travel – The Trials and Tribulations of an Urban Farmer

native plants…

Sumac Wonderful

17 Jan 202116 Jan 2021

We don’t always appreciate the beauty that we find in our own backyards. When I was growing up, there was a group of bushes in a neglected corner at the…

Inspirations…

Winter Walks

3 Jan 202111 Jan 2021

For many years we visited a timeshare in Horseshoe Valley, a twenty-minute drive from Orillia, ON. The resort will be closing in a week to be put up for sale.…

art…

Porthole Pictures

22 Nov 202022 Nov 2020

Although summer is all to short for my liking, a few years back we decided to leave the heat behind for a while. My mother never got to fulfill one…

art…

Calming Living Walls

18 Oct 202018 Oct 2020

Airports are not the most relaxing of places. People may experience the stress of cancellations, delays, missed connections and lost baggage. To this, add the complexities of a pandemic. Though…

Timeshare Ending: Let Bygones be Begonias

2 Aug 202023 Aug 2020

A week ago, we checked out of the timeshare we had bought into two decades earlier. A few days later, we signed the forms to exit the perpetual lease that…

A Year of Unplanning

26 Jul 202027 Jul 2020

2020 has been a year of unplanning. Time away and a theatre production in March give way to a lock down. A cruise and engagement party for a loved one…

A Canadian Scenic Safari

5 Jul 20205 Jul 2020

Whenever possible garden tours are incorporated into my vacation planning. I have experienced marvelous gardens on the campus of UBC in Vancouver, British Columbia; Flower Forest and Hunte’s Garden in…

Finding Fairy Trees

15 Mar 202015 Mar 2020

During our trip to Ireland we enjoyed day trips to Wicklow, Glendalough and Kilkenny and to Connemora and Cong. Our guides, Yoann and Michael, pointed out singular trees growing in…

Barbados Revisited: Coconut Court, Flower Forest and Wildlife Reserve

23 Feb 202023 Feb 2020

Our most recent trip to Barbados was in July 2019. I was on leave in February when I spotted a great seat sale and a hotel bargain, so I convinced…

Club Barbados, Resort and Spa and Hunte’s Garden

16 Feb 202023 Mar 2020

Last week I wrote about our first trip to Barbados in 2001. After many years away from the beautiful sun and sand, we finally made a return trip to the…