The Squamidian Report – July 19 / 14
 
Issue #634

Including:
From Gale
From Maggie
The Ontarion

Hi All,

Kyra and the blueberries... funny thing, Kyra will not eat store-bought blueberries. Even the 'local grown' ones. But, she quite willingly wolfs down every berry she can get from my backyard patch. I don't know how she can tell the difference without tasting them but she can. And of course there is most definitely a difference. Its just like tomatoes or any other crop that is cultivated for commercial use. The store-bought stuff has been engineered to grow fast and big and look great but no thought at all went in to keeping the original flavor. My blueberry patch is loaded again this year and we have had sunshine so they are ripening. Last year there was not enough sunshine for them to turn nice and sweet. We've just come out of a two-week heat wave and the berries are coming along very nicely, with a small handful ready each day now for her. When the sun comes back out after the expected rain over the next few days, I won't be able to keep up with the berries. Even Kyra won't be able to keep up with them. Should end up with a whole bunch in the freezer.
*
I was away for a couple of days again this week on a small road trip. This one was a bit different from the usual runs I do. A friend and member of my riding chapter had been over in Tofino on Vancouver Islands outer west coast for a job interview. She had gone over on her motorcycle, but while there, she broke her left forearm quite badly (not while riding) and required surgery. She made the trip back in an ambulance. Her cast is now off but her arm will not be healed or strong enough for a while yet for her to ride her bike. So, we launched a retrieval mission. Five of us headed over on three bikes. Fxchick rode on the back of DrMucker's bike in order to ride Mary's bike back. Mary rode on the back of mine, and  Donny rode along to partake in the adventure. Its about the same number of riding kilometers from here to there as it is from here to Cache Creek, but there is also the ferry crossing and the infamous highway 4 that crosses the Island, so its a day ride each way.

I left here about 6:45am in order to get to the ferry terminal in Horseshoe Bay with lots of time to spare, and to enjoy the early morning coolness. As stated above, we'd been having a rather sizzling heat wave and the cool early morning air felt pretty nice. My riding friends pulled in shortly after I got there and our bikes and all the other bikes that turned up for the ferry crossing rode on first and right to the front of the boat, just like it should be. The crossing was uneventful, a good thing when you think about it. By the time we reached Nanaimo, the heat had started to build and we put on our hot weather riding gear. By the time we pulled in to Port Alberni, it was very hot. Ice water was our drink of choice. Highway 4 on out to the coast is a very narrow windy trail with some impressively steep grades, a challenging drive no matter what you are driving. We just took out time and enjoyed the experience. Two hours later, two vehicles rolled off the same steep high curve. Thats how it goes there. As we approached the coast we ran into that persistent Pacific fog and mist. The temperature dropped from 35 down to 12 within a few kilometers. When the mist would roll out, the temp rose to near 20, when it rolled back in, it dropped back down to chilly. Thats how it was the whole evening and the next morning, which is pretty normal for there.

When Mary got hurt, some locals took charge of her motorcycle for her and took it to their home a few clicks outside Tofino for storage. We stopped there to get the bike. Because of the perpetual ocean fog with the perpetual ocean salt content in the air, her bike was in rough shape with rust forming on all the metallic surfaces. The clutch was sticking as well. We broke that free by rocking the bike in gear and then fired it up. It didn't want to start at first but if finally caught and then ran fine. Fxchick climbed aboard and we all rode the rest of the way into town to the motel that Mary had reserved our rooms in. After giving her bike a bit more attention and maintenance we walked around looking for some place to have dinner and exploring. We spent most of the evening on the main dock, watching the tide go out and the sun go down. We also watched the clams squirting. Thats really cool and funny. The clams are somewhere under the exposed sand, and they squirt water, some shoot streams of water several feet into the air. Squirts happening all over the place. Little squirts, big squirts.

Next morning dawned cold and foggy on the coast. We knew that once we climbed inland we'd run into clear skies and hot sunshine but we had half an hour or more of riding before we got to those clear skies, so, away we went. We didn't run out of the cold fog until we climbed Sutton Pas by Kennedy Lake. From there on it was a scorcher. We had lunch again in Port Alberni and then headed for the ferry in Nanaimo. There was only one scary moment when some jerk in the on-coming traffic, in a big hurry, pulled out to pas right in front of us. We veered to the shoulder and he almost lost control as he tried to squeeze back into his lane. I don't know where that type of impatient driver comes from but there never seems to be a scarcity of them.  We were in good time for the 3:20 sailing and were back in Horseshoe Bay by 5. Everyone headed for home, a bit tired and wind burned but we'd had a great time. You can't help but have a good time when riding with good friends. We are always in communication with each other as we ride, using our U-Clear com systems, and that means we can keep each other informed as to what is happening. No surprises, that kind of thing. That takes a lot of stress out of any situation, including road hazards, navigation questions, and desperately needed potty breaks. And oh, I actually remembered to take the camera along, and I even remembered to take some pictures. So, they can be seen at:
http://www.thedougsite.net/14-Rides/TofinoRetrieval.html

