The Squamidian Report - March 15/03

Also in this issue:

North Nova News

The Ontarion

Hi All,

We sure burned up the Email lines this past week. That’s great because it meant that we are all coming out of our little shells and communicating. I think most of us enjoyed it quite well and the rest were pleasantly confused.

Boy, is there egg on my face. I yapped so long and loud about the mild sunny weather here that my parents decided to fly out and enjoy some of it. That snowstorm they left Ontario in followed them here. By Sunday we were practically snowed in. I figured the dusting we had just after they got here would be it. Then it hit with about a foot of the stuff. So much for showing off the flowers and blossoms up here in Squamidia.

Sue headed for Edmonton on Monday morning. I loaded our guests into the van and took them into Stanley Park. Vancouver escaped out taste of winter. It was definitely spring-like there with lots of blossoms and early flower. The park has miles of internal trails as well as the sea wall around the perimeter, about 16k in length. The sea wall has a paved path along the top divided in two, one side for people on foot, the other for bicycles and roller blades.

There are numerous gardens and flowerbeds, flowering trees and shrubs, as well as the aquarium and other tourist attractions. There is also some of the very old, large trees still standing in the park. Stanley Park is where most visitors to BC get their first taste of the coastal ecology.

We walked short parts of the sea wall, viewed a totem pole display and enjoyed the warm soft sea air. At one point, while sitting by himself on a park bench, Lorne had a conversation with a rather large tree. Some of the cedars in the park are quite big and he felt he needed to get to know one better. I don't know if the tree held up it's end of the conversation but it would be interesting to hear what an 800-year-old tree has to say.

Mom and Cindy have been entertained for hours at a time by the birds at the feeder on our deck. Mom has identified most of them using our bird book. We have western versions of the same birds she has back home as well as birds that are native to just this area.

I dropped them off at the airport on Wednesday morning for their flight back to Ontario. Sad to see them go, sure going to miss them. But Tracy (our old schnauzer) is really going to miss them. She comes alive when there is kitchen activity and with both mom and Cindy puttering in the kitchen, as only mothers can to do, Tracy was in her glory. They also lavished great amounts of attention on her, which she assumes is the way is should be. Yogi is just glad to have his bedroom back.

Sue and I hope Mom, Dad and Cindy will all return soon. It meant a lot to us to have them here. The house is quieter now, but at least I get my TV watching chair back.

By the way, within 24 hours of then leaving, our temperatures had rebounded back up to the mid teens where they should be, and we had close to ¾ of a foot of rain. That’s the ‘wet coast’. Each day since has dropped about 4 or 5 inches of rain. You should see the runoff cascading over the rock cliffs along the highway. Really neat.

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North Nova News

Thought you might like to see what winters are like here in Nova Scotia. That's me and Ward's wife Mae skiing on their park-like property. Ward and Mae are in the forest landscaping business so their land is their showcase. They ski almost everyday since they can't work when the snow gets too deep. I know you are all sick of winter at this point and probably would appreciate a warmer picture but we must be realistic, it's only March! Another great winter sport is curling which we have spent the last three winters doing. What a great way to get through this tough season. We have made new friends and the time passes quickly. By the way has anyone been watching the Canadian Men’s Championships? Nova Scotia beat out everyone except Alberta who will go on to compete in the Worlds. Also I would like to add that the Women's Canadian Curling Championship was won by a Nova Scotia team with skip, Colleen Jones. Just a little bragging! I'm new at this report thing and therefore I must get my facts straight.

Since last October, my neighbour Claudia and I have been doing the early morning 4 km. walk every day except Saturday and Sundays. The people driving by us on those exceptional cold ones have nicknamed us the "health nuts". I've learned to dress very warm and sometimes feel like the Michelin man but we aren't trying for a fashion statement here! I'm sure no one actually knows who we are since we are so totally disguised. When spring arrives we will head over the hill on the logging roads for a more scenic route.

We cut another tree down outside our sunroom. It was giving too much shade and at this time of year the more sun the better. When we built this house the trees were close but after almost 20 years they became very close. Not only did the trees grow but the house too after many additions to all sides of it. We actually surrounded the original house. So we now have a log house in the middle. Does this make any sense? Anyway as much as I hate chopping healthy trees down, it was not healthy for the house to have them towering over the roof. It caused moss to grow on the shingles and ice and snow to collect in the winter. It's a learning experience! My only regret is I made my brother construct one of the additions with great difficulty working in very close proximity to these very trees. Now we need to do some burning to get rid of all the limbs.

