A Life, Lived

Travel Tuesdays - LaSalle Park

One of the things that COVID has forced upon me is related to travel. Paul and I haven't done much international (heck or national) travel at all. Instead we have been exploring our own area more. Recently I did some exploring along the Burlington waterfront in Hamilton harbour. This used to be one of the most polluted bodies of water in the world. over the past 40 years significant efforts have been made to clean up the waters and provide an environment to reintroduce natural species.

This pics show the success of these efforts.

Fencing it in

One of the big battles I had with the garden plot last year was with the deer. The plot is located in a large Provincial park. A large park with a healthy deer population. A healthy deer population comfortable with human presence and with a taste for the finer things in life. They treated the garden plot like an all-you-can eat buffet. Why battle the wild for edible twigs, leaves and berries when there is a supply of fresh vegetation?

We discovered that the deer loved peas, beans, lettuce, spinach and beets. Later in the season we discovered that they loved green tomatoes (this one was particular hard as I had seen the promise of a delicious crop to come in those tomatoes.

The deer did ignore radishes, corn, jalapeno peppers and carrots. They also didn't seem enamoured of RIPE tomatoes (if you were able to nurse some to that stage).

After each new onslaught I'd try to build the fence a little higher.

At first I joked that we were expecting geriatric deer unable to jump more than four feet.

Ha!

These were Olympic level athletes able to leap 6 feet.

I'm not taking chances this year. We have built the fence higher and stronger than last year. The fence is eight feet tall, the posts are placed closer together than they were last year, the wooden posts are thicker and more sturdy than the ones last year. Finally, we used 100s of cable ties in an effort to ensure that weak areas are strengthened.

Don't get me wrong. I believe that nature will win as always. I just hope that the damage done is limited compared to what we experienced last growing season. I'm actually happy top share with the deer, unfortunately their brains aren't developed enough to understand the concept of taking SOME and leaving SOME for others! :-)

Fence building was a four day process.

The first day was easy - I picked up the supplies.

The second day was more challenging - we lugged all of the supplies to the plot. Drove the metal support posts as deep into the ground as we could and put up the first four foot layer of fence.

We rewarded our efforts with our first picnic lunch of the year.

Yesterday was HOT. We split our work in two because we were getting a bit dizzy from the heat. The first part was placing the 8 foot wooden posts. Then we added about half of the second 4 foot layer. When things cooled down later in the day we went back and finished the final layer.

There is still some more to do - it won't happen today because we are getting some work done at the house and it is raining. When the soil dries I'll go and finish things off by tying down any loose spots.

 

Garden Plot - Preparing the Soil

Gardeners know that a lot of work at the beginning yields a highly productive garden throughout the growing season.

Last year it was simple. I raked it deeply, added some sheep manure and mixed it in. We were good to go.

I hit a bit of a wall this year early on.

But first some back story. The plots are located in a provincial park dedicated to preserving rural history from the Victorian era. The park itself is made up of five old farms. The park employed a farmer who tended the farms, the machinery, and the livestock.

Last year he plowed the plots and did a beautiful job.

Unfortunately the farmer retired and in the Ministry's infinite wisdom was not replaced. Instead the position was outsourced.

This is what the soil looked like after it had been 'plowed'.

What a difference. There is no way anything could be planted in THAT!

On Monday I tried to turn the soil with a garden fork. After about 30 minutes and only managing to get about 2 square feet ready to go I gave up.

I found a place in Milton that rented tillers. This was going to be an adventure! I drove to Milton on Tuesday and picked it up.

You might think that tilling would be easy. While it certainly is much easier than trying to prepare the soil manually it was still hard work. Three hours later the soil looked like this:

My arms were 'jelly' well into the evening from the machine vibrations, my back and arm muscles ache, I forgot my hat and sunscreen so I have a bad burn.

Nonetheless, the soil is getting there!

Today as I was driving back from Milton I stopped in at the dump. They were having their annual compost giveaway. It is a great service - they collect brown bag garden material throughout the year, compost it, and then give some of it away to local residents to assist with their gardens. They offer compost in the fall and spring.

Seven 'containers' were filled.

After dinner Paul helped me carry it to the plot and spread it.

Tomorrow we will add 20 bags of composted manure to the mix. At that point the soil will be ready to go.

The next big job will be the fence. :-0

Travel Tuesday - Spencer Smith Park Cherry Blossoms (Burlington)

No, I didn't travel far for this one.

Spencer Smith Park is probably Burlington's premier spot for folks to hang out. It used to be the location of a famous hotel and dance club back in the day. While this may be long gone the magnet still pulls people to the area.

Today, after some back breaking work at the garden plot, I decided to head to the park and view the cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms might seem an odd mix for Burlington but there is a logical connection - Burlington is twinned with the Japanese city of Itabashi. To celebrate the twinning of the cities this grove was planted. It is a popular spot in the spring with the trees are covered with soft pink blossoms.

Travel Tuesdays - The Beach

It is cold in Ontario. So cold that the local beach looks like this!

This little inlet is where kids often wade in the summer months. I took this pic because of the formation of the ice. These ice disks form where there is a protected circular flow. As the waves come into the inlet they spin the ice around forming these round disks . . . interesting to look at but there is NO way I'm dipping my feet into that water!

