Gryphon And Rascals

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that two rascals must be in need of opportunities for shenanigans." ~ Jane Austen- Pride And Prejudice And Polar Vortexes

Some of the newer architecture at the University of Guelph can be seen here.

A large sculpture sits at one of the major intersections passing through the campus. It is a gryphon, a nod to the university sports team name.

As to the two rascals- my brother and I. It's said that when we're around each other, the noise doubles and the shenanigans, goofing off, and tomfoolery commence post haste.

We carried on, walking back towards where we had parked. This beaver was on the grounds outside one of the buildings.

Some more of the architecture here, a mix of old and new campus buildings. Tomorrow I'll show you where we went to next.

Out Of The Jurisdiction

My title is often used by Jack, who photographs from Naples, Florida, and Hartford Connecticut, and when he's not there, will tend to use it for posts of travels. And so I'm using it, as my next few posts are definitely out of the jurisdiction.

I spent a few days in the latter part of July in Southern Ontario to attend a family reunion. I headed down to Toronto on a Saturday to attend that the following day, and my commute out of Toronto stopped briefly in Mississauga at the Square One mall. The two towers off beyond the property caught my eye- one of those curvaceous buildings is nicknamed the Marilyn, after Marilyn Monroe.

The reunion was out in the countryside near Cambridge, in the Flamborough area. This township is actually part of the larger city of Hamilton, as a result of a previous provincial government amalgamation forced on the area, something that the local residents still dislike, as a number of my cousins noted that their mailing addresses are in Cambridge, they do their shopping and business in Cambridge, and so on. The countryside here is lovely in the summer.

I took these two shots at the place. The daughter of one of my many cousins lives here.

Heading out, I took more views of the countryside.

On the day I left to return home, I took a GO commuter train down to Toronto. One of the stops was in the town of Acton, in Halton Region. For years an aunt and uncle and their children called this town home.

The brick building you see in these two shots is a leather shop called the Olde Hide House. I bought my first leather jacket here. 

A few minutes later the train was on its way again. This shot out the window shows a field in the countryside between Acton and Georgetown, the other primary town in Halton Hills, one of the four components of Halton Region. This is familiar ground for me, as I grew up in the countryside south of Georgetown.

Hound Of The Baskervilles

This post from Wolverhampton Daily Photo in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, reminded me of my father. He spent most of his working life as a letter carrier, up to retirement. It was good exercise, and he liked the work. Dad is not the sort of person who lies (he never even learned the social value of a white lie), but he is prone to exaggeration. So growing up we were used to hearing stories of near miss encounters with vicious, bloodthirsty dogs; I would ask in reply if they were ten feet long, six feet high, breathing fire, barking so loud they could be heard kilometres away. He would say "I nearly lost my leg today to a killer beast", and one of us would ask if the dog had smashed through the brick wall of the house just to get to him. I don't think he's ever read Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound Of The Baskervilles, but the way he described such dogs he would encounter on his route would remind one of the canine adversary confronting Sherlock Holmes.

For a nice counterbalance to Dad's stories of canine horror most foul, I prefer my cousin's dog Buddy. We wouldn't see him tearing around an English moor terrorizing a Baskerville to death, would we?

Though it's always the nice, sweet, cute ones you have to watch. 

Walk With A Bear

This is a favourite photo that's been passed around my extended family. I have no idea how old it is, but it's been a few years at least. My uncle Thys is out on a walk with the dog, a friendly hound by the name of Bear, on a morning with the fog lifting. This is in Wellington County, Ontario, where he and my aunt lived with one of their daughters for several years. He's quite a character, one of two surviving uncles who, along with my dad, married into my mother's side of the family (my grandparents had four daughters in all). 

I expect this photograph is taken by my aunt Winnie, who has appeared in this blog before (she's in the van pulling out of the church lot in the first pic). She is rarely without a camera, and will turn a four hour drive into a six hour drive by stopping to take pictures (this is an ideal thing- she is, as they say, good people). I like the shadows of the farm fence falling across the grass and gravel.