Are the birds MIA?

I am not an avid birder, but my neighbours are, and I do have feeders for the little guys.  But where are the finches and hummingbirds? Our neighbourhood used to have lots of birds in the spring, but this year there are few.  The hummingbirds arrived late and now seem to have disappeared.  The yellow finches were plentiful in past years but are few and far between now ... what gives?

Town Hall meeting hosted by MLA Dorothy Shephard

Westsiders might be interested to know that MLA Dorothy Shephard is holding a town hall meeting on May 28, 7-8 pm at Hillcrest Baptist Church, 476 Lancaster Ave.

Shredding metal at 12:30am?

Enjoying the beautiful weather this weekend can mean sleeping with the window open. Saturday night was an exception, the noise from the metal shredding facility on the westside port was loud and clear at 12:30am.
I don't live on the lower westside, yet I could clearly hear the metal grinding.  I spoke to folks who live lower west - they had to shut their windows Saturday night because of the noise from the equipment at work.

I don't think it was supposed to work this way.

Site of New Kent Store

So the rumor mill that's been grinding the story about a Kent's Store on the westside has been put to rest; local media reported recently that indeed a Kent Store is going to be built on the corner of Catherwood and Fairville Blvd. This is along  the "retail corridor" of the westside.

And it doesn't take long for JD Irving to act  ... last evening I noticed the demolition had begun on the old garages on the site, and tonight the demolition is complete.

Demolition work last evening

Demolition almost complete this morning

Large selection of imported foods at Sobeys

I was pleasantly surprised to see a newly expanded imported food section at Sobeys on the West side. This is a new addition - there must be 40 feet of a wide variety of food from around the world.

Take that - Super Moon

All this talk of the Super Moon .... in June Venus will show the moon who is boss.
I saw this notice at the  Irving Nature park today. Get ready for the Transit of Venus on June 5.

Local wildlife

A couple of shots of  local wildlife: a pair of Eider ducks enjoying the weather at the Irving Nature Park, and seals taking it easy on the rocks near the shore.

Lots to do this weekend on the westside

If you're looking for something to do on the westside this weekend and you're not much of a political junkie, or simply need a break from the campaigning, a few events come to mind.

• The Lou Murphy Park  / Emera Trail Mulch Day is happening on Saturday May 5. You can help to make this park's trails user friendly.
• Also on May 5 in the Milford area, the Dominion Park Beach Clean Up Day - 9am to 1pm - Volunteer BBQ at noon. Bring your rakes and gloves, the rest will be provided.
• And at the Carleton Community Centre, a fundraiser on Sunday from 10am -3pm  with vendors, food, raffle tickets and lots more.  Sounds like a fun way to support a good cause.