One last thing, which has nothing to do with road trips or any kind of riding... it is normal to have 'beware of bear' signs on the trails and in the parks around here. This year we have 'Warning, Grizzly Bears in the Area' signs. Cool.
doug
****

From Gale

Doug thinks I should write about my little adventure with Ryan at the music festival. He forgets that I don't think in words - pictures, smells, textures, sounds, - but not words. I'll try. The first thing I noticed as we approached the grounds, were the sounds. The music of course but also the backup beeps, golfcart wheels crunching on gravel, generators humming, Johnny-on-the-spot doors banging shut, carnival bells and whistles and the usual human buzz of voices. Next was the dust and dirt from the mulch spread everywhere, even in the VIP area.

The real adventure began when Ryan took me backstage. He showed me the large trolleys on wheels all set up to be rolled on stage They had the best spot. He showed and explained to me the equipment (all looking very pristine) and even identified the items with real labels, not "do-hickeys". Some "do-hickeys" were fastened up to clusters of colourcoded cords so large I doubt I could circle them with 2 hands. The huge box holding the microphones - Ryan's area of expertise - had individual cushioned spots for each one. He pulled out one that Brian Adam's uses on stage that includes a camera for close-up shots. I deduced from that, that the singer must have a facial every day and a ton of make-up - but I could be wrong! I was surprised how many mics just the drum set alone needed. I deduced from that, that Ryan has a huge responsibility - but I could be right! Ryan also pointed out the "do-hickeys" that explained why the music and even the words could be so clearly heard from my back deck - he had been surprised by that and was curious to find out why.

Then we went out front to the sound booth where Ryan works during the show (I think I got that part right). There was a sound guy working the controls with an impressive background but I can' remember what - after all, his name wasn't Ryan. There was a narrow fenced-in path between the booth and stage so if need be, they can dash up there. Ryan said that can be quite exciting at a huge venue. He pointed out the parts of the stage that can lower and form a backdrop during the performance. I had been surprised by the size of the stage when I first saw it but, guess what, the stage in Montreal where they were heading next is 4 or 5 times larger! I can't imagine!

All in all, it was great fun getting the inside tour from Ryan and I hope he's not slapping his forehead in dismay or rolling around on the ground in fits of laugher as he reads this as it is just possible that I may just have explained things ass-backwards. Thanks again Ryan. Way cool!
Gale
****

Here is our Big Music Fest story ….. not as exciting as Gale having gone around the place with Ryan, but this is how the neighbourhood reacted etc.
The Big Music (Methane) Fest at Mount Trashmore
 
When the Big Music Fest was announced as being literally in the back yards of people backing onto McClennan Park (Mount Trashmore), there was a lot of anger in the neighbourhood because the event was just announced one day in the paper and even our counsellor did not know.  There was a lot of hand wringing and complaining until a meeting was held between the counsellor, the city, the promoters and the people in the area.  It was held at a community arena and the place was full!   The general worries were parking in the area, vandalism, noise, fencing of the area etc. We were told not to worry.   A week or so before the festival, methane was discovered in pipes that ran under the field to drain off ground water.  This did not bode well.  The city came and dug up parts of the field to remove the pipes, and then the heavens opened and the field was more like a pond.  Not an auspicious beginning for the likes of Bryan Adams and Aerosmith.  The city decided to dump inches of mulch on the field.  Then, the engineers found that the field would not hold the weight of the stage.  Imagine Steven Tyler sinking into a giant abyss!   So, the engineers decided to put the stage on a parking lot ….one hundred yards from our house!   Most of you know where Gale lives, and many where I do.  I am up the street a bit and on the other side of the road to Gale, at the edge of the park.   So a week before the concert, the equipment arrived.  Heavy trucks, cranes, a zillion machines that went backwards and beeped, generators that ran 24/7, tents, hundreds of orange Johnny on the Spots, trailers, ginormous garbage bins ….. all a hundred yards from us.  The noise was deafening, and the stench of carbon dioxide was enough to nearly knock-out my 22lb, 2 year-old grand-child.
 
The city decided there would be no parking in the many streets around the park unless there was a parking permit displayed, so we were given two guest parking passes.  Of course, the best way to use the pass was to put it in our own car, and park on the street.  The neighbourhood had lots of empty driveways as forlorn people drove around looking for spots. 
 
