LAKE NIPISSING BOAT TRIP

Yesterday afternoon I went with my wife and my sister on a Lake nipissing cruise. The weather was not the greatest but it was very enjoyable. Actually, in all the years we lived here in North Bay I never went on a cruise aboard the Chief Commanda but I certainly plan go again.

ALMONTE PUPPET FESTIVAL

This weekend I visited Almonte, a town near Ottawa. It is a very picturesque place and I noticed that all the stores displayed puppets as a promotion for their upcoming international Puppet Festival, which will take place on the ninth and tenth of August. Here is an example of these puppets. Canadians will recognize Don Cherry a very popular hockey commentator on Canadian television.

GATHERING STORM

The Summer, so far, has been rather wet and cold. Today we had a little bit of sunshine but across the lake a big thunderstorm was rapidly approaching Sunset Park where we were enjoying the afternoon. Yesterday my sister arrived from Holland and I hope the weather will become more Summerlike so she can enjoy a very pleasant Canadian Summer holiday.

DELPHINIUMS

Just photographed these beautiful white delphiniums in my wifes garden. I made the picture in black and white because this garden stillife reminds me of the Victorian era gardens.

LA VASE RIVER PORTAGES, NORTH BAY

Time for a new posting. Again it was a busy week with preparations for next weeks course and other chores. I had to post a landscape along the Lavase portages. On Monday evening, the city council will approve a 60-metre buffer zone between the historic La Vase portage and a proposed quarry operation rather than the 120-metre zone recommended by the council’s community services committee. This of course wil destroy much of the natural environment of the historic portage because of noise, dust and an unsightly skyline. Obviously the mediocre minds of the members on city council are far more impressed with short term financial profits than with the long term gain of a pristine natural setting, which would enhance the enjoyment for this and future generations.

CAROUSEL, NORTH BAY WATERFRONT

This weekend our nine month old grandson came for a visit. We took him on his first carousel ride, which he greatly enjoyed. North Bay has two carousels designed, carved and constructed by a group of volunteer carvers and artists. This carousel is the smaller of the two but shows a variety of typical Canadian animals. It is truly a community effort and great fun for the children and adults too by the way.

PARKING LOTS, NORTH BAY

The picture show the holding ponds for the run off water coming from the newly built parking lots at the Educational Centre here in North Bay. I think creating huge parking lots show a lack of foresight. It simply destroys the natural setting around the complex. Instead they could have built a parking garage or better still develop a bettre transit system.