Wordless Wednesday - The Maumee

The Maumee

November 8, 2010

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Late Spring Ice

Late Spring Ice
March 21, 2010

Mid-March we experienced a week of unseasonable warm temperatures. It was quite delightful! Then it turned cold again with winds from the North. Waters that had been clear were suddenly filled with ice that was quickly forming ice jams. Ice jams from along the Great Lakes waterways cause the secondary and tertiary waterways to back-up as they can't drain properly. This puts communities along these smaller waterways at risk for flooding. The Canadian and US Coast Guards in an attempt to prevent flooding conditions co-operatively work overtime to prevent ice jams and when an ice jam does form as it so quickly can they work round the clock without break to get the ice jam to release. It is always and interesting time along the Great Lakes waterways this time of year!

Pictured is an ice jam forming. By the time I was able to get this picture the Coast Guards were in full force trying to release a 15 mile long ice jam to get things moving again. Unfortunately things worsened overnight as more ice backed up so the next day they were still working overtime trying to get the ice to move. Late that afternoon as the weather turned to freezing rain and even cooler temperatures I watched the US Coast Guard ice cutter slowly made it's way through the thickening ice I was reminded once again how very quickly the Great Lakes water conditions can change.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

Tuesday Morning's Excitement

Freeing the James R. Baker
March 23, 2010

It's is almost mind boggling how the water can change from day to day even in the best of weather. Last week we experienced above average temperatures but by Friday night it had changed back to the normal cold. Saturday the ice was threatening yet still moving but by Saturday night the water was jammed. It stayed jammed all day Monday. Tuesday morning I felt the vibration of a boat so looked out to see nothing then I realized just hidden from my view there was a lake freighter in the ice.

The James R. Baker a lake freighter needed help turning around but the ice was not making that task easy. It took a tug, two coast guard ice cutters and all morning to get the freighter on his way. The ice cutters kept churning and cutting the ice around the freighter while the tug pushed the bow to help straighten the freighter to the point he could pick up a bit of momentum to move forward through the thick ice. I managed to get several great stills along with several video clips even though it was quite cold outside. I was quite impressed! It was an interesting way to pass the morning hours.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2010

thoughts on blogging

Lake St. Clair
July 17, 2008

There really isn't much about boating that I don't like so of course I was quite pleased to get a boat ride in before leaving for Wisconsin. As we headed further into the lake away from the comforting sight of land, I couldn't help but ponder at what a perfect metaphor it presented in more ways than one. In the big picture it reinforces just how small and insignificant you are. On a smaller scale I'm going you use it as a metaphor for blogging. And you thought I was going to blog about the trip which I will as soon as I get these thoughts out.

In my travels through the blogosphere yesterday I came across a blog that showed a graph of the life cycle of a blog. According to the author most blogs last an average of 3 months before the author get tired or bored with blogging or the author gets frustrated because they aren't getting traffic. The thing about blogging is you really are in a huge sea with a lot of other bloggers. If you don't make yourself stand out you won't get traffic. Like many blogger I have used traffic generating websites with my favourite being BlogExplosion until I discovered Entrecard. Both get blog exposure using an earn credits that can be used for advertising your blog however, unlike BlogExplosion credits Entrecard credits have a monetary value. I really do think that Entrecard has been good for my blogs especially in terms of meeting other bloggers and generating traffic. Within a couple of days of joining my cooking blog made its way to the most popular page in the cooking and dining category of Entrecard and has remained there since. This morning I was in fourth position so that means I must be doing something right.

Recently Entrecard encouraged joining Digg to increase blog commenting which I did so now you see a Digg button on all of my posts. The premise is if another Digg member sees one of your posts they like they click the Digg button to register a vote. If you get enough votes your entry will make it to Digg's front page thus generating a lot of traffic to your blog. The newest thing Entrecard has done is to pair with SezWho, a comment rating site. Members can rate the quality of your comments and earn Entrecard credits for it. I'm not fond of rewarding people for commenting on my blogs as I would rather them simply comment if they feel like it. At any rate I added the code to all my blogs and of all times when we were in Wisconsin SezWho had a problem so many blogs including mine were not loading at all or crashing browsers. That's a bad thing for any blog so as damage control I took the SezWho code off my blogs for the time being. I want to be sure it is working properly before using it. But Entrecard as good as it is presents another problem.

