Answering the call: Newfoundland

On June 23, 2019June 23, 2019 By Widow BadassIn Goals & Dreams, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors52 Comments

Way back in March I answered a phone call from blogging (and now real life) buddy, Joanne from My Life Lived Full. “Listen Deb”, she said “I’m going to go to Newfoundland to do some hiking and I thought you might like to join me…no pressure, I’m going regardless but in case you were interested in joining me…”

Well, I gave a qualified YES right away but needed to check if my ever-diminishing stockpile of vacation days would allow it first #workingsuckssometimes. Once that was out of the way, the booking and planning began in earnest!

And almost before we knew it, the day was upon us and we landed in St. Johns’s! I could (and probably will) write so many posts about this wonderful week spent in Canada’s most easterly province, but this one will focus on our adventures outdoors. We hiked most days, and even took a boat trip out to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.

The weather: much cooler than in Ontario (and we are having an unseasonably cool spring!). Leaves were just beginning to emerge on the trees when we first came to the island. We had researched this and packed accordingly.

Joanne’s grand plan (now mine too) – to hike parts of the East Coast Trail. Mission accomplished, just about every day of our stay!

First day hike – thankful I was prepared with warm base layers, gloves and wet weather gear. Photo by Joanne Sisco.

Don’t like the foggy weather obscuring the fantastic view? Wait 15 minutes.

Joanne admiring yet another spectacular view.

One of our goals for this trip was to see icebergs. Newfoundland did not disappoint as we spied them on our adventures most days. We got up close and personal with one while heading out to Witless Bay Ecological Preserve with Gatherall’s Boat Tours.

Immediately the boat made for an iceberg, so thoughtfully placed in our path. To say Joanne was thrilled would be the greatest understatement of 2019. 🙂

Joanne sees an iceberg up close. She’s good, I tell ya! Alas, I never saw a single whale on our NFLD trip, despite calling for them from the cliff tops.

One of the islands we passed. SO. MANY. BIRDS.

Puffin! I had to really blow up this shot as these birds are tiny and fast. Hard to capture.

And now, back to hiking!

Apres boat trip, hiking around Witless Bay

Joanne spots an iceberg from the shore. This woman is insatiable! 🙂 Note: The weather improved and we were able to shed some layers.

Another day, another hike. Smiling faces from Holyrood and the Great Trail.

Stop the car!!! Iceberg spotted in Bay Roberts.

Another view of “our” Bay Roberts iceberg.

Last day hike. We started out in Flatrock.

View from the top of our hike. Wall of fog fast approaching.

Joanne watching the fog wall come in. Don’t step back, Joanne!!!!

What an amazing week of stunning vistas, wildlife (sadly, no whales though), and all the weather one could think of. Except snow and ice, thankfully. I can heartily recommend Newfoundland to anyone who loves nature and hiking. Bring along a like-minded adventurer (cough*Joanne*cough), for the best time possible!

Rock on,

The WB

The Changing Seasons: May on the Move

On June 1, 2019June 1, 2019 By Widow BadassIn See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors45 Comments

Slowly but surely, spring is happening whether the weather (LOL!) likes it or not. Well, I like it and there was plenty to see on the Mill Run Trail this month. And I do mean ON the trail. I had to step lightly to avoid some turtles “on the move”.

Fiddleheads unfurling into fresh new fern plants.

What is May without the appearance of May Apple colonies?

Trilliums and violets (and garter snake) in bloom

Speaking of snakes, remember **these beauties from before**? Someone looks very full and has even more friends now. According to **this website**, this snake bears live young, so perhaps only preggers? Still, it begs this question:

Are all your family accounted for? Asking as a concerned friend…

Where my turtles at? Well, just about everywhere in May. I practically stood on a few on a recent walk.

I thought this was a smallish rock on the trail, upon first approach.

Then I thought it was dead, until I noticed the fuck-you glint in its eye. Message received. Moving on…

I thought this was a pebble! Toonie (Canadian 2 dollar coin) sized baby snapper, too small to effectively glare at me.

The turtle pond itself hosted a couple of sunning adult snappers.

