While the world is fixated on Wordle, and that includes our little family, I also enjoy the other word game — Waffle.
To begin, the puzzle looks like ↓ this. The green letters are correct and in the right place. The orange letters are correct but in the wrong place, and the white squares are all wrong in their locations. For example: both the i and the u in the top row will be somewhere in that row. The L, however, could either be in the top row or the middle, vertical column. A player gets 15 swaps, and the game cannot be won with fewer than 10 swaps, or in other words, with more than 5 swaps remaining. (I later did this ↓ puzzle in 11 swaps or 4 remaining.)
But I am not really posting either to explain the game or the give you the result of that particular game.. Rather, I come to brag.
As I have said, the best a player can do at least on the waffle.net version of the game here, is to complete the puzzle with 5 swaps remaining. I can go fairly long intervals without achieving this best result, but I recently accomplished the feat on three consecutive days, and I just want to brag.
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| disregard colours in this completed version they mean nothing in particular |
It turns out that I do have another trillium photo from my woodsy walk last week — looking down this time.
Our own lilac bush was thriving in time for our anniversary and long weekend with one of the gifted Mother's Day flowerpots in the foreground. By the flowers are a birdbath and statuary heron, which was a Father's Day gift a few years ago.
Behind the lilac bush and in other spots as well, both in the front and back yard, the forget-me-nots are thriving. These are descendants of flowers that my dad planted at our former home more than four decades past. In many years I have taken macros, but this drift may have to suffice for this year, especially if the ever-present winds remain ever-present.
This is another backyard photo, looking between the lilacs bush (right) and the tree (left) past the second birdbath to the inukshuk with more forget-me-nots beside it, daylilies behind, and the big Hosta in the corner. I held the phone high and pointed it downward to miss the road beyond the fence.
When I call that bush ↑ on the left a tree, it is rather the remnants of a tree that didn't do well and had to be cut down. Now, for the second consecutive year, the old tree is sending up new shoots so that, in effect, it is a bush. It suits us fine to have that bit of volunteer greenery.
Finally, I decided that the inukshuk and forget-me-nots required a closer look.
Sue and I had a discussion yesterday about whether it was our 55th or 56th anniversary. We came to the conclusion that we have been married for 56 years, which made yesterday the 55th anniversary of that day. It gets hard for old brains, eh?
At this point in our lives, since, as I reported yesterday, it is also gardening weekend. We just give each other flowers and whatever other purchases are necessary for the garden work. This is practical giving, and we will enjoy the display until late October.
In addition to this new ↓ flowerpot, the mulch and bordering stones were part of the occasion. The little patch next to the sidewalk had gone to weed over the years, so we put down a weed barrier, covered the patch with mulch, and laid the border.
I don't get down very well, so Sue did most of this. My part was to make several trips to the nursery to obtain the necessary supplies and then to hand her the border stones and dump the mulch.
You may recall that Sue has been given two hanging flowerpots by Sha and the kids on Mother's Day, but the flowerpot above and the two below, by the tree, are our anniversary gifts to each other.
Aside from the flowerpot by the sidewalk, these two by-the-tree pots ↑ along with the three final pots, below, are the rest of our spring planting. Sue has pretty well matched the flowers in the full, purchased pots with smaller additions in the three pots in the foreground. Those pots will soon fill-in, and they will be moved to the front of the garden, nearer the sidewalk, when the tulips and forget-me-nots are done for the season, which will be quite soon for the tulips. There are perennials in the ground, so all of the annuals go in pots that can be moved about as the time and light or whims change.
Since we had been deprived of hashbrowns, we opened our traditional anniversary fudge when we got home before we repaired to our respective corners to work on pictures and blogs.
The traditional anniversary pizza arrived at suppertime, and we finished the fudge.
I have shed 30lbs this year, and I have been weighing-in on Sundays, but I think I will pass today for obvious reasons. There have been too many reasons to celebrate recently.
This our long weekend in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday on May 24 1819. In our part of Canada, at least, it is the accepted time to put in bedding plants, for we should be frost-free until the fall.
We visited nurseries over the past few days and did much garden work in addition to planting flowers. At least it was much work for us, even if it wouldn't have been for many others, probably including most of whom might be reading this poor man's blog.
After the exertion, Sue and I sat in our covered front porch and tried to recuperate. Sue opened her eyes, glanced at me, grabbed her phone, and took this shot.
I have been aware of woods on the northern fringes of the town, but I have never figured out how to access them. We did try once and got to a tiny parking lot before we were denied entry onto a narrow and steep path by a fallen tree. Another time, I glanced around for another entrance but didn't see a place to park. However, when someone recently posted photos on fb, I looked it up on Google Maps, and found new directions.
That was Tuesday evening, so on Wednesday morning, I grabbed the camera. Although I knew where I was going (it's a smallish town after all), I plugged St James Woods into Apple Maps to be sure, and got nada. I then put it in Google Maps, and off I went.
