June 2025: A Handful of Canadas

June was one of the busiest and most action-packed months of 2025 for me.

Neighborhood Natterings

So, naturally, I thought I’d start it off with some pictures of sidewalks.

A Couple of Sidewalk Markers found Around Many Buffalo Neighborhoods

I got to Buffalo at the end of May, where I’d be watching a house and a couple of cats for a month.

This started off pretty uneventfully.

I took some pictures of interesting neighborhood trees.

Like this one that appears as if it absorbed a much skinnier tree over to the right:

And this one that was eating the pavement:

Oh, and this one that looked like it was swallowing an older tree whole, or singing the chorus of “Angels We Have Heard on High”:

I took these about one of the first days I’d gotten there.

The weather was pretty good.

The neighborhood seemed a smidge sketchy.

There was an armed security guard at the local Aldi.

And I’d found out either right before or shortly after arriving at the gig that it was right around the corner from that Topps shooting in 2022, so I decided it might be better if I stayed indoors most of this trip.

Side Note: Perception Correction

After a little extra research, I see that I should have done my homework better.

I had some of the crucial facts of that shooting backwards, and also didn’t realize that the murderer had travelled hours to go to that store.

I thought it had been a local thing, and in retrospect I see that I misjudged stuff a bit.

I don’t think said judgement was totally misplaced, which you’ll see more about later, but I think it’s worth mentioning that this is one of those incidents where I would have benefited from being better informed.

I could have left this out because it’s not exactly the happier stuff I prefer to highlight from my trips, but I think it’s worth mentioning this ’cause I’ve talked to people about this, and see here that I’ve been wrong in how I’ve presented some of the facts.

So the moral of the story is to do your homework before talking about stuff on which your memory may be a bit sketchy, too.

Gee, I’m a Nerd

Fortunately, there were a lot of things to do not too far away.

I went to one of the local libraries and got a card with a buffalo on it (which I thought was a pretty cool design).

I also attended a learn-to-play-Irish-music event where I was given a new tin whistle (I’d left mine at home on this trip, and they had some nice ones they were handing out for free to participants).

And if that isn’t high-octane enough for you, dear readers, I got to hang out for one of their weekly chess-game nights and was thoroughly trounced an uncomfortable number of times by a recently-retired professional musician. I think he said he’d played violin for the city orchestra.

Canadian Trip: Thumb

A week or so into my stay, I made a first voyage up to Canada to meet up with a buddy of mine I hadn’t seen in a while.

My HQ-for-the-month in Buffalo was conveniently located a mere 10 minutes from the Peace Bridge, so I figured I’d take advantage of that and make as many trips to see as many friends as possible while I was kind of in their area.

On my way back from this trip, after picking up my first Canadian library card, I stopped at a park and was surprised to see that there were still lilacs in bloom that far North:

Sad Cake

Back in Buffalo, there was one day I really wanted to find a good cupcake or other pastry along those lines.

I did some googling, and found a place listed only like 3 minutes from where I was staying that had a 4.8-star rating and great reviews.

I drove there.

It was kinda sketchy.

And they were out of a lot of cakes.

So, I settled for a slice of Red Velvet, and figured that at 4.8 stars it was still probably pretty good despite not being Regular Chocolate.

That was kinda strange, since I have never before or after found something with so many good reviews on Google that turned out to be not so great after all. 🤔

Canada Trip: Index

Not long after the Sad Cake Incident, I headed back to Canada.

This time it was to see my friend Roxi, who I’d met online the year before at Peterson Academy. In fact, she was the first friend I made there.

We walked around her neighborhood with her dog.

She helped me to accomplish my quest of picking up another Canadian library card.

We stopped in at a bookstore where she got me a book and Grogu bookmark. (Thanks a million, Rox!)

-AND-

We found a craft festival right outside the library that had some fun cards and stickers for sale with cute anthropomorphic animals on them.

Being in Canada, I got to support a local artist and have it cost 3/4 of what it would have back home because of the exchange rate.

