Canadian Bluejay enjoying my birdseed, without pesky squirrels
The internet is so awesome. Immature brown squirrels were using my bird feeder for gymnastics practice, spilling bird seed helter skelter and scaring the feathers off the local birds. This injustice was intolerable. I heard that vermin squirrels cannot climb down 1/16″ gauge wire strand. I bought some, attached it to my bird feeder, and today, I see vermin squirrels gazing forelonely up at my bird feeder, while the birds were having a feast.
Steam engine train rides with the Richmond Hill Live Steamers. The smell of coal, steam, oil, the whistle!
Two weekends a year the Richmond Hill Live Steamers, Toronto, Canada, has an open house, where they show off their scale model steam trains. It is a fascinating world of the mechanical and hand built. There are train rides for the kids and adults, while the old timers work and test their engines. The feeling of the club is very relaxed, leaving their work to speak for itself. We had a great time and was glad we went early. Donations to the club are welcome.
For the life of me I could not find the definitions for the various grades of frozen orange juice for Canada. Personal experience has shown me that Canada Grade A frozen orange juice tastes better than Canada Grade C. I searched Google and came up empty. I then got onto the Canada Food Inspection Agency website and sent them a question. Here is their answer as a followup to yesterday’s blog, thanks to Jean-Claude Jura, Ontario Region Manufactured Food, Food Labelling Line: Processed Products Regulations, Schedule I, Table II, Section 27.2.
Marketing Gimmick: Not From Concentrate (NFC) orange juice does not mean fresher than concentrated OJ
We live in Toronto, Canada, so do not have the luxury of going to our backyard, picking fresh oranges and juicing them. Still we love to drink orange juice, a call which is answered by a trip to the local big box grocery store. Orange Juice can be expensive, so I have done several blind taste tests on the family to see if they can tell the difference between types. In summary, there is no difference in taste between concentrate and “not from concentrate” (NFC) types. Canada Grade “A” No Name brands taste the same as good as the name brands. Added calcium does not change the taste of OJ. Chinese orange juice is discernibly tarter and therefore easy to identify. If you can buy orange juice for $1CAD/litre, this is good economy.
Make no mistake that riding a motorcycle here in Toronto is dangerous. Intentionally or not cages (cars) do dangerous things, endangering the life of the motorcyclist. Talking on the phone is especially hazardous to riders. When anyone makes a mistake and there is contact, the motorcyclist will take a trip to the hospital. An interesting motorcycle strategy that is new to me is called aggressive but cautious. Central to this strategy is to ride 20-30kph over the speed limit.
Good Samaritan quickly reverses unfortunate situation
The Mirror, North Edition
September 01, 2009 3:47 PM
On Saturday morning I went out for a bike ride. Along the way somehow my chain jumped and smashed my derailleur in to the spokes which locked the rear wheel.
I was a long way from home and had no choice but to walk home carrying my bike. At age 74 this wasn’t the kind of exercise I was looking for.
Immature brown squirrel does acrobatics to eat my birdfeed. Get fat already.
I feel I get along well with nature, but I draw the line at my birdfeeder. You see, it’s a ‘birdfeeder’, not a squirrel or wildlife feeder. When I see that squirrels are getting my feed, I think of a way to outsmart them. This worked for a month until yesterday, when we found an immature brown squirrel doing amazing acrobatics to get at my feed. I’ll have to think of something new.
Swagman 3 bike rack installs 11.5 inches from my bumper, not a good fit
I have been meaning to get a bike rack for quite a number of years. When the kids were small this was not an issue because they could not ride far anyway, but they are growing. We don’t have a large car, so a bike rack is now a necessity. The Swagman 3 bike hitch bike rack seemed to be the strongest and lightest but well made bike rack I could find. It works very well but the experience of installing it provided some interesting surprises.
Chinese Prisons and Legal System: Infamous for human rights violations
One of my deepest fears while on Chinese soil was being arrested and slogging through the morass they call the Chinese legal system. The blog Beijing Haze documents the efforts of an American wife and long term Beijing resident, on extricating her Chinese husband from the wrath of China’s prison system. Her husband was recently arrested in a massage parlour in a Beijing city-wide blitz against prostitution.
The inevitable demise of a Mary's Good Eats apple pie. Delicious.
Quirky and a little remote, the pies from Mary’s Good Eats, Toronto (Scarborough), Canada, are certainly great. The place is on the Pickering Town Line, north of Old Finch Avenue, and south of Steeles Avenue East. They have cherry, blueberry, apple, and I bought a blueberry peach yesterday. $8 per pie. If you need change you go up to the house and knock on the door.
I found this place from a chance conversation with Dale Reesor, owner of the Sweet Ridge Farms, who sells delicious corn. Thanks again, Dale!
