Almost finished!

This summer in my front yard I've been dealing with goutweed (as per my blog post a few posts below).

In my backyard, I had more goutweed (that used to be at the base of the trees shown above) and discovered another weed called "Deadly Nightshade" (also known as "climbing nightshade" or "bittersweet nightshade"). This is a poisonous weed that can be fatal to humans if they eat the leaves or red berries that it produces. I also had about 15 cedar trees in a row that were unsightly and at one time used to be a cedar hedge.

With time on my hands earlier this summer, I decided to get into "destruction mode". I pulled out the goutweed and started to cut down the trees [full stop] ..... that was until the city of Toronto had its strike because some of their outside workers collect yard waste and brush. Now that the outside workers are back at work I tackled the trees once again and only have the limbs on 1.5 trees left! yeah! The brush from the limbs is at my curbside awaiting pick-up and the stumps of the trees (seen in the photo above) will be cut down in pieces that will be just perfect for friends chimineas or campfires.

The remaining 1.5 trees will be dealt with in a couple of weeks, just in time for the my neighbourhood's next yard waste pick-up day.

Once the trees are all at low stump level I'll be completing the same goutweed treatment as on my front yard. I'm tired at the moment but have a good sense of satisfaction as I dream about what I can plant in both yards to make this piece of land my little oasis.

Something new from Pete. Guess we'll all be meeting his "Walter" in a couple of years. Wonder if he'll be related to his "Tommy"

Mr. Townshend has announced plans for a new musical. Apparently this new project called "Floss" concerns the angst of the ageing Baby Boomer generation.

"I am writing a new musical," he writes in his blog "Floss is an ambitious new project for me, in the style of Tommy and Quadrophenia". The songs will be interspersed with surround-sound 'soundscapes' featuring complex sound effects and musical montages."

Townshend said the album is designed as an outdoor "son et lumière piece", to be debuted in 2011. Currently he's talking with producers in New York but hopes to release some of the musical's more "conventional" songs on a new Who album next year.

The musical tells the story of Walter, a pub-rock musician, who hits it big when one of his songs appears in a car advertisement. Suddenly wealthy, Walter becomes a "house-husband" as his wife, Floss, takes up horse riding!!. "When [Walter] tries to return to music after a 15-year hiatus," Townshend wrote, "he finds that what he hears and what he composes evoke the ecologically rooted, apocalyptic mindset of his generation. Shaken by this and torn by personal difficulties, he and Floss become estranged."

Townshend described the piece as a bit of a response to My Generation, the 1965 hit he calls "the most explicitly ageist song in rock". "At 64," he wrote, "I now want to take on ageing and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock'n'roll."

Don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to hearing more about this project and eventually listening to it.

Windmills, Cows, Wildflowers, Hay bales, Water and a Ferry Ride ....

These are a few words that describe the peaceful Wolfe Island, off the shores of historic Kingston and the largest of the 1000 Islands right where the St. Lawrence River begins from Lake Ontario.

My dear friend Catherine from Ottawa was on holiday and wanted to take a day trip to Kingston, with me. Kingston is small and I know it well so I suggested we take a jaunt on the ferry from Kingston over to Wolfe Island.

Wolfe Island is a sleepy island with lots of farms. But what made it interesting this year is the installation of a new wind farm that began construction in the spring of 2008 and just became operational two months ago.


The wind farm has 86 turbines which generate about 594 gigawatt hours (GWh) of power - enough to create enough electricity to power about 75,000 homes. It's the The second-largest wind facility of its kind in Canada.


We drove around the island and had a wonderful lunch on a patio on the water. Looking in one direction you were able to see other islands while in the other - the shoreline of Kingston with all its hotels, boats and historic buildings.

While some may complain that the windmills are a nuisance, I believe that we should use renewable power whenever we can. The location of this wind farm is great because the mills catch the prevailing and strong winds from the west off the lake.

Our only disappointment of the day was when we were asked to pay $8 each for a 1.3km nature walk. We didn't feel it was worth it. Instead, we decided to do some window shopping in Kingston which was fun!

A typical summer sight

This summer has, in my opinion, been lovely. But the weather has been weird. This picture has been a usual sight. Rainbows, sun and dark clouds all mixed together in one picture. The hot and humid weather that Toronto is famous for has held off until this week. It was the perfect week-end to relax on the beached shores of Lake Eerie with Anne-Marie's brother and sister!

Tomorrow I'm off to the Cedar Oasis and then a day trip to Kingston and Wolfe Island (the largest of the 1000 islands). I've snatched Jim's camera so I hope to get some nice shots (I can't find my battery recharger!!). Perfect timing and weather to get away from this heat and humidity to spend more quality time with special friends.

Do you remember woodstock?

