The Squamidian Report – April 26 / 08

 

Issue #309

 

Including:

From the Shores of Lake Huron

The Ontarion

 

Hi All,

 

Something that is very common here, but not seem much at all in other parts of the country are right hand drive vehicles. You know, the ones that have the steering wheel way over on the right, instead of on the left hand side where it is supposed to be. The reason for the abundance of these vehicles here is that we have an abundance of people here from Australia and New Zealand. Many of them have brought their car, van or truck with them.

 

It always looks strange to see a vehicle driving along with no one on the ‘driver’s seat’. It looks just as strange when there is a passenger in that left side seat who is sitting there not paying all that much attention to the road. Kind of throws you a bit. But what looks really neat is when there is a big dog sitting in the left side seat. That dog will be looking forward out the window, paying attention to everything and be happy as a pig in do-do as it assumes that it is doing the driving.

 

The unfortunate down side to these vehicles is the fact that they are involved in a very high percentage of collisions in relation to their numbers. A driver sitting on the wrong side is just not in a position to see what needs to be seen properly. But they do look neat.

*

My brother Gary and his son Max were out for a few days. They drove out from Ontario as a father – son adventure. They got caught in the blizzard that hit the western provinces but otherwise had a great journey. Max checked out Lake Head University on the way. Gary flew back on Thursday and Max is staying on till sometime in mid June to explore and do a bunch of the outdoor things that young guy do.

 

I did manage to introduce them to the pleasures of dirt biking. Max has never driven a bike so the first thing we needed to do was teach him how. Once he was able to start, stop and steer, he and Gary headed out for a toot up the Mamquam Main. They were gone for just under an hour and came back with smiles on their faces. Max had only dumped the bike once. Then Gary and I did a shorter toot. I took him up a rather gnarly section of side spur and he ended up dumping the bike, so they are both even now, dump wise. However, both are now hooked on dirt biking so when Gary comes back out in June to drive back with Max we will have to do a toot into some really wild backcountry.

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When we moved out here 6 years ago, we brought along our beat up old dilapidated gas powered lawn mower. At the time I figured that if I could nurse it along for just one more mowing season it would save us the expense of having to purchase a new one right in the middle of being overwhelmed by all the costs of moving. Well, I nursed it along until the end of last mowing season and it just barely made it to the end. We knew that it would have to be replaced in time for the ’08 season.

 

The ’08 season is here and even though spring has been about 6 weeks late and still on hold, the lawn needed mowing last weekend. Meanwhile, Home Depot put out a flyer stating that they would take any old gas powered mowers that anyone wanted to dispose of for free. Better yet, if you purchased a new low emission mower, or an electric mower, you would get a coupon worth $100 toward the new mower. The idea of not having to fuss with gas and oil and filters and fumes, and trying to get the thing to start appealed to me but I didn’t want an electric mower that had to drag an extension cord around. So we looked at their cordless mowers.

 

Just like with all the usual cordless power tools, the technology has come a long way over the past few years. We found one built by Homelite with a 20 inch cutting deck that will back or side discharge as well as mulch. It takes just 4 to 6 hours to charge to 80% and will cut non-stop for over an hour. It is very quiet, sounds more like a kitchen blender than a lawn mower but it works quite well. I mowed the lawn this week with it and am now a convert to ‘green’ lawn mowing, although I’ll probably leave the mowing to the wife. She seems to like that kind of thing.

 

The biggest trick for us to remember will be to not let the grass get a foot tall and so thick you can’t walk through it. Not that I’m guilty of doing that in the past, but you know how it goes. Sometime one gets distracted and forgets to keep the yard tidy. Not me, but it could happen.

 

doug

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From the Shores of Lake Huron

 

Greetings everyone. It's a balmy 16 degrees here this morning with a small chance of showers. By Monday they are call for highs of 3 to 4 degrees with rain and the dastardly word SNOW. Our little fish are doing great and about 120,000 are due to be released this week. another gratifying winter of raising fish has just about come to an end.

 

Last weekend I cut down about 20 cedar trees to get ready for creating more work for myself. It made the front area a little more open. I also got another ten loads of fill to move around and grade. When the skid steer and I get that done I will be getting in some topsoil to prepare for Hydra seeding for lawn. I will also be setting up some areas for plantings such as shrubs and flowers.

 

The people from the motel where I put on the addition just live up the road from me and I am putting up a gazebo and a garage addition for them. I dropped my trailer there and I now take my four-wheeler to work. Saves gas big time. They have about 3200 square feet in the house but she needs a room for scrap booking and quilting so the existing double car garage will become that after the garage is built.

 

I have been out for a few rides on the bike but still haven't taken it down to Kitchener. I am still waiting for my chaps to come then riding that distance will be more comfortable. With the crappy weather ahead next week that may not be to soon. By the way Greg nice machine enjoy it a lot.

 

Well I must go for now so everyone have a Great week.

