An August Deck

As the end of summer approaches ... and as a Torontonian I know this is the case since the Ex has begun and traffic along the Lakeshore is worse than ever ... I think this will be the last posting on my experimentation with deck gardening for the year. Intrepid gardener that I am, I crawled out the bathroom window on the fourth, yes the 4th storey of this house to get a bird's eye shot of the deck in its fully colourful glory.

You may notice that the table and chairs have retreated somewhat, as the herbs and flowers expanded to take up more and more space on the deck. Not that we mind sharing our space at all. Here are some different views of our planters and hanging baskets. I would say we have achieved our goal of creating a lovely private space for ourselves on a deck in an urban area. The herbs were a pleasant surprise offering greenery and fragrance to the deck and flavour to our meals. My co-workers were very happy to use my extra clippings when I brought them in to the office ... by the bagful!

More views of our deck ...






And as a reminder, here's what it looked like in early June.

Weekend in Whistler

I've been away from the blog for a month now. Over the long weekend at the beginning of August, I had the pleasure of visiting my daughter in Whistler, BC. I have been to Whistler several times over the years, but never during the summer. I have always found the Rockies achingly beautiful, and never moreso than on a spectacular summer day in the company of my vibrant and beautiful daughter, Kate.

After a long trip from Toronto to Whistler on Friday night and a few hours spent re-connecting, we felt a slow start to Saturday was in order. We had a leisurely lunch outside in Whistler Village. I think the place is called Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub. The food was good, but the view was better. Being a gardener at heart, I naturally noticed the colourful hanging planters.

Then we took a ride on the gondola up Whistler Mountain. Now, I've ridden this gondola many times whilst skiing and the mountain is covered in snow. It's a completely different experience without the snow. You get a much better feeling for being very high up on a very small cable and the mountain doesn't look quite so friendly showing its rocky face. I think we skiiers have a false sense of security about the softness of a blanket of snow.

The summertime view from the top of Whistler is ... well ... quite something.


The sun even came out through the haze, just as I was about to take this shot.


During the summer months, Whistler changes from a ski town to a mountain bike town and the ski trails on the lower part of the mountain are put to use by intrepid bikers. We noticed quite a few of them limping around the village. While skiiers do sustain injuries from time to time, bikers seem to have mastered the art of self-inflicted injury. These folks walk around the village in high-tech body armour, then head up the mountain to challenge both the Rockies and gravity.

The ski trails on the upper parts of the mountain, are converted to hiking trails in the summer. Once off the gondola, Kate and I did some siteseeing, then took the walking trail to the chair lift that takes you right to the peak. On the way, we happened to find some friendly deer. I caution you, walking these trails is not for the faint of heart. Even the easier trails can be quite steep, and the elevation is enough to be noticed. Mind you, I'm not twenty-one or in the best shape of my life. Another caution, is that the chair lift is a little intimidating. Again, the mountain just doesn't seem as friendly without that covering of beautiful soft snow. The folks who run Whistler were smart enough to anticipate silly tourists heading to the peak in summer clothes, though, and provided blankets for us on the ride down the chair lift. It's amazing how much 5,000 feet in elevation can change the temperature.

I had a wonderful weekend, in a beautiful part of this country and as a bonus, I had three great days with my daughter and her friends. They offered this 'Oldie' a warm welcome and a sense of comfort that my daughter is among good friends and having the time of her life. And hey, why not? You are, after all, only 21 once.