Stopped to smell the Roses and other perenials

Usually when I travel the trails that wind around the Don River I am trying to burn as many calories in as short a time as possible.  While I appreciate that running on the trails surrounds me with a more pleasing setting than a treadmill, or sidewalk stands on Danforth, I don't have time to actually stop and smell the roses.

Monday I was feeling ill, weak and wobbly, by Tuesday I was feeling a bit better and had watched all the programs on the PVR and frankly cabin fever was setting in.  I was out of Tylenol and was wondering if popping expired Iron tablets was a healthy choice so I headed to the drug store to replenish my stock and clear my head.

The walk really helped clear the cobwebs; after convincing the pharmacist that I was not going to OD on Iron I decided that I was not ready to go home.  I grabbed a  free newspaper and headed to Riverdale park to sit in the shade and do the Sudoku.

My mind got to wandering and I thought that I would take the long way home and walk along the trail beside the Don River so that I could check the progress of catnip.  I harvest some every year for my cats, well this time it will just be Sooty, and also for friends who have cats. 

I didn't have to go too far to find catnip ready to harvest.  I plucked it and put it in the bag with the Iron tablets, Tylenol and water, thinking that was all I would see ready for harvest.  Being as I was not moving very fast I found myself appreciating things that I usually only notice in my peripheral vision.

I'm not sure what this is....the tree it was growing on looked like a Sumac (what I call weed trees) but the weed trees in my neighbors yards don't have pretty red things.

I rounded a corner and came upon kitty heaven.  I have heard that colony's of feral cats inhabit the valley.  I have never seen any but don't doubt it with so much catnip growing wild.  I stopped and filled up my shopping bag.  If I were not feeling the effects of anemia I would have skipped home excited to see Sootys reaction to my harvest.

But this was to be a leisurely stroll where, low and behold I would, in all honesty "stop and smell the roses".  As lovely as they are to behold I must say that this particular bush was not a fragrant one.

I am not sure what these flowers are called, bees love them, for some reason I think it is Honeysuckle but am likely mistaken.

I have an instinct to stay away from yellow perennials, that stems from an allergy that is sometimes mild and sometimes sever to the dreaded "goldenrod". But that does not come out till the fall so I got close to this.  Don't know what it is called but love the color.

Humm I was looking forward to writing this post until I realized how many times I was going to have to type "I dunno what this is"  My mother used to call them snake berries and told us they were poison.  I have never seen a snake eating them but our mother had 5 kids to cook for, if those berries were not poison she would have encouraged us to fill up on them.

More snake berries...if anyone can identify them that would be neat.

Tiny Daisy flowers but these are not your typical "he loves me, he loves me not" daisy's.  The flowers are tiny and the petals like little eyelashes around the yellow centre.

Finally something I can name, your everyday ordinary Daylilys.  Such a brilliant orange blossom but only for a day. So thankful there will be another one tomorrow.

LOL another something that I cannot name. Might be sage.

Getting tired of admitting I don't know the names of things so....tada. Ladies and Gentlemen may I present to you "The Don River"

And before our fat mayor spends a zillion dollars cleaning up all the dirty graffiti in the city...one of the rail bridges over the Don River.

Okay it was my Grammie and my other Grammie AND my mom who told me that these are purple thistles. So don't nobody tell me they are anything else.

And because I am on a roll of being able to name things with assuredly; this is the Don River

Now this is weird.  I decided to move off the main trail cuz there were too many crazy cyclers. There is a footpath that runs directly beside the river but it was blocked with this.

I went around it and met up with this

Not sure what the intent is but this is a trap or barricade or spooky Blair Witch warning that is man made from dead wood.  I have heard that first Nations People live in the Valley and are allowed to fish and hunt in accordance with their culture.  Maybe I stumbled upon something of theirs.  Eventually I had no alternative except to crawl up the escarpment or turn back....I crawled up, I'm not as evolved as some people I like a monkey challenge.

At the top of the escarpment there was railing that I could grab onto....and another flower that I know the name of....this is Queen Annes Lace, bunny lovers know it as wild carrot. (although I have never found a carrot attached to one).

Nearing my exit from the trail I take another look at the Don River

And look in the other direction

And then trudge through the construction on the veichal escarpment that is Pottery Hill Road.

Looks like they are digging to decrease the incline.

Its still a steep walk

And my own savage garden

Needs to be watered

Old Nick

Living in an area of Toronto where some of the best restaurants in the city are only a few blocks away I have never felt inspired to write about any one or another in a positive or negative light....after all if you don't like it there is an alternative right next door.  Not to mention the fact that there are countless others who will tell you where to dine in Toronto, I usually feel like my 2cent endorsement is pretty worthless.

