Backyard

To sum up Vegas, it was a good trip.  I was glad to go.  There might even be another opportunity to go back, and if that is the case, I'd go.  It was the type of trip that started out inexpensive at $400 CDN for the direct flights from Toronto, and about $350 CDN for 3 nights hotel, but once you get rolling and going, it added up with food and drink money, with more food and drink, with incidentals like cabs, and resort fees, the basketball was $60 CDN.  So it finished on the tad-ish expensive side..... (a glass of wine at the casino was $18 US, coffee was $3.50 US, breakfasts would get up to $20 without indulging too much, a bit for parking at the airport of course, and just the other stuff there is...).  The company with Bill, Brad and Rich was priceless however.  I ended up playing in a $50 buy in Texas Hold'Em tournament with 22 people or so, and I was probably the 7th or 8th person eliminated.  That was all I gambled away and contributed to the lore of Las Vegas.

The backyard is looking decent these days.  The pond is 70% covered with different plants like lilies, duck weed, and a lettuce type aquatic plant.  Surrounding its perimetre is a whole bunch of yellow geraniums.  The eight fish within are quite content and swimming happily as far as I can tell.  A number of water lilies have bloomed and they are either pink or yellow.  They show themselves proudly during the day, and wrap themselves up at night and on cloudier days.

Noticeably missing are our 3 chickens = no more backyard chickens for us until we sort out a few issues such as keeping them contained.  And as it is the word from Ashfield Township is that our ladies have been targeted by a raccoon and have died.  They weren't laying eggs anymore anyway.

The other part of the backyard is presentable.  There isn't too much going on except some tomato plants, a few more geraniums that are red, and some lilies.  The basil I had tucked in the mix did not take to its location whatsoever.  It could have been the soil, the sun, the water, a combination, but the basil wilted yellowish brown before any of it could be plucked off and used.  However, as I recall this wasn't the first time this plot proved poor for the garnish, so I must find a different location in the future for it.

Last weekend Shelly and I dropped off the kids in Guelph and went to Toronto for a wedding reception.  The couple had gotten married on the Friday, and on Saturday there was a 100 person party at the Ward Island Association clubhouse.  The afternoon was to be a relaxing day playing different yard games and enjoying drinks and hors d'oeuvres.  There was an opportunity to explore Toronto Island too.  We had parked our truck at a buddies and biked the 10km to the ferry dock.  It was a terrible go as my sense of adventure and excitement was nearly thwarted by my companion's fear of the volume of Toronto traffic.  It wasn't without incident and scornful looks, I'll tell you that, but we made it alive, both ways even.  Shelly is not one for city biking.