 

Brian

 

Go Rangers Go !

 

****

 

THE ONTARION REPORT

 

Hello Everyone!

 

We had an interesting week this week. Last Monday Carole and I decided we needed a couple of days away. We got up early Tuesday morning and packed a bag or two and headed for the border. Our usual haunt is Niagara Falls NY. The drive was quite pleasant and the traffic was non existent for a change. We took the 401 to #6 south toward Hamilton. We were just off the 401 and spotted a Picard’s Peanuts store. Carole asked if I wanted to look there for a snack to munch on during our drive. I jumped at the chance to stop and shop for nuts. I love chocolate covered almonds even though I’m not supposed to eat chocolate since I’m diabetic. Oh well, like I always say “Everything in moderation”! We entered Picard’s and the store was filled with the aroma of, what else, nuts and chocolate. MMMmmmmm…. my kind of store! As we browsed around and picked up a few goodies for the road, I could have quite easily overdone it. However, Carole kept me under control by limiting my choices to three small bags of goodies. We picked up some peanut clusters, some chocolate covered almonds and a small bag of beer nuts to top things off. After checking out and paying for the eats, we looked a little more and found some non-food items that they had on display. I happened on to something I just had to have! It was a poster advertising a “Roy Orbison” concert at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Georgia back in December 1969. The card also included Willie Nelson and The Everly Brothers. What a concert that must have been! Of course the poster is not an original but it’s a very good copy for sure. I’ve been an Orbison fan since waaaayyy back in 1963 and actually shed a tear the day I heard the news that he had died of a heart attack in 1988. As we exited the peanut palace, I was all aglow at the thought of having made a success of our trip already. Heck, I was ready to go home with my trophy in hand but Carole assured me there was more fun ahead so we pressed onward! I went to Mohawk College in Hamilton back in the late 60’s and early 70’s and whenever I make that decent into the Hamilton basin from the Clappison’s Corners ridge of the mountain something tugs at my heart strings. I said to Carole as we approached the crest of the basin and headed downward that I always enjoyed the view of Hamilton from that point. I no sooner had the words out of my mouth when I realized that Hamilton had disappeared. We literally could not see the city from the top of Hwy 6. There was so much smog that the entire Hamilton basin was enshrouded in a brown mist. I’ve never seen the smog so bad even in that city. All I could think was “Those poor bastards that live and work in that city having to breathe that crap!” I’m glad it’s not me! We were both horrified at the site of such a disgusting mess in the air. (Scuse me…. What air?) As we made our way down the hill, the city finally became semi-visible and we could hardly wait to get through it and out the other side of the cloud. We had another view of the cloud from atop the Burlington Skyway as we headed south east on the QEW and could see from that point the huge towering chimneys of the steel mills spewing their contribution to the thick brown mass. What a shame! Both before and after Hamilton, the weather was beautiful, sunny and clear as could be. This made the rest of the drive a pleasure to enjoy. The drive along the QEW is a strait run with a good view of Lake Ontario on your left most of the way. The St Catherine’s Skyway is another highlight of that drive. From the top of the Skyway we could see two huge ships being processed through the locks of the Welland Canal. They were heading west into Lake Erie and we marveled at the size of the ships and how little clearance they seemed to have as they passed through the gates of each lock. I believe there is only a matter of 6 or so inches clearance on either side of the largest ships that pass through the locks. What an amazing site to see! Some day we’re going to take a drive down to St Catherine’s / Welland area just to watch a few ships pass through the locks from up close. I’m sure that would be a worthwhile day trip to take on a sunny summer day.

 

Finally as we approached the last few kilometers of highway before arriving at the border, we could see another huge cloud in the distance. Only this time, it was the cloud of mist that hangs over Niagara Falls. It’s truly a beautiful sight to behold!

