Ta Da !

An airline totally devoted to pets?

Believe it or not, it's true!

A company, Pet Airways, is now flying from airports in five American cities and plans to expand into Canada next year for its “pawsengers”. In fact, the only humans allowed on the flights will be pet attendants and the pilots.

According to the airline, an estimated one million animals fly each year in America, and Pet Airways' goal is to capitalize on that statistic.

Flights begin at US$149, and come with the promise to "transport your pet with lots of love, care, safety, and comfort in the main cabin," according to the company. The planes are entirely designed with animals in mind so there are neither seats nor overhead baggage compartments.

The airline also offers a "pawsenger lounge" where pets can be checked in up to 72 hours prior to take-off.

Dan Wiesel, president and CEO of Pet Airways, said most pets travelling by air are transported in the cargo hold and "handled as baggage."
Operations began on July 14 with flights between Baltimore, New York, Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles, with plans to expand to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in 2010.

There is some competition here in Canada, however. While their mandates aren't as pet-centric as Pet Airways, major carriers West Jet and Air Canada both offer pet travel options.

Both airlines charge a $50 fee for pets that travel in the cabin, but Air Canada ups the fee to $105 for pets that are transported in the baggage compartment.

If you want more information, or don't believe these words – here is their website: http://petairways.com

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.