You are allowed EC drops per blog per day or 600 drops per IP address daily if you have multiple blogs. So I aim for a split of 300, 150, 75 and 75 for my four blogs. Despite claims that you can drop 300 in 15 minutes there is no way unless you are using some type of script. So essentially you are working for your traffic each and every day. What some bloggers are doing is focusing on dropping aka generating traffic but forgetting that if you don't blog on a regular basis you will lose your readers. I've come across some very good blogs that unfortunately the author has not posted anything new in well over a couple of months. All of a sudden these authors will check their stats to find the only traffic they are getting is EC traffic that are staying on the blog for less than 30 seconds. That means no one is reading their blog. These blogs are destined for failure which is a shame. Others are taking a different approach by posting short almost nonsense entries that have nothing to do with their theme with the premise being that any entry is better than no entry.

Now if you put everything in perspective a blog needs good entries with some substance in order to survive. Sure you can get away with the occasional short post or participate in things like Wordless Wednesday or even the occasional cartoon as long as you are making quality entries on a regular basis. A good blog can even weather going close to a month without an entry but I don't recommend that especially now that entries can be scheduled ahead (Blogger). Generating traffic is secondary. So both BlogExplosion and Entrecard are very good traffic generating sites but the main focus of any blog should remain on making regular entries.

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008

Wordless Wednesday - Footprints in the Sand

Footprints in the Sand
September 5, 2003

Blog Action Day - The Environment

Today over fifteen thousand blogs with twelve million readers will be blogging on one topic - The Environment. Each of my blogs are participating, each from a different perspective so be sure to read them all.

Readers of this blog know that each Monday the entry is a funny of some type. Remember in humour there is an element of truth. Today's funny is a very good example of that.

Cirrhosis is caused by chronic liver disease. It is irreversible but treatment could stop or delay further progression. and is life threatening. The liver is responsible for filtering out toxins much like a river in nature. How appropriate to compare the current condition of our waterways due to toxins from factories to cirrhosis. We live on the Great Lakes waterway system. Industrial chemical spills are of concern in our area as well as in other parts of the waterway system. These spills are either accidental or illicit discharges of substances such as oil, hydrocarbons, chemicals and waste. Not only are these spills harmful to humans, they also harm marine life and the environment.

What I have noticed though that the problem is not caused just industrial spills. Littering and illegal dumping are common in our waters. The dump may be as small as pour the left-over contents of an herbicide into the water or releasing waste water into natural waterways. Some residents living along the waterways think nothing of dumping their yard clippings into the water. These are the very same people who would be very vocal over industrial spills. How are their actions any different other than being on a smaller scale? Farm chemicals enter the waterways through run-off as does the salt we use on the roads in the winter. Things like Tylenol and estrogen are showing up in our water supplies as well. Compounding the problem is the introduction of nonindiginous species into the waterways disrupting the natural balance.

It is time we as citizens of this earth stand up and say enough is enough! We need action and personal accountability for how we use water. If we don't our water will reach the point of suffering irreversible damage. Each of us has a responsibility to protect our water for ourselves, for future generations and for the environment.

Garden Gnome
©2007

Boat Watching - The Kaye E. Barker

Kaye E. Barker
August 17, 2007

Living on the Great Lakes waterway provides ample opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of sights aside of the amazing wildlife. The shipping industry is a large part of the economy in our area so each year we buy a copy of Know Your Ships, Guide to Boats & Boatwatching on the Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway. This wonderful little book is always nearby at home and travels with us on the boat. We make a game of learning about the lake freighters and ships we see throughout the year. Each sighting is carefully ticked off as we see them. We can now identify several of the ships from a distance based on their colours or horn sounds.

The Kaye E. Barker was unloading gravel the afternoon we decided to spend on the boat last week so we took the opportunity to get a few close-up shots. We've seen a lot of smaller pleasure craft get quite close to the ships as they are moving but that can be dangerous because of the undercurrents these large vessels create so we keep our distance. The Kaye E. Barker is owned by Lakes Shipping Co., Inc.. of Richfield, Ohio. It is a division of The Interlake Steamship Co. also located in Richfield. This vessel was originally built by the American Ship Building Co. in Toledo, Ohio and christened the Edward B Green. From 1952 to 1985 she* was the flagship for Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company fleet. She was lengthened by 120 feet in 1976 by Fraser Shipyards in Superior, Wisconsin to an overall length is 767'00", breadth is 70'00" with a cargo capacity of 25,900 Gross Tons. There are larger ships in the fleet but she is still impressive especially up close when in a pleasure craft. In 1981 she was converted by American Ship Building Company of Toledo, Ohio to a self-unloader. She joined the Rouge Steel Company fleet in 1985 under the name Benson Ford. In 1989 she joined the Interlake fleet as was renamed Kaye E. Barker in honour of the Chairman of the Board and President's wife.

