked up after our little shopping,  and I am going to brave the heat for 10 minutes or so to do a little watering.

The Night that Was

This was not going to be a bloggy day. I didn't have a topic or anecdote in mind, and I was okay with that. Although I post frequently, I have never committed to being a daily poster. However, as I was doing my daily puzzles and whatnot on my tablet, I thought that I simply must post about last night.

Whenever I got to sleep, possibly 11:30-ish, I awoke at 1 o'clock to go. . .  well . . . you know where.

As I returned to my chair in my still sleepy state, even I couldn't help but notice the lightning. I was seeing flash after flash to the point where it never went dark between flashes. There was nothing to do about it, so I rolled over.

There was a loud noise: a noise I interpreted at the time to be a sudden power outage that caused my surge protector to stop and restart immediately.

I was wrong about the noise, which turned out to have been an Emergency Alert on our phones. At this point I am a little foggy about the following sequence of events, but I shall do my best.

I felt a beep from my watch, which I do usually wear to bed because of my Sleepwatch app. But who can read a text message on a tiny watchface through bleary, sleep-shot eyes? I could see that it was an Alert of some kind, but once again, I decided to try to go back to sleep. As you know, sleep is an issue in my life, so I like to hold on to it when I can.

Sue burst into the den with tablet and phone in hand and going on about a tornado warning and heading to the basement. That's about all that I heard because I was sans hearing aids, and she was more or less talking in her normal but rapid voice, or at least not amplifying enough.

I think I growled something about not going to the basement and, once again, I made an effort to get back to sleep. My mind, however, was finally beginning to kick into gear. Beginning.

I realized that I should read the Alert, so I grabbed my phone and, through squinting eyes, read that there was indeed a tornado warning with the advice to head to the basement.

Meanwhile, the lightning was ongoing. It was quite something.

Whether I heeded the warning immediately or whether it took another minute or two, I can't be sure, but I soon concluded that I should, perhaps, be taking this seriously.

It was a hot night, so I was just in my loin cloth, as it were, and under a thin sheet to at least give me some cover from the overhead fan. But it was a little cooler by then, so I dressed myself in a tee and pyjama-type pants.

Sue came back into my room, once again with tablet and phone in hand.

We gazed out the back window. We gazed out the front window. The lightning was becoming less frequent. The peak of danger seemed to be past.

I went to bed, our shared bed this time, and managed to go to sleep until sometime after 5, close to 6, I think. I then brewed a coffee, played some games, and read some blogs. I brewed another cup of coffee.

Eventually, Sue staggered into my den, and I do mean staggered. The lady was not in a good state of being. She'd had a terrible night with the thunder and howling wind keeping her up. If that wasn't enough, she then developed  one of those recurring pains in her wrist, the kind of pains that pretty well make sleep impossible.

One of the very meagre advantages of being very hard of hearing is that the thunder and winds had been much softer on my brain, and so I had slept at least for some hours.

This morning, FB posts reveal that we were, indeed, in the absolute heart of the tornado warning. There may have been a touchdown or near touchdown on a local street with trees being downed, cars being damaged, and power being lost. But I think that is all although I am sure that it was enough for those who were affected.

And that, dear blog and bloggers, was the night that was.