Travel Tuesdays - Staying Local - LaSalle Park

Our cleaner was here on Monday so I headed out to explore a bit. It was a cool and dreary day but luckily the rain held off enough that I could get out of the car and walk around a bit.

LaSalle Park & Pavilion is a beautiful 57 acre park located on North Shore Blvd.  It is an ideal destination for families, featuring sports fields, a playground, a wading pool and splash pad and an extensive picnic area.  LaSalle Park also boasts its own marina complete with 219 slips.  The LaSalle Park Marina Association has a unique and very close relationship with the Burlington Sailing and Boating Club which also operates out of LaSalle Park. 

For nature enthusiasts, the park has numerous walking trails and a shoreline dedicated to fish and wildlife habitat restoration.  Visitors should be sure to check out LaSalle Park Pavilion.  The Pavilion was originally constructed in the spring of 1917, an age where community entertainment was at its height.  It was re-built it 1997 following a fire, and once again stands as a community landmark and is used as a meeting and banquet facility.

A Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

There is a farm on the edge of Burlington which used to be famous for strawberries. Over the years they have transformed themselves into a more full-season operation - plants in the spring, strawberries, raspberries, veggies all summer, and now pumpkins in the fall.

I was at the farm last weekend (without my camera) to buy some pumpkins. I popped back up today WITH my camera to grab some shots.

Celebrating at Test Kitchen Uptown

We had some good news yesterday. Paul, who has been out of work since Target created the biggest retail fiasco in Canadian history and tossed tens of thousands of workers on the street, was hired on the spot for a new job. I think he was in shock when he called me - going months without a job can be hard on the self confidence.

I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate and he promptly replied 'go to the new restaurant for dinner'.

For some time we had observed the transformation of my former go to kitchen supply store and a florist from empty shells in a strip mall to a restaurant called Test Kitchen. There is another outpost of this restaurant downtown but we have never been - even though downtown Burlington is but a short drive away to us it is in outer Mongolia. LOL

Test kitchen has an interesting concept - the regular menu features a core of regular menu items as well as 6 or 7 items that they are 'testing' for a 3 - 4 week period to gauge the popularity of them.

They use ipad mini as the menu.   They must have about 50+ Ipads at the front counter.   It's a good concept because every item has a photo that you can click on to see what the dish looks like. A good picture can sell when words don't do justice . . .

Paul ordered the scallop tempura and he loved it. I passed on an appetizer which was a struggle for me, let me tell you. His dish was beautifully presented.

For my meal I ordered the pork loin. It was wrapped in nappa cabbage and served with forbidden rice, an apple, pear, daikon radish slaw, and pickled cherry sauce. MMMMMM Great combinations and flavours here.

Paul had the seared duck breast (apologies for the crap pic to come). It was served with a spiced honey sauce, green beans, crushed hazelnuts, and grilled king oyster mushrooms.

Because we were celebrating we also shared a dessert. There were four or five I wanted to try but I managed to restrain myself. Paul decided upon the Nutella crepe cake. I am sure you'll be shocked when I say that we loved it. LOL

What a great restaurant. We have all sorts of roadhouse type restaurants and chains near us but not many restaurants which are on the up-scale side and featuring fresh, inventive food. Test Kitchen is a welcome addition to the neighbourhood.

Test Kitchen also features a "test menu", where, for $10 for lunch, $20 for dinner (which includes an alcoholic drink!) you can sample one of many tasty meals- and the menu changes all the time! Hits from the past include pulled pork sliders, quail, thai chicken lettuce wraps, quiche, sausage and mac and cheese grilled cheese...

Don't expect to leave here full if you're tasting the Lunch or Dinner Test Menu- the portions are gourmet modest. What would you expect for 10 or 20 bucks (including that drink LOL)?

The restaurant is small, and gets busy, so I'd recommend a reservation, especially on the weekend.

Travel Tuesday - 'Sort of' Tuscany

One of the iconic images of a summer in Tuscany is a field of sunflower fields . . . this is as close to Tuscany as we are getting this summer . . .

The field is only about 5 minutes from home so it isn't really traveling but sometimes the fleeting illusion is all it takes . . .

It's Raining . . . it's Pouring

Paul and I returned home from our long weekend camping adventure on Monday. It was raining a bit when we pulled into the driveway but happily it stopped long enough for us to unload the car. Then the rain started . . .

I called my mother, who lives 10 km away, to let her know we had arrived home in one piece. She complained about how dry it had been and wished she would get some rain.

The rain that hit Burlington was localized and HARD.

In fact, the city received somewhere between 125 mm to 200 mm in a few hours.

The flooding was crazy!

(this is a four lane highway . . . closed off after it became a lake)

Friends of ours had a foot of sewage fill their basement.

EWWWWW

We were lucky. We live in a new housing development. New housing developments now have to be designed with storm drainage designed to bring water away from houses, into a network of diversion ditches, sewers, and ponds. I often whine about the ditch and culvert in the back of our yard since it takes up a lot of space and messes up the landscaping. At one point during the rain it was full of about 3 feet of water pouring non-stop down the culvert and rushing to the holding ponds. It did its job and the basement was dry as a bone.