Noreen Young’s “Under the Umbrella Tree” now on YouTube
Gloria the Gopher, from CBC’s vintage “Under the Umbrella Tree” children’s series, is very happy to tell everybody that she and her friends Holly, Iggy the Iguana and Jacob Blue Jay, are now streaming on Canada Media Fund’s new channel, Encore+ on YouTube. This is a channel that features Canadian television classics that viewers will enjoy seeing again and again.
Saturday August 25, 2 pm. Rock the Arts performance
Rock The Arts puppets performance will perform at the museum on Saturday August 25, starting at 2 pm to complement Noreen Young’s Puppet Retrospective exhibition, which runs July 14 to September 22. They will perform “Animal Adventure.” More details on the website rockthearts.ca
Saturday September 22, 2018, 1pm. Come play puppets with a PRO
Ever wonder what it would be like to puppeteer on a TV show? Always wanted to give it a try?
Well, here’s your chance.
Puppeteer, Bob Stutt, has decades of TV and film experience including seven years with the Friendly Giant, ten years with the Muppets and ten years as Basil Bear on Canadian Sesame Street where he was also lead writer. He performed Iggy Iguana on CBC’s “Under the Umbrella Tree” and also “Molly Doll” on The Big Comfy Couch. Bob has also filmed over 100 TV commercials in Denmark for the Danish National Railway.
And now he would love to spend some time playing puppets with you!
We’ll provide the cameras, monitors and a few puppets. You provide enthusiasm, imagination and any puppets of your own that tickle your fancy.
Come be a star for a day and experience first-hand the challenging, inspiring, silly world behind the puppets you see on TV.
Admission is $20 per person. This three-hour workshop is open to adults and kids over the age of 10 with a limit of ten to twelve people.
After the four and a half hour drive from downtown Toronto we arrived at the Blue Hen Farm. Right at the turn we saw an old cupboard filled with jars of homemade preserves and a sign “Honk for Service”… And we saw the farmhouse in the opening between trees.
Farmers Jeff and Leslie greeted us and as we entered the house we were amazed by the old fashioned setting of the rooms – furniture, chandelier and even the old upright piano that produced some wonderful melodies after our evening meals…
Executive Chef, Costas preparing dinner for Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark County
Leslie and Jeff used to live in Ottawa and have jobs as many of us do… The idea of farming came up after some changes in jobs and also as a result of research of the food industry, commercial farming and agriculture.
Executive Chef Costas
Later, after getting settled in our rooms we headed down for dinner made by Chef Kostas who came out to tell us about the ingredients he used in his cooking, the dinner was amazing and filling.
As farmers do every day after dinner, we went into the barnyard to help with evening chores.
We found all the work surprisingly entertaining; we unloaded some 20 stacks of straw that will be used as bedding for the animals, fed the calves and pigs, brought the sheep and goats back to the barn and herded the chickens into their coop.
Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark County
There was a special place where hens lay eggs, so we picked our breakfast! The eggs were dark and light brown, white and even light blue…
Once the chores were done, tired we went to our bedrooms; may be the mattresses were so comfortable or the day was long – falling asleep was no problem at all.
Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark CountyFarmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark CountyFarmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark County
In the morning we woke up around half past six to the mouthwatering smell of bacon and eggs…
Breakfast during Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark County
And after breakfast we went to the yard to do morning chores which repeats the evening in the back order – letting the sheep and chickens out, showering and feeding pigs… and saying hello to all of the farm animals.
Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark CountyEvening chores during Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark CountyFarmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark CountyFarmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark County
The goats are very young and new to the farm and don’t know the barn yard, so they we carried to the pasture like babies!
Calf is sucking a finger, Farmstead Blue Hen Farm in Lanark County
Although all of the chores seem like quite a lot to do, they were our favourite part of the day. We also found that doing chores and waking up that early in the morning was very refreshing which was useful since we had a long day ahead of us. We found all of the animals so cute… and especially the three kittens that roam around the barnyard. There are also two dogs that help farmers by guarding the barn yard from foxes and other invaders.
Leslie and Jeff ask that visitors do not bring or wear any fragrances on the farm including mosquito spray, however they do supply their own free of charge so that you do not get bitten by pesky flies. Leslie makes her own natural soap – I found it very smooth and took a little piece home as a souvenir. Around the house we also found natural fragrances, bug spray and soap – all handmade from natural ingredients that smell like summer fields…
Their mission statement is free range thinking, meaning all of the animals are free to roam the field and raised with no antibiotics or chemical supplements at all. “Being a novice in such a tedious business as farming should be challenging for city folks” – I asked… yes, and they learn every day.
