Tiger in a Waterfall

My friend Kate posted a link to this website on Facebook, featuring a story about a tiger taking a dive down a waterfall.  You can read the story here and see the amazing photos that David Clarry captured from the top to the bottom of the waterfall as she made her dive at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in England.

Given the hot weather we've been experiencing today and are forecasted to have tomorrow (34 Celsius before the humidity gets factored in, yessss!), this photo looks all the more refreshing:

Fungus Photos

I took these photos on the weekend because I liked how the fungus growing on this birch tree reminded me of a turtle's shell, with a patterned, textured top and flat and smooth on the bottom.

Shadfly Season

Every year around this time, we are visited at the cottage by the shadfly.  Our elderly neighbour used to dread the weekend when they would appear and she would avoid coming to the cottage when they were around if she could or go back to the city if they arrived while she was already there.  I could never understand why, because of all the insects, this is by far one of the most benign.  They are completely harmless, they don't bite, they don't make any noise, they just attach themselves to a window screen and hang out for no more than a day or two (their life span is measured in hours) and then they are gone, with only the shells of one or two left behind to remind you that they were even there.

I've been watching them come and go for more than 30 years now and just taken them for granted as part of the flora and fauna of cottage life.  Today, I took that a step further and actually Googled them.  What did I find? One single website dedicated entirely to shadflies!  You will find it here.  I had no idea the shadfly was the oldest insect alive!  Apparently they are useful when tied to a fishing hook, as walleye are especially fond of them.  The story of slippery roads and multitudes of these insects congregating under street lights is, thank God, something we don't experience in our area (Nipissing, Ontario being much farther north than where we are).  The idea of shadfly poetry and jewellery is quite amusing, but I guess dragonflies and fireflies have received similar treatment so why not?

Antique Unusuals

Here are a few photos of some of the more unique items we saw last week at the Christie outdoor antique sale:

- a hooked rug depicting man's best friends:

- vintage mannequins:

- a wounded doll:

- a car from a fairground ride:

- and a Farrah Fawcett Majors doll:

I know, you are now asking yourself, how did I resist buying these items?? Yes, it was difficult!!

Postal Strike

Photo courtesy cbc.ca

Last night at midnight, Canada's postal workers began a series of what we are told will be rotating strikes, when they went off the job in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The city of Hamilton, Ontario will be the next city affected, as local workers there go off the job this weekend. 

It just leaves me wondering, will the majority of Canadians even notice? If they do, will they care?  Personally, I don't think I have ever mailed anything to either Winnipeg or Hamilton, so I am not immediately affected.  The last time we had a postal strike, I started paying bills online and I haven't looked back.  However, I do still receive paper copies of bills on a monthly basis, just to remind me that they need to be paid, so I'll need to keep track of what I owe to whom so I'm not late making any of my payments. On the flip side, I hardly ever send anything by snail mail and anything that I do is not usually time sensitive.  But I imagine there are those who still pay their bills by tucking a cheque into an envelope and popping it in the mailbox who will be a little worried, now that that system is being disrupted.

People who rely on monthly government cheques to exist will certainly be affected, although many such cheques were mailed in advance this month in anticipation of the strike - I was in line at the bank yesterday behind two people who tried to deposit cheques they had already received which were post-dated to June 10th, so hopefully everyone else has their cheques in hand by now and won't be affected by this job action in the short term. We are being told that postal workers have volunteered to take one day a month off from the picket lines to deliver government cheques. Hopefully it won't come to that, that this strike should carry on for that long.

Obviously, the Internet is a huge threat to Canada's Post's every day business and they've been suffering since so many of us have discovered how quick and easy and cheap it is to communicate via computer. I'm not sure that the postal workers realize that they might be shooting themselves in the foot by going off the job.  They are more likely to either anger people or make them realize that the mail is a disposable service, rather than generate sympathy for their concerns, which apparently involve health and safety matters. 
In the meantime, if you were planning to send me anything by mail, you might want to hold off.  Or send me something and let's see how long it takes to arrive, just for fun!

Gardening with a Vintage Theme

As an apartment dweller, I don't have much to do with plants.  I could have them on my balcony, I suppose, but so far, I haven't gotten into that.  I don't have plants indoors because the cats tend to make a meal out of them.  But I was really impressed with the way one of the vendors at the Christie antique market last weekend combined some rusty, not quite as desirable vintage items with flowers to create some beautiful and appealing displays.

If I were to do some balcony gardening, I'd definitely want some planters like these!

Wed Night

In the end, I decided not to go to the Toronto Bead Society Garage Sale tonight.  As much as I would like to show my support to the Society and my fellow members, I just didn't have the energy to trek the hour on the subway downtown and then an hour back, knowing I wouldn't be home until late.  I'm out almost every night this week, so I needed today to get groceries and cat food.  Plus I really didn't need to bring home any more beads, as tempting as that idea might be.

Plus it's the last night that the Garden Door Kittens will be staying here.  I wanted to have a little bit more cuddle time with them before they go to their forever home tomorrow.  They are a very cute, rambunctious pair.  One or the other usually tries to climb up my leg while I'm getting their food ready, which always makes me jump as their little claws bite into my flesh.  But then I look down and see a little face staring up at me, hanging on for dear life, and I just have to laugh!

Here's a picture of them from the other day when they were a little less active:

Sleepy girls

And no, I didn't stay home to watch the first hockey game of the Stanley Cup series between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins.  Although I do think it's funny that hundreds of Boston Pizza locations across Canada have renamed their restaurants "Vancouver Pizza" for the duration of the series, to show their support for the team.  Now that's loyalty!