Aside from my dentist and her staff being great people, the good thing about going there is the glorious view from the waiting room. Right across the street is the Scottish Rite Club, a beautiful heritage gem at 4 Queen Street South.

The Queen Street entrance

What is a Scottish Rite? To quote the Supreme Council’s website: ‘It is a branch of Freemasonry designed to supplement and amplify the philosophical teachings of the first three degrees.’ It all sounds pretty complicated but their website does have a list of FAQ’s if you want to check it out. For a more overall perspective, there’s always Wikipedia.

Queen Street Doors

According to Historical Hamilton, the original mansion was built in 1896 for George Tuckett, founder of Tuckett Tobacco and the 27th Mayor of Hamilton.  This great article at Raise the Hammer’s website explains that it was Hamilton’s most expensive building at the time and was designed by architect James Balfour.

The view from George Street

The Scottish Rite’s Freemason website, explains that the Rite leaders purchased the property in 1920 and that it’s cathedral opened in 1923. And you can rent this amazing place for weddings, meetings and presentations. The first website link at the beginning of this post will show pictures and provide some facility details.

The newer portion, with front doors facing King Street West

There are so many great building details, including the stained glass windows...

...the carved stone.......

...and metal work like the King Street fence and...

....the King Street gates.

McMaster Innovation Park is a former industrial site and the Atrium Building, shown above, used to be a place to build refrigerators. As explained on their website, ‘MIP offers collaborative space for researchers and entrepreneurs alike to co-locate, connect and commercialize; a place to transform ideas from vision to commercial opportunity.’

MIP has multiple spaces for renting whether you’re planning a party, board meeting or conference. Last spring I organized a half day social media presentation for IABC Golden Horseshoe and we chose MIP as the venue. Located at Main Street West and #403, there is great highway access, bright spacious rooms and all the technical necessities.

MIP is a large property of 37 acres with two current buildings and plans for much more. You can find out all the details here.

Last week’s game against McNab Highschool was a bit painful to watch especially as a mom because McNab’s players were huge!! This picture below shows the height difference but girth was also an issue.

McNab players are in the white uniforms

Following Westdale’s loss, the coach stressed that with their smaller size, execution must be excellent. And that paid off last night with a great win against Delta who I must say, have the most enthusiastic and faithful cheerleaders I’ve ever seen. Right to the end they kept up loud and lively support. And afterward I overheard ‘We lost with pride!’ Woot woot!

Ivor Wynne Stadium is planning big changes for the upcoming Pan Am games in 2015 so this tired facility will look pretty different in a few years. In fact, the Hamilton Spectator reported this afternoon that three construction companies are touring the stadium today in preparation for their renovation bids.

Originally known as the Civic Stadium, this facility was built in 1930 to host the British Empire Games. Here’s a link to the Hamilton Tiger Cats website if you’d like to know more about the stadium’s history.

According to the Ticats website, this outdoor video board is the largest in the country

This was the 3rd year for Supercrawl and as a first time visitor I was surprised to see the variety of action. Yes, there was stage after stage of great music – and even a band inside a small vintage shop – but there were also street artists, buskers and loads of artisans selling their wares. I’ll put a plug in here for my friend Tracey who was selling her one-of-a-kind jewelry under her label Sundara Studios.

The shops and galleries of James Street North were packed with people as though the day was one big open house sidewalk sale. We hugely enjoyed visiting Mixed Media, the Mulberry Cafe, the HIStory & HERitage gallery and numerous vintage shops. I’m definitely heading back soon for another explore.

There was also lots of street art – here are a few samples:

These guys were perched on the roof of Mixed Media

Watch out behind you! It's funky blue street art!

This one looked like neoprene coated driftwood

A three storey tea cosy.....

....complete with knitted window boxes

Looking north over downtown Hamilton

For several years, I have passed Sam Lawrence Park on the way to my son’s orthodontist. The beautiful blooms called out each time we passed but it seemed we were always in a rush arriving and leaving those doctor appointments – you know how it is. But last week,  we made the time and I even remembered the camera. It was definitely worth the stop.

