flora and fauna
Looks like we picked the wrong game to attend this week. The Sox took two out of three, but we saw the Jays thrash them silly. It was nice to see the Blue Jay fans wake up, though. The last time we visited Skydome/Rogers Centre, Tronno fans were very subdued, and Red Sox fans were making all the noise.
The GO train was great. It would be nice if they ran more frequently, I would certainly take the train more often if they did. But the trains are nice and the ride is fast. No one took our ticket! I've read that the GO train operates on an honour system, but seeing this in action was surprising. Do huge numbers of people ride for free? Which is the stronger Canadian value, frugality or honesty?
* * * *
Last week, on one of my early morning walks with Buster and Cody, Cody became suddenly alert, telling me there was an animal nearby. In the barely-dawn darkness, I saw a dark shape scurry across a neighbor's lawn. It was a humped, low to the ground, like a hedgehog or woodchuck. As we watched, another shape followed it - then another, and another. Cody wanted to jump out of her fur to chase them. When the whole family had run off, we resumed walking.
Five minutes later, I went to throw out some dog poop in a garbage can. A huge clanging started up from within, and the trash container - a big metal can - started rocking back and forth! We all three jumped back, and out of the can popped a raccoon. It was enormous. I didn't know raccoons grew that large. So that's who was running across the lawn. Neat.
Yesterday I held the dogs well back as a skunk ambled across our path. I don't think I'd ever seen one that close, unmistakable with the white stripe down its back and the white tip on the tail.
We also see geese and swans every morning, which is a beautiful treat, especially those elegant white birds.
Here's a question for you horticulturists out there. We have a tree in our backyard, huge trunk, very tall. Among the leaves, we can see round fruit about the color and size of a tennis ball. I can recognize many kinds of trees (early upbringing dies hard), but I don't know this one.
We found one of the fruits on the lawn, and I cut it open. (Shades of "The Blob"!) It has a huge pit and the inside is mushy, like an avocado. Whatever it is stained my fingers and will absolutely not come off. It's been three days, and that's a lot of showers and hand-washing, and both my thumbs and forefingers are still discoloured.
What is this?
The GO train was great. It would be nice if they ran more frequently, I would certainly take the train more often if they did. But the trains are nice and the ride is fast. No one took our ticket! I've read that the GO train operates on an honour system, but seeing this in action was surprising. Do huge numbers of people ride for free? Which is the stronger Canadian value, frugality or honesty?
* * * *
Last week, on one of my early morning walks with Buster and Cody, Cody became suddenly alert, telling me there was an animal nearby. In the barely-dawn darkness, I saw a dark shape scurry across a neighbor's lawn. It was a humped, low to the ground, like a hedgehog or woodchuck. As we watched, another shape followed it - then another, and another. Cody wanted to jump out of her fur to chase them. When the whole family had run off, we resumed walking.
Five minutes later, I went to throw out some dog poop in a garbage can. A huge clanging started up from within, and the trash container - a big metal can - started rocking back and forth! We all three jumped back, and out of the can popped a raccoon. It was enormous. I didn't know raccoons grew that large. So that's who was running across the lawn. Neat.
Yesterday I held the dogs well back as a skunk ambled across our path. I don't think I'd ever seen one that close, unmistakable with the white stripe down its back and the white tip on the tail.
We also see geese and swans every morning, which is a beautiful treat, especially those elegant white birds.
Here's a question for you horticulturists out there. We have a tree in our backyard, huge trunk, very tall. Among the leaves, we can see round fruit about the color and size of a tennis ball. I can recognize many kinds of trees (early upbringing dies hard), but I don't know this one.
We found one of the fruits on the lawn, and I cut it open. (Shades of "The Blob"!) It has a huge pit and the inside is mushy, like an avocado. Whatever it is stained my fingers and will absolutely not come off. It's been three days, and that's a lot of showers and hand-washing, and both my thumbs and forefingers are still discoloured.
What is this?
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