HAPPY ROLPH’S BIRD SANCTUARY, (Early Spring) – ST. CATHARINES

Although it was a bit too early to view and pet the animals, our visit to Happy Rolph’s Bird Sanctuary & Petting Farm was still a delightful one. Seeing  the park this early in spring was just as enjoyable and only made you more eager to return when the summer season approached.

There were no animals to be found other than those noisy yet beautiful waterfowls swimming around in that famous pond – one of the many wonderful things this park is known for. The ducks and geese were hollering at the top of their birdie lungs when visitors would toss them some bread.

There were also kois discovered in the pond. They weren’t moving, (probably still in a state of hibernation since the visible ice floating on parts of the pond meant the water was still very cold), but they were there – alive and well!  There were many ancient trees throughout the park one of which we took a photo of that was over 160 years old!

Shortly after visiting the pond, something really blue down yonder caught our eyes. It was Lake Ontario! Probably the bluest you’ll ever see it, this time of the year.

Some facts…

• Happy Rolph’s Bird Sanctuary is a 15.06-acre municipal park on the shores of Lake Ontario which boasts one of Canadas most exotic collections of flowering rhododendrons.
• Harold “Happy” Rolph was a fruit farmer who founded a bird sanctuary on his property — now the public nature park on Lake Ontario. He needed water to irrigate the orchards and around 1950 built several natural looking ponds in a valley on the property. Several pairs of mallard ducks were purchased to attract other birds to the area. He and wife Jean built feeding stations for the birds over the next two decades, spending $1,500 a year on bird feed.
• In October 1974, the property was named the Happy Rolph Bird Sanctuary in Rolph’s honour. Later, a children’s petting zoo was added to the attraction.
• The petting farm, when it is open in season, includes chickens, pigs, horses, rabbits, sheep, goats, llamas, as well as a donkey named ‘Hoti’ — ‘Don Quixote’.  The pond’s inlet, sheltered by evergreens and bordered by grassy banks and willow trees, offers food and shelter for the resident waterfowl and migratory birds.
  
• There are pathways to the lake, bird feeders, and a barn.   It is an ideal location for families or school groups to spend a day picnicking and visiting the animals. 
• There are washrooms, a snack bar and a pavilion with plenty of picnic tables.  Happy Rolph's is also available for annual festivals and weddings.

The “Living Memorials” and The 9/11 Memorial Walkway

Another interesting thing we discovered throughout the park were the many “living memorials” plaques tied to trees. They are from the Hulse & English Memorial Forest Fund which is a non-profit tree planting charity. It provides private individuals the opportunity to contribute towards the greening of St. Catharines in the memory of loved ones. A tree symbolizes strength, durability, shelter and beauty.

We weren’t able to visit the entire park on this day but we later learnt, there was a trail that ran throughout the park which led to a peaceful waterfront memorial dedicated to Canadian victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The 9/11 MEMORIAL WALKWAY recognizes 27 Canadians who passed away at the World Trade Centre in 2001. Those that died are memorialized by twenty seven varieties of deciduous trees that line the trail. The wheelchair accessible walkway has benches with beautiful vistas on the shores of Lake Ontario. Another visit soon is definitely in order!

Gallery 1:

Gallery 2:

Happy Rolphing!...

WIRT: “IT’S A LONG SHOT”

Today I read an article, “It’s a Long Shot”, in our local newspaper, The Standard, which was quite interesting and entertaining about lottery tickets for the younger demographic, which was worthy of some sharing.

Apparently, lottery ticket sales to the younger generation, (ages 18-34), aka the “millennials”, aren’t as good as they’d hope it to be. It’s so low in fact, that the provincial lottery corporations are hiring a consultant to come up with new games and strategies, the paper states.

I’m surprise they are even encouraging this! However, if they must do so, instead of hiring a consultant to come up with new gimmicks or tactics, why not just consult the targeted group itself by getting them to fill out a survey of some kind… or better yet – just ask them!

CAR WASHES: Self-serve vs Hand-wash vs Tunnel vs Touchless (+ Poll)

It’s that time of the year when going to the car wash is, well, inevitable. The dilemma of having to choose the right one for washing your car shouldn’t be one. Personally, my most favourite is the ‘touchless’ car wash. I’ve tried them all but I always find myself going back to this type of car wash to get the job done.

