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Issue #1138
Including:

Russ

Doug

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From Russ

You can change your socks.....

Just came in from an invigorating ride on my old 3-wheeler; the sky is clear, the sun is warm, the Robins are happy, the squirrels are scrappy. The thermometer says it's 10C, but the N/W wind, coupled with the speed at which I travel tells me it's 5C. Next week we are back into Winter. Snow is forecast for four out of seven days, and it's all down hill from there to the end of March. The Weather people say the Winter (which ends on March 19th) was the warmest ever in Canada. The same people say "This year, 2024 we are experiencing the 'Earliest Spring' (on the calendar) in 128 years". In my memory (which is sometimes ' iffie'), a warm winter is often followed by a cool, backward, Spring.

Point Clark is beginning to 'come alive' with cottagers raking their lawns (which they shouldn't - it's too early); burning dead, wet, leaves (which they shouldn't - it pollutes the clean air we enjoy here by the lake); roaring around in their golf-carts and other motor vehicles (which they shouldn't - because they also pollute the air, and spoil our Natural sounds of Spring). Am I being selfish? You bet.

Point Clark is a "Tourist Resort", and many cottagers rent their Summer Homes (for big bucks!) As I ride around here, I notice them "ripping, and hammering", as they are adding second stories to bungalows, and garages, adding more rooms and, you wouldn't believe we are in a "Recession" - huge mansions are springing up along the lake front. Almost any lake front property is valued in the millions! The owner of the 50 ft. vacant lot south of mine (has just passed away - she was 103 years young), always claimed it was wide enough to build on (maybe), but her lake front property is 65 feet wide and worth millions!! She never had children of her own, but it is said, she deeded her property to her Nephews and Nieces. I don't know what they are going to do with the vacant lot next to mine, but I hope nobody builds on it until I've passed away. Am I selfish? You bet.

Many parts of this shoreline are swampy, and new homes and mansions are built upon many yards of gravel fill thus causing lower homes next door to receive even more water - in a normal Spring 'run-off' my sump-pump runs 24-7 for months!! My concern is I'll have more water in my basement than my sump will handle. Will my cottage require a second sump-pump? Not to worry - that will be someone else's problem. Selfish? you say.

I think I'll have another cup of tea on my vacant (no furniture yet set) deck - listen to birds of Spring as the sounds of building have stopped. It's suppertime.

Russ.

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From Me

How’s it going…..eh?

It’s kind of interesting how things work. In the late fall I look forward to digging the old snow blower out from under the back deck, giving her a good once-over and having her ready and waiting for that first nice big snowfall. The only issue tends to be having to make room for her in our garage which already has the car, the truck, and 2 motorcycles stuffed in tightly. The motorcycle that would normally sit in the center must be wedged against the outside wall by the truck’s front corner in order to make room for the blower. Then, thats where the blower lives for the winter, an easy place to get it out of and put back into for each snowfall. However, once spring is within our grasp, I look forward to pulling the blower out and sticking her back under the deck where she can snooze until next winter. So, I look forward to both getting her out and putting her away again.

The up-side to putting her away is that the motorcycle that had been shoved tight against the garage sidewall can now be put back into the spot the blower had occupied and that is what I did this week. The blower is put away till next winter and the bikes are where I can get them out easily. And to that end, I pulled both bikes out, checked them over, adjusted the air pressure in the tires etc and started them up. They both seem excited about getting back out and tooting up and down the roads. I had let the Harley’s insurance expire last November just like I always do, no point in paying for insurance while she sleeps through the winter. So, I dropped in at the insurance agent office and put 8 months of insurance on her. She’s good till mid November again. I had left the coverage on the Enfield as I had wanted to be able to take her out during the winter if conditions permitted, which they did a few times. Her insurance expires in April so I renewed that as well. She’s good for another year.

The next day I took them both out for a nice toot (one at a time, not both at the same time). I simply did the ‘Brackendale Loop’ which is a nice easy 25 km easy ride that includes in-town and open highway sections, a good test ride to make sure they are purring like kittens. Well, the Enfield sort of purrs like a kitten, the Harley sounds more like a lion’s roar but after all, they are very different bikes. On Friday Sue came along and we rode down to the Bay. Traffic wasn’t too bad and it was quite a nice little toot for our first good ride of the season, given that it is starting to look a lot like spring out there. Sue was cold but there wasn’t much I could do about that.

Some of you may be thinking that I’m way too old to still be playing with motorcycles but heck, I’d prefer that people wonder what this crazy old fart is up to now, rather than just be some meek mild miserable old man waiting quietly for the years to finish passing.

Doug

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Have a Good One
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