In January, our province decided to put in place some smoking by-laws, which are no smoking in a public place except in a bar after 9:00pm. New Glasgow decided to go one step further and ban it all together. It was put in place to protect those who work in public places. Well so far the only people smoking against the law and getting fines are the bar workers! Go figure!

I am enjoying all the email interactions. I may have to take time off work just to keep up with all the reading. I wish I had gone to high school with you guys, we moved around so much I can't remember anyone to dig up neat stuff about. I am looking for that picture of Doug and I and will display it as soon as I come across it. It's good to hear from Rosemary and Gale too. Keep it up!! Until next time,

Sus

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THE ONTARION REPORT

MARCH 15, 2003

Once again my friends we are at the end of another glorious week in Ontario. It’s been a beautiful past 2 days. The sun has been shining like mid summer and the temperature has been a tad milder. We are supposed to be in for a mild weekend. They tell us that the next 3 days are going to reach a high of 7,8&9 respectively. I’ll believe it when I see it! We are reaching the time when the Groundhog’s prediction should be taking effect. If he’s lied to us, I’ll be taking a trip to Wiarton myself to throttle the little rat’s neck with my bare hands! It’s pretty much to the point with all Ontarion’s that it’s time for some melting to take place. This has been the coldest winter in many years and the one with the most days below 0 degrees F in memory. Well, at least we don’t have to put up with all that “British” type weather that they have out in Squamish. I checked the 5 day forecast for the Squamish area and they are expecting rain, rain and more rain. I think I prefer it to be snowy rather than put up with that stuff! I know we get our share of rain as well, but most years we only get it a day or two at a time. I was in London England back in 1972 for 6 weeks and actually saw the sun 3 days running. It was October and the locals said that it was definitely unusual to see that many sunny days in succession. In fact, one chap stated that he had moved there from BC and if he’d known that the weather in London was rainy and foggy 85% of the time, he might as well have stayed in BC! Doug tells me that it’s mostly in Vancouver or “Van” as the locals call it that the fog and rain are persistent. From what we’ve all heard about the Squamish area, it’s probably the best place to live out there, weather wise at least. I figure some explorer stepped off the “Golden Hind” into the thick fog of the west coast and said “Blimey, don’t this ‘ere mist remind ye lads of the weather over ‘ome”?

To which they all replied “No shit Sherlock, why don’t we name this place BRITISH Columbia so’s we know enough not to vacation ‘ere in the future”! The story goes that the British pirates loved to bury their treasure along the BC coast because they knew nobody else would be able to find it in all that fog! I think you might be wise to invest in a metal detector Doug. Maybe become a “Beachcomber”. Now there’s a hobby for you Digger. Actually, the Science channel had a special on the other night about all the gold that is to be found in the mountain streams of BC. They showed a fellow that found a ½ lb nugget just sitting in the bed of a stream. He was a camper that was washing his clothes in the stream and happened to spot the nugget. They said it was one of the purest gold nuggets ever found. The idea is that the spring runoff from the mountains exposes the gold in the river beds and it’s a renewable source because of the amount of gravel and soil moved from the bed’s each spring by the force of the flow. Geeze, just might be worthwhile taking a look around out there Doug. If you do venture out into the back country, don’t forget to take your umbrella along. Oh yes and your bear spray, your mosquito repellant, your compass, your first aid kit, your waterproof matches, your binoculars and of course your GPS system. Probably wise to take Warren along too so you have someone to carry all that stuff so you can carry home the gold! Well, I’ve taken enough cheap shots at you for this week Doug. I’ll try to be a little more supportive from now on. I’m actually envious that you have now settled in a land of opportunity. In fact, I’m starting to think that a visit to BC might be worthwhile. I’ve never panned for gold or seen a tree trunk the size of a house. Might just be the place for an old retiree like myself to spend a couple of weeks. Oh hell, by the time I get out there, you’ll probably have all the gold picked up from the creek beds anyhow. Better sign off for this week. It’s been a pleasure folks. Until next week…….be good!

PS: Something to Think About - "Nothing is opened more by mistake than
the mouth"!

GREG

Editor’s note: Don’t need repellant, we don’t have mosquitoes out here.

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Have a good one.

the doug