nonamedufus

They say April showers bring May flowers but around here it just brought more showers. We've had more than enough rain. So much so it prevented me from getting out onto the golf course. I did get out though to snap some shots for   this month's photo challenge from P.J . His theme this month was "fun". And so I had a little fun with the following pictures... It was a rainy day and the playground was abandoned but I know on sunnier days little ones have fun on this apparatus. It looks a little worse for wear but there was a time kids had fun playing tennis here. Speaking of kids, what's more appealing than a cereal "fun pack". For an old guy with diabetes I avoided these. We use this little guy for chemical pucks to chlorinate our pool. What's more fun than a pool? Or a plastic duck with sunglasses? This creature sits in a corner on our deck. What can be more Canadian then a moose flower pot? That's the col...

Jayne over at injaynesworld has come up with a fascinating writing challenge called "hint fiction" whereby participants write a story (beginning, middle and end) that hints at a larger story but is complete within itself in 25 words or less. This is harder than it seems. But here's my effort... She dug the knife deep into his chest Finally silencing the source of her discoloured skin. She smiled - then awoke to his sickening snores. Click on the link above and check on the efforts of the rest of the participating bloggers. Thanks for challenging me, Jayne.

Jerry and Beth lay on their backs in the tall grass, the sun shining down on their little piece of heaven on earth. They were looking at the clouds as they skidded across an ocean blue sky. Summer holidays were drawing to a close and the teenage couple were taking it easy; thoughts of their Grade 10 classroom the furthest thing from their minds. It had been an enchanting summer for them both. Enchanting was Beth's word. Jerry would never have come up with it. Nice would be about as inventive as Jerry could be. Nevertheless the two were basking in the sunshine and each other's company as they had most days during this summer of firsts. This was Jerry and Beth's first relationship. They'd gone on a first date to a forgettable film spending more time gazing into each others eyes than at the screen. And they'd experienced their first kiss. Both Jerry and Beth were firm believers in that old adage that practice makes perfect so there had been a second, a third, ...

For over a decade now a buddy and I have spent a week either in late June or early September fishing. We go to a place called Loon Lodge on Lake Temagami north of North Bay Ontario. Sometimes, my brother Whitey from Toronto tags along. It's a fun week. We use it to decompress, fish, eat and - heaven forbid - have a drink or two. Now we don't drink out on the water. It's against the law in Ontario. And we've been stopped several times just to make sure we're good boys. But we more than make up for it in the evenings, back on dry land. Hey, a guy gets thirsty out under the hot sun on the lake all day. Okay, half a day. Okay, okay for a couple of hours. Then we'll head back for a meal, a brewski or two and a nap before heading back out again. We've had our share of fish tales to share. Not just about the one that got away and, believe me, there have been plenty of those. There was the time, for example, the boat engine stopped dead and we couldn't ge...

It's been a nasty, cold and rainy April here in the Ottawa region. Plenty of time for reading this month as my total of 11 books will attest. My reading tastes are somewhat eclectic. I started the month with a look at one of my favourite musical groups, Little Feat, by Ben Fong Torres. It held my interest. I also came across But Enough About Me by Jancee Dunn, a former Rolling Stone Writer which was part memoir, part biography and totally hilarious. She interviewed famous groups and stars and yet remained totally grounded and true to her family. I also completed Derek Raymond's so-called The Factory series, reading the last three this month. Raymond has been called a founder of British noir. This collection of books featuring a nameless cop who works out of The Factory can be gruesome and gross but also engrossing. I truly enjoyed them. Perhaps the book that made me think the most was Thomas King's The Inconvenient Indian. King, a Native activist and novelist, take...