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The
Squamidian Report – Nov. 4 / 23
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Of This And Past Issues Issue
#1119 Russ Wayne Nova Scotia Sus The Ontarion
How’s it going out there….. Ever since I put the old Toro snowblower away at the end of last winter I’ve been agonizing over what to do about it. It is worn out! At close to 20 years old it has blown a lot of snow, most of it being very heavy and wet. It has never let me down and it has only needed a few repairs along the way. But, time has been hard on it and by the end of last winter the drive system no longer worked very well and the auger transmission was leaking oil. It needed some attention from a qualified service shop. The dilemma is, do I sink a fair amount of money into it or do I put that money toward a new machine. It’s a hard decision. Toro doesn’t make that exact same model anymore and from what I can gather, none of their machines could stand up against the quality of the old ones. In fact, no one makes them ‘like they used to’. I can’t even get any model of Toro here in Squamish but I can choose from several other makes and models available at the local outlets. I’ve looked at a couple of different makes at a couple of different places and don’t like the way they are balanced or built. No one can touch a Toro for the way it is balanced with very little effort needed to push down on the handles in order to raise the front end. Everything else is a disappointment. I’ve been told that the old dependable engine on my Toro is still better than anything on the newer machines. And so on. I came very close to purchasing an Ariens 24inch machine but changed my mind and decided to take a chance on dumping some money into the old Toro and having the drive system rebuilt with new components and having the gear box replaced. That could give me a few more years of use or it could backfire and end up being a waist of money. There’s no way of knowing so I’m taking that chance. So, the old Toro is down at a local small equipment shop for repairs and hopefully another few years of service will be my reward. If not, well, I’ll have to cave in and get a new blower that simply won’t be as good as the old one. Question…. How do you tell it’s late fall? Answer….. Mice somehow come into our rock room looking for a nice cushy place to spend the winter. Happens every year. So, same solution as in the past, I bait some mouse traps with peanut butter and set them out in that room. Next morning, 2 carcasses are waiting to be disposed of. Its just that simple. I then reset the traps and so far there has been no more mouse actions meaning that I caught them before they could propagate and populate our storage area. Just one of those things that has to be done each fall. And here’s something I just remembered…. This is the one year anniversary of my hip replacement. My goodness how time flies. The actual date was November 3rd of last year so if you are reading this today (Saturday), it would have been yesterday by the date and Thursday by the day. It’s kind of interesting thinking about it because for the most part I’ve forgotten about it. The hip has become a none-issue and of course that is a very good thing. As I like to tell people who ask me about it, IT is my best part, everything else is old and worn out.
Doug ****
From Russ
It's the nuts. Why do we call them"horse chestnuts"? I tried to find out why, but came up disappointed. The colour of some horses is referred to as "chestnut". They are actually poisonous to horses as are all parts of the horse chestnut tree including the leaves and sprouts. If eaten, a horse will have multiple digestive ailments, and, in severe cases, nervous system issues. Although poison to horses, they make "horse medicine" from these nuts to treat 'panting', or 'coughing'. We should should not eat them either (as I found out later) as they contain a complex mix of saponins called aecin which can cause serious gut problems. When I first married into the Dickson family, they told of placing (horse chestnuts?) inside the furnace door where they were roasted until done - and they apparently ate them! I tried this same 'stunt' with some (horse chestnuts?) we picked up from under a neighbour's tree, and we tried eating them when roasted, but couldn't - they were extremely bitter! Now I learn they were poison!! Last week, one of our most reliable, and welcome Squamidians - Karin Zeller of Australia, sent me a picture of what some artistic people can do with horse chestnuts - by drilling tiny holes in the hard shells, and inserting toothpicks, they come up with some fascinating depictions of animals, people, and "chestnut art"." "The leaves are turning red and brown, the air is getting crisp, and an abundance of flora begins to cover the ground. Autumn is here, and with it, memories of Harvest Festival, apple crumbles and 'conker fights' in the playground" By Jenn Selby And today (November 1st) the ground is covered by several inches of fresh, white snow! Who expected this? We used to have fights using horse chestnuts tied to a stout string, but we never called them "conker fights"! The object of the fight is to strike an opponent's chestnut in an attempt to break it - the hardest conker (horse chestnut) seed is usually the victor. Uncle Russ. (Age 94 years 5 months - and getting "nutyer" every day!) ****
From Wayne
Hi Squids, Squads, Squeds - pick your pronoun. This is a progress report of our move to New Brunswick, 28 months ago. We are all quite well, Eva, Sylvia's mother, will be 97 in February and doing quite well, only having to watch her sugar intake, Sylvia just had cataract treatment done for both eyes and is seeing NB clearly for the first time. Sonja is still doing her service for Griffith University in Brisbane, from our group home here in NB, in conjunction with UNB. Kenny has become a farmer but unfortunately suffers from an earlier back injury. Gabbi (Gabrielle) is going to be 6 years old on Dec. 23 and is enjoying her long daily rides to her Kindergarten class about 30 km away. I am doing well, continuing to build things. After my cancer operation I was given a 75% chance to live 5 years. That is almost up now. I wonder if I will just fall over when my warranty expires! So here are some pictures: Newest additions- Cattle & Oink-Oink. They all have names which makes it easier to say what we are having for supper. There are also about 30 free range chickens.
This is our 6-year old, playing her favorite character role. Witch Gabbi.
My summer projects: Main deck finished & Stairway finished.
Our beautiful sunrises and what they can portend: Sunrise & Oh Sh-t.
So that is what is happening in central New Brunswick. Wayne
****
From Nova Scotia Sus
We were so prepared for at least a few kids to come for Halloween hoping our new neighbors would repeat their visit from last year. Nope! I guess I should have dropped in to remind them. Oh well I'm sure they got lots of treats in Scotsburn. It's hard to compete with the village where they can go house to house and also meet up with their friends. The weather even cooperated nicely cold and clear. We caught a couple more rats. We bought a new kind of trap that is easier and less tricky to set. The last thing we need to do is to get our fingers in trap while setting it. Its hard to believe its November already. I just realized i missed the time set for sending Christmas parcels to Switzerland. Every year before the end of October I have sent a parcel to my niece, Michelle and her family. What happened this year! I'm getting slack. So I will have to come up with something. For their birthdays I send a card with $20 Canadian so when they visit us they have cash. I know the post office doesn't approve. I take that chance.
Sus ****
M - I - A
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