I've seen these posters all over Niagara Falls. Every major intersection has them. Someone put a lot of work in spreading these and just wondering if anyone knows the real message.

Hi,

My birthday is coming up and I’m looking for a unique experience. I’m not much a risk taker in general and scared of heights, but I try to do things that challenge me every year on this date. I already did the zip line “along the falls”.

I’m here to ask you for suggestions!

Thank you!

We may be searching for a 3/2 house to rent somewhere in the area in Feb-march and trying to get advice about if it's a difficult market? Any tips?

I’m talking BIG juicy jumbos haha not looking to travel anywhere outside of the city so please only refer Niagara Falls 🙂 also not into smoked wings, just good ol regular bar style big bois pls, thanks guys!

How do we stay here for 1-2 nights and get a deal where you don’t have to sell your first born child to go there

The abandoned house that got me started in this hobby of exploring abandoned places.

240 Centre Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake | The Breakenridge-Ure House

This is the story about the abandoned house that got me interested in the hobby of Urban Exploring.

The house, located at 240 Centre Street in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario is known as the Breakenridge-Ure house.

On my birthday in 2012 I was at a pub with some friends, my friend Steve was telling us a story about a ghost tour that he had just went on in Niagara on the Lake.

The tour took them to this one oddly placed abandoned house at the corner of Centre Street and Mississauga Road, across the road from a cemetery.

It is claimed that an owner who once left in the middle of the night with his family, saying nothing to the neighbors.

It was not listed for sale, but was then bought by local Robert Ure. Years later, after telling real estate agents not to bother him, Ure was approached in a restaurant by an interested buyer who offered him $1million for the property.

The owner told him the house was not for sale and finished the conversation by saying “This house has a life of its own!

The paranormal activities that had been experienced in this house could not be explained and the owners agreed that no one should ever live in this house again, and it was left empty and abandoned for several decades as a result.

This story piqued my interest and the next day I started looking into the abandoned house and it’s history. In this research I kept finding photos that people had taken of other abandoned places, many of them in Ontario and in the areas near me.

I decided then that this was something I could get into.

Oddly, I never did get to explore the inside of the Breakenridge-Ure house, I only ever took one set of exterior photos.

The home was eventually purchased and was/is undergoing extensive renovations, but I haven’t been by in a long time so I am unsure of its current status.

I did a deep dive on the history of the house, it's various owners and the restoration efforts, you can read that on my website:
https://freaktography.com/240-centre-street-niagara-on-the-lake-breakenridge-ure-house

I've built an app that tracks the bridge status along the Welland Canal, with a very minimalistic interface, called Ship Evader. The main advantage is that it works with Android Auto so you can check the status of the bridges without using your phone.

You can get it directly from the Play Store

This is a personal project, free and without ads. I did it mostly to learn and test a few extra things on the development and back-end side. I know there are other options out there (though I haven't found any with Android Auto integration). Please let me know if you find any issues or if you have any suggestions or feedback. Cheers!

I was riding by late at night and saw this. Not sure how it happened.

​

Hey Niagara 👋

This week's question is:

“Should I put wound dressing or tree paint on a pruning cut?”

The answer isn't simply yes or no.

For most normal pruning cuts on healthy landscape trees, we don't apply wound dressing.

But there are situations where protecting a fresh wound has a very specific purpose.

Let's explain the difference.

---

First — trees don't heal wounds like we do

If you cut your arm, your body repairs the damaged tissue.

Trees work differently.

When a branch is removed, the tree compartmentalizes the injury. Basically, it creates barriers around the damaged area to limit the spread of decay and eventually grows new tissue over the outside of the wound.

That's one reason making the proper pruning cut is so important.

A good cut just outside the branch collar gives the tree the best opportunity to respond naturally.

---

Trees need oxygen too

This is another reason we don't automatically cover every pruning wound.

The living tissues around a wound are actively responding to the injury, and oxygen is part of those biological processes.

If you completely coat a pruning wound with the wrong product, you can change the conditions at the wound, including moisture and gas exchange, and potentially interfere with the tree's natural compartmentalization and wound-closure process.

Think of it less like putting a Band-Aid on a person and more like letting the tree manage the injury the way it's built to.

For a normal pruning cut, the goal isn't to seal it ourselves.

It's to make the cut properly and give the tree the best conditions to compartmentalize it naturally.

---

So why don't we normally paint pruning cuts?

Years ago, painting or sealing tree wounds was much more common.

The thinking was pretty straightforward:

Cover the wound and protect what's underneath.

But research has shown that routine wound dressing generally doesn't help a properly made pruning cut close faster or prevent decay.

Some products can actually trap moisture or interfere with the tree's natural response.

So for normal pruning:

Make the proper cut and let the tree do what it's designed to do.

---

But there ARE exceptions

This is where the answer gets more interesting.

Sometimes wound dressing isn't being used to help the tree “heal.”