These guys are also very good at looking and playing dead. I would not be so nonchalant encountering one this size on the trail. They can be quick to strike if they feel the need.

I didn’t see any adult females crossing the trail to lay eggs (only juveniles), but I think it is a bit too early for that. Perhaps for June’s Changing Seasons post…

The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge hosted by the ever lovely Zimmerbitch. Please check out her blog and the other bloggers who participate!

Rock on,

The WB

Reptiles Gettin’ It On and Other Wonders of a Spring Walk

On May 12, 2019May 12, 2019 By Widow BadassIn See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors56 Comments

It remains cool and wet here in Ontario, and on Saturday morning I woke up to see ice instead of water on my rooftop patio. But the sun was shining and I had a new backpack to test on an actual walk, so out the door I went. And was I ever glad.

I saw this bigger (than my current) Osprey bag on sale, at Sail. Natch, it came home with me.

Osprey Kyte bag — Most of the time I wasn’t even aware I had it on, even though I had packed a bunch of stuff into it. It comes with its own rain hood, which I like.

Spring is an amazing time to be out in nature. There is so much going on, so much change happening. So much evidence of new life around.

Hard to miss the sight of a beautiful “Robin’s Egg Blue” actual robin’s egg on the trail.

And a robin parent with a worm for its hungry chicks.

And new leaves! A sight for winter-weary eyes.

My objective was to get as far as to where I had noticed the trilliums (not blooming as of last weekend), to see if the flowers were out yet. To get there first I had to go past one of my favourite places – the pond that is home to some large snapping turtles. I didn’t see any last week, so I really hoped I would see some today. Then I saw this, peeking out of the water.

snapping turtle shell — Weird. I had never seen a snapping turtle half out of the water like this before. Usually I see them slowly moving just under the surface.

So I quietly and carefully got closer, to get a better look. I had my new camera too, so was able to take advantage of the zoom lens.

Yikes! It’s two turtles, doing what comes naturally in the spring.

Caught in the act! Maybe in the next few weeks I’ll meet her on the trail, on the way to deposit her eggs in some sandy/rocky soil.

I eventually left the happy couple, but not before shooting some more turtle porn with my camera. I really wanted to title this post “Turtles In Flagrante!” but when I googled what in flagrante actually means (as opposed to what I thought it meant), the answer was “caught in the act of committing a crime”. And I personally don’t think it is a crime to make more turtles. Damn. Onwards to the trilliums!

On the way back home, I passed the turtle pond again, and this time I noticed a large snake sunning on a log. Or at least I thought that was what I was seeing. I took plenty of pictures, once again (thank you, zoom lens!!!!). And when I got home and reviewed my shots with my reading glasses on, this is what I noticed.

Oh yeah. It’s definitely 2 snakes. Northern water snake if iNaturalist is correct. I think this might be a breeding pair?

I don’t know for sure if these snakes are/were/about to be getting it on, but they sure looked chummy. In fact, I am pretty sure I met the smaller (thank goddess) one last Sunday on the trail when I was looking for turtles in the pond. Here is the picture I took then.

I heard the grass rustling near my feet and looked down to see this little fella. He initially started slithering away, then turned around and came back towards me to check me out. Which gave me the opportunity to grab a shot. Luckily I am not terribly afraid of snakes.

I walk this trail at least once a week, in every season. I’ve been on parts of this trail since I was quite young as it runs from the village I live in now, to the town and quite near the house I grew up in.

It never gets old, even after 50 years of traipsing this path. And every time I’m out there, there is something new and wonderful to see. Especially in the spring. So my advice to you is:

Rock on, and get out there!

The WB

The Changing Seasons: April 2019 The Search for Spring

On May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, Roadtripping, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors43 Comments

Well here I am with my Monday night Game of Thrones lack-of-sleep hangover, trying desperately to get my April post out before much more of May gets away from me…

In retrospect, April in Ontario was pretty meh with respect to the nicer aspects of spring. It remained cold and grey for most of the month. So it was a relief mid-month to head south to Augusta, Georgia for a few days of spring (and a couple of days of summer-like temps) before coming home to yet more chilly rain.

