Silver Creek

If you drive several miles up highway 31 out past the sprawl you come to 27th side road in the Town of Halton Hills. There, by the fields and forests is one of the most spectacular sections of the Bruce Trail, the Silver Creek Conservation Area.

My lovely spouse organized a trip with some friends to that section of the Bruce Trail. Spent the whole day walking fields and forests. Then we had a beer and some soup at a pub called the Copper Kettle in Glen Williams where the surly service did not ruin what was an otherwise great day.

Flâneur

fla·neur
Variant(s): also flâ·neur /flä-'n&r/
Function: noun
Etymology: French flâneur: an idle man-about-town

funkaoshi's pictography of his idle afternoon in the west end of toronto.

Scorched Earth

At long last, on Saturday I destroyed our front lawn. I have secretly despised our lawn since moving in with my girlfriend in 2003. Over the years, I have patiently worn her down with hints, suggestions, sexual favors even. Until finally I obtained permission to put my plan into action.

The turf based lawn uses a plant that evolved in humid climates of Northern Europe. The stately lawn was a symbol of wealth and prestige in England - a person with a manicured lawn was demonstrating that he had the staff to maintain the lawn and didn't have to use his land for crops. In the New World, this romantic notion of the stately English manor house has led to an obsession with this plant. Americans are so obsessed with the turf lawn that an estimated 44,000 square miles are covered with the stuff, an area the size of Pennsylvania. Basically the reasons why lawns suck are

1. They require vast amounts of water to keep looking green, unless you live in a humid rainy climate similar to England's. In the summer, people pour vast amounts of water to keep the grass from turning brown.
2. Generally people apply herbicides and fertilizer to have the lawn look clean and neat. These chemicals run off the lawn into aquifiers and lakes, damaging the localecosystem.
3. Lawn mowers contribute to pollution. Due to poor efficiency standards and the realities of two-stroke engines, a gas powered lawn mower spews as much pollution as 40 idling automobiles.

Replacing the lawn will be a multi step process. For now we will put down mulch to cover the soil over the winter. My lovely wife has been engaged to help plan out the trees, shrubs, and natural grasses that will replace it.

The Land Stewardship Letter has a good outline on the hows and whys of lawn replacement.

Burdock day

Saturday was the Friends of Trinity Bellwoods Park's second Park Day. This event is a popular way to meet your neighbors, have a snack, plant some plants together. We ate hot dogs and biennial thistles.

The ravine slopes of the park are being invaded by an invasive plant called Burdock. The Friends of Dufferin Grove Park assisted with this problem. They pulled a bunch of Burdock out of the ground and cooked them up on a campfire and served them with bread. Cool, huh? A wild plant cook out in the middle of the city.

I took some invasive plant home to make a stir fry, which my wife will not touch. Luckily there are a number of recipes on how to cook this plant on the Internet. Thanks 'Wild Man', for your help. 'Wild Man' has written a book called Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in Eastern North America.

Joe Pantalone, local councillor, gave up part of his Sunday to give a tour of the park. Trinity Bellwoods used to be the site of Trinity College, and the old gates of the college now sit at the park entrance, where they are under restoration.

Your Secrets Should Stay with You

Last weekend at Type, I picked up a copy of Darren O'Donnel's new book Your Secrets Sleep With Me. Ugh. I got to page 33 before terminating the read with extreme prejudice. I'm just not into surrealist postmodern fiction.

This is the page that got me:

"The centre, Kaliope knows, extracts blood from the periphery to make up for the lost knowledge traded for the gained privilege.

Kaliope pukes again, the pit of her stomach squeezing her pubic bone out of her mouth. Ruth hops up and down, the need to pee unbearable. The rain buffets the house and a flash of lightning leaves behind an explosion that feels like it happene4d exactly between Kaliope and Ruth, two girls who generally walk around with a sense of impending doom, different for each, but similarly hollowing - if you listen carefully at their chests you can sometimes hear strands snapping like the pulled innards of a pumpkin."

What. The. Heck. Is. That. Supposed. To. Mean. Sigh. Norr am I going to spend two more hours finishing the book to find out. Life is too short for critically-acclaimed but opaque CanLit.

Nuit Blanche

Wow, I wish I had been at Toronto's first Nuit Blanche. This arts festival took place on Sept 30 from 7pm to 7am, and featured 130 night-time-themed art installations and performances in the downtown area. Trinity Recreation Centre had a night swim with underwater lights and a DJ. Over 400,000 people attended the inaugural Nuit Blanche

The city government has figured out that arts and cultural events are more interesting, more natural, and ultimately a more successful way to attract tourists and residents. Imagine if we could have the billions back that were poured into the SkyDome years ago by the Ontario government, and we could put that into successful cultural events like Nuit Blanche


Overheard at Nuit Blanche (from Torontoist)

"It was kinda like being in the trenches in World War 1"
-Mud-covered folk in line for poutine after walking through Fujiko Nakaya's disorienting fog sculpture on Philospher's Walk

"'Let me be your teddy bear', let me touch your Punani--can we go now?"
-Hipster girl at Chris Curreri's Neon text installation on Baldwin St.

