Leap Day - Pink Shirt Day

Kids Count - Bullying Stops Here

And congratulations to all the moto-bloggers who completed Fuzzy Galore's 29 in 29 challenge.

Buddy, how could you treat me like this?

I've always said, "All a gal really needs is a good mechanic," but I sure am glad he's not my bike mechanic. This poor baby has been sitting in the yard for almost as long as I can remember and today it looked even sadder than before. He says he should take up riding again ... but looks like the bike might need a bit of work before that happens. Glad he looks after my four wheels better than his two wheels. Yikes!!!

Saturday - one day closer to spring...and a chance to talk bikes.

This Saturday Barbara and I had the opportunity (or tenacity) to crash yet another gathering of the Kingston Motorcycle Club, an eclectic group of gents who have one thing in common - vintage motorcycles.

It was a fine day (considering the blast of snow that had arrived the night before) and a great excuse for a walk to, where else, the Creekside. I had to wonder, looking at Richard Lobb (Vintage Road Racing Association member and former Vincent Comet racer, now specialty motorcycle repair) and Ken Morgan(Canadian Motorcycle Hall of Famer, rider and collector) how many years of motorcycling experience was gathered in that small back room. Over 20 non official members (and crashers) were gathered to talk bikes and share stories and projects and plans for spring. Today, though, they weren't riding.

Just as an aside - A sure sign of spring ... I saw two robins today (I think this is the earliest I've ever seen a robin in this area). Couldn't get the camera out of my pocket fast enough though ... and they were gone.

I’ll Have The Usual … after all it is Friday

Business card optional!

You gotta love being part of a neighborhood where you walk into the local (diner, drive in or) dive and they call you by name and they ask if you want the usual. Another Friday night in my “hood” means dinner at the Creekside. The usual is a turkey BLT on a pretzel bun. The turkey is home roasted and the pretzel bun rivals any. The only decision is will it be chardonnay or pinot tonight. I love my Friday nights.

Kyle (proprietor) stops by to chat

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.

Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,

and they're always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see,

our troubles are all the same -

You wanna be where everybody knows your name.

You wanna go where people know,

people are all the same,

You wanna go where everybody knows your name.

Flies in the Chandelier

Sometimes you're the headlamp, sometimes you're the bug!

As I was driving home tonight, much later than usual, I wondered, “Why the heck did I take this route? Why hadn't I noticed how many treacherous winding hills were on this road?”  Then it dawned on me. I've been over the same road thousands of times; I've looked at it so many times that I don’t see it anymore. Well, that was until something changed. Tonight I was driving home in driving snow and the road was covered, unexpectedly, with ice. That brings me to the flies in the chandelier. Sunday night I had company for dinner and much to my (Mrs. Clean) horror, I looked up and noticed that the globes on the chandelier had become the final resting place of dead bodies, lots of dead bodies. I swear there must have been hundreds, possibly thousands (well at least 50 or 60) dead flies in the light fixture. I look at that chandelier every day and somehow I just stopped seeing those flies until Sunday. On Sunday something changed. On Sunday there were other people at the dinner table with me and of course I was certain the dead flies would surely be the topic of their conversation for days to come; I left a note to myself – chandelier/flies, just in case I stopped seeing them again on Monday.

So, how many days until spring ... and we can start seeing things through fresh eyes, from behind the handle bars again? I don’t know about you, but I seldom take the road for granted on the Star, I see all the flies (and feel them too!)

(PS, you just don't know how long I've been waiting for a good excuse to post that photo. That bug travelled with me over 200 km and probably would have stayed longer but that I scrubbed him off when I finally polished the bike at the end of last years cross continent trip.)

K&P Trail

 

Looking Down the Trail
(Are there bunnies down this trail?)

Day three of the family day long weekend and number two son and I headed out with Misty (the Golden Retriever) and Charlee (the puppy) for a beautiful walk along two sections of the K&P trail just north of Kingston, ON. It was another unbelievably warm day for the month of February and perfect for an easy hike. I had hoped to catch some pictures of springtime waterfalls but we noticed most of the stream and creek beds, where normally torrents of water rush down toward the Cataraqui creek were all but dry due to the lack of snow this winter. We managed to find one small fountain like spill of water running through a crack in a rock ledge so stopped to listen to the spring song just for a moment before walking the muddy, albeit happy, dogs back to the car.

