October awesome!

Wow, I love this time of year!  It's so vibrant and stunning, your eyes are just dazzled by all the color and intensity... the smells are so sharp and alive too!  

This is on one of our morning walks.

This is the tree in our neighbour's yard, isn't it beautiful!?

These four images are from Bissell Park.

Canada Day in Style!

Happy Canada Day!  This was our first in Elora and, wow, does this village know how to throw a celebration!  The weather teased us all with heavy clouds and gorgeous sunshine but let us stay dry.

The Volunteer Firefighter Breakfast had a huge line, obviously a popular event... 

while the Soap Box Derby took place just outside our house, the carts speeding down Geddes Street!

The view from our balcony...

and just outside our house.

This is how the carts got back up the hill, and here are three future racers!

The Canada Day parade took place at 11:00 and it started at the Community Center to turn onto Geddes and travel right down our street!  What a view from our balcony!  

Here's a video of the Save our Water procession, and you can find out more about our very important water issues here: http://saveourwater.ca/

After lunch we went down to Bissell Park to watch Puppets Elora as they presented "Where's my Mommy?" to a huge crowd, some of the children getting to participate in this interactive puppet show!

So much talent, and I really have to applaud their ability to stay focused and remember their lines in all the noise and commotion!  "Where's my Mommy?" was just the right play for this outdoor performance.

Next we thoroughly enjoyed the agility demonstration put on by Diamonds in the Ruff!  The dedicated handlers and fun-loving canines put on a great show!

This little darling was a sweet "newbie" just learning the ropes.

And why run one dog when you can run two!  At the same time, of course!  

The frisbee demo was fun to watch.

Then they had a dog vs. human agility race! Diamonds in the Ruff canines raced against the children in a fun match... I think everyone won!

The Blue Bonnet Lassies danced in their lovely traditional costumes on the Bissell Park boardwalk...  

...and we walked home, proud to be a part of this incredible community!

Out and about with Willow -- Bissell Park

I shouldn't neglect to highlight one of Elora's local treasures:  Bissell Park.  Not as gloriously shady as Victoria Park and without the splashy grandeur of the Gorge, Bissell Park sits on the bank of the Grand just as you leave Elora heading towards Fergus.  It's across from the Elora Centre for the Arts and about a 10 minute walk from our B&B.  It's best known as the outdoor location for the Elora Farmers' Market and for the site of Riverfest.  When it's not busy during the week, this is where Willow likes to go for gourmet rabbit poop.  Yup.  

A well-maintained boardwalk loops around the outer edge...

...where you can admire views of the other bank, with its upside-down cedar trees clinging for life.

The dam is often a rush of noise in the Spring, and there are benches and picnic tables scattered about to take a moment and appreciate the beauty, singing birds and flitting butterflies.

One of my favorite spots is the stream or off-shoot of the Grand that runs through what I think was once a mill race.  There are ruins of a stone building nearby, possibly a mill, and various chunky machinery bits scattered about the waterside that indicate a larger waterworks... Anyway, these ruins are lovely.

Here's some history from a site my sister Doris found: "Elora Ontario industrialist T. E. Bissell powered his 1894 farm implement factory beside the Grand River. It became Fleury-Bissell Ltd. (1937- 1954). In 1964, Muriel Bissell donated the site to the GRCA, today's 38 acre Bissell Park." (from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ_1aolCN_Y&feature=youtu.be)

And Willow didn't mind posing.

Continuing along the path, 

you can take a foot bridge over the water (a great spot for photos of the Grand) and walk back along Water Street to to Metcalfe and cross the bridge back into the Village. 

Or stay in the Park to investigate smaller side trails and great views.

If you do stay in the Park and cross the parking area, you'll be treated to one of Elora's most community-minded and unique projects, the Kitchen in the Park Project, or KIPP.  

This outdoor kitchen is for the community to share, whether for fundraisers or private parties.  What a novel idea, I hope to attend the next bake just to see how it all works!  As it says on their website, "There is a great deal of potential with the creation of a gathering place such as a public kitchen."

See you in the Park!