cycling cycling cycling

We packed overnight bags, rented a car, and escaped the city for a couple of days.  

Monster fern, butterflies, dragonflies, dappled sunlight. A beaver dam in the river where we had lunch. 

We saw a deer springing about, tail flashing white. I didn't know deer had such long tails. I've looked it up and see that Whitetail Deer have tails up to 36 cm/14".  

Cardinals called from the trees--"Chew Chew Chew"--but stayed hidden. Turtles warmed their shells in the sun.

I stopped to take a pic of a pond of water lilies not yet blooming, still in bud. A man with a Provençal accent who was cycling by--presumably not all the way from France--stopped to tell me that I should return in a week when the lilies will be blooming and the entire marsh will be yellow, but I won't be here next week. Maybe next year.

We rented a room in an auberge, which I was excited about since I haven't slept anywhere but in my home since before the pandemic. I like renting rooms, even though I have a lot of bad hotel/motel/B&B/Airbnb memories. Faulty plumbing, drunken patrons, saggy bed, thin walls, all-night traffic, NO BEDSIDE LAMP FOR READING. Even if people go to hotels to have sex, don't they still read before falling asleep?

The auberge was a heritage building. Every effort had been made to retain a sense of history--or at least age--including floors that tilted and stairways that creaked, while at the same time equipping each room with a mini-fridge, a Keurig machine, an a/c unit, a firm mattress. I have no complaints but am happy that I'll be sleeping at home tonight.

Here's my cycling buddy about to dip his head in the water. It's something he does.  

grey day for walking to the Bronx

Last Saturday was cloudy, hot and humid, but I wanted to go for a walk, so we set out in the morning. 

R suggested we head to the Bronx. I had never heard of the Bronx in Montreal but there's a neighbourhood called Lachine (in French, China is La Chine), so who knows? 

I was ready to head any which way but didn't expect that we would be walking west along the river. The path was shady, the light silvery on the water. 

One used to have to walk single file along certain stretches of the path, but a few seasons of social distancing have made it wider. What you see here is the work of many feet.

I've wondered if people will keep walking and cycling, once stores and cinemas and events and restaurants are available again.  

I wonder what the children will remember. I wonder what it will be like for dogs and cats when their people leave the house to go to work again. I don't know enough about birds who live in the house. The mice will be happy.  

The roses grow wild. I would even say rampant. They have a fibrous root system that can invade even marsh grass. 

I walked along here with a friend a few years ago, and she took pics of a kitchen chair--chrome legs, vinyl seat--hidden in the marsh grass. A seat for fishing? I looked for it now but it's gone. 

Here's Montreal seen from the eastern tip of Parc des rapides and those are the rapids that made the river impassable and necessitated the building of the Lachine Canal and later the St. Lawrence Seaway. Aren't we lucky the rapids weren't dynamited? 

 

The Bronx is the old name for the residential area next to Parc des rapides. It's now called... Village des rapides! 

It was called Le Bronx after some brokers from New York who bought several lots in 1919. 

That's as much as I can tell you about Le Bronx. 

what is wrong with this photo? / subway pics

She looks good. She takes the time to make sure everything she wears matches. My guess is her panties and bra match too--not just with each other but her whole outfit. A checkerboard bra for example?

The dialogue bubbles on the paper bag the grocery store gave her say: Do not forget... do not forget... your bags the next time. 

But she did forget. In fact, does she ever bother? Though look at how nicely she's turned up her cuffs to show off her smooth ankles. 

 

This photo was taken 5 minutes earlier. Same weather outside but he's wearing a parka and gloves. He doesn't "fit" into the general picture of Montreal in early summer as well as she does. 

But he knows how to read. His bag has been recycled many times. 

It says: Choose to recycle this bag. 

 

This bag is doubly green when you use it on the bus or subway.