I really appreciated that exchange-rate difference while I was up there.

After that, we walked up to the beach.

I ate poutine while listening to Neil Young playing through the speakers outside.

I got to stand in Lake Ontario with the Toronto skyline in the distance.

Passersby greeted us with, “Sorry, eh!” wherever we went.

It was all very Canadian.

Oh, and we actually remembered to get a picture before I left:

Roxana (left) and her dog Lexi (center). You can find Roxi’s blog at thepointofmeaning.com.

That was a pretty great day.

Father’s Day in the Hood

Not long after that, I had probably the most memorable Father’s Day I’ve ever experienced.

It started at the house I was watching in Buffalo.

Some time in the morning R&B and rap-style music started blasting. It was so loud that I could hear every word through the closed doors and windows.

I didn’t think much of it at first, assuming someone was carpooling and their ride was just being loud to be funny or something.

But an hour or so into it, I realized it couldn’t be that.

Then I thought I heard a DJ.

And, indeed, I had.

Turns out the house kinda catty-cornered was hosting an all-day Father’s Day party.

It looked pretty amazing.

People were dressed nicely, they were barbecuing.

I think they had a bounce house for the kiddos.

Cars were parked up and down the street, with a steady stream of newcomers throughout the day.

I wasn’t invited, and I didn’t know anyone, so I mostly just heard the really-loud music all day.

But that evening I went out to get groceries and saw my neighbor out front, and she invited me to hang out with her and her son and his girlfriend for the evening.

So, I got my groceries and then joined them for some barbecue. And also black-eyed peas and turkey neck.

They told me stories about the neighborhood (some of which made me realize that my previous concerns were actually kinda founded), about moving there and various things that happened over the years with them and the neighbors.

They introduced me to a bunch of their neighbors as people passed by and came up to their porch to say, “Hey!” on their way to the Father’s Day shindig.

They told me it was too bad that I wasn’t staying for 4th of July because the same neighbors putting on the block party went even more all-out for that one.

Which is impressive considering that this one ended with a pretty decent fireworks display:

Canada Trip: Middle

Then, it was back to Canada.

This time was for a business trip.

I met up with a friend who’s actually from Ohio but also happened to be on a business trip to the same place. That was a very fun and unexpected surprise.

We got to hang after hours, and the Thai place we ended up at for dinner was excellent:

Red Thai Curry from Soontorn Bahn Thai in Oakville, ON

Then, I headed back to Buffalo.

The trip home was interesting because I had a surly border-security guard on my way back into the States.

The guy asked me how long I’d been on my trip, and I told him just that day.

He asked why, if only that day, he had records of a bunch of other recent border crossings.

I apologized profusely and explained that I thought he meant this single trip, not my previous ones.

Anyway, I explained my situation and asked if I was going to have trouble crossing when I came back again for the couple additional trips I had planned.

He said that was up to the other people patrolling the border at the time I was crossing, so that made me a bit concerned that I might not be able to get back for those others.

The concern was unfounded, ‘though.

When I went to cross into Canada the next time, I asked the border patrol guy about it, he made some comment about not worrying about what the American guy said, and welcomed me back.

The other two agents on my returns home were much kinder.

I guess the one guy must have been having a bad day or something. 🤷‍♀️

Canada Trip: Ring

My next trip a couple days later was to visit another friend I’d met from Peterson Academy. (She did not want to have her picture taken, so I don’t have proof; however, we had a lovely time hanging out at a Wendy’s about halfway between where I was living and her place, and it was nice to finally get to meet her in person.)

Whoops.

Canada Trip: Pinkie

Then I went back to Canada for one last friend trip.

Minor League Vandalism

That night I got back to New York and decided that for one of my last days there I’d really like to go see a Buffalo Bisons game.

I’d passed the stadium the day I drove into town for the first time, and every time I drove back from Canada.

I really like baseball, and minor-league games have great seating pretty much everywhere.

So, I bought a ticket that Tuesday night for a mid-day game on Wednesday.