From the Rainbow Bridge over the Niagara River you can see both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side of the gorge. They are both spectacular sights but of course Canada owns the better of the two! The border guard on the American side was actually quite pleasant to deal with for a change. He smiled and greeted us with a “How are you folks today?” We were quite taken aback by this since we are usually greeted with a scowl and a look of suspicion. We passed through without a hitch. We were anxious to try out luck at a bit of gambling on the American side of the border for a change. We had heard that the slot machines were more generous in the US casino than in Niagara Falls Canada. The Casino is only two blocks over the border but we decided to do some shopping and find a motel before making our donation to the US economy. We headed through the run down Pine St section of Niagara Falls NY known as Little Italy and out into the shopping mecca known as Military Road. This is an area that has for years drawn cross border shoppers with it’s “Factory Outlet” malls and other stand alone stores that tout bargain prices. You’d think they’d be busier than ever with the Canadian and US money pretty near on a par these days but that sure wasn’t the case this past week. We entered the main Outlet Mall and found that about one half of the stores that were renovated just a few years ago and are still undergoing changes are empty. The only section of the mall that has full occupancy is the “Food Court”. I guess people always have to eat! We were disappointed in the few stores that are still operating. The prices of their merchandise are sky high and are not of very high quality. We didn’t find a single item that appealed to either of us and usually there is at least a pair of shoes that make Carole smile. We headed out to find something to eat and get settled in a motel room. We found a nice clean newly renovated Super 8 Motel not far from the main shopping area. Once we settled in, we decided to eat at the Casino and then do a little gambling. We like to play the slots and usually, Carole is lucky enough to leave these establishments sporting a good profit. I on the other hand tend to make a donation and then wait for her to finish her winning streak. That’s just the way it goes. Consequently I’ve learned not to feed these one armed bandits with too much enthusiasm. I usually spend maybe $40 to $60.00 and then just walk around and watch others spend their pay and welfare cheques on futile dreams of wealth to be had with the pull of the lever. We first entered the buffet section for something to eat. The buffet was huge and we tried a little of everything but the only item that we felt was of reasonable worth was the prime rib. Even that was a little too rare for our taste. After eating our share we headed out to play a few slots. We spent about three hours on the casino floor and only in the last half hour of our stay did we finally realize that there was a “non-smoking” section. Neither of us smokes and although the casino is well ventilated, there was quite a bit of second hand smoke drifting around. We toughed it out and after having enough smoke and enough of the slots we counted our losses and headed back to the motel. We weren’t down by much but it was the first time in a long time that we came away at a loss. We both commented that we didn’t hear many machines paying off for having a reputation of being a generous casino. I think that’s another one of those rumors started by the casino owners themselves to attract suckers both Canadian and American! LOL! We had fun anyway and considered the effort worth a try just this once at least.

 

 

The motel room was spacious and clean and after a shower each, we turned for a little TV and a good nights sleep. We slept well and woke around 8am the next morning. The motel supplies a “Continental Breakfast” and it was quite adequate to start the day. We had another lovely day filled with sunshine and warm temperatures. We shopped the area near the motel a little in the morning and then decided to get some lunch. After lunch we took a drive down the back roads from Niagara Falls to Buffalo. The speed limit is 45 mph and seemed quite fast when compared to our “city street” speed limits. The drive was along the Niagara River and was interesting. We stopped at a few stores and outdoor malls along the way and just enjoyed a leisurely pace. We picked up a few small items but for all the looking we did, we didn’t find many bargains. At the end of the day, we took the interstate US 190 highway back to Niagara Falls. It’s a much quicker route and we were able to get off the highway about a block from our motel. We grabbed a meal at a Denny’s down the street and retired to our motel room.

 

The next day we decided to make one more effort to do a little shopping before heading home. Carole said we hadn’t tried the K Mart on Military Rd yet. We had gotten some good bargains there other times when we visited over the years. So, off we went to K Mart. To our surprise, Carole was able to find a few items that were a good bargain and I even picked up a canister of R 134-A air conditioning refrigerant that I can’t buy in Canada. We noticed on the drive down that the AC in the Jeep wasn’t very cold so I bought the can of refrigerant to top up the charge when we got home.  With a few bargains in our bags, we stopped at a Pizza Hut for lunch and then headed for home. All in all, we had a pleasant couple of days away from home and felt recharged ourselves when we pulled into the driveway in Kitchener.

 

We do this a couple of times a year and if nothing else, it reassures us that “The Falls” is still where it’s always been and is just as beautiful too!

                                                             

Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!

 

Bye for now.. Greg.

 

PS: Something To Think About>

How many gallons of water flow over the Horseshoe Falls every minute?

 

 

One More Quick Event

 

As I sat at my computer tonight to write my Ontarion I heard a noise outside. I looked out the window to the street that runs beside out house. The people that live across from us with the two teenaged daughters that are always having the drunken parties were at it again. This time they had a large blue tarp suspended across the front of their garage so nobody could see in. It also allowed them to extend the size of the garage to accommodate more people. We had noticed earlier that the people arriving for the party were older than usual. I just figured it was an anniversary for either Jim or Rose’s parents or something a little more civilized that usual. When I looked out at the front of their house, I was shocked to see the “Stanley Cup” sitting in all its glory with bright lights shining on it from inside the house in their living room window. I did a double take and with the help of my binoculars was able to verify that it was indeed THE “Stanley Cup”! Their daughters are heavily involved in sports of all kind from lacrosse to soccer to field and ice hockey. The youngest one’s ice hockey team won an international championship this year and I suppose that this event was part of the reward for the team for winning such a prestigious title. I’ll be sure to get the skinny on the whole evening from Jim and Rose over the weekend. For once, they had a good reason to celebrate and it looks like they did it in grand style. I’ve attached a couple of pictures I was able to capture but they aren’t very clear from my little camera at night. I hope you can make out the cup in the photos.

 

Greg.

 

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Have a good one..

the doug

http://www.thedougsite.ca

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