We also had a chance to learn – about how to feed pigs and chickens and how to take care of sheep and goats; we would join Leslie to let the animals out of the barn with the first rays of sun and get them all back in the evening…
For us it was just two days – but these days were filled with smiles and laughter, delicious homemade meals and that feeling of love and happiness…
After Dinner Chat
We took a lot of pictures that will remind us about this wonderful place and people that are so enthusiastic about what they do. Thank you Jeff and Leslie for teaching us some very basic skills that we miss in our city life!
So, time to leave The Blue Hen Farm… I think I saw tears in some eyes…, we hope to come again.
After lunch at the (nearby) Boston Pizza, we came in to the Bingeman’s Big Splash. After changing into our bathing suits we stepped out on to the deck exited about all of the slides that awaited us. They had many slides to choose from and better yet, the height restrictions are very reasonable so that everyone can go (most of the required heights are around forty inches). My personal favourite slide was the Cyclone.
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Over all, the park quite fairly spread out which makes it feel like there is less of a crowd, there also is a big wave pool
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
which has a shallow end
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
and a deep end however the tubes have to be rented for five dollars each and Cabana rentals are also available, another thing to note is that most of the rides are one person at a time, however there are a couple that two people can ride on at the same time.
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
We highly recommend that you try it out especially if traveling with young ones.
Entertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, OntarioEntertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, OntarioEntertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, OntarioEntertainment Area in Bingman’s Splash Park, 425 Bingeman’s Centre Drive, Kitchener, Ontario
Overall it is the most fun water park in the region.
With Brian, our first destination was “Victoria Inn” at Gores Landing on Rice lake (about 120km drive on 401 East from Toronto)On the front lawn of Victoria Inn we met Mike McNaught, instructor and local fishing guide. First he taught us how to make the fly, then tying fly and casting. Mike with sophisticated tools explained to us sourcing and tools for good fly fishing all step by step.
After hearty lunch at Victoria Inn we drove to Port Hope Area and meet our new friends who joined us for the short 2km hike in Ganaraska Hiking Trail. A bit about this trail… The Ganaraska Hiking Trail begins in Port Hope along the Ganaraska River and eventually connects to the Bruce Trail near Glen Huron, after expansion to Midland and Wasaga Beach trail becomes about 500km long. We didn’t hike all the route, just a small portion, about 2km…actually, the rainy weather shortened our hike.
Even on a rainy day hiking was great pleasure.Crossing Ganaraska River
My favorite part of the hike was the crossing of Ganaraska River. Although the river is shallow there, the thrill of adventure busted my adrenalin levels. The hiking trail is maintained by volunteers from the local “Ganaraska Hiking trail Association” , who provided detailed information, and assistance during the hike.
After the hike our thoughts were to get to nearest hotel, get a warm shower , relax and chat while having dinner with good company of friends. On the way to Port Hope we stopped at “Primitive Designs”. Yes it is cool place to visit. There are lots of unusual and funky stuff, and there are lots of it..hard to describe…best to visit on your own. They claimed to have the Canada’s Tallest Transformer, 7-m-tall called “Optimus Prime”, and 6mhigh T-Rex dinosaur made from recycled car and bike parts.
Then we booked into The Waddell located on the banks of the Ganaraska river in down town Port Hope.
The Waddell downtown Port Hope Hotel www.thewaddell.caThe Waddell
After warm bath we decided to meet downstairs for dinner at “Trattoria Gusto”. I liked the food and design of the restaurant, so I took some photos.
Trattoria Gusto www.trattoriagusto.ca
Three hours flew while having good company in good restaurant.
Next morning we planned to drive to Ganaraska Treetop Trekking, another place to boost our adrenaline levels.
First levels of trekking were easyfor me, so I decided to skip few, on the last trek I shed some sweat…
My friends prepared surprise, we had lunch near Ganaraska Forest Centre at neighbouring “Moonlight and Pines” B&B, where hosts Helen and Colin prepared a fancy lunch with a nice panoramic view and good conversation. It was a good idea to look at the premises, the room at the B&B is large enough to accomodate an entire family of four. For the next trip to Treetop Trekking it would be a good idea to rent a room in this B&B, especially since it is walking distance to Ganaraska Forest Centre and Treetop Trekking .