Burnin' Down the 'Wick

Ahem - uh, if you want to burn something down, look at the security camera first.

Burnin' Down the 'Wick
Saturday, November 8, 2008

A quick post. This completely blew me away, I didn't even believe until I saw for myself . The first 5 photographs were taken by my son Tristan around 10 am Saturday morning, the last 4 by myself around 8 to 8:30 am on Saturday. All indications are arson, but nobody can say who. From what I know, the fire was first noticed around 3:00 am on Saturday morning, it took the fire department no more than 3 minutes to respond (they are close by), and yet the fire was so extensive that it took over an hour to extinguish.

Whomever torched the 'Wick was a complete, blithering idiot. Look at the hydro pole in the picture above, in front of the Tim Hortons. There's a SECURITY CAMERA run by the city covering that whole corner. These cameras are operated by the city of London, and yes, they keep the recordings for review. the two back walls along the rear of the Wick and the parking lot are solid, no doors or windows, so you would have to come down either sidewalk to get at the place.

I think we need to invent a new phrase:

DEFINITION:
Burnin' Down the 'Wick
- an action of complete redundant stupidity, one step past rubbing salt in a wound or flogging a dead horse, the end result of this action being the creation of the SNAFU from Hell, which ultimately grows into Titanic proportions and creates a series of smaller hardships and SANFUs for many innocent people.

Much of the day Friday, and into Friday night we had non-stop, solid rain, so the exposed portions would of been very wet.

It appears a hydro pole was damaged, and i suspect will have to be replaced.

Sunsets

Sunsets
07 November 2008

Perhaps not history, at least not yet. :) If you leave your eyes open, it's amazing what can be seen all around us.

The same image, but a larger scale.

Gulls at Port Stanley

We are almost trained from birth in this neck of the woods to think of the shoreline of lake Huron as the finest sunsets in all Ontario, perhaps Canada. :) But the north shore of lake Erie can provide a delight at sunset too, if you know where to stand. This one was easy - the main beach at Port Stanley, water's edge, not far form Mackie's fries.

I had to make a trip to St. Thomas, and once there, the whim to take a further 10 minutes down the lake caught me, and i am glad I did. Sometimes it's all about timing.

London By Night

A Dark Hall
Richmond St., across from the train station.

I had a fair bit of trouble taking this picture, as people kept coming around to see what I was doing. I suppose anybody who shoots photographs at night is under suspicion, but you can "see' the city in a whole different light at night. The above scene stuck me as what it would feel like to look in live person to an old Edgar Allen Poe story.

Kensington Bridge at Night

London By Night
07 Nov 2008

Even before the age of terrorism and fear we seem to live in, any activity at night draws undue attention. After more than 25 years in amateur astronomy, using my telescope at night still draws stares. Photography at night is also a hard thing to do, the few photos I took this past month drew attention from people whenever I stopped to take a long time exposure.

York Street Bridge

A view looking south from the King Street foot bridge.

Two More from the Forks

If you look closely, you can see where construction of the fountain at the forks is taking place.

The Brunswick Hotel by Night

The story is still not complete, and I shall wait until all is said and done before I post my experience, but in the meantime a view at night. Of all the buildings we have lost in the past few years, for some reason, this one haunts me the most.

When I was up north in the bush 30 years ago, I saw a live animal, near death, in a leg hold trap. Seeing "The Wick" this way brings those memories back like it was just a day ago.

Last of Summer

Last of Summer

17 September 2008

There have been trails and paths along the Thames River likely since human habitation first started in this area. The issue is that paths right along side the river change their shape, even on a daily basis. A short walk last night showed trees down in the water along the river, mostly soft Manitoba Maples, trees that seem to have a shallow root system.



Along the mix of trails are places where wild flowers grow on their own (some people plant & cultivate "wildflowers", so never assume that all wild flowers are "wild" - if that makes sense. :) ), and other areas you find lost remnants of old housing. The houses, even their foundations may be long gone by now, but you can find rhubarb, wild roses, wild grapes and perhaps even the odd, old fruit tree (mostly apple) in wild areas near the river.



Pictures this week are from my Nikon D40, set to B&W mode. That is to say, I did NOT covert colour pictures to B&W, I shot them that way. Obviously still need a yellow filter for the sky.
joe