I did forget my cane, but I was ambling slowly, pretty much like I do in the grocery store, so I wasn't really hampered.
A lady who was talking her dog asked if I had found any pictures. I replied that I had just passed a couple of trilliums. She said there were more ahead, and I found a pretty nice patch.
I really didn't know if I was going to bother with my annual trillium shoot this year, for I was a bit tired of trying to photograph scrubby patches by the roadsides with my telephoto lens. It was nice to get near these flowers in a pleasant woodsy area with a normal lens. I didn't fuss much over the photos, but I am happy enough with these two that I did capture.
I stopped to photograph a few wildflowers. I guess it would have been better with my macro lens, but one makes do.
This flower ↓ is a violet according to info from an iPhone shot although I took it with my Canon. I didn't know that violets did not have to be ... um ... violet.
Garlic Mustard, according to Apple.
Elderberry
The insects were not too hellacious, but I imagine they soon will be, especially with days of rain a'comin.
My shaky math tells me that this was Sue's 52nd Mother's Day as a mother.
As I have previously posted, the weekend began early as always, with breakfast out. On Saturday, Sue and Sha visited the two art galleries in town and then enjoyed coffee at the Blue Spoon. They followed that up with a trip to the nursery where Sha had Sue pick out two hanging baskets: gifts from her and the kids. Planters for Mother's Day have also become a little tradition in the past few years.
On Sunday, JJ volunteered to help in the garden, and Danica also dropped by for a little visit before heading off to work. Before that happened, Sue and I did one of our car coffees. Actually, some it the coffee was consumed while sitting on a park bench overlooking the river.
Going back to the girls' visit to the art galleries, Sue was surprised to see the name of Arial on some art, I think including the pieces at the bottom of the following collage.
Arial, and I had probably taught for at least 15 years in the same school in Southwestern Ontario, actually two schools at different times. She was an art teacher and I an English and geography teacher. It's not that were good friends, but we were colleagues, and Sue and I purchased a print from Arial (not Arial's art) and had Arial frame it for us. I also taught three of her children in my geography classes although I forget at least one of their names.
Here we are more than 600k (almost 400 miles) from there, both finding our way to the Ottawa Valley. We've never met here and likely never will, but it's still an interesting connection.
I'll begin this second post of Jock River Paddle photos with another distant shot. I really like the smoothness and colour of the water in this photo along with the super reflections from the lead canoe. and it's red too: bonus.
Then, I returned to the closer photos. This young paddler looked to be having a great time.
At the other end of the age spectrum, not everyone had big smiles. Not everyone smiles, even if they are enjoying themselves. I am not a big smiler, so I understand this.
After such a pleasant time shooting the paddlers, seeing the tulips was icing on the cake on a very pleasant morning.
I have been aware of this event, the Jock River Paddle, some some years, but I have never gotten out to photograph it. I would forget or the day would have been less that glorious. But this year, I had it on my calendar, so when it popped up, and the day looked fine, I headed out. I didn't have much lead time, and Sue had things to do, so this was a solo endeavour.
I had expected it to be a race, but it turned out to be a community gathering for a pleasant paddle from the Beckwith Township municipal building to Ashton where at least some paddlers might have enjoyed refreshments at the Ashton Station, an English-style pub.
Everyone seemed joyous and quite happy to be photographed, so here we go.
They came around the bend in pairs or in groups. I think these were two of the largest groups to approach the little bridge on which I was standing.
I singled out this one paddler, partly because I like the wake or ripples that he made. Of course, I also like his smile.
Speaking of smiles, you can't do much better than this.
As you can see from the smiling lady above and will also see from below, I switched from photographing the farther scene to capturing the people as they approached the bridge. For the most part, the camera also picked up pretty good reflections from this angle.
One couple brought their dog, but he didn't look overjoyed to me.
These three kids did the paddling, pulling a mother along and casting a very nice reflection.
This fellow was letting it all hang out.
This is part i. I will show a few more tomorrow as well as the surprise sight that awaited me when I pulled into the driveway at home.
After taking pictures of the red dresses, I glanced across the street toward the Cenotaph where orange tulips lined the pathway toward the monument. Orange tulips. the Cenotaph, and guns seemed like an unlikely mix, so I wandered over and took a few phone photos.
I didn't know if the orange tulips represented something specific in this military and memorial context. I don't think they do, for all I could find was this.
Orange tulips generally symbolize enthusiasm, passion, and desire, conveying a message of energy and excitement. They are often given to express admiration or celebrate achievements. Unlike red tulips which represent romantic love, orange tulips offer a more vibrant and playful sentiment. They can also signify understanding and appreciation between individuals, according to Petal Talk - 1800 Flowers. (Google AI Overview)
The national day of awareness and remembrance, known as Red Dress Day, was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black after she created the REDress project — an art installation of red dresses hanging in public spaces that serve as a visual reminder of the Indigenous women and girls who are no longer with us.
