Tucker and Tennis balls

One of Tucker's favorite things is tennis balls. He loves to chase them and catch them but mainly he just likes to hold them and squish them in his mouth. I gave him a new one this evening and when I walked into the den he was just lying there with the ball in his mouth. He stayed there like that long enough for me to get my camera and capture a few seconds of video.

I'm baa-ack

Its been several weeks since I have updated my blog. I'd like to say its because I have been on an exotic trip or I've been busy creating world peace....but not so. I've just been uninspired and unable to come up with a theme that I felt was blog worthy. But after a gentle hint from cousin Elaine, I decided I would just share some of my recent pictures taken whilst walking Tucker.

We've been having a wide range of weather this fall. Last weekend the temperatures went up to 21 degrees and this week we had some flurries. This is a view of the Bay of Islands from the pipeline. You can see a puff of steam from the paper mill but snow is obscuring the bay.

Tucker is looking at my praying bench. This is a bench on a hill overlooking Corner Brook. I call it my praying bench because I often sit there and meditate or give thanks. I chose not to sit this day as I wasn't wearing snowpants.

The pipeline which runs from 3 Mile Dam and supplies power to the paper mill, is often spouting water. This makes for some interesting ice formations in the winter.

When I look out my back door I am facing my neighbours back steps and this nice birch tree which hadn't lost all of its leaves when we had our first snowfall.

Nor had my leaves been collected for composting.

Tucker and I love winter and can't wait to get some proper snow. This fluff is just a tease.

Princess Cali, on the other hand, is starting to develop some stiffness in her joints and would just as soon relax on a cozy blanket.

More interesting sights on the trail.

Well there is always something interesting to see if you just get out there and look. Tucker and I were taking one of our favorite walks today up to 3 mile dam via the gorge trail and then back to the park following the pipeline

As we were walking along the pipeline, Tucker and I looked back to see a line of young girls......walking ON the pipeline. so we waited and watched.

There were 2 older girls with their hair tied back in black snoods.

They were all wearing pretty coloured, ankle-length dresses. The younger girls had long hair in plaits. They were very pleasant and told me they do this all the time. I am guessing by the way they were dressed and their hair style, they probably belong to a particular religious group. Interesting....

The "fall" in Autumn

We had a significant frost last night. This morning it was sunny and as I was looking out my front window, I could watch my maple gently let go of its leaves. It was very pretty and serene, much like looking at a campfire or listening to water flowing. This video clip captures it a little.

Wha'???????

When Tucker and I go for walks, I always take my digital camera in hope that we will see something beautiful, interesting or maybe even something exciting like a moose or a bear. Well, while walking into the Gorge trail today my eye caught the sight of an unusual shape. Is it a critter? Or perhaps a strange person lurking on the side of the trail?

Can it be?? No way! How would it get here? Why would it be here?

Yes I was right. It's an office chair. A perfectly good office chair in the middle of nowhere. A chair that was tired of being cooped up in an office, day and night and night and day...day after day. And, at the first opportunity escaped.....into the wilds to be free......forever.

Tucker, perhaps sensing that this once tame beast was cautious, lest it be captured and returned to captivity, approaches with care. The chair, remains perfectly still, possibly playing possum until we are safely passed.

Autumn Colour

Corner Brook is beautiful, particularly at this time of the year. Here are some pictures to remind you guys what you are missing.

Tucker, enjoying some freedom in the Participark...


More of the Participark trail.......

A view of Margaret Bowater Park from the participark trail....

Another section of the same trail.....

And yet more Participark......

A small trail following the stream in Margaret Bowater Park....

A section of road following the pipeline from 3 Mile Dam...


Not to be upstaged by the autumn splendor, Tucker comes out of the woods adorned with leaves and pine needles . Very dashing, don't you think?

Herdman Revisited

You may or may not know that Herdman Collegiate is no more. Its been undergoing major renovations over the past few years and will reopen as the High School for the entire Corner Brook area and I think its new name will be Corner Brook High. Anyway I think during the renovations the spirits of the class of '72 must have been disturbed because over the past few weeks I have heard from and about several of my old friends that I haven't seen for years. Then, right out of the blue this week I had a phone call from an old friend (Doreen) saying that another old friend (Joan) was in town and perhaps we could round up a bunch of other old friends ( I'm overusing the word "old" aren't I)....so thanks to Dorreen we had a real blast from our past. A lot can happen in 36 years.



For the sake of easy recall I am using maiden names. In the back: Sharon Penny and Doreen Belbin. The others from left to right: Nancy Oxford, Sigrid Lundrigan, Moi, Joan White, Sue Kennedy, Barb Hicks.

Wild Mushroom Hunting

When I was in Algonquin park this summer I took this very cool picture of a very pretty mushroom. I think it looks like something from outerspace. I have no idea how to identify mushrooms. I assume you have to look at size and colour.

So I decided to take a walk through the woods in Corner Brook to see if I could find some more pretty 'shrooms and was very surprised at the variety. There was this one which was growing out of a mossy bank and has a crinkely top like a meringue cookie.

