This morning, Chris, Mel and I headed to Commissioners Park overlooking Dow's Lake to take in the tulips as part of Ottawa's Tulip Festival. Inspired by the lovely weather, Chris started singing Daniel Boone's "Beautiful Sunday": Sunday morning, up with the lark / I think I'll take a walk in the park / Hey, hey, hey, it's a beautiful day. I joined in at the chorus, surprised that I remembered any of the lyrics. I love a spontaneous sing-along.

When we arrived on Booth Street, I recalled the many walks I used to take through Commissioners Park and down the Queen Elizabeth Driveway or past Dow's Lake and around the Arboretum when I worked at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Having spent 28 years with the department—first in the Fuel Testing Laboratory at 562 Booth, then in the Chemical Radioactive Ores Building at 555 Booth and finally in the Sir William Logan office tower at 580 Booth—I came to know a lot of people. There was always someone to walk with, and if I didn't start out with a walking buddy, I often returned with one since so many NRCan employees took advantage of the gorgeous surroundings for lunchtime strolls.

Today, Commissioners Park—with its stately trees, plentiful flowers and verdant lawns stretching to the edge of Dow's Lake—was as beautiful as ever. Though it proved to be a little late in the season for tulips, we still managed to get some pics of magnificent flowers.

Throughout the morning, Shane sent us updates from Montreal, where he was attending a tournament of historical fencing (Historical European Martial Arts or HEMA). Competition was stiff: though he went 5 and 1 (5 wins, 1 loss) in the longsword category, he just missed out on the finals. He placed 9th among 60 competitors in that discipline.

This afternoon, Mel and I visited several garden centres in search of vegetable and herb plants as well as scallion bulbs and seeds. My biggest gardening challenge, next to limited sunlight, is black squirrels. They're a dime a dozen in the woods behind my house. I'm hoping that the pests will be turned off by the smell of onions, which I plan to sow with my cucumber plants. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.