During a recent visit to my sons’ restaurant in Meaford – that’s in Grey County – I discovered one of the loveliest parks I’ve ever seen.

deep in the park

It’s not just a lovely place…visiting it is a really moving experience. It’s called “Beautiful Joe Park” and I explored it with the Reed family dog, Linkin.

Linkin

He’s a bit of a Mongrel…part German Shepherd and part Border Collie. But when it comes to being a friend, he really is the best.

The entire park is dedicated to these best friends of the human race and every aspect of it honours our favorite four-legged creatures;  and a stroll around it can bring a tear to ones eye.

Beautiful Joe was owned by Margaret Marshall Saunders (1861-1947). She taught school briefly before starting her career as a novelist.

There is lots more info and more pics here on Beautiful Joe’s Homepage

But here’s one last pic of Mr. Linkin taking a dip in the river that borders the park.

The condo that I’m staying in overlooks Park Lawn Cemetery in Toronto.   Lots of trees and grass but the part I can see has fairly uniform headstones.  I don’t know if there’s an older section with huge memorials or not.

This morning I watched a man walking through the cemetery.  He didn’t once walk on the road – except to cross it.  He walked on the grass and snow, right over the graves.  It made me a bit uncomfortable.  Which made me think about why I would feel uncomfortable.  It must be some residual superstition about walking on a grave. I wonder if somewhere on the time continuum there were people shivering as the man walked on their graves.

Yesterday I saw two cars stop beside a grave.  Altogether there were about 7 people clustered at a grave.  One of them was a little child, probably about two or three.  Someone leaned down and handed the child flowers and said something to it.  Someone else took the child’s hand and helped it put the flowers on the grave.

I’m sure that the person who gave the child flowers said ‘give these flowers to Grandma’.  I’m also sure that for years that child is going to think that his grandmother is a tombstone.

My daughter had to have a C-section and lost a lot of blood during the surgery. She’s now anemic and struggling to breastfeed.She’s taking Iron supplements but I figure an iron rich diet can’t hurt.  I decided to google ‘iron in food’. 

I admit this is not a great search term.  It was 6.30 am and I’ve spent 5 to 10 hours a day for the past 5 days at the hospital – I hate hospitals but that’s a different post – and haven’t been sleeping very well.  Those are my excuses.

In number one spot in the results was a list of food highest in iron (per 200 calories).  There are 116 items on the list.  Number one is dried parsley.  It has 70 mg of iron per 200 calories.  Great.  Totally useless information.  I can’t even imagine what volume of dried parsley contains 200 calories.

Number 2 on the list – Raw air-dried Alaskan Beluga whale meat which has 61.4 mg of iron per 200 calories.  At least you wouldn’t have to eat the same volume of the dried raw whale meat as you would dried parsley.

In positions 3 and 4 we have dried spearmint and dried marjoram.  Position 9 is freeze-dried parsley at 39.8 mg.  Hmmm…I guess we’re going to be going with the dried as opposed to freeze-dried parsley.

I haven’t figured out how the list is ordered.  At 34 there is Goose, liver, raw with 45.9 mg.  It’s preceded by Cereals, fortified, puffed wheat with 17.4 mg and followed by Duck, domestic, liver, raw with 44.9 mg.

Unfortunately it doesn’t specify whether the goose is domestic or wild.  I think we’ll stick with the domestic duck, much easier to find.  Maybe if I cut the liver into tiny wee pieces and freeze them Meg could take them like pills.  Somehow I just can’t see her biting in to a piece of raw duck liver.

Or maybe I could blend it with ice cream and bananas and make a banana liver shake.

Or I could just find another list.

The first of too many cute baby pix – my grandson Max!

Born on Febuary 1, 2009

BRUCE IPM invests over $800,000 of profits into Health Care and Community Projects

Organizers of the 2008 IPM have realized a profit of approximately $822,000. After an unforgettable rainy, muddy weekend when exhibitors and trailers were arriving on site an astounding 94,400 visitors attended the five day show when the gates opened Tuesday September 16 just north of Teeswater.