I found lots of these little wee orange mushrooms. This one was roundish but some were more flat topped.

I found some that were a delicate brown.

And others that were a deep rich brown.

And more that were larger, and very white.

From the October issue of Harrowsmith: "of the world's 12,000 species [of mushrooms] only about 20 are edible. Some can do you real harm, if not kill you." Needless to say I shall stick to taking pictures of them. I wouldn't eat one unless it was picked by a certified expert and prepared by an experienced chef...and then I would be asking the chef to take the first bite.

Tucker says that searching for mushrooms is very tiring work!

A dog's Life

I spent Labour Day weekend at my brother's cabin at Bonne Bay Pond. In all we were 3 adults, 2 children, 4 dogs. We all worked and played and had lots of fun. The dogs in particular took relaxing to a new level.


Cali and Jesse cuddled up together on the sofa.

Tucker prefers to nap alone.



And last but certainly not least...Mikki...You may recall from an earlier post that she is little, but can snore like a lumberjack!

Picture of the Day

This picture was taken a few days ago up along the pipeline. I'd never noticed yellow snails before. Like flowers, they hold still nicely to have their picture taken.

Week two - Ontario

Finally I am getting to week two of my great Ontario Adventure.

After I left Paula and her family in New Market, I set off for Toronto. There I met up with Cousin Elaine and we spent the day chatting and poking around downtown Toronto. We visited 3 churches. My favorite was The Church of the Holy Trinity. As you can see from this picture...the pews are not very comfortable. But the church itself has a very strong feeling of community.

Later in the day Elaine and I set off for Sara and Kelly's. We had a delicious meal with them and then spent the evening looking at family pictures and sharing stories. Thanks Kelly for putting up with us.

Sara and Elaine in front of Sara and Kelly's house. I didn't get any picutres of Kelly...sheesh!

Sara is making coffee for our breakfast. I just love, love their wonderful house. There is just so much to look at.

Including their two beautiful cats. This is Harry (a.k.a. little orange guy).

And this is Daisy. Daisy and I had an immediate bond.

After breakfast we took a leisurely walk to the Beaches. Part of our walk was through a ravine, where I took this picture of Sara taking a picture of Elaine taking a picture of some flowers.....

We had a great walk along the beach, where we saw some interesting sights, including this ghostly ship....

......and a very cool, goggle-wearing dog. City folks! What will they think of next???

After our stay in Toronto, Elaine and I headed to Woodstock. We had a great week that included attending a folk festival in Ingersol.

These children were making and wearing flower wreaths.

We went to Stratford to see The Music Man, which we really enjoyed. It was an extremely hot day so we spent as little time outside as possible, and we consoled ourselves with icecream at Rocky Mountain Chocolate factory. My new friend here was dressed in honor of the musical.

Gray decided he might like to go home with me. Elaine and Geoff said no! I'll bring a bigger suitcase next time Gray.

Week One- Ontario

Even though I am retired, and could technically go on a vacation any time of the year, its still nice to take a week or two during the summer and go on an adventure and visit friends and family. This summer I spent two weeks in Ontario.

The first week was spent with my friend Paula who lives with her husband and three daughters in New Market.

We took a day trip to Centre Island. I had never been there before. We spent a few hours walking around the island looking at the formal gardens, watching people riding bikes and enjoying the garden's of the residents. I like this picture of Paula, Andrea and Paula's sister-in-law Ann looking across at the Toronto skyline.

Paula and Angela (Paula's youngest) spent four days (three nights) exploring Algonquin park. I enjoy hiking and having picnics but I don't enjoy camping any more so we stayed in a lovely hotel in Huntsville.

On our way to Huntsville we stopped at Webers for amazing hamburgers and fries. This is a vey popular hamburger stand that has an amazing system for serving large numbers of people in a short time. I like this picture because I accidentally caught my reflection in the side mirror!

The weather was warm and humid so we opted for taking many small hikes rather than some of the longer hikes. This picture was taken by a lookout on a trail called Hardwood Hills. Angela looks so nice with her long hair, stylish jeans and lovely figure. As for me, this is a good illustration why people with short, stubby legs probably shouldn't wear capri length pants with hiking boots!!!!! What Not to Wear!

While admiring the beautiful landscape, we would often compare the views to areas of Newfoundland. One big difference however, is the abundance of very large pine trees. This one was on a trail called Big Pines. Look Up! Waaaaaay up!

I did mention that the weather was a little humid!

Here I am striking my "Superwoman" pose on Lookout trail.

It wouldn't be an outdoor adventure without some wildlife sightings. We saw two moose including this young bull.

At our picnic site we were lucky enough to spot this mother duck and her youngens. It was somewhat windy and the ducklings had a challenge to keep up with mom.

This toad very kindly stayed still for me to take this up close and personal picture. Every thing is beautiful...in its own way.

These were just highlights of my first week in Ontario. Stay tuned for week two.