family photo friday: remembrance day

I've posted these photos of my grandparents' wedding before, but I'm posting them again since they fit with today's theme of remembrance. My grandpa was a doctor on a navy ship in WWII. My great uncle Westie (on the far right) was a pilot.

family photo friday: grandpa's farm

My aunt Margo and grandma at grandpa's farm, 1985.

"Grandpa's farm" wasn't really a farm, we just called it that. My grandparents bought a plot of land a few minutes away from the cottage years and years ago. I'm not entirely sure why. I'd say as an investment, but within the past decade my grandparents donated the land to Nature Conservancy Canada, so no money was made with it. It really was a decent sized plot of land, and included forest, fields, and a big swamp with beaver dams and the whole shebang. My grandpa (and other family members) established some gardens up there. There were zinnias and gladioli, daffodils, lilies, and some vegetables. I vaguely remember digging up potatoes one year. I do remember having to close the gate to the garden so the deer wouldn't get in. There were lots of apple trees too (you can seed some in the photo). And a small wood shed that sort of creeped me out for some reason. Almost every fall we'd have a big family picnic up there, and cook hotdogs and sausages over the fire. I miss that.


Fall picnic anyone?? One with a bonfire, sausages, apples, pie, wine and pumpkin beer? Mmm, good idea Kate.

family photo friday. grandpa.

Dr. John McCulloch.
August 18th, 1916 - May 1st, 2011.

He lived a full and wonderful life, and passed away peacefully at the age of 95 at Sunnybrook Hospital's Veterans Centre.

Grandpa was known for quoting poetry, and William Blake's "The Tyger" was one of his favourites:

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder, & what art,

Could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears

And water'd heaven with their tears,

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright

In the forests of the night,

What immortal hand or eye

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

family photo friday. building a garage.

1983, Dad, uncle Bob, and grandpa. Building the garage at the cottage, with the help of Joe, the dog.

p.s. you've probably noticed that you can see the frame of the slide in most of the recent photos I've posted. That's mainly because I've been too lazy to crop each photo. But I do also like how it looks sometimes. So there you go.

family photo friday. grandpa chopping wood.

Grandpa chopping wood at the cottage, 1994.

I figured that since we got another dumping of snow, I could post a snowy photo this Friday.

My grandpa was a wood chopping machine. There were always a number of well stocked log piles located around the property up at the cottage. Sometimes I'd help, but I was always afraid I'd chop my leg off or something. Plus it was hard work. I think we're still working our way through wood that he chopped up years ago.