Thursday 27th May 1999

Well, I haven't done much to write about lately, so have decided to write the story of my life in pictures. This will not interest you, but I have to put a link to the page somewhere, so here it is!

Tuesday 11th May 1999

Day after day of pleasant sunny weather. For the last two days we have been under a ridge of Polar high pressure. This means the air is being brought down from the North Pole. It is pleasantly cool (about 16ºC).

Last Saturday I went with a friend on one of my favourite bus rides to Niagara Falls Blossom Parade. Everyone seemed to agree that it always rains on this parade! Last Saturday was no exception. However, as I am taking sulphur antibiotics, which leave me prone to severe sunburn in no time flat, this actually pleased me. I felt very sorry for all the majorettes and other participants who were walking the route in the pouring rain very unsuitably dressed. As I said before, we are having a drought. The rain, even for one day, was very welcome.

I took some photographs, which I include together with some beautiful postcards several paragraphs below.

The Niagara Falls Blossom Parade does not involve the use of blossoms on the floats. This appeared to disappoint many of the audience. In a fruit-growing area, one should not expect the blossoms to be picked! The name simply indicates that in Niagara Falls Gardens and surrounding area one may see masses of blossoms stretching for miles into the distance: peach, pear, apple, (but the grape is not out yet). The Gardens are so beautiful with their displays of tulips and spring flowers. The lilac are just beginning and should be a mass of bloom by next week. The floats were representations of nursery rhymes. They were made by the merchants and service groups of the town. Our bus parked at the top of a hill. We carried our chairs and umbrellas down to the parade route. Fortunately there was a large bus shelter and a big buffet style restaurant right there beside the Falls. In winter the Falls cover the surrounding trees with icicles and themselves freeze into a spectacular display of stalagtites and stalagmites. Here are some postcards which I have received from Niagara Falls at various times. It certainly is a wonderful sight.

Niagara Falls lit by night	The Falls from helicopter view
The Falls by night & fireworks	The Maid of the Mist from the Canadian side
The Falls from rapids, Canadian side	A float at the Blossom Parade
Upper Canada Equestrian Association	Carriage at the Blossom Parade

Wednesday 5th May 1999

Hello again. As usual in Canada, in the Guelph area of Ontario .. suddenly it's summer. In the shade temperatures are in the mid 70s. In my car the thermometer was all the way round and could go no further.

Daffodils are just about finished. Tulips are everywhere and the trees are in blossom. My magnolia is beautiful. Unfortunately magnolias do not seem to have any perfume.

I went around taking a few photographs and they are below. I look forward to getting a digital camera (is that what you call it?) but so far have read that the quality of the pictures is not very good. Anyway I like to get ordinary prints, they're easier to view.

My magnolia tree	The forsythia bush and cilla flowers
Closeup of the forsythia bush	Closeup of daffodils.

Poor Sue, the puppy, (she's actually fully grown now), has a huge thick coat. This morning, as we walked, she was shedding hair in all directions.

Susie the golden retriever at one year old.

Also, there was a parody of this lovely poem, which seemed a pity .. but I thought it was funny. So, I'll put a link to "Low Flight" at the end of this page.

Rhona Raskin Home Page at http://www.rhona.com.

"Low Flight" at http://www.zipcon.net/~kestral/low.html.