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Issue #1151ncluding:

Russ

Wayne & Sylvia

Nova Scotia Sus

The Ontarion

Doug

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From Russ

I have mixed feelings about taking the summer off - 'relief' from weekly commitment, and sad as we won't be 'in touch'. As I've mentioned before, I very much enjoy writing an article for the Great Squamidian and the summer break will leave me with no weekly challenge. Have placed my "Book" on the 'back-burner', so I'll not be doing any writing for a while.

Wish all you loyal Squamidians a happy, restful, peaceful summer with lots of fun and laughter!!

Looking forward to visiting some of my relatives (and readers) on Friday, June 21st in Wiarton.

Uncle Russ.

PS: Last week I wrote about my PSW who had submitted her "Letter of Retirement" to her immediate supervisor, and how fortunate I was to have her twice-weekly help with personal things, and that how I will miss Gail very much. Guess what!? Her super did not hand the letter to management! Instead, she talked Gail into staying-on a little longer as trained help is near impossible to find. Gail went for the dangling carrot as it meant she would have more money to spend on necessities of life.

Now I don't fear falling in the shower as my "life-saver" is safe-at-hand!

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From Wayne & Sylvia

Hi Squids:

I thought my last ‘farm update’ might not be worth the time to submit, but NO! This morning (June 10), we were presented with the second calf.

‘Dos’ was to be Uno’s new brother’s name, but the non-senior family members who share this property decided that he didn’t look Spanish enough, so he will be known as Lord Foxton or Foxy for short.

That’s not all! 200 young speckled trout entered on of our ponds today and meat chickens are arriving in a few days. So the tally today is:

10 cows (including bulls)

3 pigs

7 chickens

2 cats

200 trout

6 people.

Added to that, we had a steel roof put on our abode – no more wind-blown shingles lying about and I finally got top soil and seed over our septic bed area

Sylvia and I are seldom among large groups but we are presently “enjoying” one of the worst cold/flu attacks that ever descended on tiny aluminum flakes from the sky. We are getting over it. So far, it hasn’t spread to the main house.

We are looking forward to summer visitors which will include son David and his partner, Michele, hopefully brother Russell and his son Greg and daughter-in-law Betty and maybe my sailing buddy, Wayne Stahle.

Talk to you again in the fall,

Wayne & Sylvia

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From Sus

My brother Warren has been here for awhile now and we have had some great get togethers. He borrowed a 12 string guitar from a friend so we have had a few music nights. It's so great to play along with him and makes me feel good about my simple cording. It's like going back in time bringing those songs to date. Warren sure hasn't lost his touch.

He also has been helping Ward build an outdoor sauna with logs and other materials. We have fed him with plenty of lobster and veggies and Zane keeps coming home with the bass he catches. He loves fishing but not eating them so we take all we can get.

I decided to fly out with Warren on the 26th of June to visit my sister in Alberta and see my brother Dennis from Mexico. It will be great to all be together. It's hard when we all live so far apart.

Happy summer everyone!

Sus

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The Ontarion

Hello for the last time this run!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our Robins out back!

They have now been successfully grown and have left the nest safely!

We see them and their parents out back in the gardens!

They are doing well and the parents are watching over them each day!

Last night Adam and I heard a commotion out on the patio and when Adam checked, it was the robins attacking a chipmunk that got too close to the babies on the back lawn! I guess they are still protective of the young ones! Adam went out to find a chipmunk whimpering on the patio who was missing 2/3 of his tail and a big bight out of the top of his head! So, Adam got some peanut butter on a small dish and coaxed the chippy onto the plate to eat some of the peanut butter to help him gain some strength! The chippy was stunned and hardly moving to eat! After Adam laid beside him on the patio and covered him with a warm face cloth while he ate, the chippy settled in for the night!

When Adam checked on him Wednesday morning, he was gone! When Adam and I got home from the hospital, Carole told us she saw the chippy with the missing tail on the fence and he looked ok! That was very gratifying to hear that Adam saved the little guy from extinction!

That’s about all I have for this final edition of the Ontarion!

Thanks once again for being part of the squid this spring etc…!

I’ll look forward to beginning again in the fall if we get enough participation again!

Don’t be shy, write to Doug with one of your stories come September!

Buy for the summer!

Have a good one all!

See you in September’s

Be safe and healthy…. Greg

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From Me

Hey kids, I guess this is it for the summer.

I can give my brain a rest for the next couple of months or so. Its probably a good thing to have to come up with something each week because it forces you to think, to imagine, to ponder and so on. Nothing like a good deadline to induce enthusiasm but its time for a rest. At this point the assumption is that we will be in contact after the summer is over to see who is still around, or interested, and so on.

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As you all know, I ride motorcycles. I’ve been doing that since I was 16. Three out of my last four bikes have been Harley Davidsons. The fourth is a Royal Enfield. I’ve still got my last Harley, the 1200 Sportster, and I’ve still got my Enfield, the Himalayan 411. Both are good machines. Kind of funny though, Harley tends to have a poor reputation within the biking community. Its not the bike itself that is the problem, they are very well built bikes. It is the dealerships. Nothing brings down the reputation of anything faster than bad dealers and unfortunately Harley seems to have more than its share of bad dealers, at least here in BC they do. The Harley dealers in the Vancouver area seem to have taken ‘bad’ to a whole new level. In fact, their reputation for being bad is known far and wide. They want your money but treat their customers like dirt. Their prices are blown way up from what they should be. Their service departments are incompetent and arrogant. Our closest Harley dealer, Trev Deeley’s, is so bad that I’d rather let my bike rot than take it to them.

The last time my Sportster was there, it was for a faulty rear wheel bearing. It was still under warrentee yet they wanted to bill me for the replacement. They were down right insulted when I refused to pay for the repair. That replacement bearing only lasted a few months before it started to go bad. I’ve been living with a loud bearing ever since.

Now the good news…. We have a motorcycle repair shop here in town now. They opened this spring and specialize in Harley and old classic bikes, and will happily work on any make or model. I took the Sportster in to them, and for less than what Deeley’s would have charged for just the bearing, they installed a new one including the cost of labor. As well, they showed my why the bearing had failed. The dealer’s service department had miss-aligned the rear wheel when they reinstalled it, and, over tightened the drive belt. Makes you shake your head. So, I’ve had then do a few other things to my Sportster that needed doing and all is well. I’m a happy biker. I now have a local, convenient and trustworthy place I can go for oil, brakes, tires, and so on.

Have a great summer, stay safe, and so on.

Doug

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Have a Good One
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