the 'new' library

well it's not really new anymore.. it [finally!] opened this past summer. to be honest, since the beginning of the build i had a kind of 'spite' for the place.. the park it was built in had some of the few remaining apple trees from the orchards of the north end's past.. well, the whole what is now our city was once covered in orchards and vineyards. anyways, i spent many [homeless] nights in that park, especially in or around this one particular apple tree.

it once had a third main branch coming off toward us in the photo, the fence line for the construction was only a few meters away and some of the roots must have been disturbed in the dig which killed off that whole third section of the tree. it was once like a comfy hammock, that would cradle me [and probably many others before me] to sleep. the day i passed by on the bus and saw the fences go up i doubled back to see if the hometree was inside the fence line. i was hot with anger as i ran around the field in search of this tree.


there it was, just outside the fence. i came back once a week to sit inside the branches and watch the construction. i thought it would never end. i wondered for months what this thing would look like, this 'acquatic center' with an attached library [where they moved the grantham branch].

  so today was the day that i'd finally go in, and i'm glad that i did because ...it's beautiful. i'm in love with libraries, and i'm intrigued by the attached swimming pools.. i may look into getting a pass for public swim. but for now having access to a seemingly overlooked prime stash of gardening books is enough to help me dream away the next few weeks of winter with images and ideas of what's to come this spring.

there's a couple titles i hadn't seen before, and one in particular i've been trying to get my hands on for a while but it's always checked out, so i'm glad i finally got to grab it. it seems that the word permaculture is being used more, and finally working it's way into Niagara's gardening vocabulary. all i have to say about that is... awesome!

well i checked a few of these out and i'm quite absorbed in one of them right now.. i just wanted to take a break from reading to write about my score. soooo jacked for spring, already starting to see some green poking out in beds along my regular walking routes, and the smell of thawing earth is in the air :)

gettin' back on the blogger..

yea, it's about time. this blog was supposed to be my 'journal'.. look how well i kept up with that haha. ahem.. yeah. well, i gotta get back in the habit. so here i am, clackity clack. well first off, it's snowing like crazy outside, blowing sideways wall of whiteness.. so i'll probably be sticking inside for the rest of the evening. i got out earlier for some chinese buffet style, and i plan to spend the evening working out to make up for it.

i decided to take up a new sport... running. i started a blog to keep track of my journey, The Sage Thrive Challenge. it's about more than just the running and the training, but about an overall lifestyle change to get fit and stay that way. i did a lot of backpacking and hiking in my younger days which kept me in shape, but i've been more of an urbanite since i've been working full time and becoming more involved in my community.

what else have i been up to..? oh yea how could i forget... gardening!!! my absolute most favourite pastime ever. nutritious and delicious too! of course i spent plenty of time in the yard last year, took lots of photos and of course shared the bounty, but didn't spend as much time as i should have blogging and keeping track of the progress. i'm spending the winter months in hibernation catching up on the past crazy year, as i prepare for the one up and coming.

and in the spirit of winter and staying green, i put the bicycle in the shed and picked up a transit pass. it's been a few years since i've lived far enough from work to worry about transportation, and a transit pass was definitely a wise choice. i have once again managed to become a transit ninja, mastering the routes and transfers to get me around town in the snow.

well.. i think that's about it for my break from my workout.. time to get back to it! great things to come this year.. 2013 will be a year of postitive change for me, i can feel it! woop woop!