Here are some photos, that capture my month:

Start of Mandala painting Apr 4. Starved for colour and spring isn’t coming across with the goods!

Apr 6 Attended the Lineup Reveal concert for August’s KW Bluesfest. Lucky Peterson performed.

Apr 7 Another sign of spring: first frog sighting!

Apr 10 Daffodils spotted in Pennsylvania. Enroute to Augusta.

Apr 12 Our home for the weekend, outside of Augusta. From spring to 30 degrees C!

Apr 13 & 14 at the Masters. I didn’t take this picture as cameras weren’t allowed on tournament days. Someone snapped it on one of the practice days.

Apr 21 Speed River flooding just off the trail I walk. Some areas of Ontario were very hard hit by flooding.

Apr 21 Colt’s Foot blooming in dry areas.

Apr 28 65th birthday party for my BIL at Lionhead Golf Course. It was a surprise party, and it was my job to get him to the course under pretext. I did a great job – he was completely stunned to find out it was his birthday party and that I actually didn’t need his help in planning a corporate golf tournament – but it tore me up inside. I don’t like deceiving people, even for happy reasons, I have discovered.

Apr 28 My BIL (in blue) making the rounds of his party. Note the media screens. There were 4 in total. I gave a slideshow of our trip to Augusta.

Apr 30 Progress made on mandala painting

For some reason, WordPress is cutting off some of my photos. Or is it? On some devices I can see the entire photo, and on some they remain cut off. This is aggravating as I do spend some time cropping my photos to enhance them, and then to have them further cropped…well, colour me pissed. I don’t know what I am doing or not doing to cause this to happen. Argh!

Anywho, that was my April. The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge hosted by the ever lovely Zimmerbitch. Please check out her blog and the other bloggers who participate!

Rock on,

The WB

March 2019 – The Changing Seasons

On March 31, 2019April 1, 2019 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, The Great Outdoors41 Comments

March was typical in many ways. Ontarians spent the days waiting for the weather to change, and the ice and snow to melt. And it did! We had a glorious day on Friday:

No wind and plenty of sun. Temperatures reached double digits. A great day to get out for a walk.

Sunlight sparkling on the water flowing over the Village dam.

Then Saturday came and brought steady, heavy rain. Joanne of My Life Lived Full came to visit for the weekend and join me for a couple of events. We didn’t let the rain stop us from heading out to Crawford Lake Conservation Area’s Sweetwater Festival, and A Taste of Maple, presented by Chef Johl Whiteduck Ringuette of NishDish Marketeria, a Toronto restaurant and catering business serving Indigenous cuisine.

Rainboots, umbrellas and smiles – all a must in this weather!

We started our culinary adventure with maple taffy, made on a bed of ice in lieu of snow, which had finally melted away (or so we thought! Uh oh.).

A documentary was being filmed on the traditional Indigenous view of food as medicine (Chef Johl’s talk).

Joanne and I were so engrossed in Chef Johl’s talk we (almost) forgot we came also for a food tasting. He spoke so eloquently and passionately about his culture and experiences growing up, lacing them with traditional stories about Nanabozho and the origins of maple syrup making. His honest, heartfelt stories of working with Aboriginal Legal and the treatment of the native people in Toronto made me tear up.

Chef Johl started us off with a smudging ceremony, to cleanse us and bring us together for good intentions. Look for a documentary in about a year we were told before the talk, on Traditional Food as Medicine.

Chef Johl’s recommended reading for those who were interested (yes, please!).

The order of lining up for food: elder women, then other women, then everyone else. On the tasting menu: bannock with maple butter and jam, salmon, and blueberry wild rice pudding.

Closeup of blueberry, maple and wild rice pudding in a corn husk bowl.

Once back at Chez Badass, Joanne and I spent a delightful evening and the next morning trading information. I showed her how to make art with spray inks and shaving cream, and she taught me all about Airbnb (teaser: more about why in an upcoming post…hehehe). This was awaiting us outside in the morning:

March 31, 2019. No one is up for a winter wonderland come spring. Even though we woke up to this on Sunday morning, we weren’t going to be stopped from enjoying the day.