"Stay close. Form a human wall. Nothing can touch us then."
-Adam Brodie, Adam's The Real Totally Toronto Special Guided Tours (Note: This was the superior tour despite what Mr. Kumar says).

"Excuse me ma'am, the pool is at capacity, you can't come in. Ma'am, we can't let any more people in you'll have to get out. You have to get out. Thank you." (Woman walks down to the other end of the pool and gets in) "Ma'am, I just said...Okay, everybody out. This pool is now closed."
Lifeguard (to very stoned woman in underwear), Caldarium at Trinity Bellwoods Pool.

"I wish I was drunker."
Drunk guy in Trinity Bellwoods park, 3am

"Well, that's the end of art."
Sober guy walking behind him

bleah

As I was hurling into a paper bag last night and I decided that air travel is not my favorite way to get around. The puddle jumper commuter plane aborted its wind sheared landing at the last minute to circle round for another try

There must be a better way to get around. Like trains for example. Nice European trains with fast efficient service.

competitiveness and climate change

The latest Global Competitiveness report from the World Economic Forum shows that you can sign the Kyoto accord, make progress towards greenhouse gas emissions reductions and still remain economically competitive.

Out of the top 10 only the U.S. is not a Kyoto member. The U.S. signed it and later reneged on their committment under the Bush administration. The other countries in the top ten are: Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United Kingdom; all Kyoto signatories

"The top rankings of Switzerland and the Nordic countries show that good institutions and competent macroeconomic management, coupled with world-class educational attainment and a focus on technology and innovation, are a successful strategy for boosting competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy."Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist; Director, Global Competitiveness Network

C.J. Strikes again

Calamity Jane is scrabbling at straws again. Thin straws. This week, Jane appointed herself "Defender of the Gardiner Expressway" This will prove to be a big wasted effort on her part, sadly. Aside from the idiocy of making your campaign hinge on being the defender of a big ugly elevated expressway, there are no credible plans in motion to tear it up. It would cost billions, and if the money were found tomorrow, it would still take probably ten years with all the planning and environmental assessments that are necessary with a project that size. So it's a non issue.

And let's add in the fact that 90% of people in Toronto don't depend on the Gardiner. Anyone north of Bloor Street is unlikely to depend on the expressway, and anyone close to it would presumably be happy for the large jump in property values that accompanies destruction of ugly elevated expressways.

Did nobody mention to C.J. that the thousands of people who would have their driving time increased (roughly four minutes from the studies that have been done) are mostly suburbanites? So yes, Jane, this may be a polarizing election issue where a large number of people feel strongly for your point of view. However, the issue is primarily a wedge issue between people in Toronto and people who aren't voting in the Toronto election.

Bricks

On the to-do list: re-use these historic bricks from our roof ina tasteful landscape feature. They are too old to use in any critical structure, but perhaps a nice garden wall would do. There's something warm and comforting about a nice brick structure. A connection to the land perhaps. Across the city another project on a much larger scale is reviving interest in Toronto's brick building heritage.

Toronto's Brickworks are under redevelopment. From 1889 to 1984 the The Don Valley Pressed Brick Works Company in the Don Valley producd bricks for a growing city. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority are the stewards of the upcoming redevelopment which will include a farmer's market, offices, a park, and artist spaces.

With all the nasty environmental issues happening these days it's easy to fall into the trap of bashing our industrial heritage; the companies that built this city. However there is much to celebrate in our past. The Brickworks is one of those sites.

Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane Pitfield illustrated again why she doesn't deserve to be mayor. On Tuesday the bumbling councillor from Leaside inadvertently voted for the Miller trash disposal solution which she vigorously opposes. Oops.

"I regret it, but it was human error," said Ms. Pitfield, who confessed to being distracted during the vote.

Hmm. The garbage disposal issue is pretty much the biggest issue of the campaign. If Toronto doesn't figure out how to divert and dispose of its trash, pronto, we will be drowning in the stuff. So Jane can't vote correctly on yes-no question on a critical municipal issue. But she wants to be mayor. What's wrong with this picture>?

Queen West Art Crawl

Last Sunday was the Queen West art crawl held in Trinity-Bellwoods Park. The park was full of booths with everything from glass art to T-shirts showcased.



Carol Currie from Midland, ON does some amazing work on sandblasted wood. Her paintings are three dimensional works, mainly landscapes of Georgian bay and they really jump out at you.


Local artist Hoi-An Tang, an OCAD graduate, had a number of her works on display: cards, buttons, and magnets. Her work has been showcased at the designer shop Magic Pony.