That's as much as I know about the Kaye E. Barker other than her crew are a very friendly bunch, always waving back at us. My husband jokes that they are likely muttering under their breath "dang tourists!" but I don't think so. We had a very enjoyable day on the water heightened by the news that our second grandbaby is on the way. Estimated arrival date is April 6, 2008. This is another one of our kids not the parents of the first grandbaby who is now crawling and chatting up a storm. Spending a bit of time with them on the water was wonderfully soothing. We took a lot of pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras), did a lot of laughing and enjoyed our family time together. It reminded me of the times we would take one kid out just for a bit of alone time as a special treat to all involved. It's evolved to a special couples time alone away from the hustle and bustle of a busy household and still growing family making each one of these times a true treasure.

*Boats are always referred to in the feminine.

Discovering

Mute Swans (Cygnus olor)
June 29, 2007

Last Friday was a day of discovery in our new home. As I did my morning walk about to check out the surroundings, I discovered many and I do mean many garden decorations peaking out in unexpected spots. I took pictures of the ones I wanted to keep knowing that later in the day all would be gathered up to make room for my Gnome Empire. My gnomes are so thrilled at this prospect! It's interesting seeing bits and pieces of the previous owner.

Throughout the day as we discovered more of these items, we would stop and ponder the meaning. Why did she put that particular item there? Most were broken in some way yet she found a home in the garden for them. The most peculiar and thought provoking item we found was part of a tombstone of which when I finally get to my genealogy supplies I will do a rubbing to see the inscription. Then we discovered other parts to the same tombstone. I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps this tombstone had been vandalized at one of the cemeteries so she brought it to her gardens to protect what was left of it. The next time I talk to her I will ask because I'm sure there is a story there!

I had been concerned that the Mute Swans wouldn't stop by. They were a frequent sight at our old house and I never tire of watching them gracefully glide through the water. Mid-morning my fears were put to rest as this family visited the dock area. As soon as they saw me they headed right to the dock so she must have fed them. We discovered a few potential problems and as we worked through the day we made note of these. All of the problems can be solved. Some like a potential rodent problem will involve persistence but things like electrical can be solved immediately.

So it was a great day for discovering about our surroundings, our new home, the previous owner and ourselves...

Canadian Geese

Canadian Geese
June 1, 2007

A family of Canadian geese visited the neighbourhood yesterday. The goslings followed mommy around while Daddy kept a watchful eye!

Interviewed by Dana of Southern Gal Goes North

Clouds
May 8, 2007

There are so many creative ways bloggers are coming up with to stimulate their creativity. As you know I participate in Blog Your Blessings Sunday and have done a couple of Click & Comment posts. I did at least one Wordless Wednesday post but I like to talk so of course forgot about that last Wednesday. I was surfing on BlogExplosion and came across Southern Gal Goes North. The author had an interview where she answered questions from another blogger. This is a great way to get to know other bloggers and it is interactive. So I've joined the "Interview Me" bloggers.

If you would like to participate, leave a comment here saying "Interview me." Please leave your blog address so I can interview you in return. I will visit your blog, draft five questions for you and link back to your post. When someone leaves a comment indicating that they would like to be interviewed, you do the same thing. In this way we get to know a few things about the blogger that may not come out on their blog plus we get to read a lot of interesting blogs.

Dana author of Southern Gal Goes North asked the following questions for my interview:

