ON THE ROAD

Well finally lit out yesterday after spending a comfortable night on Bonnies couch. Headed up to Midland area. This is through Horsehoe Valley Road...I can't get enough of fall leaves. So you may see a lot of them as I go along.

Staying at my cousin Bonnies (another Bonnie), in Orillia right now. Here is her and her brother Danny and his wife Mary. We had a great reunion.

LIONS HEAD, ONTARIO, CANADA

Lions Head, a village of 500, Situated on the east side beautiful Bruce Peninsula, was named after an escarpment outcrop in the shape of a Lions Head. Now crumbled into Georgian Bay, the ephemeral Lions Head is proudly pointed out by Locals.

Half-way between Wiarton and Tobermory on the Georgian Bay side, this town served as a dock and centre for the isolated population of farmers, loggers and fisherman on the Bruce Peninsula in the early days. Today , population 500, it has a main street, hospital, post office, library, supermarket, Nursing Home as well as other shopping venues. It is a preferred destination of Tourists in the summer wanting to escape city smog and heat. The dock is now a very popular Marina with the beach nearby.
About 2 1/2 hours north of Toronto, the drive itself through rural Ontario is worth the doing. The Niagara Escarpment runs through it and accesses to trails and National Park are within walking distance.
When the tourists are gone, it is a complacent, community oriented, busy place where everybody knows everybody and life is good.

Main St. Lions Head looking south.

My House

My House

My House has been sold!! (July/07)

My house, more of a cottage, is 732 sq. feet on a large lot 166' x 66' filled with everblooming perennials, berry bushes and trees. Its located on the corner of Everatt St. and Byron St. in Lions Head, ON.

In the spring, the front and back yard blazes with tulips, next an onslaught of lupins, then all sorts of lilies and irises, and so on. It finally ends in a swath of "bare naked ladies" (fall).

4 years ago , I moved to this small fixer-upper to "find myself and garden". Now after a good long rest , I am ready to go back to the city fray with not as much fixing done as I would like. So theres lots left to do for the enterprising new owner.

One storey, kitchen/living room open concept, one bedroom, another room which I call computer room, 3 piece bathroom and an attached storage shed. Cement walled crawl space, which runs under whole house, with entry from within house.

I have lived through 4 years of severe winter storms and spring winds with thunder and lightning and the house felt very secure and safe.

The house is probably about 100 yrs old as it originally was the "chop mill" for the area. Is on town water and town services, has a septic system as town is not yet equipped for sewers. Taxes low-about 760.00/yr. Heated with microefficient oil furnace which costs approximately $700.00/ year.

I am asking $89,900.00 for this property, which is the cheapest buy in town at present. If I could afford to, I would keep it as a summer property and slowly rebuild to have my retirement home ready.

Call 519 793 3229 to view. Selling Privately.

GARDENING HIGH

"A good day, ain't got no end. A bad days when you lie in bed and think of things that might of been." (Paul Simon from, Slip sliding away.)


Well I had a good day yesterday. I was up with the sun and out in the garden, pruning, digging, snipping, moving plants and killing my back...but loving it. I guess the endorphins from hard physical labour mixed with the beauty coming out of the earth gives one a "Gardening High".

Normally I moan and groan when I have to weed, rake or cut lawn or prune...but yesterday was I was a wonder!

I have inherited an already made perennial garden from the previous owner of my house. I must give him an accolade here "George Blake was a gardening artist!"

His Genius is in the layout of the flowers , like an English garden. Swatches of perennial...here and there all over the place. At first I was mowing over Yarrow and tulips. It took me 4 years to find out what everything was and where it was going to come up. (Still not sure of it all.)
There are Tulips of all kinds, Bare Naked Ladies (Fall crocuses)in a large arc starting at the front of my yard to near the back, Lillies of all stripes, Rhubarb, Gooseberrys, red currants. There is so much more.

Most often, I have found it an onerous chore to carry on Georges tradition. Most of the time , I just mow around everything, but every once in a while...I have a gardening high day.


Today I think I will just blog and read.