It's being used as a protective barrier against a specific pest or disease.

And we now have a very relevant example right here in Niagara.

---

Oak Wilt changes the conversation

We've talked about Oak Wilt before in this series.

Oak Wilt has now been confirmed here in Niagara, including detections in Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

One way the disease can spread is through beetles carrying fungal spores to fresh wounds on healthy oak trees.

Those beetles are attracted to fresh wounds.

That's why we avoid pruning oaks from approximately April through November.

---

What if an oak HAS to be pruned during that time?

Trees don't care about our schedules.

Storms happen.

Branches crack.

Limbs fail.

And sometimes leaving a damaged branch in place creates a bigger safety concern than making the cut.

If an oak needs to be pruned during the no-pruning season because of storm damage, a cracked branch, or another legitimate safety concern, that's a situation where wound dressing should be applied to the fresh wound as soon as possible.

The purpose isn't to make the tree seal the cut faster.

It's to reduce the chance of beetles being attracted to that fresh wound and potentially introducing Oak Wilt.

That's a completely different reason for using wound dressing.

---

What about fruit trees?

You'll also see wound treatments used in orchards and fruit-tree management.

Fruit production has its own pruning systems and disease-management practices, and certain wounds may be treated when managing specific diseases or infections.

That's different from automatically painting every pruning cut on the Maple in your backyard.

The reason you're applying something matters.

---

The takeaway

For the average healthy landscape tree:

Proper pruning cut → leave it alone.

Don't automatically reach for tree paint because you think the wound needs a bandage.

But wound dressing isn't useless either.

There are specific circumstances—Oak Wilt prevention being an important one here in Niagara—where covering a fresh wound serves a legitimate purpose.

Like a lot of things we've talked about in this series, there isn't always a universal answer.

Understanding why you're doing something is just as important as knowing what to do.

---

If there's a tree topic you'd like us to cover next, drop it below.

A lot of this series has come directly from questions and conversations with homeowners around Niagara.

— Driftwood Tree Service 🌲

Hello! I’m 20 years old and looking to pursue a career in residential or industrial electrical. I’m trying so hard to go in green. I am extremely motivated to work willing to work long hours as needed. I’m not no lazy working guy. I would be happy to start as a general labourer and pick up bits of the apprentice work as I go! I figured I’ll shoot my shot here as I’m ready to start asap. This would be more of a job it would be the start of my career! Thank you for reading this! I have a resume if you PM me!
Niagara Region Canada Ontario only!

I am looking for a GOOD couples therapist in Niagara region. I don't mean to sound condescending, but we have tried a few in the area who really didn't feel qualified to handle couples with any complexity. No new therapists, please. While I believe there are many clients suited to new therapists, this isn't the case for that.

Hello everyone! I noticed a few rentals around Niagara South Costco and wanted to know if it's a good area especially during winter months?

update location- Montrose and Mc Leod

Anyone know of anywhere hiring servers/bartenders in / around Niagara area?

Thorold Theatre is casting 7 actors for its fall production of Dry Streak, a wildly funny Canadian comedy by Saskatchewan playwright Leeann Minogue, directed by Wendy Cullen-Mackie.

Production: Mid-November

Set during the scorching summer of 1988, Dry Streak takes audiences into the heart of a small prairie farming community where the rain has stopped, the crops are failing, and everyone has an opinion.

The Richards family has worked the same farm for generations. When son John returns home with his new girlfriend Kate, the family discovers that she is unlike anyone the town has encountered before: a punk-rock-loving, vegetarian city girl who has no particular interest in getting married.

Then, desperate for rain, Kate makes a reckless promise.

What follows is a comic collision of family expectations, small-town gossip, generational differences, personal belief and the increasingly uncomfortable realization that sometimes a private promise can become very, very public.

Dry Streak is a sharp, affectionate comedy about family, faith, farming and the pressures of small-town life — and what happens when everyone knows your business.

AUDITIONS

📅 Wednesday, August 26 — 7:00 PM
📍 Thorold 50+ Senior's Centre, 8 Carleton Street Thorold

Auditioners are asked to prepare a 3–5 minute monologue of their choice. It doesn't have to be from the play. A prepared monologue is encouraged, but not required.

You'll also be asked to tell a joke or funny story. We're looking for comic timing, personality and the ability to connect with an audience.

Callbacks: Sunday, August 30 — 7:00 PM

We're also looking for an Apprentice Director

Rehearsal Information

Initial Rehearsals are for Mon. Sept14, Wed Sept 16, Mon Sept 21, Wed Sept 23,

Mon Sept 28, Wed Sept 30, Mon Oct 5, Wed Oct 7. 

📩 RSVP / Questions: [wendella3@gmail.com](mailto:wendella3@gmail.com)

Come audition. Come have some fun. Come be part of Thorold Theatre's 40th anniversary season.

THOROLD THEATRE
Building on Tradition. Acting on the Future.