1. I see you are selling your house. What are the top three things you’ll miss most about your garden? Are you taking any plants with you to your new house?
This garden was started from nothing, only an idea that was expanded upon based on necessity. The ground couldn't be easily tilled so I went to raised beds. I'll miss seeing the visual impact of my creativity. An aerial photographer was selling pictures he took to homeowners in the area. He took a beautiful aerial view of the house and garden last September. I don't think it really hit home how much I had accomplished until I saw that photo. It is a very organized almost formal layout that would be hard to duplicate so I will miss that as well. I will also miss most of the critters that visit the garden. When we moved here, I brought as much as possible which ended up being about 3 1/2 pick-up truck loads of plants. It was a "have garden will travel moment". I promised my husband I would not do that much for this move if we actually move. Plants in containers will be coming and I am now starting strawberries in containers. I'll be taking clumps of herbs and rooting them in the greenhouse to take with us. I will also be rooting cuttings of some of my favourite plants to take with me.
2. I read somewhere in your blog that you were writing a book. What is it about? Speaking of books, have you pre-ordered the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yet? Which HP is your favorite?
My current book I'm writing is the story of my seventh great grandfather. He was rumoured to be the first white man in the area now known as Detroit, Michigan before Cadillac arrived. His story is quite an interesting one. The plan is to develop a series starting with him then following though each generation but really the story starts before him at his father and mother who was a Fille du Roi. So the first chapter does a little back tracking. I haven't pre-ordered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows but not because I didn't want to. My birthday is close to the release date so I know one of my kids will think of that for a gift. I'm really looking forward of book 7. It should hopefully answer some of the questions that arise from the Harry Potter series. I think my favourite Harry Potter book would be Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In this book all of the characters are maturing. Their strengths and weaknesses are more pronounced. There are subtle hints as to what they may do in the future after leaving Hogwarts. There are also more clues about how and why events have unfolded as they have along with a deeper understanding of the characters who have played a role through the series. The significance of certain events or items (Horocruxes) become clearer in book 6. After reading book 6, I went back and started re-reading the books. It was amazing how the perspective gained in book 6 changed the view of the other books. I suspect this will be the same for book 7.
3. How do you juggle your time between your housework, hobbies, blogging on your multiple blogs, and cooking? What works best for you?
That is a good question. First I follow the quadrant personal management based on Stephen R. Covey. I try to keep most of my activities in Quadrants I - III and avoid IV (quadrant of waste). For the most part I am quite organized and follow a daily schedule that includes a to-do list. Everything is given a priority rating based on the ABC method then further prioritized using the 123 method. That means something rated as A1 is the top priority. Monthly planning is done the second last day of the month for the following month. That's where I schedule in any appointments or events. Weekly planning is done every Sunday and since most homemaking chores are done on a schedule I know for example that Mondays and Wednesdays are clean the bathroom days, Wednesdays are the 27 Fling Boogie and etc. because I've just been doing it this way for so long. Then I have daily routines, specifically a morning routine and and evening routine. Each consist of five items meant to keeping things running smoothly when the unexpected comes up. My dayplanner is almost surgically attached to me and I do a lot of multi-tasking. Homemaking including family, cooking and gardening fall into QI (important, urgent) so they always take priority. My hobbies including blogging fill a creative need but fall into QII (important, non-urgent) so that means they can wait until my scheduled "me" time. Those are my "B" things. For the most part everything falls into place. I went for awhile several years back where scheduling and the schedule were the most important thing making home life very rigid. Then I discovered Covey's work and haven't looked back. For me, First Things First and the fundamental Covey principles of the 7 Habits work wonderfully allowing organization but with flexibility. I also think knowing myself helps a lot. I'm an early riser, likely one of those kids who was scared they were missing something when they slept. I don't sleep a lot unless I'm sick. At the same time I am very active so have to keep busy. Multi-tasking is just a normal part of my personality. My hands are busy even when watching television. I think the real reason is I want to pack as much life into my life as possible :)
4. What is your favorite thing to cook and why? What is your family’s favorite thing?
Hmm, that's a hard question because I love to cook. I think one of my favourite things to cook is roasted turkey. It always comes out perfect and gets rave reviews from my number one fan club aka my family. I rant that it likes to fall apart but my family loves it this way. Turkey is one of those very frugal dishes as well so I always look forward to making turkey stock from the carcass. My family's favourite thing to eat is a toss up between lasagne made with homemade spaghetti sauce (my offering) and homemade burgers (my husband's offering). Now, my lasagne likely has him beat especially during the cold months. The sauce is made from scratch using fresh ingredients, nice and meaty with lots of mushrooms and 9 cheeses. See where I'm going here? This is very, very good stuff! My husband makes these burgers to which I am only allowed to make the buns. He shoos me out of my kitchen, then makes these fabulous burgers he grills. They end up about 2 inches thick and about 5 inches in diameter. They are then placed in a toasted fresh baked (my job) bun and loaded with lettuce, mayo, tomatoes, dill pickles, cheese and hot peppers (for some) along with homemade relish, mustard and ketchup. I can't even finish one.
5. What kind of boat do you have? Pontoon, fishing, speed boat? What are your favorite things to do on your lake? Why would I like to visit there?
   
   We have a 22' SeaRay Overnighter and am considering going larger this year depending on the house but not bigger than 30'. Of our boating group we are likely the smallest or getting close but it has a cuddy for sleeping as well as washroom. She's a real sweet thing with a lot of power, perfect for water skiing or tubing. All my kids as well as myself fish by my husband does not and I know he grits his teeth when we haul our catch in. He takes me out a couple of times a month or until we have enough fish in the freezer usually by about mid July. Our favourite thing to do on the water is putzing watching other boats and just being out on the boat. But on hot days we boat to our favourite swimming hole, drop anchor and spend the day. I'll pack a picnic lunch and if it runs late we sometimes stop at a favourite marina with a gorgeous view of the sunset. It's lovely travelling back to the light of the moon when the water is nice and smooth. We spend about six weekends a year on the boat as well.
   
