Morning Glow

As I sipped my first cup of coffee out on the deck, this was my view on a very misty morning a couple of days ago. The early sun's rays make the mist glow. A magic time of the day. A couple of weeks previously I had seen 4 foxes chasing each other on the grass in the distance. They have no fear of being near the houses.

The Sports Report

Lots of action going on all summer, but sadly the warm weather sports are all coming to an end.

All four grandchildren played house league baseball this summer. The two older ones played hardball, the two younger ones played softball.

Grandie Isaac's team, the Pirates, got into the finals at the end-of-year tournament, but lost the final game 8-7.... but were doing really well catching up. One more innings would have seen them on top, I'm sure!

Isaac spent two weeks at a boys Sports Camp in July, and had a terrific time, and is already planning to go again in 2020. It was sports all day every day, just the sort of life he loves. Now he has to persuade Mum and Dad to pay for it!

In August the family met at the Rogers Centre (used to be called the SkyDome, I still can't get used to the new name) for a Blue Jays game. We got there early enough to watch batting practice for both teams, but even though the boys (both big and little) begged and pleaded, they didn't get any stray balls thrown their way.

We watched the Toronto Blue Jays play Atlanta, but unfortunately, the home team lost, and we left just before the end of the game, to avoid the traffic jams.  Our beloved Jays have not done well this year, lots of lost games, but just wait.... we are going to be a winning team to watch in a couple of years. That's my prediction!!

And with summer coming to an end, winter sport is getting started.  We went to the home opener ice hockey game for the Stouffville Spirit, the local Junior A OJHL team. After watching baseball all summer, a game that's mostly slow and sedate with moments of wild panic, I was surprised by how fast and furious ice hockey can be!  It was a great game, but unfortunately, ended with a loss for the home team.

All the grandies will be getting their hockey gear together ready for the season to start at the end of September... they will all be practicing and playing every weekend so I'll be spending lots of time in the local arenas.

Say a Little Prayer

There was an unexpected guest welcoming me home a couple of days ago. He was resting on the inside of the window frame. He must have sneaked in through the open door, as all the windows have bug screens.

He (or possibly she?) is a green Praying Mantis, a very strange insect indeed. They have triangular heads with bulging compound eyes, three smaller eyes and a pair of antenna supported on flexible necks. They can see in 3D with all those eyes. They can turn their heads almost 180 degrees. Their front legs are enlarged and adapted for catching and gripping prey.

 I gently caught him in a kleenex, carried him outside and put him on the patio table where I could get a good look at him.... wow, what a weird creature.

I transferred him to the potted strawberry plant, and from there to a geranium.  The Praying Mantis is a predator, catching its dinner ambush style, moving fast and furious towards some unsuspecting live insect. It grips the intended food with the spikes on it's front legs. 
A PM this size would go for insects, but they are capable of killing prey 3 times their size. The larger varieties have been known to eat humming birds, frogs and lizards. They like their food sill squirming!

And if you are a male PM, watch out. Your lady friend might bite your head off in the process of making babies. Well, a girl's gotta keep her energy up to look after all those eggs!

The Birthday Girl

Yes.... TessaDog is 12 years old, her birthday was yesterday. She's such a party animal!

Happy Birthday to an old mature lady who thinks she is still a puppy!

Tansy

It grows wild in the hedgerows in the summer and attracts the bees, and I think it's such a lovely splash of sunshiney yellow.
Tansy is a perennial flowering plant in the aster family, native to Europe and Asia. but thrives in North America, probably introduced by the settlers arriving from Europe as long ago as the 1600s. In some places is considered a noxious weed. It's also known as Bitter Buttons, Golden Buttons or Cow Bitter.

It's had many medicinal uses including treating worms, digestive problems, fevers, rheumatism and measles. You can even use a solution of Tansy as a face wash, or bathe in it to ease joint pain.  It has been used as an insect repellent, and it was packed into coffins, wrapped in funeral winding sheets, and Tansy wreaths were laid on the dead.  It can also be used as a dye. A useful herb indeed.

Tradition says that if you plant it by your kitchen door, you will never be troubled by ants in the kitchen.

Music Selection

Happy September!
A visit to Fred's Record Store in St John's..... a selection of local music, including the late and great Ron Hynes. Never heard of him? He was regarded as one of Canada's premier singer-song writers, and many of his songs have become part of the fabric of Newfoundland culture. He was Newfoundland's poet. He passed away in 2015, far too soon.

But if you prefer your music live, a visit to the Rocket Bakery on Water Street on a Tuesday lunchtime.... traditional tunes being played around the table by some of St John's best known musicians.

Shipping News

The Port of St John's is a busy place. There are seagoing vessels of all sizes coming and going at all times in the harbour. In recent years, St John's has become a popular stop for the big cruise boats. The cruise ship usually arrives in the morning and the downtown fills with passengers and their cameras for the day, and then leaves for it's next port of call overnight. Around 30 cruise ship visits to St John's are scheduled in 2019.

 The MS Sea Princess is operated by Princess Cruises and was built in Italy in 1998. She can carry 2000 passengers and 900 crew.

 MSV Botnica is a state-of-the-art multipurpose offshore support vessel and icebreaker built in Finland in 1998 at a cost of $303 million.  Botnica is used as an escort icebreaker in the Baltic Sea during the winter months, but carries out subsea and offshore construction work supplying oil and gas drilling during the open water season.

 PSV Siem Pilot is a diesel electric driven offshore supply vessel and pipe carrier built in Norway in 2010. Siem Pilot is currently based at St John's, but in 2016 was in the Mediterranean, and was instrumental in picking up 2,400 migrants and carrying them to safety. Read about it here.

The St John's Pilot Boat is moored at a berth by Harbourside Park, right on the harbour's edge. All ships going through the Narrows are required to use the services of the Pilot to navigate the narrow entrance to the harbour. I was told that this is the oldest Pilot Boat still working in North America.