magnolia blooms
Spring in New England this year reminded me of my love for magnolia trees. The blooming magnolias against the brownstones were everywhere. My admiration for these trees came by early. I grew up with one in my front yard. A 100 year old plus tree, I would climb it in all seasons. There was a small crook just before the place where it branches out. There I sat and daydreamed.
Once I moved to Ottawa and established a family home of my own, we too planted a magnolia tree in the front yard. It is a young one with many, many years before it gets to the size of my childhood tree. Still, the blooms are anticipated each Spring and it graces many of a new generation of family photos. My children, have been fortunate to get to know the tree that I grew up with. They too have had the pleasure of climbing it on many visits to their grandparents.
They often ask when they’ll be able to climb our young tree. I tell them that won’t be until they have their own grandchildren, or even great grandchildren. Meantime, we enjoy it….watch it grow….and anticipate those creamy blossoms every year.
icky season
April in Ottawa. Not the prettiest time of the year in this city. Having grown up in the ‘banana belt’ of Toronto, I always expect all the snow to be gone by now. Not so here. Not only are there dirtied remnants of it, but where the earth is uncovered it is mucky with dead grass and litter exposed. Despite the ickiness, the Spring feeling still permeates with the lengthening of the days. Not long now until the crocuses start breaking through. Time to start start dusting the bicycles off.
“the best camera…
…is the one you have with you” is a trademark app for iPhone made by Chase Jarvis (see following link for more info: http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2009/09/the-best-camera-iphone-app-book-community/).
Recently, I got to put at least the concept into practice. Although I am way behind in getting an iPhone, I do have a blackberry. It came in handy one evening this week capturing one of the last few brilliant xc skis left of the season here in in Ottawa. Quality of these photo taking technologies is really ramping up. May not be that sharp but it does have a bit of that grainy feel of older film. Not sure this will become a favourite mode of photo-taking but it did capture the magic of this late March afternoon.
last ski of the season
market fresh
Quick spring break trip to TO made me nostalgic for small corner produce markets. They are abundant in TO. Veggies and fruit are fresh, plentiful and cheap. It’s something you don’t find much of here in Ottawa. And when you do it is pricey.
The sheer market size of TO makes it a hub for fresh food distribution. It is home to the Ontario Food Terminal Board. The largest wholesale fruit and produce distribution centre in Canada and one of the top three in North America. To give you a sense of scale – it sits on 40 acres and employs 42,000 people. Toronto also has Holland Marsh in its backyard – an actual vegetable garden – 10,000 acres of fertile ground. Although a large portion is exported, over 50% lands on TO food plates.
Ottawa is getting better with its increasing number of farmer’s markets in the summer months. That said, our climate and smaller market size won’t see small corner markets sprouting up anytime soon.
March already!?
Where has the first part of 2011 gone? I can’t believe I last blogged in December! It’s been a busy few months starting a new (day) job and keeping up with everyone’s physical pursuits in our household. You would think winter time would bring more time spent indoors, not in this family. Despite limited blogging, there has been lots of shooting going on. In particular, capturing lots of swim and cross country ski events where a lot of my time is spent these days. Posting a few favs from the past couple of months.
the baker’s gene
My Mom is an awesome baker. One of the ones that can do it without a recipe. Add a little extra flour here, a little more butter there…. dough is smooth as silk. Me, I have to follow a recipe TO THE T! Even then, I’ve flopped a cake or two and browned several dozen cookies. Yes, even setting the smoke alarm off. I spent hours baking with my Mom… didn’t seem to rub off on me. (Although, I am a mean dough roller and can cut cookies using every square inch of dough !?)
Fast forward a number of years. More baking. This time with my daughter. She is keen. And now, well aware that “baking” does not constitute using the package mix from the store. She follows the recipe but improvises too. Her results have been awesome.
So, my conclusion: the baker’s gene skips a generation.