Stepping into the park from the Jolley Cut

The park is tucked into a paperclip turn at the top of the Jolley Cut, a steeply inclined road that climbs the Niagara Escarpment from downtown Hamilton. I parked at the top on Concession Street and walked a few minutes back to the park entrance.

The middle level of the park, looking towards Concession Street

As I suspected, the views from this location are spectacular. It was a clear day, one of those, ‘I can see the CN Tower’ kind of days and we lingered quite awhile gazing at the 180 degree panorama.

The stairs to the highest park level

At the very highest point of the park is an open lawn where we met these two chasing a bright red ball. They barely stood still long enough to be photographed.

Nearby Concession Street celebrated its 100th anniversary as a commercial district in 2007. You can find lots to do there including listening to live music on Friday’s from 12 to 2 this summer or the upcoming Corn Fest in September. There is also a Halloween parade on Monday October 31st where 600 kids from local schools will entertain with their costume creativity.

Here’s a picture of my harvest from this morning. The tiny purple potatoes were a surprise because the seeds had no colour at all. The pumpkin was picked last week, which is much earlier than I planned, but the vine was withering to nothing and the bugs were all over it.

Today's harvest

It’s been quite a battle with the ‘alien’ bugs, so named because their bodies resemble that classical alien head shape. And in the process of squishing, literally hundreds of these nasty things, I discovered they have blue innards. Seems pretty alien to me.

The $80 cost of my plot has been well worth the money. I’ve discovered that I can use a large tool shed full of everything you need to garden. There is compost and mulch included and lots of watering hose to reach my veggies.

I was happy to see today that I finally have tiny melons growing. After lots of flowers falling off, I had my doubts about harvesting anything. And there are three more pumpkins in progress – which will require more alien surveillance.

Looking towards Westdale and Dundas

As you enter Hamilton on Highway #403, you’re treated to a beautiful view of Cootes Paradise as the highway winds its way up to the Niagara Escarpment. In warmer months there are canoes and kayaks dotting this shallow marsh and in the winter it’s a very popular skating area. Hamilton’s Waterfront Trail hugs the bank parallel to the highway and leads to Bayfront Park which I’ll talk about at a later date.

Straight ahead of these walkers is the main skating area

Cootes is owned by the Royal Botanical Gardens and their website provides lots of information about it’s history and recent restoration. First designated as a fish sanctuary in the 1870′s and a nature reserve in 1927, the formation of RBG in the 1930′s was another step in protecting this important area. It is the largest river mouth marsh complex on western Lake Ontario.

Project Paradise, a restoration initiative of RBG, began in 1993 as part of the Hamilton Harbour Remediation Action Plan. A big part of it’s success has been the removal of destructive carp who stir up the marsh bottom sediment, destroying vegetation and creating murky water. A fishway constructed at Cootes’ north end blocks the carp’s access from Lake Ontario. It’s well worth a trip to see RBG staff empty out the massive underwater cages and send the large fish down a chute and back to the lake.

Beautiful trails direct you through the forested slopes that surround Cootes. It’s quite common to see deer herds, abundant wild flowers and many types of birds. You may come across groups of people who seem frozen with their palms lifted to the sky. Watch awhile and you’ll see groups of chickadees landing in their hands for peanuts and sunflower seeds.

My dog Jack, eager to get going

My parents are both gone now but I can imagine them chuckling together over my $80 rental of dirt. City dirt. But it’s turning out to be good dirt and I’ve already got a bumper crop of radishes that would have cost me $10. By the end of the season when my pumpkins are ready, I’m certain I’ll have harvested more than $80 worth of food.

My 4m by 5m plot is at the Churchill Park Aviary, a volunteer-run home for dozens of exotic birds, in Hamilton’s west end. Sadly, I don’t get there often enough to keep the weeds down. I try not to drool over the perfectly kept plots and take some solace in others’ weedy plots. And yes, that’s a bit sick.

The Aviary is a beautiful spot with a wide variety of birds and a lovely herb garden in progress. All manner of people garden here and it’s been quite enjoyable to chat and compare crops. Which means Hamilton’s community gardens are good for at least two things – safely grown food and cultivating community spirit.