Late morning it was off to our second event of the weekend – exploring St. Jacobs and taking in a show at the Country Playhouse.

FABULOUS. The best Drayton production I have seen yet.

Before the show started, we had time to do some shopping and eat lunch at the Stone Crock.

When bloggers are let loose in St. Jacobs, the streets are no longer safe.

I was so excited when I found something I had been searching for since I saw one at Karen Hume’s (of Profound Journey) last summer. (Bloggers: always learning from each other!) It is going to solve one of life’s big (hah!) problems for this badass widow.

Yeah. I made this meme. Hard for me to eat the butter (no matter how minuscule an amount) before it goes bad as I like to keep it on the counter. Because: spreadability!

I was really happy to have finally found one of these butter keepers. I first learned of these at Karen Hume’s house last summer. She had one. I thought it was genius.

The water in the base (must be changed every few days) keeps the butter fresh AND spreadable, on the counter!

And so ended my March, absolutely delightfully despite ALL. THE. WEATHER!

The Changing Seasons is hosted by Su Leslie of Zimmerbitch. Please be sure to check out her blog!

Rock on,

The WB

Ice

On March 17, 2019March 17, 2019 By Widow BadassIn See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors27 Comments

Today I got onto my favourite local trail for the first time since coming back from my winter travels to Vancouver Island and Barbados. This is what I saw as I approached the entrance to the trail.

Hmmm. Wonder why this barrier was put up by the City?

Well, it didn’t take me long to figure out why the City was trying to discourage people from using the trail.

Ice, ice everywhere. Except on the boardwalks.

Slide marks from previous walkers…er…sliders. It quickly became apparent that sliding was the safest way to go, in most places.

Just how thick is this ice? Glad you asked. I found a place where there was a crack in the ice, just so I could show you.

Close up of 2 inch thick ice coating the trail.

Ice was also found on the river, of course. Nice to observe, from a less slippery vantage point on the shore.

Weirdly beautiful ice formation on the river.

Ice shelf near the bank of Chilligo Creek.

I didn’t fall. Didn’t break or strain anything. But also didn’t walk (er…slide) as far as I intended when I set out this morning. But it was worth it as I got quite close (for a change) to a couple of these guys:

Rock on,

The WB

p.s. this is my first post using the new block editor in WordPress. So far I really like it. Reminds me a bit of using MS Word, so somewhat familiar to me. However, I don’t like how my images are being compressed, but I’ll sort that out later…right now I have to figure out whether to start watching Drag Race Season 10 or American Gods Season 2 or (insert some other show that got released recently and I’ve already forgotten what it is). You know: Sunday evening priorities.

p.p.s. oh, and fingers crossed the email announcing this post gets sent out this time. Last post it didn’t work (2nd time this has happened to me) and I haven’t a clue as to why. #bloggerwoes

One Month, Two Oceans: The Changing Seasons February 2019

On February 28, 2019 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors35 Comments

February was an incredible month for me – and one of extremes. In temperature and geography! You can read about my travels here, here, here, here and here.

I started off the month on Vancouver Island, which is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.

Yep, those are surfers behind me. On Groundhog Day!

After a few short days back at Chez Badass (and work), it was off to Barbados, an island surrounded by the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean:

2019 Barbados sign on the beach, just off the boardwalk.

And beautiful flowers. This one is called Pride of Barbados (aka peacock flower).

And green monkeys. This elusive guy shot by CJ on a morning walk.

And cute little crabs that are really hard to see when not scuttling around the beach.

And racehorses reluctant to be bathed in the sea, after early morning exercise.

And less reluctant horses actually swimming in deep water, for non-weight bearing exercise…

And tall ships (spotted along with the horses, in Carlisle Bay).

But all good things come to an end, eventually. This is how I ended my magical month of February:

Using a hatchet to break up my driveway’s ice.

Trying to be as stoic about the weather as the Buddha of the Patio.

