The Squamidian Report – July 16 / 11

 

Issue #477

 

Including:

The Ontarion

 

Hi All,

 

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, the jerks get nailed. And it brings a smile to your face, or at least to my face. We were in the car, driving along the highway through town. The speed is posted at 70 and for safety reasons we tend to drive that section at just under 80. To drive any slower would result in being run right over from behind and at that speed we do not need to worry about being caught in a radar trap. As we drove along in the right hand lane, a black car came flying past in the left lane (divided 4-lane highway) and cut right back in front of us, so close that I needed to tap the brakes. That kind of driver drives me nuts. It’s like they want to run you right off the road for having the nerve to be in their way. Anyway, no sooner had this jerk swing in front of us when another car flew by. As soon as there was room, it pulled into the right lane behind the first car and on went the flashing red and blue lights. It was an unmarked cop car and the cop had been following the jerk who was speeding and making unsafe lane changes. That was cool, I just wish it would happen to more of them.

 

We actually have a lot of unmarked cop cars around here. Some stick out like a sore thumb, others are very hard to spot. There is a dark blue mini-van with a ski rack on the top and a new driver sticker on the back. There are some black muscle cars that even have cast wheels instead of black steel wheels. They can be hard to spot unless you can see the front where the big push bumpers are. I’ve even seen VW Beatles used. And there are a few unmarked cars that are high-end luxury vehicles with no external indications at all as to what they are. And they are all busy, all the time. Like everywhere, we have our share of bad, aggressive and selfish drivers.

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I’m batching it these days. Well, the dog and I are. We drove ‘the wife’ to the airport on Wednesday morning for her flight to good old WW airport. She’s back to attend a wedding. I didn’t feel obligated to go along for a couple of reasons. Someone had to stay and dog/house sit, and face it… I wasn’t expected to attend several weddings over the past 10 years that were ‘on my side of the family’, so there should be no reason I’d be expected to attend a wedding on ‘her side’. Besides, I don’t really like weddings very much and make a lousy guest so when it comes right down to it, I’m doing them a favor. A favor they should be quite grateful for. So, when you think about it, they should be sending me a thank you card for NOT coming.

 

It’s not like I’m out here enjoying my time alone. Well, I am, but I’m not enjoying it as much as I could be if we were having any sign at all of the summer that has not happened yet. I could be riding endless miles of twisty mountain roads, taking in countless scenic vistas, with not a care in the world except for getting home to feed and walk the dog. But, like I’ve said countless times, summer has not yet turned up. We’ve finally started to get some early spring weather but it has stayed cold and wet. What little riding we can do requires rain gear and cold weather gear and full-face helmets and winter gloves and…. well, you get the idea. So, I will enjoy my solitude from inside the house and console myself with the knowledge that it is a comfortable 14 degrees here and I don’t have to endure the stifling 30 degrees with relentless sunshine that she must endure back there.

 

doug

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THE ONTARION REPORT

 

Hello everyone!

 

Well, its mid July and the weather is still beautiful! It’s been this way for over a month now and from what I hear the rest of the summer and the fall will be the same! How cool is that or should I say how warm is that! LOL! It’s really too bad the rest of the country isn’t having the same incredible summer. They’re either having floods or drought or “February Like” weather and it sucks. I don’t mean to rub our good fortune in anybody’s face because that can turn around and bite you real quick! I’m just saying that it would be nice if all of Canada were experiencing the same weather we are here in southern Ontario.

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Why is it that when you’re hanging around home with the usual easy going schedule that the shrubs and other garden plants don’t seem to grow very quickly but when you’re busy as heck or away for a week or two there’s a veritable jungle in your back yard the next time you take notice? I always take care of the lawn and keep it cut and edged nicely but the shrubs tend to only need clipping a few times a year. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been very busy and haven’t really noticed the massive growth of our back garden shrubs and trees. Three days ago Carole commented on how huge they’ve grown, seemingly over night! LOL! I decided to get at it and do the trimming to get things back to normal and looking their best once again! Out came the electric trimmers and a pair of trusty hand snips and away I went. There are several types of shrubs and bushes that I cut the same every time so I don’t need any supervision to do those. However, we do have many that Carole likes to oversee the trimming of so they don’t get butchered to my standards by mistake! LOL! I tend to cut things back a little too much thinking “What the hell, it’ll grow back!” but in the meantime they don’t look as appealing as they should. It’s with Carole’s good eye that our gardens out back look as beautiful as they do so it is best that she be present when they get their summer trimmings! Anyway, we spent the past three days snipping and trimming and sweating and lugging away the excess branches etc. What a big job it turned out to be! At least now we can see the waterfalls overlooking the pond once again and the branches are no longer hanging into the water! LOL! They were a tad overgrown to say the least! Now I can cut the lawn without having to lift the tree branches up to mow under them and I don’t wind up with numerous scratches on my face and hands from pushing through the low handing ones!

 

After three days of hard work by both of us we finally finished up late yesterday and I was able to haul the bundles and bags of yard waste in a trailer to the local dump! I hope the rest of the summer is a “slow growth” season so we don’t have to repeat the last three days labour! It’s hard work but the results are truly gratifying!

 

If you want the nice gardens that enhance the look of your property you just have to put in the effort, that’s all there is to it! Then you can sit back for a few weeks and enjoy the fruits of your labour!

 

That’s it for this week folks!

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

 

Bye for now… GREG.

 

PS: Something To Think About>

Did you know, ancient Roman, Chinese and German societies often used urine for mouthwash?

Makes you think, what sort of container did they keep it in or did they take it directly from the source? LOL!

 

PPS: I have a lovely little KIA RIO RS 4 door sedan for sale if anyone is looking for a second car! It’s a 2005 and has only 97k on it. It’s certified and e-tested. It’s silver in colour with a grey cloth interior. There isn’t a mark on it and it runs like a clock. It’s automatic with overdrive, has stereo CD player, rear defrost, tilt steering, intermittent windshield wipers, adjustable lumbar drivers seat, power steering and brakes. It’s a basic vehicle but will make someone a great second vehicle. (or first).

If anyone is interested or knows of someone that might be, please give me a call at 519-745-3252. The asking price is  $5699.00 or Best Offer. We are open to offers!

 

*** I know this isn’t the usual use of the Squamidian/Ontarion so I apologize in advance for the “car add”. It’s just that Carole has been given the task of looking after her brother Alan’s estate and due to that we have this lovely little car to sell. Please help us with this if you can. We’d very much appreciate it this one time!

Thanks… Greg & Carole

 

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Have a good one..

the doug

http://www.thedougsite.net

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