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Issue #1090
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Russ

Nova Scotia Sus

The Ontarion

Hey There,

I did a nice little toot on the Harley down the highway to Horseshoe Bay on Wednesday. It was sunny for a change but not very warm although thats not a problem as I’d bundled up nicely. My intention was to hang out with any biker friends that would probably be there as it’s the destination of choice for most riders in the area. An interesting thing about bikers is that you don’t even have to actually know them for them to be your friends, you just start up a conversation and you’re good to go. The ride was great, traffic was tolerable and the scenery was crisp and clear. When I got there I discovered that there was absolutely no where to park, even for a bike. The whole village was stuffed full of tourists. This is only mid April, the weather has no been kind, and yet the ‘silly season’ seems to be well under way. Not another bike in sight and I don’t hold that against them. Both coffee shops were over run, the outdoor seating at both was full, no where to park, and so on. That would be normal for a sunny summer weekend but not for an early spring mid week day. On that same Wednesday morning, 6 tourist busses had pulled onto the gondola parking lot while we were up at the top enjoying a coffee. We got out of there just as the masses were flooding in. So like I said, silly season is upon us, hitting like a wave of allergy inducing pollen but there is no over-the-counter relief medicine available to deal with it. My biggest questions are: where do they all come from, and why do they have to come here?

Friday turned out to be another nice day although a bit on the chilly side so I decided to ride to the Bay again. So I did, and this time ‘the wife’ tagged along. This was her first ride of the season. We both bundled up and saddled up and away we went. The ride was great and this time there were a few bikers in Horseshoe Bay AND some parking available. We knew a couple of riders who were sitting on the out-door patio of one of the coffee shops so we joined them and spend an hour chatting about motorcycles, riding, and so on, the kind of thing bikers talk about. The ride home was very nice as the temp had come up another degree of so, and the wind was at our back. That actually helps when it’s only 10 or 11 degrees out. And traffic basically behaved itself which is often not the case given it was a Friday afternoon and it often seems like half of Vancouver tries to be first to get to Whistler for the weekend.

And there was one other thing of note this week…. With the two clear days we had, came two clear nights. That means clears night skies and some very nice stars and planets to look at. We don’t often get to see Mercury from ‘here’ because of our high horizons but for a brief few minutes I did see her. Just after sunset but before the sky became totally dark she was visible just above the mountains to our west. A tiny little spark that was almost invisible to the unaided eye but shown nicely through my scope. Venus and Mars are also up there during the evening and into the night so that was good. If your sky is clear, get out there and enjoy the show.

doug

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From Russ

Choice

"Choice will kill you!" Who spoke those alarming words? We say that from time-to-time, but is it true?

Some of our readers know I'm in the process of writing yet another book - I gave it the title> Doors and Corridors. It's a biography of choices we must make throughout our lifetime.

"Choice is a God-given right" Who said so? Is it a true statement? Let's test it. If I am a "creationist" as opposed to an "evolutionist", I likely believe the myth about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It must have been a heavenly place to live - nothing to fear - nude was natural - food was within reach and free!

According to the Bible, God created Adam and Eve and gave us humans the ability (and the right) to choose (choice) right from wrong. He also gave them only one rule which they must obey - it went something like this: Eat from any tree in the Garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil - if you eat the fruit of this tree you shall surely die. They had a choice. Choice can be risky business - they risked their lives and ate the apple - and died (eventually). God planned we humans would live forever!

"I am the resurrection and the life" says the Lord; "whoever lives and believes (obeys) in me shall never die"

John 11: 25-26

Reverend, Russell (formerly Old Uncle Russ)

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From Nova Scotia Sus

I never thought at my age life could be so busy...I should be relaxing and having time on my hands. I'm not complaining really because I love everything we do. Today a huge excavator came in the yard to start pulling all our stumps from the fallen trees as a result of the hurricane. It just happens to be one of my busiest hairdressing days and we will have more traffic than usual in the yard. Hopefully it will all go well.

Also this past week we did our last two sap boil downs. That's plenty of maple syrup and time to quit. It probably won't run much from now on what with our temps staying up.

We are preparing our chicken house for new birds coming some day-olds to raise and some 18 week olds that should be producing eggs almost right away. Also our meatbirds a day-old are arriving soon.

I never thought I would be a farmer in my old age and loving it.

Sus

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The Ontarion

Hello everyone!

Well this week started off with a heart warming incident indeed! Carole’s dad was in the British Royal Navy and served on a submarine during the second world war. He has been diseased for 45 years now and is buried in the Williamsburg cemetery that is located south of Kitchener just off the side of Fischer-Hallman Rd. He’s buried there along with Carole’s mum Pat and her second youngest brother Norman. The head stone is made of black marble and is quite attractively dedicated to the three of them! Yesterday Carole asked me to assist her with mounting something additional on the head stone to Honour her Dad Billy! It was a beautiful bronze Poppy approximately 4” in diameter. She acquired it from the Local Canadian Legion. Her dad was a member of the Royal British Legion when they lived in Belfast Northern Ireland where he and Pat started to raise their family of 6. They had one girl Carole and three boys Alan Norman and Brian. Billy was very proud to have served in the Royal British Navy but as most vets, he rarely talked about his tour in the war! To honour her dad, Carole thought that acquiring and mounting this bronze poppy on his headstone was a good way to show the visitors to the cemetery that Billy was a proud veteran! I agree with her and also think it is a grand gesture to honour his service during WW II!

I phoned the stone manufacturers in Bridgeport and asked their opinion as to how best to mount the poppy on the stone. The person I spoke to advised me to epoxy the Poppy to the stone after cleaning the chosen location with rubbing alcohol. This was contrary to the instructions Carole found on the internet that suggested the tab on the back side of the poppy should be inserted into a hole drilled in the stone location. The manufacturer cautioned against drilling any sort of hole as it may crack the headstone! So I took their advice and mounted the Poppy with a quality epoxy! The mounting turned out very well and the bronze poppy looks amazing in it’s chosen spot! Carole was very happy with the finished mounting and said that her dad would be very proud to see that significant symbol mounted in his honour! It made both of us feel good about her choice of symbol and we came away smiling in Billy’s memory! It made us think of Billy on the way home and all the good memories Carole has of her life with her dad and mum and brother Norman!

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Spring brings all sorts of work each year and this year is no different! Today Adam and I decided to mount my summer tires on the Jeep and put the snow tires in place of them in the shed for the upcoming summer! It’s a big job when the tires and wheels on the Jeep are size 17” and very heavy. They are too much for my WeAk old arms so luckily Adam doesn’t mind doing the job for me each year. Of course he has to do it twice a year for me, in the spring and in the fall. I think each tire and wheel must weigh close to 75 or more pounds so It’s beyond my capabilities for sure!

It’s a bummer getting old and not being able to do this sort of task yourself! If it weren’t for Adam I’d be spending who knows now much to have someone complete this task for me! Thanks Adam!

That’s about the most interesting stuff I have for this week’s Ontarion!

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

PS: This makes me wonder if Karl has to have snow tires on their vehicle in Australia????

Bye for now… Greg

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