Being just a kid in 1969 and probably being at the summer cottage I had no idea this iconic event was happening. But, last night I was able to get a taste of some of the music that was played on Yasgur's farm in upstate New York because I attended a Woodstock tribute night hosted by Toronto's classic rock station, Q107. We heard Santana, The Band, The Grateful Dead, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, CCR, Jimi Hendrix and Who tunes. Most of the bands were outstanding in their presence and musicality including - and I bet you guessed it - the Wholigans! Each set was about 45 minutes in length so we only had a little taste of each band. Barry and the boys (Darren, Bill and Dave) performed Summertime Blues, Amazing Journey, Sparks, Pinball Wizard, See Me, Feel Me/Listening to You, Baba O'Riley, and Won't Get Fooled Again. They, along with Michael White who performed Joe Cocker were my favourites - but I can't ignore the Janis, Jimi and Santana performances that were outstanding as well.

Q107 put on a mighty fine bash for its listeners and so they, along with the performers should be congratulated. It was even a more special treat to see/listen to the Wholigans again who had the crowd rocking better than any of the others.

Another mighty fine thing about the evening was The locale. It was at the Sound Academy on one of Toronto's many waterfront piers. Absolutely amazing outside views of the city's skyline, which at sunset is breathtaking!

On another note .....

The mercury has finally risen to near 30C levels so I'm off to Port Dover on Saturday for a quick visit and some, hopefully refreshing dunks in Lake Erie.

My fight against goutweed ...

... or snow on the mountain, bishops weed or whatever name they have for it!

I bought this property in November and therefore didn't see all the vegetation. Apparently the previous owner wanted ground cover under the tree and decided to plant this goutweed. Unfortunately this plant is an invasive weed. If I planted other pretty plants this weed would just invade and eventually kill it.

So, on with the battle. I learned that this plant is one of the most difficult to get rid of so drastic measures were called for ...

I covered the weed with four layers of thick cardboard and then a couple of inches of mulch ...


I then covered the entire area with geotextile fabric. I'm trying to smother the entire thing and so my front yard will have this massive ugly spot for a year. Jim refers to it as a "missile launching pad"



I've taken the rest of the stuff out (see bottom of pic above for a look at the goutweed) in other sections of my yard and plan to smother it later in the Fall. It may take me about three years to get rid of it all!

Thanks AM & G for a great week-end

My "super week-end" was launched on a beautiful Friday night on Danforth St., known for its famous greek food. I met Anne-Marie there and sampled their famous fare before heading down to Queen and Broadview to meet and listen to birthday boy Barry and the rest of the Wholigans. (I know I was lucky to be invited to this event as I was taken as Anne-Marie's guest and wasn't her first choice. AM's best friend and who-crazed fan Antoinette was visiting Toronto and was supposed to go - but had a return flight a few days before the event. Knowing that I'm a classic rock crazed singer who loves the Who - Anne-Marie graciously asked me and wasn't gonna turn it down).

Once arriving at the venue, we were warmly greeting by an excited and friendly Barry along with his really really nice wife Terry. We chatted for awhile before taking seats right next to the dance floor. Before the music began Anne-Marie was working the room, talking to many acquaintances while I was taking in the atmosphere, chatting to a few people myself and listening to the classic and fantastic (pre-1975) Rod Stewart tunes streaming from the sound system.

Friends of the Wholigans began the evening on stage playing music from The Band, Free and one of the best live performances I've seen of Grand Funk Railroad's I'm your captain/I'm coming home. Then - Barry and the boys took the stage and the room became electric. The musicianship was first-rate and the onstage antics were hallarious!

Anne-Marie and I spent most of their set on stage dancing up a storm and forgetting about anything and everything except for what what was happening in those moments. (We did take a short break and the second time we went up my left hip was killing me - but I worked through the pain until it temporarily left.) Being the crazed singer that I am - I sang along to every song sung - knowing all the words but no one including myself could hear 'cause it was as loud as the Who (Pete, Rog and those who left us but still in our hearts would have been proud). Yippie! I caught a T-shirt that was thrown out into the crowd by Barry. Wish it was Antoinette's size - but think Dale will be the lucky one.

I stumbled in at 2:00 am and awoke to the beck and call of Anne-Marie's sister as she had invited me to Port Dover for the week-end and wanted to leave the city as early as possible. I stumbled out of bed, limped to the car and was on the road at about 9:15.

PD was great! My hip prevented me from helping Giz out in the garden, but spent that time preparing for my important meeting on Thursday. At other times, we enjoyed sangria (thanks for the great recipe hint Giz), listened to tunes, ate BBQ steak (thanks Rob), hosted some of Rob's friends and enjoyed the garden. On Monday we went to the beach. The waves were gigantic, the breeze was cooling the hot tempertatures and the crowds enormous but not intrusive.

Back in Toronto now preparing for meetings on Thursday and next week. Thanks for the great memories AM, G and R!

My hip is much better but still not perfect. Guess that while I felt like I was 18 on Friday my body gave me a reality check and made me feel more than my 48 years!