The Bees are Back!

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….maybe I’m being overly optimistic

I can imagine that if you’re allergic to bee stings you may not be delighted with this statement. Bees, however, are critical to the survival of this planet. Without them our food production could disappear. They pollinate 70 out of 100 species of plants that feed 90% of the world’s population.

Unfortunately the honeybee population is decreasing at an alarming rate, mostly due to the use of pesticides and habitat loss. Longer and colder winters, in some areas, hasn’t help either. So what can we do about it?

At a local level you can advocate for the ban of dangerous pesticides in our parks and our own gardens, encourage city councillors to commit to returning some park lands back to natural states so that wild flowers can thrive and provide a food source for bees and plant flowers in your own garden or flower boxes that attract bees.

On my recent walks and in my own backyard I’ve been seeing an abundance of bees pollinating the wildflowers and my climbing hydrangea. I hope you’re seeing the return of bees in your neighbourhood. We can’t take them for granted.

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Share Your World – Week 34

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…..more great questions from Cee

Was school easy or difficult for you? How so?

School was always pretty easy, especially in elementary school. I did well in school right up to grade 10 and then I was more interested in the social aspect of school. I always managed to miss the honour roll by 1% in the last three years of school. I excelled in math but after grade 10 I started to struggle and in my last year I had an English teacher whose mantra was to make his students sweat and make life as difficult as possible. The grade average in English was 50% and I sat right on the 50% line. I almost had a nervous breakdown that year.

What is your favorite animal?

My favourite animals have to be dogs. I love most of them. In the wild I’m fascinated with Panda bears and the red panda.IMG_5806 IMG_5681

If you had to have your vision corrected would you rather: glasses or contacts?

I need glasses for distance and for a long time I wore contact lenses. When I had difficulty reading things close up with my contact lenses I switched to glasses and took them off when I wanted to read a book. It’s only been in the last year that I’ve also needed reading glasses.

List: Name at least five television shows (past or present) you enjoyed?

Survivor, Amazing Race, Friends, CSI (all of them), Grace and Frankie (on Netflix)Grace and Frankie

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that my husband is recovering nicely from his surgery and that he has continued to can tomatoes. I’m also grateful that my daughter and daughter-in-law finally came up to the cottage last weekend. We had a wonderful time. Every time J comes to the cottage she becomes more and more comfortable with our rustic lifestyle. She announced that next year she wants to come up for a week. Yay!

This week I’m looking forward to getting my own car back (it’s been in the body shop) and celebrating my birthday with the family. My husband is planning a BBQ for Saturday.

Today Was a Good Day

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…..Saturday, August 22, 2015

Thanks to Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge

Saturday was a great day…..sunny skies, walking/hiking/running through the woods, walking on the beach and experiencing the joy of my daughter-in-law’s first time in a canoe. I also logged in at 12 000 steps.

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Share Your World 2015 – Week 33

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……thanks Cee for four more great questions

What are some words that just make you smile?

Ice-cream, babies, wine, family and friends are some of the words that will bring a smile to my face.

You’re given $500,000 dollars tax free (any currency), what do you spend it on?

I would pay off the rest of my credit cards and then take some of that money to renovate my house and cottage. I’d also put some money aside for travelling. That would still leave me with a nice sizeable chunk and I couldn’t enjoy any of that money knowing that my children also have debts so I would probably give each of them $50 000. and put the rest away for our retirement.

What subject would you like to study in depth, if given the time to do so?

I’d love to study visual art in depth. I’ve contemplated going back to university after I retire, just for the fun of it.

Would your rather be stuck in a small plane with bad turbulence for 2 hours or be a passenger in a car racing the Daytona 500?

I’d rather do neither but if I have to make a choice I think I’ll put up with two hours of turbulence. But wait! You did say ‘in a small plane’. Hmmm? Maybe being a passenger at the Daytona 500 would suit me better. I don’t know! I’m a terrible passenger in a car that is travelling at high speeds.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that my husbands surgery is over and that the prognosis looks good. Will know for sure in a couple of weeks. I’m also grateful that our youngest daughter was able to spend some time at the cottage last week.

I’m looking forward to spending the weekend at the cottage with my older daughter and her partner. It will be the first time that they’ve made it up to the cottage this summer. I’m also looking forward to spending some time with our friends D & D, who I haven’t seen much of this summer. Hopefully the weather will be good so that I can get in some swimming and of course lots of walking. Maybe I’ll even start running again.

A Minor Setback, a Trip to Dundas and More Steps

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….a trip to the doctor, relief, enjoying the rest of the day

This morning my husband woke up with terrible pain in his foot. A quick trip to the clinic confirmed that he was suffering from gout probably brought on from the morphine he had been given after his surgery. Luckily the problem was quickly fixed with another medication.

We had planned, earlier in the week, to visit our daughter in Hamilton. K could feel the pills were starting to work so we took a chance and made the trip. It was raining when we left but by the time we drove into our daughter’s driveway the sun had come out. G suggested that we take a short drive to Dundas where we could walk along the quaint main street and take in some of the unique stores and enjoy a coffee in one of the popular cafes.

Dundas is a formerly independent town and now a constituent community in the city of Hamilton. It is home to about 27 000 people and is nicknamed the Valley Town because it is located at the bottom of the Niagara Escarpment on the western edge of Lake Ontario.

We spent a couple of hours walking around the area and enjoyed a light lunch on a wonderful outdoor patio. Here are some photos of our day trip.

We headed back to Toronto during rush hour but traffic moved fairly well. After a simple dinner of sausage and a couple of salads that we purchased at the local butcher shop in Dundas I took Frances for a much needed walk. It was another beautiful evening and we walked through the Humber College grounds. Total steps for the day: 10 500.