Dawson College

Charming fellow. The shooter who went on a rampage yesterday in downtown Montreal is the portrait of a troubled teenager. Self-obsessed, angry, obsessed with violent culture and guns. His profile at a Goth website includes the picture above.

Now, I realize that rural gun owners find it inconvenient and expensive to register their guns. However, "tougher sentencing for gun crimes" doesn't appear to have deterred the shooter yesterday. Not much of a deterrent if you plan to be dead, is it?

The Conservative governmnent has made it a primary plank of their platform to make it easier for people to purchase and own guns. I hope the Liberals point this out and beat the crap out of them in the next election.

Abba Gold

Today I found a pile of CDs in a box on someone's front lawn. This is the international signal for - we don't want this crap, help yourself.

I scored some obscure electronica music of as-yet-undetermined quality and some Abba Gold. I cannot believe that, incredibly, someone threw out the 1992 classic. Released at a time when Abba had been out of the mainstream for a few years, the album rocketed to the top of the UK charts in 1992 and three times in 1999.

The album is cleverly arranged in descending order of quality. It starts out with the ubiquitous Dancing Queen, then rocks through Mamma Mia, SOS, and begins its obscure descent into Chiquitta, Does Your Mother Know, and the little-known "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)"

The spouse and I are bopping to the more well known hits from the album tonight... According to Wikipedia, the band ABBA is named after a well-known Swedish fish canning company. Rock on Andersson, Ulvaeus, Lyngstad, and Fältskog, may your keyboards never grow dusty, and your poppy 70's vibe never grow old.

OneZone

Toronto's publicly owned wireless network is reportedly going live today. This is the largest WiFi hotspot in Canada and is free until March 2007. After that, it will be $29 per month.

Taking Stock

It's time to review the successes and failures of this year's garden

Runaway Success:

• Tomatoes - yellow pear tomatoes grown from seed. Prolific, tasty, and juicy
• Squash - Didn't even plant the squash, but we got some kind of squash/zucchini hybrid. Call it a squiccini. Our soil handles both squash and zuccini very well.
• Strawberries and raspberries - the production rate of these perennial bushes is enough to keep us with fresh berries on our cereal throughout late summer and early fall
• Basil - the only problem we have is what to do with all our basil. Maybe make some pesto in a couple of weeks...

Dismal Results

• Peppers - This is the last time I try to grow peppers. They are high maintenance. If I don't surround them with little cardboard walls, the cutworms get the early shoots. If I don't put nylon net over them, the animals eat them. The shrimpy green peppers that result from all this work are not worth the intensive effort.
• Broccoli - Impressive foliage, but no flower. No edible broccoli. This plant is worth a second try.

Next Year's List

• Tomatoes - Ontario's dependable crop. Impress your neighbors! Burn your tongue with the acid.
• Onions & garlic - my elderly neighbor grows them with great success
• Jerusalem artichokes - an experimental - for me - native plant
• Broccoli, attempt no. 2
• Squash & zucchini
• Beans
• Corn
• Berries (which don't actually require much effort.)

Tasty Weeds

We have been cultivating a native Ontario plant called Jerusalem Artichoke, a member of the sunflower family. It grows along the eastern seabord from Georgia to Nova Scotia. American Indians called them sun roots and introduced them to early North American settlers. The explorer Samuel de Champlain named them artichokes and sent some of them back to France where they were highly prized.

In modern Ontario, alas this plant is disliked by Ontario farmers as a weed. Agriculture Ontario recommends the herbicide Kilmor® at 1.0 litres per hectare, or Roundup® at 6.5-9.0 L/ha.

I recommend StirFry® with black bean sauce on rice.

WTC

Ground Zero is under reconstruction after years of squabbling over the appropriate replacement for the Twin Towers. In June the revised design for the Freedom Tower was unveiled, with construction of the foundation already underway. A WTC memorial costing an estimated $500 million is also planned.


7 World Trade Center is visible behind the construction fences. This building was the last to fall during the WTC attacks and the first to be rebuilt.



The firemen of Ladder & Engine Company No. 10 watch over the site of the WTC disaster. Ten House lost six firefighters on Sept. 11. Overall, the FDNY lost 343 firefighters in the twin towers. The stories of courage by the first responders on Sept. 11 are riveting and shocking.

Ward Hunt ice shelf breaks up

The Ward Hunt ice shelf on Ellesmere Island has broken after 3,000 years of undisturbed existence. NASA scientists attribute this change to human-caused climate change.

The breakup of the ice shelf is a loss to biodiversity since the shelf contained a rare microclimate known as an epishelf lake. An epishelf lake is a particular climate consisting of fresh, brackish, and salt water in a rare combination similar to that found in George Bush's brain.

Yellowknife Golf

In Yellowknife golf has a few additional rules. The course is mostly sand; so you have to take a little artificial grass mat around with you and hit the ball off the artificial grass. Secondly, you have to watch out for the ravens which are likely to carry off your ball. The course even has a special rule posted for that situation.