The Squamidian Report – June 28 / 03

 

Also in this issue:

North Nova News

The Ontarion

From Melbourne

 

Hi All,

 

We decided to do the tourist thing and take a short day trip to Bowen Island. I had been there last summer helping Warren move a gazebo, but neither Sue nor Ryan or Emily has been over. Bowen is just out from Horseshoe Bay and sits right in the middle of the entrance to Howe Sound. There is a small village as well as homes scattered all around the island. A lot of the residents commute into Vancouver by walking onto the ferry and then catching a bus.

 

We did the walk on thing, as we didn’t need to take the car over. The village is a short stroll up from the dock. Most of the stores and shops are aimed directly at tourists, selling overpriced art junk and useless things.

 

The village is called Snug Harbour, as is the harbour itself. That’s because it very protected from the wind and open water by a high ridge. The island itself is a partly submerged mountain. There are lots of wild blackberries growing everywhere. They hang over the sidewalk, choke the yards and are basically a big nuisance. Except when the berries are ripe, then everyone is out picking.

 

We were sitting on a log by the beach area of the inlet and an old, very over weight dog came wagging along and sat down with us. This was his obvious occupation. Visit the people and see what you can mooch. However, his owners must have caught on to his little enterprise because there was a bright red sign on his collar that read ‘Please do not feed me’. So the ‘don’t feed me dog’ hung around for a while until he realized that we were poor pickings. Last we saw him he was sitting with some other people.

 

Like most of the rest of the country, it has been quite hot here this week. However, with very low humidity and nice clean clear air it is perfect summer weather (as long as you don’t have to work in it). Having been on construction sites all my life I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a ‘nice’ day on a site. It is always either too hot or too cold, never just right. Oh well, should have gotten an education, or been a fireman.

 

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North Nova News

 

Well it’s been a busy and exciting month.  June is always an exceptionally busy time at my hairdressing shop with proms, graduations and weddings plus people just getting ready for their summer vacations.  Also the hot weather that just hit us a couple of weeks ago encourages everyone to get trimmed up.  The last few days the temperatures have been hitting 30C. and more so the air conditioner has been working overtime keeping the clients and us nice and cool while they relax in our shop.  I even think it stimulates more business since most people here are not used to such temperatures.  It’s all that Scottish blood; they do not like it warm.  I tell them they don’t know what humidity is, try living in Southern Ontario!  

Peter’s sailing business is also taking off.  He has hired a young man named Jonathan who has been sailing with his father most of his life.  The two make a great team and look very professional in their red t-shirts and hats with the Sunshine Sailing logo advertising the business.  We also had two banners made up with the name and phone number on them and placed them on either side of the cockpit to advertise to tourist who are watching the boat sail by.

So far Peter has had 11 cruises with tourists coming from Indiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Hamilton (Ont.), and Toronto and all of them said they would spread the word.  They take pictures of jellyfish, buoys, birds and even the crew.  The cameras are clicking all the time.  We even had a harbour whale follow the boat for a while.  Last night the winds were fairly strong and he could only use the jib.  We are restricted to sailing under 20 knots of wind, which is about 40 km. There has been plenty of wind lately so that is always a concern.  It is such a short season here so we have to do as many cruises as we can to make the business feasible.  Our little brother Zane has been going to the marina everyday with Peter spending his time bicycling around and watching all the activities that go on there.  He has a couple of minnow traps set just for fun.  He’s becoming a wharf rat, I think.   Tomorrow is the big race from Pictou to Charlottetown.  It is a very impressive sight to see 20 boats sailing in circles around the start line waiting for the sound of the horn to signal the start of the race.  If the wind is blowing out of the harbour they will pop their spinnakers just as they cross the line creating a very colourful picture.  Spinnakers are very light sails that are used in light winds and are usually coloured with bold designs.  We usually participate in the race but this year Peter must stay around in case anyone wants a cruise.  Did anyone see the picture of the sailboat, Destination Fox Harbour?  This boat is owned by the ex Tim Horton owner, Ron Joyce and it is worth 5 million dollars.  He is sailing it to Nova Scotia to his resort (Fox Harbour) located on our north shore about 50 miles from here.  You have to be rich to go there.  It has a golf course, airstrip for jets and restaurants.  Very exclusive. 

Well I must close for now, I will try to keep up my part of the newsletter throughout the summer.  I really enjoy reading it and all the comments.  It’s hard to believe it is a year since my trip to B.C.  I definitely recommend it.  Next time I will stay longer. 

Until next time,

Sus

 

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THE ONTARION REPORT

 

June 28, 2003

 

Hello everyone! Well, here we are at the end of another month. Hard to believe isn’t it? I guess we’ve just been so busy this past few weeks that time slips by without notice. We really do seem to have a lot more on our plates now that we are both home full time. Along with building the pond we’ve been catching up with a few other things that we’ve wanted done around the house. I installed a wrought iron fence with a gate between our house and the one beside us just to discourage people from entering the back yard. I wouldn’t want any of the neighbourhood kids to have an accident in the pond. The fence and gate are only about 3’ high and 5’ long. It’s really just a divider between front and back yards. It’s also meant to keep Bailey in the back yard as well. He hasn’t realized yet that he can probably squeeze between the bars on the fence. I hope he grows a tad more before he figures that out! I took a few pics of the finished pond tonight and will attach them so Doug can add them to the website. Thank you Doug! I hope you all like the finished product.

