Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Grey Roots Museum

We went to the spring lecture series at Grey Roots a week ago, and it was so good we went back yesterday for the final of the series.  Both lectures, as well as the museum itself, inspired me to think of where I can make contributions and keep myself busy, and how that will support the future of my blog.

  A large sculpture of the museum's logo, taken from inside - see below for an explanation.

They even have their own waterfall in the lobby.  Owen Sound has 4 well-known waterfalls, and there are 5 more in the region, including here in the valley.

The talk we went to last week was on the rocks and rock formations of the Niagara Escarpment, by Bob Knapp who I know well as a Bruce Trail volunteer like myself (until last year).

Bob is not a geologist, but he has spent a lot of time out exploring, just like myself.  And I found that I was familiar with a lot of the features he talked about.

The cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment really do provide some spectacular scenery as you make you way up the peninsula. 

The second talk, yesterday, given by Audrey Armstrong, was on the Monarch butterfly.  It was an excellent, well-organized talk on what we know about this iconic species.  I guess I'll have to write a post just on this; I learned a lot!

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I've been wondering just what direction my blog will go now that I face serious limitations doing photography.  Most of the past 6 months pictures have been taken from the front car seat.  Even if we get the chair out of our car, I can't easily position myself for anything other than a straight forward shot, and even then I can't easily hold my favourite but heavy Nikon, so I've been using my phone.

For all this I depend on Mrs. F.G. as my driver of course, and both blog posts and the actual photography are becoming more of a joint enterprise.  Slowly, we're finding daytime events like these and our visit to the Art Gallery 3 weeks ago, that we both enjoy.  There are a surprising number of them around here and I expect they'll keep us quite busy over the summer replacing part of the effort I used to put into solitary hiking and photography expeditions.  I need to thank Mrs. F.G. for the effort of getting me out and about.

You'll probably notice a shift from natural history to local history too, and posts that take a bit of research for me (as Patsy said in a comment on my last post, 'once a professor, always a professor').  Given the time it takes to be paralyzed and still be up and about every day, I'm not going to try and post every day either.  If I don't have something ready, you're just going to have to wait!

But I'm finally feeling satisfied with how this is evolving; hope you enjoy it.

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If you're wondering about the logo and the name of the museum, this is Grey county, which accounts for a lot of the name.  In the logo, seen from outside, green represents the forests, a big part of the first 100 years in the county.  Grey are the rocks of the Niagara Escarpment, yellow is agriculture, wheat being a major crop, blue is water, and red stands for celebration.  The museum was established to celebrate the people of Grey County.

18 comments:

  1. A shift in focus for your blog is fine with me and I'm sure you will find lots of interesting things to post!

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  2. It sounds like the right shift for you to take on.

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  3. No doubt in my mind that you are and will fill your blog page with many interesting stories. My youngest sister, Wendy, is the curator of the Community Waterfront Heritage Museum/Centre in Owen Sound. She also works part time at the Grey Roots Museum so your title drew me in immediately. Just like a fish on a lure!
    Nice job, I didn't know what all the colours of the sculpture's logo stood for.

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  4. Your desire/need to take your blog in a new direction is totally understandable. This reader has always enjoyed your postings and predict I'll enjoy your future posts -- you write well professor.

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  5. You and the Mrs. didn't learn to be a well coordinated team overnight. Best wishes to you both as you travel an old path a new way.

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  6. That was an interesting sculpture, thank you for the explanation! We will enjoy what ever you write. :)

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  7. You are doing a fantastic job. Love the sculpture!

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  8. You are both excelling , in getting out and about as you do,and as a team, have given us a heap of scenes that I could not imagine or see otherwise. The grain carriers, silos, frozen areas and icicles, trees drooping with snowy branches, and if Mrs F.G. gets some time for her sewing and beautiful craft, would love to see that introduced as well.Is there a lighter weight camera that would be easier to hold and focus with? The pics with your phone are great, but I wondered if a camera with a memory card or cord transfer would be easier.The logo and the stone waterfall, both truly amazing. A lot of thought and work in both.

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  9. So nice that you are even posting your blog always looks forward to them whenever you can get something together. Keep up the good work.

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  10. You are doing very well with drive-by shootings! Ofttimes our day trips are like this, too.
    I think it excellent motivation to find things to cover. I am affected by anxiety and depression, and there are days...
    (ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

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  11. I enjoy your blog with or without pictures. And I am so glad you are able to get out and about as much as you do in a wheelchair. That itself takes up a lot of time, I suspect. I look forward to learning all about your local history. :-)

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  12. There is nothing more certain than change. My heart goes with you wherever your direction leads.

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  13. If you want to use your big camera you could try a birdwatcher's hide-clamp attached to your chair. These are traditionally used to affix a spotting scope to the shelf in a bird-hide, but they work well for a camera too as they have the same screw-mount. Used in conjunction with a zoom lens and the up-down facility on your chair should give you a bit of extra flexibility. I rigged up something similar for a young man I worked with and he got some pretty good results, albeit with a fairly simple camera which he had to operate via an improvised cable-release.

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  14. Whatever time that you can put into the blog will be appreciated by us all. You have to find a timing and rhythm that works for for you and for your wife. You can't be expected to post every day or on a schedule. It will sort itself out.

    MY just manis a professional photographer, one of Canada's top ten. We just recently purchased a smaller light weight camera for travel and it has a 25X optical zoom.

    https://www.amazon.com/Canon-PowerShot-SX620-Digital-Optical/dp/B07938S3R2/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=canon+sx620hs&qid=1554998010&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

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  15. Gosh..." My husband is a professional........

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  16. I especially like the 'teamwork' comments you received. I hadn't thought of that and by golly it's true for you two. With the many non fiction books I read I from time to time come across situations like yours where people's lives have suddenly been turned completely upside down by sometimes traumatic events or life threatening illnesses. It is always so interesting and encouraging to read how many of these people like yourself have not looked at their situation as an end but as a new beginning. Whatever you chose to do you will be successful in doing it. It's your nature to do that. By helping yourself in a positive way you are helping others and with the internet at your disposal and your educational background the people you are able to help and inform is limitless. You have a project in front of you Stu......go get it:))

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  17. Hi Stu. Your photos and commentary continue to inspire and educate. Mrs. FG and you are an excellent team. I know you like the Nikon...how about the Panasonic Lumix that I think you own? It is lighter, has good shadow detail and a Leica lens.

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  18. I look forward the to new chapter in your blog posts.

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