Sunday, May 30, 2010

"High-flyer" (18th floor) Garden

Today, I have planted the seeds of what will become my own home grown food (it doesn't get more organic than this)! Since I don't have any access to a yard to plant my garden in, I will use my balcony that gets enough of sun. Of course, it also means that I will be on a war with local (Mississauga) pigeons...
As it is my first "adventure" in gardening, I am starting small. What I have at the moment are onions, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, rosemary, basil, dill and mélisse.
I know there are some holes in my gardening knowledge, so feel free to comment with advice.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Bruce Peninsula and Five National Parks

Who could have know that after a hellishly hot week there will be a freezing weekend? We were planning to spend a lazy weekend on a Sauble beach and maybe... maybe doing a short trail. I assume that due to our luck of prayer (yeah, we have been skipping it lately), it was not meant to happen...
Crowsnest Pub &  Restaurant
When we left Mississauga on Friday it was raining and by the time we reached Tobermory (300 km north west) it was snowing, quite heavily. After checking in into our luxurious cabin (Peacock Villa) which was upgraded due to late cancellation (normal people, who stayed home), we went to explore the wonders of the town. Located on a shores of Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, it is a standard summer town. It had one (decent) pub, one (decent) restaurant, one (decent) diner, one (decent) supermarket and a bunch of tourist-ware. Basically, everything you need on a vacation... After having the freshest white fish fillet and a pint of locally brewed ale at the Crowsnest Pub & Restaurant, we ploughed our way back to the cabin in the snow (whole 300 meters) dreading the next morning (the weather forecast was not favourable at all)...
The next morning, we went to have breakfast in the only (decent) diner in the town. Since the temperature was below zero and we were wearing everything we had (layers and layers of summer clothes), the only thing I remember about breakfast is the fact that it was hot!
After breakfast, we did some quick shopping (food), we drove to Tobermory lighthouse located right on the shore of Lake Huron. Although the rain has almost stopped, it was really windy and the waves were spectacular! Since the weather was still quite bad, we have decided to make Saturday's hike short and spend the rest of the day in the cabin... cooking.
As I have mentioned before, Tobermory is located on the shore of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, home of a Fathom Five Marine National Park. The park itself is spread along the lake shore. The nearby islands can be reached by ferry. After paying the admission fee of $5.60 per person for two days we made a short trail (~5km) and headed back to our cabin for the rest of the day.
On the next morning, we were greeted by a cloudless sunny day! After having “home cooked” breakfast, we headed to Bruce Peninsula National Park (~14km from the Tobermory and $11.30 entrance fee per vechicle). This time, we wanted to explore as much as possible. We started on a “Horse Lake” trail, switched to “Bruce” trail (leading to the Grotto) and returned on the “Cyprus Lake” trail, about 6km in total.

It is extremely hard to describe the beauty of the region in words, therefore I will let the images do it for me...

Enjoy,
John.

Heron Nest on a Horse Lake

Georgian Bay Stone Beach

Georgian Bay

Overhanging Point over Georgian Bay

Cliffs over Georgian Bay

The "Grotto"

Georgian Bay

Marr Lake