Another successful Strawberry Social

Did you know that strawberries are the only fruit that has the seeds on the outside? Also, a serving of strawberries contains the daily recommended dose of vitamin C?  

Now that the educational part of this post has been accomplished...

Last Saturday was the DWLC's annual Strawberry Social, 2025 edition. A total of 62 of your friends and neighbours came out to enjoy a fantastic feed of strawberries slathered in maple syrup and whipped cream followed by an exhibition of line dancing put on by a local group. Donations were also collected for a very deserving local charity, the Connect Well Seniors.

This signature event was organized by our very own Jaqueline Cairns (who even arranged for the weather man to offer up a beautiful summer day) and a fantastic group of volunteers. A huge shout-out and thank you to all who helped out and to those who came out in support of this most anticipated annual event.

Kitchen staff 

Claire's dance troupe.

Strawberry Social - Mark your calendars

It's that time of the year again. White Lake's (over)population of does are now dropping their offspring, deer and horse flies are coming out of hibernation (or whatever it is the little buggers do all winter), and strawberries are coming into season.  

All of which means - IT'S STRAWBERRY SOCIAL TIME.

"The sense we are most afraid to lose"

Yesterday, the Darling White Lake Centre was pleased to host the latest in our ongoing Live 'n Learn sessions, Dr. Zoe Bonell discussing the importance of eye care. A graduate of Carleton University and Cardiff University in Wales, Dr. Bonell is an optometrist practicing in Ottawa.

After a great buffet lunch put together by the Live 'n Learn volunteers and sponsored by the Highlands North Network,  Dr. Bonell took centre stage. 

Over the course of 90 minutes or so, Dr. Bonell discussed many, many aspects of eye care, beginning with the structure of the eye itself. She described common issues and treatments, including many age-related vision concerns such as glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration, stressing the importance of regular eye exams in detecting and correcting these issues. The presentation ended with a series of recommendations/reminders on how to protect our eyes during daily activities, such as safety glasses for DIYers, eye protection during sporting activities, UV protection in sun and snow, etc. As Dr. Bonell pointed out, vision is the sense we are most afraid to lose, yet we sometimes neglect to take the necessary steps to protect it.

It was a very informative session and the Centre thanks Dr. Bonell for taking the time out of her busy schedule to come and share her knowledge and expertise with us. And, of course, we extend our thanks to the many wonderful volunteers at the Centre who continue to make these special events available to our community.

Start light, star bright

Too bad, not tonight.

Saturday evening Steve Plummer, an amateur astrophotographer, joined us at the Centre to share his hobby. We had hoped for clear skies to allow for some actual stargazing but Mother Nature had other plans and blessed us with a snow storm instead. However all was not lost as the organizers had arranged a great chilli dinner, followed by Steve's presentation (indoors, of course). 

Over the next couple of hours Steve talked about his progression from being a simple telescope user to now being able to take spectacular images of deep space objects that are millions of light years away. He described the technology he used (complicated) and shared with us numerous photos he had taken of the sun, moon, planets, various nebulae, and distant galaxies. And he answered dozens of questions on everything from the technology he used to what can be seen with binoculars, the naked eye, or even a basic cell phone camera. (If you want a simple free app that maps the night sky in real time, check out Skyview Lite, available on Apple and Android app stores.)

I expect all who attended came away with a great appreciation of Steve's skill in creating the images he shared, but probably more so with a deeper respect of the vastness of the cosmos and the unimaginable number of deep sky objects that exist both within and beyond our own Milky Way galaxy. Perhaps some will even dust off that old telescope (moi) while others may look at the night-time sky with a greater appreciation of it's beauty and boundlessness. 

Thank you Steve. And thank you Jacqueline for arranging this Live 'n Learn session. 

And thank you to all the DWLC volunteers who prepared the meal and some fabulous desserts, acted as busboys, and did kitchen and cleanup duty.

Live 'n Learn - India

Twelve years ago Sue Munro (brave soul that she is) took a group of 14 high school students on a 3-week trip to a tiny, isolated village in the northernmost part of India, up tight to the Himalayas. Today she shared that experience with us.

But first we had to have breakfast. After all, learning on an empty stomach is known to be ill advised. And, once again, the DWLC crew came through delivering a great meal with a wide variety of goodies to satisfy anyone's appetite. So kudos to the kitchen and clean-up crews. Well done everyone!

And now back to the main event.

To say the village was off the beaten path does a disservice to beaten paths. The villagers eke out a subsistence living farming poor soil on the heavily terraced sides of a mountain. Daily life consists primarily of completing the many tasks needed to put food on the table for themselves and to feed their livestock. If they are fortunate enough to have a cow, or some goats, they'll have some milk and cheese, but also more mouths to feed. There is no running water and few homes have electricity. Those that do are lucky to get an hour or so of power every few days. Homes are multi-generational and cramped, often shared with any livestock that can generate some much-needed heat during the cold winter months. Interestingly it is the women who bear the burden of all this back-breaking work while the men spend their days just hanging out with other men. Many of the villagers had never ventured beyond the walls of the valley into which they were born.

It's been thus for many, many generations. 

Now imagine 14 teenagers from well-to-do Toronto families being dropped into this environment, billeted with local families where no one speaks English, and Big Macs are definitely not on the menu. The culture shock was as enormous as the learning opportunity for these young people.

That experience is what Sue shared in a fascinating talk that could have gone on for hours. Her photos accompanied by her cultural and social commentary gave those in attendance a vivid glimpse into life in a small community in a part of the world that none of us will likely ever see, or can even contemplate. 

Thank you Sue for an entertaining and insightful presentation.

2025!

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2025.

It seems like Y2K was just last week’s news, not that of a quarter century ago. But time marches on, unconcerned with our feelings or perceptions. 

There’s an ancient Chinese proverb/curse that says, “May you live in interesting times.” And 2025 is certainly shaping up to be all of that. Whether your personal interest is politics, or technology, or sociology there is sure to be something that will either please or infuriate you (or both) in the coming months. 

But in the midst of all that ‘sturm und drang’ there is a small sea of tranquility at the Darling White Lake Centre, where your friends and neighbours come together for fun and relaxation. Most days of the week see some sort of activity at the Centre, whether it’s Tuesday’s knitter-knatter, Wednesday yoga, Thursday coffee hub, or Friday’s darts. Toss in the odd special event such as a Live ’n Learn session (in March it’s Dr. Zoe Bunnell talking about eye care), crafting, or line dancing lessons and the Centre is a busy place indeed.

There’s something for everyone, so come on out.

And, as always, kudos go out to all the volunteers who so selflessly contribute their time and efforts to making the Centre a success. 

We look forward to seeing you in 2025.

WLPOA - 2024 Merry Mingle

On November 30, the White Lake Property Owners Association held their 2024 Merry Mingle at the Centre, bringing together 36 'Minglers' to enjoy a great meal and lots of laughs. A heartfelt thank you goes out to the WLPOA, the organizers, the decorators, the volunteers, and all those who contributed prizes and food. (The venison meatballs were my personal favourite.) 

As this is the last post of the year, we at the Darling White Lake Centre wish you and yours the very best of the holiday season. Merry Christmas!