Basically, there are 4 main types of car washes:

• Self-serve car wash. You know the ones.  We’ve all been to them at least ONCE in our lifetime – especially when broke. This type of car wash is a simple one which is basically coin-operated. The newer self-service car washes offer the ability to pay with credit cards. Either way, you come out wetter than you entered. You park your car inside a large covered bay that is equipped with a trigger gun, a wand (a high-pressure sprayer) and a scrub foam-brush, (usually one out of the 3 is not working right or at all). After inserting your money, you can choose options such as soap, tire cleaner, wax or clear water rinse, all dispensed from the sprayer, or scrub the vehicle with the foam-brush. After inserting your coin(s), you start washing like a bat-out-of-hell, before the time runs out. (Can you tell this is my least favourite type of car wash yet?) Half the time, after the car has dried, I’ve noticed spots I’ve missed all over.
• Hand car wash. No, I don’t mean the ones where you wash your car in your driveway with your own hands – I mean the ones where you get others’ hands to do it for you. If you want to feel rich, or you ARE rich, this is the place for you. At these car washes, employees come out from nowhere to detail your car in every area. The one I went to a few years back had a few guys on the outside washing down the car, then a guy wiping down the interior of the car, another one vacuuming the inside, and one wiping the tire and rims… all in succession as if my car was going through a production line. The results were great but I couldn’t afford to do thison a regular basis.
• Tunnel car wash. Does anyone still use these? I know they are few around in St. Catharines, I just haven’t been to any in the past few years. The last time I went to one, the experience was not good, so I’m obviously being biased here. These types of car washes uses a conveyor system. You know, the ones where you have to line your wheel up on some track, put the vehicle into neutral, release all brakes, and refrain from steering – otherwise you will not only look like a retard but you can cause an accident on the conveyor. Then these big brushes start slapping the hell out of your car. After going through this particular car wash that day, I noticed the top half of the car looked great! The bottom half – well, that’s a whole other ball of wax. I have passed on these types of car washes since then. Maybe they have improved. I wouldn’t know. (See the video of a tunnel car wash we went through on Bunting Rd., St. Catharines, at the end of post.)



Video snapshot. Tunnel carwash

• Touchless car wash. Now we’re talking. Other than the fact that going through a touchless car wash means no brushes touching your car hence no paint damage, the other reason I love these types of car washes is that there is no having to line up the wheel, there’s no having to get out of the car, it’s not as expensive as the hand washes and the end result is a clean and shiny car ALL OVER! Especially if you get the ‘deluxe’ package. A touchless car wash uses a high water pressure system to clean vehicles and with the combination of this pressure plus water quality, water temperature, chemistry and timing the result is a clean looking vehicle from top to bottom that you don’t have to fuss with.

Then there’s your bikini car wash – but that’s a whole other post altogether.

The type of car wash you use depends on many factors such as what you can afford, what’s easiest for you to use, what results are you looking for, (maybe you just want to wash the salt off), or even what’s the closest to your home. In the end, it’s your choice – your money.

 Poll

Video

YAY! WE WON! WE CAN ALL GO BACK TO BED NOW - NOT! PLUS SOME OLYMPICS FACTS

Yay! We Won!

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics CANADA
Photo: Michael Francis McCarthy

Yes, it’s finally over, and after getting up in the ungodly hours of 7am on a Sunday morning, (uhm, not me, just the rest of Canada), to watch the game, the partying has just begun and the memories… well, they’ll be going on forever. And from a non-hockey sports fan point of view, this was another great moment in time when waking up to hear “We won the game 3-0”, made me all giddy and wanting to rewind, relive and research the moment over and over again.

All teams gave it their best, I even thought the Americans played great, (from the bits I’ve managed to watch here and there), but who the hell am I and what the hell do I know about hockey? In the end, somebody had to win and that happened to be CANADA – YAY!! Now hockey will be even more embedded into Canada’s identity as a nation.

When it’s all said and done, Canada won not because of pure luck or good timing but because of an amazing show of solid team work with, (as one site puts it), a ferocious commitment to defense and discipline.

Here are some firsts for Canada, then and now:

The 24-Hour Challenge – Canadian Style, Dodgeball Charity Event (PHOTO Gallery)

The 24-hour Challenge for Matt Risi.

I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. These guys pulled off the impossible for almost an hour in chilly temps – and all for a great cause!