   We like to enjoy all aspects of the water from sunrises to sunsets, swimming and sometimes we just sit and float. We are lucky to be on the Great Lakes waterway so have ready access to three of the Great Lakes. These are Lakes Erie, St. Clair and Huron with their connecting waterways and rivers or smaller tributaries draining into the lakes. The area is absolutely gorgeous. We do have four seasons but it is just as beautiful in the winter as in the summer. It's all about the water but there is more to the area than that. There are a lot of small marinas to stop for a bite to eat or enjoy the quaint little harbour towns. The whole area is peaceful, soothing both the soul and body. Quite often there special events in the harbour towns like re-enactments or local celebrations (almost must go to's) and a lot of county fairs. The area is studded abundantly with farmers' markets, vegetable or fruit stands, orchards, wineries, beaches and campgrounds. There are wonderful down home cooking restaurants with some of the best food you will ever taste but there are also some nice highend restaurants for an elegant evening out. There are several museums in the area as well. It is like a recreational mecca with always something to do surrounded by some of the friendliest people you will ever meet!
   
   

Thanks for interviewing me Dana. If you are ever in our area, drop me a line so I can point you to some must see attractions. I'm looking forward to reading other blogs and interviewing the authors.

Hitting Pay Dirt

Lake Huron

The Great Lakes waterway was not only an important transportation route for my ancestors but it also supplied them with a valuable source of food and livelihood. Many of my earlier ancestors came from Quebec to this area as a result of the fur trade. They were voyageurs and interpreters. Some settled in the fertile lands surrounding the Great Lakes especially those areas around Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron. It was in these areas they found land that would provide them food and a living. To this day many of their descendants are still working the land.

The Great Lakes were generous not only in providing fertile land. They provided a plentiful source of fresh water fish like bass, perch and pickerel. The water attracted larger game animals like deer and bear. Smaller game animals like muskrat and jackrabbits along with the all important beaver were plentiful. The rich diversity of the marshlands along the waterways provided a plentiful source of water fowl. While bear no longer roam the area today except in the northern Great Lakes region, deer are still quite common as are most of the smaller game animals and water fowl.

I've been on a genealogy roll the past couple of days, working long into the night. I have a Deluxe membership on Ancestry.com that I bought specifically for the Ontario Vital Statistics content. One rule I have about online genealogy research is I never, ever trust anyone's published family tree. I've seen too many errors, omissions, wrong relationships and just plain horrid stuff so I seldom if ever look at family trees. That removes a whole section that I don't use at Ancestry. What I focus on are those things like OVS when I can download and print the exact same image I would if I had printed the image from the microfilmed record. Being able to do this has saved me countless dollars and time. The closest Family History Centre is about forty minutes away and if it is busy you might not even be able to get onto a microfilm reader. There is a time limit of two hours, most of which is spent loading and unloading microfilm. Only one of their machines prints so they want you to confirm the record you are looking for is there on a non-printing machine first so as to not tie up the printing machine searching. Printing is 25¢ per sheet even though the quality is poor. They are only open three days a week, two of which are afternoons only so that really limits research time. I'm so pleased that I can access many of the microfilmed records using Ancestry, PRDH and National Archives online and certainly don't mind paying for the services!

Over the past couple of days I hit genealogy pay dirt. I decided to focus on one brick wall but instead of focusing directly on that one individual, I searched only OVS with just the last name and province. Sometimes you can get the necessary information by going through the records of relatives. Sometimes it will be the smallest tidbit of information that will give a clue where to start chipping away at the brick wall. In this case, the brick wall is my second great grandfather. Census records has him as born in the USA but one has him born in Canada. Nothing new here as that happens quite a bit. His death record shows him as born in Michigan and one US census record shows him living in Michigan but with the household members it is difficult to tell who's who but I think I have it somewhat figured out. OVS revealed more details especially critical dates and locations but I also notice one surname of a female that had married yet that same surname appeared in one of the census records as a nephew which means I may be able to get at my brick wall in a round about fashion. Checking the border crossing records led to another clue. I noticed that all individuals with the brick wall were visiting one of two basic areas. One was the known locations in Michigan but the other was Illinois, so again another clue!