At Solla Sollew, or rather St. John's Conservation Area on September 8, 2012.

I was sitting on my favourite bench with a notebook just listening to the breeze as it curled around the branches and tickled all the leaves. The air was so comfortable it was without temperature and I was so relaxed I was without concern. I didn't even wonder if there was anything crawling up my back or hovering over my head or preparing to bite at the skin on my ankles.

As I watched my boys scope out the banks of the beautiful River Wahoo.. er, St. John's Pond, I revelled in the joy of watching them become blissfully immersed in their endeavour: to capture a bullfrog. My oldest was stealthily carrying a brand new net - not a meagre dollar store attempt, but a serious metal handled net from Canadian Tire. He meant business. But the frogs weren't at all impressed - they didn't even show up in greeting.

After four methodical, focused treks around the pond combing through every foliage overhang in every nook, he hadn't seen one frog. It must be the time of year, I consoled, as he reluctantly placed the jilted net beside me. Still not ready to return to reality, his attention turned to creatures of the flying variety, which are always faithfully available in nature's lush playground.

The Names of the South Pool

World Trade Center Site - October 2011

September 11th.

I was looking at the date on my phone at work this morning thinking about how this is no longer just a day of the month... a 24-hour instance that occurs at the beginning of autumn...

It's something different now. And I bet there isn't a person alive that doesn't notice it.

When terrorists attacked 11 years ago, they didn't just end lives and rip apart families and shatter our sense of security and demolish buildings and rape New York's proud skyline.

They took a day of the year.

The World Trade Center site is something different too. I didn't get to see it before it was forever changed. But just as it was a majestic destination worthy of a visit in the eclectic and vibrant borough of Manhattan before, so it is today.

Along a Segment of the Magnificent Mile in Chicago

I can see why Twitter gets more activity than other forms of social media because a short burst of information is all that many people can stand to absorb these days. Or perhaps I should say afford to look at because really: how much of it are we actually absorbing?! It's like a virtual neon-blazing commercial hub with a contant stream of pretty colours vying for your attention.

I am new to the Twittersphere, having long been resistant to adding a new link to my communication network for fear I would become even more attached to my screen at night. Do I really want to have more ideas to weave into what I already understand? Become teased with more events and cities that I want to visit but probably won't have time to go?

But I'm discovering that it's a whole different length of chain - a way to connect to people with whom you wouldn't share your familiar details and photographs (such as I do on Facebook) or a rambling and musing of experiences and impressions (such as you see here on my blog).

Twitter gives me a way to say something what is on my mind and get right to the point. I love restructuring my comment to fit the countdown of characters under my post. I can also reach out to an unimaginable sea of minds that I wouldn't otherwise get to reach and potentially strike a chord with someone I admire in a field that interests me.

One thing that surprised me is the multitude of users who use the brevity of Twitter posts to lead readers to another, more larger collection of ideas: a link to another site. Does this illustrate a brilliant use of Twitter to grab people with a headline and seduce you to follow them so they can tell you more? Or is this proof that people really can't say what they need to say in 140 well assembled characters?

I do find myself posting links to draw those unfamiliar with my blog to check out my view of the world, but I like the idea of saying something that may appeal to others like me in a brief moment of introspection. Something to make people smile. Something to make people take a different route home from work or give their child an extra long hug when greeting him or her after work. Something I've noticed that I think others should notice too. And in turn, I may find the same in others' posts!

View of the 2012 CNE from the Kiddie Ferris Wheel

I love a good roller coaster as much as the next person - or more than, depending on the person - but I never turn down the opportunity to ride the ferris wheel. What some people perceive as a slow and predictable yawn is, to me, an effortless opportunity to see the world from a different angle. I was glad when my son pulled my arm in that direction!

On the surface of the CNE grounds, you can feel the pulse and smell the sugar as you drink in such details as hand painted muskoka chairs and a charmingly simple sixty year old fountain named for a queen's visit.

We got to sample the latest toys and refill our bottles at a water station for free and witness a frenzy of eleven piglets all nursing at once.

But to rise above everything and watch the cluster of people turn into ribbons of colour flowing around tent tops added another layer to the experience. The view was fabulous and the nature of a ferris wheel affords the rider ample time to shoot in every direction, and even downwards, if so inclined. It was neat to see such frivolous multihued fanfare on one side and serious monochromatic skyscrapers on the other. But that's Toronto!

Along Wacker Drive Overlooking the Chicago River

I have my screen saver set up to display a slide show of my Street Photography. Lately, it seems everytime I look at it, I see an image from my 2010 trip to Chicago. The grown-up escape and catching up with a dear friend was the icing on the cake as we burrowed into the charisma and history of this approachable and architecturally stunning metropolis.

