Classic Car Show

The most convenient part of our Canada Day celebrations for me to get to was the classic car show.  They closed off two blocks of our harbourfront street, and cars lined up on both sides, taking advantage of the wide parking available.  There was a good crowd but I was able to wander down the street, meeting friends and neighbours and just enjoying the cars.

I have to say right up front that I know nothing about cars or trucks of any sort, so I'm just going to share the pictures with only a few comments.  Hope you enjoy them.

I did chat with the driver of this old truck, asking him how long he thought it would take to restore it.  He said said he wasn't planning to, he was leaving it just like this, perfectly usable as is.

A bit of a heat wave here today til Thursday, up to 30°C.

(Belated) Happy Canada Day!

I'm so busy I missed posting for Canada Day!  In fact I was out celebrating Canada Day, down at the classic car show by the harbour here in Meaford.  But it was a great day, the rain held off and there was the biggest crowd I've ever seen in Meaford.  I also visited a good friend who is in the hospital here, sadly at the end of his adventurous days with us.

This is the flag in Big Bay, that village north of Owen Sound that's home to the World Champion Skipping Stone Beach (and some very popular ice cream cones).  Happy Canada Day to all, even those currently breathing our forest fire smoke!

Today Was Strawberry Jam Day Here!

Today was the day that Mrs. F.G. made her annual batch of strawberry jam.  We ordered the berries last week and picked them up late Tuesday.  Wednesday was preparation day, berries all trimmed, supplies all gathered, bottles washed ready for canning.  Then the real work began, early today.  Those berries were transformed into delicious jam by lunch time.  And I look forward to tasting it asap!

Tuesday's haul of berries ....

And Thursday's production of jam!

Summer Wildflowers Have Started!

I know most of you call them 'weeds', but I call them summer wildflowers.  The spring wildflowers that we love grow in the woods, taking advantage of the ephemeral light in early spring to bloom.  Summer wildflowers  bloom in the bright sun of summer, often growing on poor soil but flourishing never-the-less.

Buttercups are one of the first, flashing their bright yellow colour from the ditches and unused fields.

Our own lawn and many others have at least some growth of White Clover.  Some try to get rid of it, but I think it's good for a lawn because it can withstand drought better than many grasses and stay green.

Miniature Daisies pop up in a few patches of lawn where I ride and I find them particularly welcoming, one of the first of these summer wildflowers to bloom.

This Daisy Fleabane has very fine petals compared to other daisies, and ranges from pinkish to white as you can see.

Finally Field Bindweed is a troublesome 'weed', an invasive plant that will spread quickly through a lawn or garden.  It's about impossible to get rid of, as roots break off and can grow into new plants.  One of the few that deserve the name 'weed'!

We Got Rain Again!

In a month that's been very dry and sunny we finally got a good overnight rain.  The plants in the garden, and all the crops we see along the highway certainly needed it.  It was very wet this morning, but it's turned sunny now, so I'm going to get outside after I finish posting this.

Hope you're enjoying the weekend!

The Fox are Back!

We thought we weren't going to see the fox family again this year, after watching the kits play in the grass the last two years, but Mrs. F.G. looked out this morning and there they were, rumbling and tussling, just two of them this time.  They stay in the den until they're nearly full grown, hard to tell from the adults - but the adults don't play like this.

All photos courtesy of Mrs. F.G.  I only cropped them a little to retain clarity.  Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Flowers Around Town

Our own garden is not the only one with seasonal blooms, though it certainly has a lot more than most.  I've collected at least a few pictures of blooms than interested me as I rode around.

Friends of ours around a few blocks on one of my favourite routes have a beautiful garden, and I loved the deep blue colour of these tall Iris close to the road.

Down another street where I rarely go is a front yard entirely converted to garden, at the moment filled to overflowing with Allium.

The Spirea, always striking, have been in bloom for awhile.

One of my favourite tree flowers, the Chestnut, precursor to the fall's conkers.

Almost across the street from that is a large Tulip tree, with big fuzzy buds about to burst into flowers that look very much like Tulip blooms.  Another beautiful sunny day here on the shores of Georgian Bay.