 

Carole and I were sitting enjoying a cup of tea on the front porch tonight. You’d think we’d be sitting out back to enjoy the pond but we chose the front this time. While we were there, an Ambulance came down the street and pulled into the drive of a house 2 doors up the street from us. There is an elderly couple that lives there and the gentleman is having health problems. He came out of the house on a Paramedic’s folding “stair chair” and was able to get up and move himself to the gurney so I figure he will be ok. I think he’s had a couple of strokes lately. Of course here in Kitchener/Waterloo we have what is called tiered response.

 

That’s when police, fire and ambulance respond to any medical call that sounds like it may be life threatening. It’s a means of providing the fastest medical attention possible until the Paramedics can arrive on scene. It’s saved many lives since it’s inception in the mid 80’s. So, tonight about 20 seconds after the ambulance arrived, I could hear the Pumper from the fire station a few blocks away coming down the street. When the crew got out of the truck to help I noticed that the Captain was a good friend of mine. His name is Guy Burkholder and he’s been on the job about 2 years less than I was. I of course like to rub the fact that I’m retired and he isn’t in his face every chance I get! So while he and his crew were out the front of the house assisting with the stretcher, I casually walked out onto the front lawn. I was wearing my lounging plaid pants and large tee shirt that I call my jammies and carrying my cup of tea. I began to pick up twigs that had fallen off the white birch tree in our front yard. I casually waved at Burky and took a sip of my tea. Once the ambulance had pulled away with the patient, he walked over to give me some shot about wishing I was still doing what he was doing at my neighbour’s house. I said “Don’t you wish you were an old retired fart like me with nothing to do but relax around my yard and watch the local fire dept do what my taxes pay them to do?” I also said “by the way, I can have a scotch any time of the night or day and I don’t have to worry about behaving myself before I report for duty!” He just shook his head and said his time is coming soon. It’s a great feeling now that I’ve gotten used to the idea that I’m really retired and not just on some sort of elongated holiday. Carole laughed and said “Oh my God, don’t tell me we’ve become the old folks that live on the corner and watch everything that goes on in the neighbourhood?” I guess in a way we have. Ha ha! Oh well, it’s just part of life now.

    

There was an article in tonight’s paper about a Kitchener Firefighter that has taken it upon himself to purchase, raise and train a German Shepard dog to do rescue work. He’s spent the past year teaching the dog to sniff out people that are trapped underground or in the rubble of a collapsed building and also to do search work to find a lost person. It’s the first of it’s kind in Canada and he was asking for small cash donations to support the project. I know that the police in Ontario have working dogs for these purposes but there have been many times over my years on the job when we could have used such a team member. I give this Firefighter credit for pioneering this facet of the fire service. I hope it pays off sometime in the near future. I remember every group of children that we had visit us at the Fire Halls ask where our “Fire Dog” was. I think for the most part that they are subjects of children’s books about “Sparky the Firedog”. However, this Kitchener fellow has now changed all that. I hope it works out.

 

Well, it’s getting a bit late and I have to be in Waterloo by 9am so I’d better say good night and see you next week. By the way Doug, you aren’t the only one that can climb the Chief, I’ve done that a few times myself over the years! LOL! I too was out of breath once I finished and I didn’t even have to feed the chippies at the top! I bet however that your view was much better than mine! LOL! Take care and I’ll see you all again next weekend.

 

Regards to all, GREG.

 

PS: Happy CANADA DAY!

 

PPS: Something to Think About>

No one who keeps kicking you in the pants can ever get ahead of you!

 

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Hi Everyone,

 

I don't have much time to write today. I had planned to write a small report, but now it looks like I won't get the chance. Oh well, there's nothing overly exciting to report.

Karl is finished with work now. Only three more sleeps and he will be off on his trip to Canada for two whole months. I hope everything goes without a hitch and he has a great time. I will write more next week...

 

I read the article below in yesterday's Age. It has an Australian theme, so I thought I might share it with you. Hope you have a great week!

 

Karin

 

PS. Thanks for your comments, Carol and Greg and Mary. Always a pleasure to hear from you.

 

Hope you enjoy the article below. Just  click on the link...

 

The Office - Australian Style

 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/22/1056220469410.html

 

Hi Doug,

here's an interesting article I thought I would share with your readers....

When I read it, I thought, I just have to pass it along. I'll leave it up to you if you want to include it in this week's report.

 

 

A new kind of health drink...?! 

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/06/09/1055010912161.html

 

 

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Greg’s pond pictures are posted to his page on my site. Good-looking creation.

Have a good one..

the doug