This was a very amateur attempt at night photography, sans tripod, that I took the night before we took flight and rails back to our respective realities. This image illustrates much of what I loved about Chicago: the buildings and the river in which we flowed as we learned about their origins... the spectacular meals we enjoyed at The Gage and Quartino and my first real sushi experience earlier on this particular day... the ease at which we walked along its streets at any hour of the day or night as we explored and lingered and gazed and engaged...

I shot this while breathing those deep breaths that only flow while removed from schedules and responsibilities, a condition that is very easy to adopt while on vacation!

The Right Shoulder of Niagara Falls

The only way you ever want to see the Horseshoe Falls from this vantage point is from the deck of a sightseeing boat!

Many locals I know will avoid the tourist area of Niagara Falls at all costs, only venturing into the camera-toting and fanny-pack-attired clutter when they are hosting visiting family members. Then it's okay because your clan is so enamoured of your touring abilities and enthralled at the idea of you actually getting to LIVE here and see such beauty every single day that you forget you're doing "tourist stuff".

Then there are those who embrace this effervescent industry and revel in that which draws people from all over the world - the endless array of activities as well as the vistas. Those are the people to whom I raise my glass. If you live here you may as well enjoy the benefits.

I joined a group who were visiting but who had been on the Maid of the Mist sometime during their lives. Aside from our various children, I was the only person in our party who had never been on it!

It was a wonderful day, mercifully less humid than in previous weeks. I shudder to imagine the feeling of those plastic blue ponchos fusing to the skin as would likely occur in the intense heat we had been having most of the summer!!! 

I loved the view as our boat nuzzled the crook of these Falls, showering us with mist. I delighted in the mild turbulence as the downward force of the water churned in the lower river, urging me to reach out and balance myself with a secure stance. I truly realised the sheer expanse of falling water as I literally panned my head from my right shoulder all the way to my left to see it all.

Why would people forego this cool experience just because they happen to share an address? It reminds you why travellers venture here just to see this natural wonder. Living close by and not having to expend huge amounts of money or vacation time to see it is a bonus!

Near Union Square in New York City

So I decided to think about food.

Only the freshest produce will cause explosions of flavour to ricochet around in your mouth. But this freshness standard should extend to anything you allocate to your eating pleasure. If you are going to press anything between your teeth and consume calories and other non-mentionables in the process, it had better be worth it!

Eating food is about so much more than just taste. The colours and smells and character of a farmer's market or even a roadside stand are intoxicating. There is an entire discipline to deciding what goes with what and how to respect complementary flavours and textures. Expert food presentation can increase the enjoyment and subsequent value of any meal, whether or not it's gourmet.

In addition to insisting on absolute freshness and a relatively short distance from farm to table - a luxury I enjoy and appreciate here in Niagara - here is how to garner the most intense taste sensations from a few of life's most delectable offerings:

Wine: There are entire volumes and credit courses covering this one. But at the very least, enjoying a glass of wine should be an event in itself. I learned from a local winemaker that you don't just sip your wine, you have to unlock those flavours as well. Swirling wine around in your glass and breathing in the aroma before consuming it will create a more enveloping savoury experience. If you don't believe me, smell your wine after you pour it, then swirl it around and smell it again.

Sushi: Here's where freshness makes or breaks it. I've recently become enamoured with those charismatic little rolls - a satisfying balance of crunchy and velvety, the most exciting part is the wasabi burn! My sushi crew showed me that you dip the roll or sushi into soya sauce laced with as much wasabi as you dare. But the trick is to place the wasabi first and slowly incorporate a little soya sauce at a time so it properly and smoothly integrates creating that electrifying heat that spears up into your nose like a flash fire. 

Dark Chocolate: A milk chocolate lover all my life, I have gleefully become a die-hard cocoa fan. 70% is the lowest percentage I'll go now, and I usually stick with 85% because I find it is rich enough that just a small dose will satisfy my chocolate lust. But in order to benefit from the complex and intense flavours, they must be unlocked by being left to melt on the tongue one small piece at a time. Just letting it sit there long enough to become soft around the edges will cause your tongue to quiver with delight.

Okay I don't know how people can write about food all day! Anyone doing this regularly must love and revel in the diversity of flavours and textures and all of the above. But just writing about three of my taste treats makes me wish I could go indulge so describing entire meals and other expressions of culinary creativity must elicit quite the cravings on a regular basis!

Okay maybe I'll break off a few shards of Lindt...