My neighbourhood

The Hills Beyond

Leopard by Day

Leopard at Night

Do you remember?

The Entrance to Hailstorm Creek Marsh

North End of Lake Opeongo

Early Morning on Little Joe Lake

Heavy Dew 

Spider webs "as they are"

Spider webs with colour

Mushrooms in the Hills

An afternoon trip up the rolling hill of the "Kömmel!"
Many, many mushrooms.
I don't even know their names.
I surely do not know if they are eatable.
So, since "Caution is the Mother of Survival"
I just let them keep on growing.

Silence is not always Golden

It is a cosy little place.

A truly family operated Restaurant cum Coffe-Shop and Sweet Bakery.

We sit at a table in a little alcove, having finished a delicious small dinner, amidst an intense discussion regarding the confused and confusing political situation in the country, when the door opens and a young couple enters.

Both blond and curly haired, he has a sharpely chisseled face while his female companion is more round faced.

A lovely couple.

They select a table just across from us and sit down.

Out come two i-phones.

He places his on the table in front, slightly off to the right and commences tapping swiftly on the miniature key board.

She holds hers in both hands, operating it with both thumbs.

So far, not a word is spoken.

The waitress comes and, without looking at the menu, they place their orders.

More tapping on keyboards.

“Fridatten soup” is served.

He shifts his i-phone to the left of his plate, continues manipulating the keyboard, while, at the same time, spooning soup from plate to mouth.

Silence reigns.

She puts down the phone, takes two spoons of soup, puts down the spoon, operates the phone.

Puts down the phone, uses the spoon.

Puts down the spoon, operates the phone.

His method is far more efficient.

His left hand is on the phone,

his right manouvres the spoon from plate to mouth.

Long strings of “fridatten” tangle from spoon and mouth.

Silence.

We too have stopped talking, observing a modern relationship.

I am embarrassed, having been caught staring, as she raises her eyes from phone-soup,

catching me, watching them.

With a smirk of disdain she returns to

spoon/phone, phone/spoon...

He ignores the silent communication between me and his partner.

Left hand – phone,

right hand – spoon.

Not a word spoken

Silence!

Christin whispers: “The leader of the Opposition is a jerk”

I reply: “so is the leader of the ruling Party. Their TV discussion last night was a disgrace.”

They would have done better having a plate of “Fridatten soup” each, keeping their mouths shut.

Just like the two young people across from us.

Those who talk during the TV debate

and those who eat soup and operate their phones at the same time

have little or nothing to say to each other.

That's what

Bertstravels thinks, anyway.

Very funny

It's the retirement home.
Dinner is being served, when one of the occupants, Mable by first name, comes bursting into the dining room, her right forefinger pointing at her raised left fist.
Excitedly she calls out: "Anybody who can accurately guess what I have in my fist, can have sex with me tonight".
Chuck looks up from his soup and says: "An Elephant?"
Mable hesitates for a moment and then shouts with glee: "Close enough!"

If it's the first time you heard this one,
laugh with Bertstravels.

Miscellaneous

The Party Is Over, The Guests Have Gone Home!

Muskoka Chairs Are All Alone!

A Short Visit to Courtright Center

Courtright Jungle!

The Scarecrows of Meaford

Sounds like the title of a new book by Stephen King.
Isn't, though!
I visited Ontario's "Apple Centre" during the middle of September.
It's become a custom there, to let colourful scarecrows invade the town.
There are too many of them to show them all.
Here are some:

A "colourful" assembly of assorted Canadians.

No lamp post is safe from these urchins!

It's the gist of it.

A "Bay Street" lawyer or banker.

My good friend, Andy Schwartze, and two of his closest advisers.