Water running out of the rocks along the trail.

Post Trail Retriever
The look (of the just shampooed dog) says it all ...
How could you?

The trail was obviously muddy and Misty, much to her disapproval, needed a bath on our return home. Walking distance today about 7km round trip.





 

The Game
Hey, did you know ice was slippery?

 It’s the family day long weekend here in Ontario. I’m not sure who thought of this idea but they deserve a great big kiss. I love long weekends, they’re a great excuse to put off until tomorrow all the stuff you’d normally have to do today.

Man Down (oops, that's
my son!)

Since it is family day weekend I headed out to watch my number one son play the truly Canadian game of broomball. In broomball two teams knock a ball around the ice by hitting it with a broom; the object of the game is to put the ball into the opponents net. I’m thinking this game must have been invented by folks who didn’t have skates and couldn’t afford a puck. The teams were playing on the frozen creek and were hoping for the temperature to hit the plus side of zero so the ice would melt and the sand would add some traction, but no such luck.

Discussing strategy or
pinny fashion?

The modern game of broomball must look a little different than the original, at least most of the brooms did. The brooms didn’t look like brooms at all – more like giant plastic ice scrapers on sticks. This wasn’t a totally serious tournament and though most of the players will be recovering from their bruises tomorrow they seemed to be having fun outside on a beautiful February day. As for me I enjoyed the over 5 k round trip walk and another chance to experiment with the Lumix.

Indoor / Outdoor Ice Rink on the Creek

Winterlude in Ottawa

Murphy’s Law – if you plan a trip in winter, it will snow (even if it hasn’t snowed all season) so Saturday morning, through blowing and drifting snow, I headed to Ottawa.

I met my friend Leslie in Nepean and we headed downtown to the Rideau Centre for a bit of lunch and to check out the festivities at “Winterlude.” It wasn’t snowing in Ottawa, and the sun actually shone for a bit but it was feakishly cold.

Looking south, down the Canal  from the Mackenzie Bridge

Looking north from the Mackenzie Bridge. Parliament Buildings on the left, the Chateau Laurier on the right.

Ottawa Convention Centre behind the canal.

Iconic landmark on the frozen canal -  A couple enjoying - BEAVERTAILS

Ice Sculpture in honor of Queen Elizabeth's 60th Jubilee.

Two sculptors contemplating their plan and their ice.

I have to admit that I’ve become a bit of a winter Diva … once outside I started complaining of cold fingers and that spread to cold ears and then to cold….and with all my whining and complaining about the cold we didn’t spend too much time outdoors – just enough time to take a few photos.



Icy reflections - A flock of Canadian Geese on the Rideau near Kingston



Salt Lick - Oh, wait a minute, that's my Sante Fe!

If, Then ... But ...

If

one were of hardy stock and one’s motorcycle was not deep in storage,

 then 

one might have considered a ride this weekend

but

that one would not have been me!

Both Saturday and Sunday the temperature hovered around the zero to plus 4 mark (positively balmy for this time of year) and the roads were centre bare with just a light dusting of sand left over from last week’s ‘ice event’. Even with all this going for it, it’s just not time yet. It was, however, a perfect weekend for walking and it was far more fun to actually be going somewhere on a walk rather than trapped, like a rat on a wheel, walking on the treadmill indoors. I had to keep telling myself that it was still, really February. The winter birds seemed to be singing their spring songs, the faint smell of mud and the sound of water trickling down the sides of the road almost lured me into thinking it could be spring. Maybe Wiarton Willy was right and it will come early this year. I’m still enthralled with the new camera and though I’ve taken photos of just about everything in the neighborhood (and not just once) I still take it with me everywhere, in hopes that I will have it mastered come summer.

I saw two geese today; they could have been statues on a neighbor’s walkway except for their complaining when I stopped to take the photos. I seemed to be infringing on their privacy. There were ice fishermen out on the lake. I’ve always wondered what the attraction could be to sit on a frozen lake, dangling a string and staring down into a dark empty hole in the ice. I also wondered about their (common) sense of self preservation considering we’ve had unseasonably and un-normally warm temperatures throughout January and February. But I guess the guy with ice auger would know just how thick the ice really was. Wonder if he caught anything!