Last day in May, summer's on its way...

...maybe.

Behind the house, today

Hoppaquin Hay (Quinn)

Hoppaquin Hay is a man-at-arms mentioned in Froissart's Chronicles. I like to think of him as "the famous singing cowboy of the 14th century." I threw out that name as a possibility when we got the horse, and soon enough he was known as (the Mighty) Quinn.

End of May, Bonfield, Ontario

Down the road a bit, just now

Walking around the property after supper

And Winter reminds us...

...that she will be back soon, oh soon.

Out in the field, spring is coming in

Stars over Ravenhill Farm, Labour Day Weekend 2008

Instead of an APoD from NASA, a picture made (thanks Eirik!) at my own house in the country.

What's $10 worth these days?

Sometimes you can give it to a country neighbor who has fixed a minor but disabling problem with your pickup truck. I suspect this bargain is available only to people recognizable as country neighbors themselves, or to those referred by very long-established country people. Helps to have a pickup truck, too.

$5 a gallon

...but you'd never know from the number of people on the highways this weekend, including hundreds of motorcyclists from who-knows-where, cruising in large flotillas, stopping at Tim Horton's, etc...

Back when gas in my area hit $.95 a liter for the first time, and I noticed people still running their cars with their air conditioners in parking lots while using the post office, I concluded that the price of gas was not high enough yet. Maybe it's still not?

Image: a ride in support of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Society (founded in 1863).

Mid-May in the Near North

The BBC's version of the medieval mind -- and the Middle Ages come to North Bay

Richard Scott Nokes of Unlocked Wordhoard directs our attention to a YouTube-posted trailer for the upcoming BBC 4 Medieval Season. Unfortunately, much web material will be available only in the UK. But we can enjoy this:


And in another jurisdiction,

@Discovery North Bay is pleased to announce the Grand Opening of the “Once Upon a Time…” medieval exhibit, on 24 May 2008, from 1:00 – 3:00 pm, at 100 Ferguson Street. The exhibit originates with the Bruce Country Museum and Archives, and will be in North Bay until 5 September, 2008.

More on this later...

Update: I will be speaking at the Grand Opening on "Why the Middle Ages are Important."

Inner Norwegian? Nay, real Canadian!

A brilliant little report from Toronto, which ten years ago had a mayor disgrace the city by panicking over snow.

If you are wondering, it's a lot less snowy up here in the Near North.