The Squamidian Report – Apr. 29 / 17
Issue #779
Including:
From Lorne
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Every once in a while, perhaps about once per week or so, the heavy
dark grey rain-soaked overcast actually parts for a few hours. I guess
thats a step in the right direction. When it does, we can see the sky.
That is also a step in the right direction. Its kind of comforting to
know that there still is a sky up there above those clouds. And thats
exactly what happened this past Wednesday. Sometimes during the late
evening the overcast parted and low and behold, there was a clear blue
evening sky. We could see the mountain tops. Its comforting to know
they are still there and its almost staggering to see just how much
snow is up there.
The timing for this miraculous but short lived curiosity was quite
fortuitous because I had made an on-line purchase about a week
ago and it arrived that day. Quite some time ago I'd decided that I
deserved a better spotting scope than the small one I've had for years.
In fact, that scope isn't even here anymore. It lives up at the
gondola where one of the trail guides has been using it to show the
local birds etc to the tourists and to keep an eye on the avalanche
prone snow slopes up under Skypilot Mt. The thing with telescopes is,
there really are just two types if you don't include specialty items
for very specific purposes. 'Normal' telescopes are usually either
terrestrial, for looking at things here on Earth, and astronomical, for
looking at things above the Earth. They tend to be built differently
and to be optimized for different light gathering and filtering. An
astronomy scope tends to be way to bright for looking at scenery or
wildlife because it must gather as much light as possible. A spotting
scope tends to have too wide a field of vision for looking at specific
sky objects, and won't blind you if you were to look at a bright
sun-lit snowfield. Either can be used for both purposes but it becomes
a compromise. As much as I'd love to have a good astronomy scope, I
recognize a couple of reasons not to get one at this time. Firstly, I
wouldn't just want a 'good' scope, I'd want a really good scope and
that gets costly. Secondly, with the exception of mid winter, night
time is way past my bed time and face it, it generally needs to be
night in order to star gaze. Don't get me wrong, I most certainly
intend to get a good astronomical scope at some point in the future but
not at this time.
So that takes me back to the spotting scope I ordered. There is
certainly lots of stuff to look at around here through a scope that is
designed and optimized for terrestrial use. What I purchased is a
Celestron Ultima 80. The 80 stands for the objective lens size, its a
3-inch wide lens. It has a zoom of from 20X to 60X which is pretty
standard, and when mounted on my old telescope tripod it gives a nice
stable view of the surrounding 'everything' including those spectacular
snow cornices that are over hanging the high ridges and cliffs. I must
admit I was eyeing the Ultima 100 for a time but that 1-inch bigger
lens pretty well doubled the price and I'd be better off to put the
money I didn't spent toward that future astronomical scope. As well,
the larger scope would be heavier and more cumbersome to carry around
and the idea of a spotting scope is portability.
Now getting back to that fortunate parting of the clouds on Wednesday,
Jupiter was high enough in the south east to be shining nicely by the
time the sky darkened enough to see her. This would be a nice test for
the scope because Jupiter is obviously a sky object, and, spotting
scopes do work 'ok' for that kind of thing as long as you're not trying
to resolve deep space object and don't need really high magnifications.
I set up the scope and centered it on Jupiter, looked through the
eye-piece and, wow. I was very impressed. I could see the lines on
Jupiter's surface, fuzzy, but I could see them. And the 4 moons that
are visible through most good binoculars and small scopes stood out
like jewels. I convinced 'The Wife' to step out onto the deck and take
a look. I think this was the first time she'd ever seen those moons.
And then the clouds closed back in and I'm waiting for the next
opportunity to do a bit more star gazing as well as some brighter days
to bring it up the gondola with me and get a real nice close look at
the cornices and avalanches in the back country, all from the comfort
of the big viewing deck up there.
*
My motorcycle has been insured and 'on the road' for
almost a month now and I've been out on it about 4 times. Thats a real
bummer. This spring has been a real bummer. Oh well. I had intended to
replace the rear tire at the end of last season but last season got
rained out before anyone expected and the tire replacement just never
happened. It had been my intention to have the local Yamaha dealer
bring in a tire and install it for me, just like I've had done several
times in the past. Unfortunately, the owner of the Yamaha dealership
here decided to retire and closed up shop at the end of last year.
Fortunately, we now have a Harley mechanic here in town. He has lived
here all along and had been commuting in to the city for years. He had
been the head mechanic at the main Harley dealership in the city but
had gotten fed up with how that place treated their customers and
decided to open a repair and customizing shop in Squamish. I made
arrangements for him to bring in the tire I wanted and install it as
well as check wheel bearings, brakes etc.
It took a while for him to 'fit me in' as he is very busy, but anyone
I've talked to that has had him work on their bike has been quite
satisfied with both him and his work. So, the bike has now been in, the
new tire is installed and everything else on the bike is in
perfect condition. I'm ready to ride and the bikes ready to ride.
If anyone has an 'in' with Mother Nature, please put in a good word for
us. Surely we deserve a break.
doug
****
From Lorne
A limb from a tree fell on my car during a storm and caused a dent on
the driver side door about the size of a tennis ball. the 2'' diameter
branch was wedged between the side mirror and the door panel. I
got an estimate for the repair. 38 cents under $1000.00. I
then visited my insurance broker and was pleased to hear that because
it was not a traffic incident, it will not affect my insurance rating.