But just in case someone has not read Tena In Toronto , or is reading a years old NOW endorsement, or thinks that the rainbow on the door mean something good, let me prompt you to look for the alternative.

I have been to the Old Nick on several occasions.  For those that are not partial to Greek food but want to meet on the Danforth, I have recommended it more than once on the grounds that the beer selection is pretty good and the menu has a few standouts, the service was friendly and attentive...back in the day.  The downfall began with less attentive service which has kept me away for some time.

This evening, post pedicure, I was feeling special and wanted to treat myself; so skipped across the street to Nicks. ...being as nobody came to seat me I crawled onto a barstool (I don't usually like being perched on a barstool) and ordered a  Boddington. After a while some live talent showed up.  The first act was nice enough so I decided to stay and ordered some of the homecut onion rings that I considered a sinful treat.  When they showed up it was a basket of rings that I could have got from Burger King and the live talent was guitar singer/songwriter who was syncing to his MP3 player.  

Shame that what used to be a great place is no more....but if you like Jazz come a few blocks north and get honest live music at Whistlers.

If the cats dont like me I have options

Everybody knows about my outdoor kitties.  We are on our fourth generation of fereal cats. Old Daddy White Kitty has been captured and sent to reform school to be rehabilitated, three of the females have been spayed, via the Trap Neuter Release program and we are hoping to get they whole gang set on the straight and narrow.  My next door neighbor and others of us on the street put out food for them,  in the back of our minds is the hope that they will come to us looking for love in addition to food.

Tonight I sat on the front step and threw primo treats.  The three kittens and three adults showed up.  For about an hour I threw treats and they ran for them and squabbled over them but would not come close enough for me to touch them.  When their bellies were full they moved on and I moved to the backyard.

Sitting in the backyard for a few minutes while the sprinkler ran, I read some of my book and eventually the raccoons showed up.  This was mamma and babies.  Unlike the kitties, this family was willing to beg, roll over and look adorable for a few leftover bits of kibble.

These guys appreciate my efforts.  I'm wondering if I should switch sides.

Feeling a twinge of guilt

I have a circle that includes some very good friends who I really enjoy spending time with.  These are my laughing buddies, my drinking buddies, and the people that I trust to take care of my babies when I have to leave them for a couple of days. 

Baba Haha, Boy D and Girl D planned a Best Buds getaway (combined with Girl Ds bday) to Ottawa last Canada Day.  I was not able to join them because the only people that   I trusted to take proper care of Stu were the ones going to Ottawa. This year I don't need a babysitter for Stu, and I feel confident in leaving Sooty with a big bowl of kibble and lots of water for two days.  So I am off to Niagara Falls for a couple of days to celebrate Canada Day and Girl Ds b-day....whoot whoot!!!

I'm really pumped, first non-employed weekend away from home I have had since bros wedding over 2 years ago.  there is a tiny corner of my heart is happy that I don't have the responsibilities of being a BunnyMummy.

I love you Stu, I always will, but mama is going to Niagara Falls.

Vancouver, Hockey, Riots and what comes after

You don't have to actually love hockey, but being Canadian, a natural Canadian undoubted means that you have accepted Hockey as our national sport.  The Media will inform you of all the primary stats of the NHL teams and if you live in a Hockey city, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary or Vancouver, your town is gonna go nuts if your team makes the playoffs.

When Vancouver proceeded to the Stanley Cup finals my patriotism soared.  Memories of Olympic Hockey glory that originated  in the same town, stirred feelings of a time of wonderful camaraderie.

We all know that what happened after the Vancouver Canucks were vanquished by the Boston Bruins last night was not glorious.  The reaction inside Rogers Centre was rude, the actions that happened outside were shameful. I am totally aware that the destructive actions perpetrated by a band of hooligans is not a reflection of the majority of the citizens of Vancouver; there can be no doubt that those actions are reflected on the city and its citizens  as a whole, and in fact have come to be a reflection on Canada and Canadians too.  This attitude cant be brushed away with the claim that "it was just a handful of dissidents". The city and the nation has to share this shame as much as we were allowed to share in the glory of a handful of athletes just over a year ago.

During the first games of the playoffs at the Rogers Centre, the singing of the Canadian national anthem was hijacked by the fans.  Today while keeping abreast of the fallout of last nights riots I heard the line "with glowing heart we see the rise" in my heart , when I heard of the call and answer for citizens of Vancouver to show up downtown to help clean the mess left in the wake of destruction.  Bystanders who witnesses the events last night are coming forward and presenting evidence to ensure that the people who perpetrated criminal actions last night will be charged.   Order is being restored and the guilty will be brought to justice, not only by city officials but in large part by the people of Vancouver.

They will not look for media attention and are unlikely to receive near the amount that the hoodlums got, but I think that when the dust settles the quiet perseverance and determination to be good citizens, to be a good city will resonate from Vancouver for the world to know and admire.