In the early stages of planning the IPM Committee selected local health care as the main beneficiary of any profits having the greatest impact for all Bruce County residents. A meeting is scheduled for early February when the IPM Executive will meet with representatives from local Hospital Foundations to discuss equipment available to be funded within their facilities. A total of $500,000 has been budgeted to support local health care in area hospitals.

Community organizations will also be recognized for their contributions to the IPM in exchange for volunteer time, resources or services. Donations totaling $130,000 from profits of the International Plowing Match are: Tractor Square Dancing “Team Farmall” $6000; The Municipality of South Bruce $30,000; The Municipality of Arran-Elderslie $5000; Bruce County Plowmen’s Association $30,000; Bruce County Heritage Association $5000; Bruce County Genealogy Society $1000; Bruce County Woodlot Association $2000; Bruce County Foster Parent Association $2500; Formosa Lions Club $500; Belmore Community Centre (Kitchen) $3000; Bruce County EMS $25,000; Bruce County Mutual Aid Fire Association (new equipment) $10,000; and St. John’s Ambulance $10,000.

Organizations receiving a total of $69,140.00 for time working at the IPM include: Quota International (Owen Sound), Mildmay Rotary Club, Clifford Rotary Club, Southampton Rotary Club, OES Goodwill Chapter (Harriston), Paisley Rotary Club, Chesley Rotary Club, Huron Shores ATV Club, 543 Squadron Air Cadets, Belmore Minor Sports, Ripley Lions Club, Teeswater 4H Club, Formosa Lions Club, Walkerton Knights of Columbus, Walkerton Rotary Club, Paisley Kinsmen Club, Trinity Lutheran Church (Walkerton), Chepstow Lions Club, Ripley Lions Club, Tiverton Lions Club, Lucknow Lions Club, Special Olympics Central Bruce, Walkerton District Secondary School, Walkerton Hawks Jr. C Hockey Club, Cargill District Community Fund, Mildmay OSS Broomball, F.E. Madill Secondary School Rugby Team, Saugeen Shores Winterhawks Hockey Club, Kincardine Rotary Club, Wingham Jr. C Hockey Club, Teeswater Culross Horticultural Society and the Teeswater Culross Fire Department.

The IPM also has set aside $82,000 for IPM Committee and Executive Members to direct $2000 dollars each to a charity or community organization of their choice in reward of their efforts and time dedicated to the IPM. Their commitment for success by keeping costs low while also fundraising had a dramatic impact on the event profits.

Event organizers acknowledge the success of the event would not have been made possible without the overwhelming response from the local community and businesses who supported the IPM. The entire county of Bruce along with surrounding Huron, Grey, Wellington and Perth Counties were behind the IPM from the very first announcement that the event was going to be held in Midwestern Ontario.

Official financial figures will be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association held in the District of Temiskaming host of the 2009 IPM in late February. The IPM comes back to south-western Ontario in 2010 to be held near St. Thomas in Elgin County, then in Eastern Ontario hosted by Prescott-Russell for more information visit www.plowingmatch.org.

Having said how difficult it is to get around in rural Ontario – Getting to Grey County – I found a great ride share or carpool site.  It’s Canadian, is easy to use, and has members all across Canada, the US, and around the world.  Think incredibly organized hitchhiking.

PickupPal – a service to love

PickupPal is amazing.  Registration is fast and easy, and free.  I posted a request for a ride from Dungannon to Toronto, definitely not the road most travelled, and within 2 hours had 12 (12!!!) possible rides.  One is a definite possibility for a regular trip to Toronto.  Someone from Kincardine goes to Mississauga every Wednesday morning.  I could meet them somewhere between here and Kincardine, go to a Go station near their destination, and then transit from Union Station to Cabbagetown.

Coming back would be easy enough, I know I can always get a ride from Stratford to Dungannon on either a Saturday or a Sunday so I can take the train from Toronto to Stratford.

This is way better than taking the truck to Toronto or to Kitchener and paying for days of parking at the station.

