Ghost Owl

The sap squeezing out of a wooden support on my deck is creating a perfect Ghost Owl. Pareidolia..... seeing faces in everyday objects. I don't usually see them, but I think I haven't been looking hard enough.

Probability of Precipitation

It's June, almost July, and here in my little corner of Canada we have had only two really hot (over 30C) summer days when I needed to turn on the AC. May was cool and rainy, and so far June has been a washout. And the forecast isn't good for the Canada 150 celebrations next weekend. Cool and rainy again.
Yesterday we had violent thunderstorms all day.....

.... lots of torrential rain, wind and then hailstones.
At least the grass is nice and green and I haven't had to water my beans all week! Yes, I'm thinking positive thoughts.

Beware of the Dragon

Wildlife in my tiny garden....

Immature male Common Whitetail dragonfly or Long Tailed Skimmer (plathemis lydia). 

His body will eventually turn white.

Dragonflies are the world's fastest insects, capable of reaching speeds of between 30 and 60 km/h (19 to 38 mph). A study has shown that dragonflies can travel as much as 85 miles in one day.

Dragonflies are among the most ancient of living creatures. Fossil records, clearly recognizable as the ancestors of our present day odonates, go back to Carboniferous times meaning that the insects were flying more than 300 million years ago, predating dinosaurs by over 100 million years and birds by some 150 million.

Dragonflies have excellent eyesight. Their compound eyes have up to 30,000 facets, each of which is a separate light-sensing organ or ommatidium, arranged to give nearly a 360° field of vision. Odonates are completely harmless - they do not sting or bite.

Dinnertime

High drama amongst the runner beans.

I think this is a zebra jumping spider about to dine on a green stink bug. Yummy!

Wedding in the Sunshine

Last Friday was a hot sunny day, almost too hot to be ouside in the sun, but a beautiful day for a wedding.   My DIL's lovely sister and her handsome new husband.

The wedding was at Dyment's Farm.... a working farm that hosts weddings, corporate events, private parties, Halloween pumpkins.... the perfect location high up on the Niagara Escarpment overlooking the city of Hamilton and Lake Ontario in the distance.

My grandies were a very important part of the family celebration. Isaac and Max carried the rings and Emma was joined by two other little girls to scatter white rose petals in the bride's path.

She wore a string of pearls that my auntie gave me when I was around 10 years old. Not sure if they are real or not, but I hope so!

The bride arrives with the proud Mum and Dad.

The view across the fields from where the wedding took place. There was a slight breeze, and the sound of birdsong in the air. A few misty clouds blew across the sky during the wedding ceremony, cooling the effect of the bright sun.... perfect!

The happy bride..... ready to party! 

And the handsome bridegroom. 

 The first dance.

Not my picture, but borrowed from the Dyment Farm web page. Three large barns around a central courtyard with a fire pit, chairs, and tables with umbrellas. The bar and dance hall are to the left, central barn is where the appetisers and then the buffet dinner are served, and to the right is the dining barn. 

Not shown..... the chip and poutine truck!

Not my picture, this is the dining barn. 

The food was yummy.... roast beef, chicken, loads of salads and assorted veggies, garlic mashed potatoes, tasty gravy. And for dessert, assorted fruit pies and a Tower of Butter Tarts!
SORRY..... The previous 2 pictures may not show. For more info. go to the farm web site.

Off the Beat

Arrhythmia. It's very unpleasant, as anyone who suffers from it will tell you. It suddenly started for me back on my 60th birthday.... a thumping irregular heart, tachycardia..... what a lovely birthday present.

I went to my office the next day as usual, and as I'm a person who prefers to climb up the stairs to the 5th floor rather then use the elevator, that's what I did. Or at least I tried. By the second floor I was gasping for breath and hanging on to the handrail. An ultra fast heartbeat of 200 beats per minute caused me to collapse with dizzyness and difficulty breathing. The company nurse was called, and off I went in a taxi to the Emergency Department of the nearest hospital.

That was a few years ago. Since then, the arrhythmia was managed successfully, first with medication and then, when it became constant 24/7 making my life a misery, with synchronised eletro-cardiversions on three occasions and a catheter ablation.



No abnormal heartbeat for 3-1/2 years.... yippee! It's fixed! But then three weeks ago, I felt the familiar vibrations of a fast irregular heartbeat. It didn't last long but managed to land me unexpectedly on the ground a couple of times and has since got a lot worse, so last week another trip to Emergency was necessary.

This time the doctor tried chemical cardioversion, which is an IV drip with anti-arrhythmia medication, but it didn't really work, so the decision was made to put me to sleep, attach the electrodes and run 200joules of electricity through my body for cardioversion number 4. And it was successful, and I'm back in sinus rhythm! Fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Anyone out there in blogland suffering from the same problem?
The worst part of this whole process is peeling those sticky ECG and electrode pads off my tender skin.

Here's a fascinating computer animation of various types of arrhythmias....
http://watchlearnlive.heart.org/CVML_Player.php?moduleSelect=arrhyt

Revel

I don't really know why it's called Revel, but the installation in our local Art Gallery by Canadian artist Ed Pien is fascinating.  And dreamy. And haunting. And more than a little weird. I want my grandchildren to see it.

Here's what the gallery curator says about it:
Revel is like a dream. Upon entering the gallery you become immersed in that dream. Projected light fills the space through a large transparent spiral structure and within the light you catch glimpses of a figure in silhouette. The figure is the shadow of a young woman who gently attends to floating objects that resemble tiny houses and buildings, all within a cloud of organic forms and all appearing upon the gallery wall. As you move deeper into the space you literally become part of the scene as your shadow starts interacting with the shadow of the figure before you. If there is no-one else in the gallery with you it is a little unnerving to be shadow dancing with a ghost.
For Revel, Pien has created an eight-foot high, clear Mylar, spiraling screen that has been meticulously cut into a jungle of branches and organic forms. Several 3D sculptural forms are nested within a web of lines that are suspended from the ceiling at the center of the screen, casting their own shadows.

I walked between the spiral layers to the centre of the transparent labyrinth, with the image of an ethereal woman dancing around me and reflections like shimmering water on the walls. Quiet music was playing. My photos don't do the room justice. I think this is an installation where you have to be there and experience it in person!

The creator of this piece, Ed Pien, will be giving a talk at the Gallery about his work at the end of June. I'm definitely marking my calendar and intend on being there, just to find out what all this means.

Very Sad

On Saturday morning I was honoured to take a tour of the local Mosque, as part of the Doors Open event. We were greeted with welcoming smiles by members of the Moslem community. The imam is a lively, personable and knowledgeable young man, and he explained the beliefs and traditions of Islam to us, so many traditions are so close to both Judaiism and Christianity. One of the congregation demonstrated the prayers, and a lovely young lady told me about her childhood in Dubai and how happy she is to live here in Canada.
On leaving we were offered traditional foods.... mmmmm I love dates!... and each person was given a gift of information about Islam.

Then on Saturday night the awful stories of horror and terror unfolding in London.
I am so sad for the people who have lost loved ones, and all those who have been hurt or frightened by these despicable acts. And I am sad too, for the kind and gentle people who I met at the Mosque earlier that morning.