Fighting the feeling of a curse

With the hope that posting about the series of bad luck would purge the curse I moved forward after my last post with the intent of moving upward and onward from the dark cloud that I have been living under for the past few weeks.

I was away from home on Saturday night but came home Sunday morning to find one of the backyard kitties, Sooty, and the local Cardinal all showing their own personal disapproval of the empty food dispenser.  After meeting their demands I carried on with my day which I intended to include going for a run and packing my gym bag for Monday.  The priority was to get on top of my yard work. Pull some weeds and fill my two new planters with Rosemary and Marigolds in the hope of protecting my mosquito bait hide.

The plans started to come off the rails when, while pulling the weeds threatening to choke the lavender I noticed the rear passenger tire of the car was flat flat flat.  I dialed CAA to put on the donut with the intention of going to Walmart to buy a new set of tires when I have been making a concentrated effort to stop abusing my credit card.  My distress turned to euphoria when the CAA guy told me that I had a nail in my tire that could be plugged.

But my euphoria would be short lived.  While pulling weeds I noticed one of the new kittens under the step of my back deck.  for a brief second I was thrilled that it was not running from me until I realised that it was not moving.  I don't mean to sound melodramatic but I have put allot of faith in the future of these kittens to restore my ability to appreciate what the world offers up on a daily basis.  This felt like a kick in the teeth.  The poor little creature was dead.  Last week was very hot here but this past week was actually unseasonably cool so it was not heat stroke, there was no sign of any sort of trauma on the kitten.  Absolutely without intent my mind went to the neighbors who want the cats and kittens gone, and I wondered if one of them has put out poison.  I hope it was grief and paranoia that took my mind to such a dark place so quickly.  But for the whole day I seen nothing of the other kittens and I worried about their well being.

Tire repaired I went to the garden centre to get my Marigolds and Rosemary and actually came home with more lavender.  My heart almost leaped out of my chest to find on my doorstep hungry kittens. 

I will do what I can to keep them safe, and if I am blessed they will change from backyard kittens to indoor kittens....if I am blessed.

Reviewing my Posts

I really don't write here as often as I thought I would, I am determined not to use this forum as a place to bitch about the people, or circumstances in life that piss me off...so...I really don't write here as often as I thought I would.

Lately I have been intending to find some time to write about Fathers day.  Its next weekend, I always found picking an appropriate Fathers Day card difficult.  But then I realized that I had already written a post about that.

I have written posts about missing my father, who I love with all of my heart in spite of our non traditional father/daughter relationship.  I have written posts about the heartbreak of loosing Mister, of having to realize that my determination and love were not enough to make his life meaningful.  I cant believe that on July 9 it will be three years he has been gone. I have written of Lily, the sweetest bunny ever who was the doting mate to Mister and then later to Stu. Who days after surgery to remove a stone had her little heart give out in the middle of the night June 22 two years ago.  That was the first year that I didn't have a father to call. I recall a friend attempting to console my fears for her health telling me that nursing her post op would distract me from my loneliness. Then of course it was March 31st last year that Cleo left me for the rainbow bridge, and last month Stu, both who had lived long and happy lives and yet left me heartbroken and devastated.

We know when we take a four footed creature into our lives that in all likelihood we will outlive them but that knowledge does not prepare you for the heartbreak when they leave. While blubbering on a shoulder over the loss of Stu, I jested that I should be an expert at dealing with loss my now. Which of course is not true. There are no experts. Yet for all the heartache and tears it is totally worth the love that I still feel in my heart when I think of Mister grunting for headrubs and pushing Lily out of the way, and of Lily giving kisses, and waiting for pets before giving her man a good bath to wash the human smell off of him, of Cleo in the backyard who would sit patiently basking in all of her blubbery glory in a sunpool until she seen me watching her, and then she would come running to me, waddle swaying looking for pets and kisses, and of Stu who was as different from Mister as two boy buns can be.  He was so polite and well mannered as much as he enjoyed being petted and being fed, he would never never rush to food bowl before it was set down....the only exception being crasins, which would make him positively quiver.

I will continue to love Sooty, she has nobody to be jealous of anymore.  She has moved into Cleos spot at the foot of my bed and expects to be petted the minute that she realizes that I am awake.  Some nights she reverts to her old habits and sleeps downstairs (where she had to sleep in Cleo days) and I find I don't like waking up without her. 

The backyard kitties continue to come around, the task of trapping and fixing them will carry on. The warm weather will hopefully inspire me to go running more that I have been the past couple of weeks, The backyard has begun to beckon, there will be beers and feets planted in cool green grass after the aforementioned runs.  Summer festival season is about to begin, so there will be things to write about that don't come with tears and heartache.