The next morning, I got up and went out to my car to get my baseball glove and head out to the game.

But something was wrong.

There was glass in the back seat of my car.

Then I realized someone had bashed in one of my back windows.

That was a bummer.

Also, I’d never lost a window before and didn’t really know what the next best step was.

My neighbor came out and let me sit on the porch with her while I figured things out.

I called the police to report the incident.

Then I started looking up glass companies in the area.

It was Wednesday, and I was driving back Saturday.

The neighbor lady’s son came out and recommended that I call Safelite, which turned out to be a very helpful recommendation.

While Safelite’s service was too expensive compared to a local mom-and-pop shop, they did do some preliminary vacuuming and put plastic over the window to keep the rain out.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

While I was waiting for the cops and calling glass places, I found this little guy out by my car:

It’s funny: I was going through an unexpected upheaval, but nature continued to be just as beautiful and unphased as ever.

A policeman arrived to document the incident.

He told me my friends I was house-sitting for lived in a rough part of town.

He also gave me a card to call the detective assigned to the case if I got any other information.

Since nobody witnessed anything, they didn’t have any leads and couldn’t take any other steps for the time being.

(The neighbors across the street apparently weren’t able to pull good footage from their door camera, either, so I never did get to call the detective back with an update.)

Then I got a repair time scheduled and the plastic put over the window at Safelite.

It was well past the start of the ballgame.

It had rained that morning, but things were clearing up and so I decided I’d try to drive there to at least catch the last part of the game.

I think it had been delayed due to the rain.

It was only the bottom of the 3rd inning when I arrived.

I got a hot dog and some nachos.

I rooted for the Bisons as they lost to the Iron Pigs.

I did not win one of the cars they were giving away.

But I got to share my nachos with some little friends who introduced themselves and hung out with me for the second half of the game:

The girl in the blue’s name is “Frankie”

and we thought it was pretty cool that we share the same name.

A Final Quest, or When Travel Changes You

Besides the Bisons game, I had one other thing on my list to do before I left Buffalo.

That was to go get wings at the home of the original Buffalo wings, The Anchor Bar.

I had Nashville Hot Chicken in Nashville, so it it only seemed right to get Buffalo wings in Buffalo.

The place itself was pretty neat.

There were motorcycles, photos, and other miscellaneous paraphernalia hanging up on the walls.

I got seated way in the back.

The waitress assigned to my table was really nice.

I told her I wanted the original wings but have never been a big fan of blue cheese and was hesitant to order that.

She said, “Oh, you’ve got to try them with the blue cheese! I’ll bring you a side of ranch in case you don’t like it, but you’ll want to try it with the blue cheese.”

And, indeed, she was right.

The blue cheese was…

…actually good. 👀

(Blue cheese has been one of the only foods I hate with a passion, and is usually the ingredient I mention disliking when asked. I couldn’t believe I liked it with the wings. I don’t even know who I am anymore… 😂)

I don’t know who this weirdy is who likes blue cheese on her wings, but she at least remembered

to get a picture in front of the restaurant on the way out.

Then, I drove home.

With very loud plastic flapping in my back seat because the window-repair appointment had to be cancelled due to the window’s not being delivered to the glass place on time.

I got a company back home to fix it on the 30th, but the door somehow got jammed in the repair process.

So I had to live with that door stuck for the summer because the very same day I drove to my next gig.

Three months on Kelleys Island.

I didn’t know exactly what was ahead of me, but it was certainly an exciting way to close the books on June:

Embarking on a new adventure.

Photo of the Month

I failed to realize before I got to Buffalo that the house I’d be watching didn’t have ensuite laundry.

So, I got pretty well-acquainted with this local laundromat.

I thought the mural was funny and that you all should have to see it, too.

June Stats

Animals Pet

1 dog, 2 cats

Books Finished

None

Library Cards Collected

4

Distance Traveled (Miles)

1,232

Miles Walked

51.3

Song of the Month