Check it out.  It’s so easy.  And such a good idea!  The more people that register, the better the coverage. We’ll all be able to get or give rides.

One of the challenging things about owning a weekend home in Priceville is getting to it – and getting around once you’re there.  There is no inter-community public transit in Grey County, or in most of rural Canada.

If I want to go from Toronto to Flesherton (forget direct to Priceville) you can get a Greyhound bus. Of course you still have to get to Priceville.  No idea if there are taxis in Flesherton.  If there are they don’t have websites.  Maybe I could hitchhike.

I’d have to make sure I had groceries with me because once I arrived in Priceville it wouldn’t be easy to get to Flesherton, Durham, Hanover, or Markdale to get groceries.  Of course that won’t be as important once the general store opens.  Yes, we’re going to have a general store in Priceville!

Inter-community public transportation is a thing of the past in rural Canada

I was quite excited today when I saw this link in my Google Alerts – Charter sought for railway line past Horning’s Mills. I clicked the link and read the article.   I have to admit that I found the language a bit old-fashioned and formal but the idea was terrific.  I was all ready to blog about it when I noticed this at the top – 125 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 21, 1883.

I often think about how communities were connected in the past, that it was much easier for people to go from town to town.  We rely so heavily on cars now that we can’t get from one town to another.

Tony McQuail proposed a Rural Rideshare program as part of his platform in the 2008 election.  We need something.  I wonder if it’s possible to use school buses as inter-community buses when they aren’t taking kids to school.  It’s not particularly friendly but it is better than everyone driving their own car.

There’s a discussion group about trains at the Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board.  Trains are a great idea. They don’t have to be huge, they can be just one car.  Unfortunately Canada did away with the rail infrastructure in the 70s.  A lot of old rail beds are now hiking paths and bike trails.  I can’t see anyone rushing to convert them back.

We do need ot do something but maybe the solutions need to come from individuals, not from government.

Always encouraging for musicians when some fans turn up. And how excited they get even before the band strikes up.

This one was allowed to the stagefront at the IPM after a solemn promise to keep his underwear on.

I love the idea of 100 Mile Markets.  There is so much wonderful food produced in Ontario but I don’t have time to drive around to the sources.  It’s not environmentally friendly either.  It’s funny how things change.  10 years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about driving miles to find something special.

Shepherd’s Watch is the brainchild of Lynda Sauve and Carol Sampson who run a sheep and dairy farm of the same name.  They initially saw it as a place to sell their products – cheese, milk, lamp, wool, yarn, blankets and sheep skins – but realized that they could use the space to showcase other local products.

There’s a cafe and in nice weather you can sit on the prorch.  The baking is from 4 different local bakers.  It all looked delicious.  There was a nice choice of cheese, meats, and local veggies.

For me the best thing was completely unexpected, a good choice of knitting books and a wonderful choice of wool and yarn.  I’m allergic to wool and have had trouble finding interesting natural yarns and am now lusting after the linen and the cotton yarns at Shepherd’s Watch.

The choice of socks was amazing.  Unfortunately for me they were all wool.  I saw a shepherd’s cloak that was so beautiful I seriously considered a life of antihistamines but sanity prevaled.  If you’re looking for sweaters, socks, or blankets this is the place to go.

Linda and Carol are always looking for local products so if you’re a producer in the area and are looking for somewhere to sell your products give them a call.

Shepherd’s Watch 100 Mile Market and Cafe
211 Smith St, Arthur
519-828-2228

Open Wednesday to Sunday
9 am to 6 pm

I was in a grocery store today and noticed the ultimate in over-packaging for lazy people in the produce section.  Individually wrapped orange segments, apple segments, or pineapple segments in plastic bags.  I’m sure they’re intended for kids’ lunches but really, think of the preservatives on them.  Surely it isn’t that difficult or time-consuming to cut up an apple and pop it in a container.  I’m sure if you rub it with lemon juice it won’t turn brown.

Certainly an orange is pretty easy to do.