However, $ 500.00 deductible is still an expensive happening. Had I
parked under my illegal carport, that would not have happened, but I
don't like breaking the law. The car is now at the body shop and my
insurance has provided a loaner. I drive on a 3 year lease so I
would have had to address the issue, so why not now.
Lorne
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
It’s been a whole week since we last spoke so I figured it’s about time for another updating.
The gardens are sprouting and the trees are finally budding enough that
one can see the results of spring weather. Sure seemed to take long
enough around here. I guess the West coast wasn’t the only part of the
country that was slow in having spring bust out all over! We can
finally see the trees along the older streets of KW blossoming with new
life as we travel through the city. I’ve also noticed a lot of
boulevard trees that have been either cut to the base or are marked for
destruction because of either the ash borer or some other blight that
has taken their life. While driving up McGarry Dr today I finally
noticed one of the trees in full bloom with an incredible load of pink
blossoms so thick I couldn’t see through to the other side of the tree.
We seem to be a couple of weeks behind BC with this happening but it’s
finally looking like Spring.
With the onset of Spring and being we live with the natural section of
land called a Hydro Right of Way in our back yard we start to see the
reappearance of an abundance of wildlife once again. Just this morning
we were able to smell the lovely odour of our local skunk. I guess
they’ve finally realized that the snow is gone for good! With the over
growth of sections of shrubs and bush areas that the Hydro doesn’t cut
down, the smaller animals of course find homes for themselves all along
the Right of Way and some tend to make their way into the back yards of
the houses that also line the edges of that same area through the city.
Over the years of living here, we’ve had many different small animals
show up in our yard. We’ve had everything from ducks to raccoons show
up. We had one raccoon stuck between our shed and our house a couple of
years ago but were able to poke at him with a long pole and scare him
enough that he finally squeezed out and ran away. Good thing too since
the animal control company that the Humane Society recommended I call
wanted a whopping $600.00 to come get him out of the squeeze! What’s
the Humane Society for if not to answer calls about animals in
distress? Anyway Adam and my persistence with the long pole solved that
problem! LOL! One other problem we have had over the years is one of
mice finding their way into our house. We found the first one under the
kitchen sink and wondered how the heck he got in! I kept putting traps
under the sink and trapping the sneaky little critters until we got rid
of them, all 24 of them I think it was. I guess they had moved in as a
couple and kept on making babies until there was a huge family under
there. They are sneaky as heck because Carole and I like to keep an
exceptionally clean house and were shocked at the fact that we had a
mouse let alone two-dozen of the darned things! I did a lot of research
on them and how to get rid of them. I plugged every brick vent on the
house with special screens and closed up any other holes in the house
walls and finally we’ve been a couple of years without any more coming
in. Last fall was the second year I’d been spotting a large rat that
kept frequenting our pond out back for a drink. I tried to hunt him
down with the BB gun to no avail! I also set a large rat trap and
either the rat or some other creature kept cleaning off the bait
without setting off the trap! Finally Adam gifted me with a couple of
special traps from Princess Auto like the ones you see in large grocery
stores or in the corners of Costco stores. It’s a 10” square tin box
that has a hole in either side. You can look right through the box from
one hole to the other. You wind up a spring-loaded mechanism in the box
and place the box tight along the wall of your house. Mice and rats
apparently travel along the base of walls so when they encounter these
boxes, they tend to travel through the box opening when they come to
it. Once inside the box, the weight of their little body on a trigger
activates the spring-loaded wall of the passageway and it sweeps them
into a little room at the front of the box and they can’t get out! Once
they are trapped in the room, they die of starvation. If they are lucky
and you are kind hearted enough and find them in time, you can release
them live from the trap. I however haven’t found any live one’s yet! I
have one trap set in our garage and have had two mice caught in that
one. I also have one along the back wall of the house just below the
kitchen window and I’ve caught two mice in that one as well, both dead!
The traps have been out in these spots all fall and winter and have
kept the pesky little buggers from finding a way into the house so they
are worth whatever they cost Adam!
I also set the rat trap several times this spring and missed the dirty
rat every time! I hadn’t seen him in a few weeks and figured he had
just been lucky enough to evade my efforts! One day last week I looked
into the mousetrap box on the back wall and figured I had another
mouse. There is a viewing window in the top of the front “Trap” chamber
on these boxes and I could see something brown with a tail in the box.
I put my gloves on and carried the box out to the curb to empty the
trapped critter into the storm drain. I was totally surprised when I
opened the release door and a big fat rat dropped out of the trap and
was so large he got stuck in one of the rectangular holes in the storm
drain. I had caught the rat that had been stocking around the back
yard! I was shocked that he’d been able to even fit into the mousetrap
but I guess like mice, they can squeeze into small spaces too! He had
taken a nosedive into the storm grate but his fat ass was too wide to
slip through the hole so you can imagine how large this unsightly
creature was! We had some rain that night so I guess he finally got
washed down the drain and away with the storm water. He was definitely
dead before he hit the storm drain grate so there was no cruelty
involved! I noticed today that I have another mouse in the same trap
that caught the rat so I’ll have to empty the trap again tomorrow. With
a never ending supply of mice etc from the field behind the house I’ll
be best to keep the traps set and maybe even add another one next time
I get back to Princess Auto!
Well, I guess that’s about all I have 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>
They think too little who talk too much!
****
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.
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