Today’s weather – I can be forgiven for shedding a tear or two, right?

March and the Spring Equinox – bring it on!

The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge, hosted by Su Leslie at Zimmerbitch. Go check her beautiful blog out!

Rock on,

The WB

Barbados 2019

On February 17, 2019 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors20 Comments

After a few short days back in frozen Ontario from delightful Vancouver Island (here and here), I was once again boarding a plane – this time for Barbados!

Mizz J pointed out to me that I will be visiting 2 oceans in the same month (never likely to happen again), and I think that is pretty cool!

I don’t normally take vacations back to back like this. I would have rather been visiting Vancouver Island over the Christmas holidays. Work/staffing commitments decided this timing for me.

Anywho, once again CJ and I are in Barbados, for our annual 2 week beach vacation.

So far there has been a lot of these:

Bajan sunrise, as seen on our *de riguer* 6 am walks.

And these:

Glorious Bajan sunset – 6 pm on the dot.

And this:

Just to spice things up a bit, we decided to forgo the beach walks some mornings to head north to explore the Garrison District instead, which includes the racetrack.

Watching the horses and jockeys at practice

Entrance to grandstand. This horse and handler were just back from the morning sea bath. More on that later…

Directly across the street from the grandstand entrance. Bajan trees can hold their own with Vancouver Island’s giants.

We saw horses crossing the highway to head to the beach, so of course we followed. And we were not disappointed.

So many horses coming back from the sea, we thought maybe we had missed seeing them in the water.

Luckily, plenty of horses still at the beach, including this stunner.

This horse was playfully pawing at the water.

Yesterday we realized, after a full week of lounging on the beach (in the shade, of course!), that we had achieved peak “sluggitude”, so we decided to walk to the Barbados Museum, located behind the racetrack. We needed a dose of culture; to hell with the heat of the afternoon.

This building used to be a military prison. Couldn’t take pictures inside the museum, of course. It was filled with exhibits of all things Barbados – natural, social, cultural, and military history. Worth a visit!

After the museum, we had time to kill before the restaurant we wanted to visit opened, so some rehydration was in order.

Deadly rum punch, at the Radisson Aquatica. The bartender referred to us as “my queens”. A girl could get used to this. (Well, we did give a nice tip. 😉 )

And then it was on to dinner and dessert, at Brown Sugar.

Brown Sugar Restaurant’s specialty: Bajan Bread Pudding. Bread soaked in rum, with rum-soaked raisins, in a rum sauce. Sensing a theme here? You could light my breath on fire. I could only eat half despite its deliciousness. CJ could only eat half of her chocolate mousse cake (in background). We will enjoy the rest today!

Before we leave on Friday, we are planning a visit to this place:

Conveniently located beside the racetrack, in the Garrison District. George Washington stayed here, in his only visit outside the US. Open Monday – Friday. Don’t know much more about this other than I heard it has a delightful cafe. Also something about tunnels. I’ll let you know.

The beach is calling my name ever more loudly, so until next time…

Rock on,

The WB

Exploring Vancouver Island – Part 2: Tofino

On February 10, 2019 By Widow BadassIn Good Times, Roadtripping, See the Beauty, The Great Outdoors19 Comments

On my last full day on Vancouver Island, the three of us (Mizz J, K and I) got up early and hit the road to Tofino!

We stopped along the way at a picturesque mountain lake.

Tofino straddles the tip of a peninsula on the west coast of the Island. One side is quiet inlet.

And the other side is a paradise for surfers.

The surf at Chesterman Beach. Yes, there were many surfers in the water (2 in this photo) on Groundhog Day, February 2.

Admiring the view and soaking up the sun.

One of the many pretty shells to be found on the beach.

Both sides of Tofino are beautiful and cool.

We drove downtown and parked near this place as we just had to see what it was all about.

A large gallery featuring the works of native artist Roy Henry Vickers. Loved his stuff. Someday I will be back and buy a print or twelve… 🙂

We also visited a series of stores, surf-related shops, and restaurants inside and just outside of the downtown. And there were flowers blooming outside! On Groundhog Day!!!