It turned out that actually we had a good vantage point for the big acts.  We could sit on our deck, see the lights on the stage, hear it all and use our imaginations for what the singers were doing. At least we weren’t sardines in a tin standing on bumpy mulch, standing on tip-toe, craning our necks and paying $8.00 for watered down beer.  We had friends visit, had civilized munchies, and wine and could hear it all.  Bryan Adams was darn good.
 
On the Sunday, we walked over to the park late afternoon, climbed Mount Trashmore, and reinforced the thought we were glad we were not sardines stuck in mulch.   More friends came Sunday night.  We were more adventurous and went out of our back yard and stood right at the fence now only 50 feet from the stage.  Some equipment had been moved and we could see a slight side view of the stage and caught glimpses of movement on stage.  I can’t say that we actually  saw Aerosmith and Steven Tyler, but the music was good and the 10 or 15 neighbours standing at the fence felt part of the action.
 
Now nearly a week later, the park is still not back to normal.  Most of the equipment, fencing etc is gone, but the sea of mulch is still there along with a lot of garbage and a few desultory seagulls poking around.  The festival has been deemed a success. There were no riots as feared.  Parking was okay …. Thanks to all the neighbours parking on the street.  The concerts ended by 11 as promised.   However, when talk about having it again next year begins, the consensus of the neighbourhood is that all that equipment, the generators, and the massive trucks be set up much closer to Mount Trashmore and not in people’s back yards.   Now after more than a week, the birds have returned, and we can hear birdsong and the wind in the trees rather than the beeping of a truck backing up and the roar of massive equipment
Maggie

****

THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone!

With the lovely sunny weather we’re having it’s BBQ season in full swing for sure. With the convenience of propane or natural gas BBQ’s these days it’s so easy to just step out to your back yard and light it up to prepare supper! I remember when my dad was into BBQ-ing with charcoal. We bought one of the first three legged ones with a lid on it. It was like a garbage can lid inverted with a chrome grill that would spin so you could make sure all your food was grilled evenly. I remember that he always had trouble getting the charcoal to light in the wind. This was before they came out with the cans of squirt on lighter fluid. He took a foot long section of stovepipe and drilled holes in the sides of it. He’d then stuff news paper in the bottom of it and fill the upper portion with charcoal chunks then light the news paper and wait to see if it would get the charcoal going. It usually took about a half hour before the charcoal was glowing enough so he could start cooking on it. Then more often that not, he’d use a pair of pliers to lift the pipe and spread the embers around the BBQ only to find that he hadn’t put enough charcoal in to make a nice even layer of coals on the whole surface. So he’s end up adding more chunks and had to wait for them to catch! What a challenge it was just to cook outdoors! The retailers of BBQing equipment finally came out with a new fangled charcoal lighting device called the “Electric Charcoal Starter”. It was an oval shaped electric element with a plug in cord on it. So, out would come the extension cord and the new Starter and the charcoal was then piled on the element in the BBQ bottom. This was a lot quicker but had its drawbacks as well. Where to put the hot “Starter” after the coals were finally lit was always a challenge.

Back in those days, mum and dad would get the steaks and the kids would get the hot dogs and hamburgers. No complaints from us though, we loved whatever we got off the BBQ. We would even take the BBQ on a Saturday or Sunday and drive out towards Stratford and before reaching Shakespeare there was and still is a spot on the south side of the highway that has a couple of picnic tables and a place to park the car. We’d pull in there and set up the grill and spend a couple of hours playing catch while mum and dad just sat at the table and talked about whatever! We felt like we were on a mini holiday when we did this. It’s funny, when Carole and I went to Grand Bend last week I thought of those picnic times as we passed the spot on Hwy 7/8. It was only about 56 years ago we last had one of those family picnics at that spot but I still remember the details like it was yesterday. I Remember climbing a tree beside the farmer’s field and finding three blue Robin’s eggs in a nest while waiting for supper. I also remember dad’s 54 Buick Special having a flat tire when we were packing up to drive home. I think that was the first and only time I ever saw my dad work on his own car. He had no choice of course when we were way out in the middle of nowhere back then. It only took him a half hour to get the spare on and I remember all of us sitting on the picnic table freezing our buns off and getting eaten by mosquitoes while he changed the tire. The only good thing that came of that adventure was that dad took us to the “Tasty Freeze” out on Victoria St on the way home as a treat for being good kids during our tire changing experience. Ah the “Tasty Freeze”, now there’s a story for another week! Anyway, how times have changed BBQ wise since the 50’s. It was something special to even own one back then and nowadays pretty much everybody owns a gas BBQ and it’s as easy as pushing a button to get the grill lit and heating up! I wonder if Dad was looking down when I did up the pork chops for supper this evening?

That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg

PS: Something To Think About>
Make sure the gas connections are tight before lighting your grill each time!
****

Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.