Cafe Talia on Salt Spring Island

In downtown Ganges, in the old Salt Spring Telephone Exchange, resides an inviting coffee shop.











Cafe Talia has been here for four years and recently saw a change in ownership. The cafe's quality and customer service remain strong. As does the coffee.






There might be a few glitches apparent in the early days of new management. While Sherry's macchiato arrived in timely fashion, my doppio was initially forgotten. No worries, the situation was quickly remedied with its arrival and a complimentary chocolate croissant.







The coffee used at Cafe Talia is fair trade and organic from Ethical Bean on the mainland. It is a rich and strong brew and highly enjoyable.




Thus far the new ownership is offering excellent service, and good coffee, without the attitude one sometimes finds in other shops on Salt Spring. We had coffee here several times during our week on Salt Spring and we will return again.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.

Back on Salt Spring Island ~ with the deer

Back on Salt Spring Island. It's the week after the Victoria Day weekend, which means fewer people and more of this wonderful space to enjoy to ourselves. After New York City, it's nice to be home and then away again, and to more space.







Wild deer are common on Salt Spring Island. In fact, without any natural predators on the island, the deer have become a wee bit of nuisance for some farmers and gardeners, and they pop up everywhere eating flowers and crops (the deer that is).













These young animals were visiting Vesuvius Bay, as were we on a bright early afternoon.







Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.

Fire escapes and firehouses in New York

New York City, like any large city, has a mixture of old and new buildings. Some are high tech marvels, with all kinds of ways to limit fires and reduce the risk to occupants.






















In some neighbourhoods the fire escapes are prominent fixtures, part of the design and appearance, and they alone provide the best potential for escape. Do these things get tested once in a while? Should we be concerned?

The Fire Department of New York is the largest municipal fire department in the US, and second largest in the world after Tokyo. FDNY employs over 11,000 fire fighters and over 3300 paramedics.








On September 11, 2001, 343 members of the FDNY were killed as they responded to the attacks on the World Trade Centre. There were 75 firehouses, like the two shown here, in which at least one member was killed.










There are 217 firehouses in the five boroughs of New York and like fire departments everywhere, they answer the call, no questions asked, every time. And if a fire fighter wants to park his or her car on the sidewalk in a fire zone, while it isn't right, no one seems to notice.








And not noticing doesn't make it right either.


Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2014.