Atlas of Canada

Two years ago while looking for something to brighten the walls of my empty apartment, I came across a bin of posters being given away by (presumably) the geography department of the university. Being a fan of informative artwork, I stuck them on my walls, and have been studiously examining them ever since. However, I am now vacating and moving on; so for posterity, and your infotainment, here is a selection from "Atlas of Canada" published by the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys.

Seasonal Temperatures

January mean daily temperature

April mean daily temperature

July mean daily temperature

October mean daily temperature

Snow Cover

Mean date of first snow cover; one inch or more

Mean date of last snow cover; one inch or more

Mean annual number of days with snow cover; one inch or more

Mean annual maximum depth of snow

Climatic Regions

Soil Regions

To Wolfe Island for a Weekend Pub Lunch

Last Saturday we were promised some warm sunny weather, so I made plans with A. to head across on the ferry to Wolfe Island for lunch at the Wolfe Island Grill.

First, we waited for the bus to take us down town:

And we walked through town, passing one of our other favourite watering holes:

The Toucan

 Then we had a few minutes to wait in line while the ferry docked:

Loading the ferry

The La Salle Causeway bascule bridge

On our way to the island

Cathcart Tower on Cedar Island

The Royal Military College and Fort Frederick Tower

Our fine vessel, The Wolfe Islander III

We sprinted off the ferry to be sure to catch one of the sought-after patio tables; 30 seconds later we arrived at our destination:

And here is the view from our table

The view from the patio of the Island Grill

After eating (and drinking, and sitting, and having dessert, and sitting a while longer), we had a short walk around Marysville:

The private dock for patrons of the pub

The Old House Museum

 

The Wolfe Island Bakery

Signposts: everything on Wolfe Island is included!

The village hall, I think

 Finally, we caught the ferry back to Kingston:

Kingston - City Hall, and Shoal Tower

Rest and Relaxation

A few days of holiday at my uncle's cottage to recover from stressful job hunting and thesis writing.

Peter the cat

Caddy Lake

Hummingbird

Hummingbird

A squirrel testing the defences on the bird feeder

Chair on the dock

Caddy Lake

Trying out the slingshot

Relaxing on the deck

Uncle Lee doing some barbecuing 

Tomato Update

I now have at least six tomatoes of various sizes (so that's an average of one per plant!), and still looks like there could be more on the way...

Tomato Watch

I've been looking after some tomato plants for the last few weeks. For a while I had great expectations of a fantastic crop of tomatoes, but they suffered several false starts as blossoms dropped off, or failed to develop. However, I am pleased to report that the first tomato has exceeded 1 cm in diameter; at which point I think it is safe to announce that I will be eating home grown tomatoes within the next couple of months.

Tomato flowers

Baby tomato

Back to Frontenac Park

Another trip to Frontenac Park; this time spring had well and truly sprung!

A Trillium - the provincial flower of Ontario

Beaver dam

Most of the snakes we came across slithered very quickly into the bushes. This one, however, stuck around and acted a bit more assertively: shaking its tail and making aggressive motions. The park rangers later identified it as a Milk Snake, and quite unusual to come across.

Eastern Milk Snake

 And just down the path from the snake was this turtle taking the sun.

Blanding's turtle

 The beavers may have killed this old tree, but it's still standing!

Leopard frog

The blurry animal in the water is a beaver!