The Squamidian Report - March 8/03

Also in this issue:

The Ontarion

The North Nova News

Hi All,

Hey, there are good things happening. Clyde has been busy responding to the Report and broadcasting his response to everyone in hopes of getting some dialoged going here. In doing so, Ewan has picked up on the fact that Hugh and Clyde are old friends. Carol and Rosemary both realized that they knew Clyde back in high school. See how this is working out-we are getting a group discussion going here. That's the whole idea, and you don't need to know everyone else to get in on it. That's the best part.

And now cousin Sus from Nova Scotia (not to be confused with wife Sue from here) has jumped in with her own column. We now span the continent from sea to shining sea. And there is always room for more.

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This past Monday, while most of you were enjoying record breaking cold temps, we had to put up with being the warmest place in the whole country. The official reading in town was 14.5. Our thermometer read about 18.

As you may know, Sue's only real hobby is her bird feeders. She has been advised by the neighbours that if she wants her 'own' humming birds' she should get her humming bird feeder out within the next couple of weeks. The males are very territorial and they will arrive soon to stake out their areas.

We have many similar birds to the ones back in Kitchener, but not quite the same. Some are bigger than their Ontario cousins, some are coloured slightly different. Our Jays have black heads and are very noisy but not as pushy as the eastern version.

I picked up my parents and Cindy (their inseparable buddy) at the airport on Wednesday. They had quite an adventure getting to the Hamilton airport due to the snowstorm most of you had. Then their flight made 3 stops along the way so it took a long time. It was late getting in as usual but we still had daylight for the drive up to Squamish. It was overcast with some broken cloud letting the sunshine through giving us some of that 3D weather scenery. The snowfields and peaks were shrouded in cloud so they couldn't see them but there is enough along the way to keep the eyes busy.

Lorne just couldn't believe the flowers and blossoms in Vancouver. And all the green. They left in a snowstorm and arrive to see people with their sleeves rolled up.

Unfortunately, they brought some of the ugly weather with them. It has turned cold with some rain and the clouds have hidden the mountaintops. We've even had some snow, just a dusting at this altitude but snow non-the less. With the low ceiling of cloud cover, they are no more sure that there are high mountaintops around here than Greg is sure there is a real Sue around here. Everyone is going to think I'm a con artist.

I took them up to Whistler. There is supposed to be snow there so it was how it should be. Very picturesque, like a post card. A bit too cold to walk around the Village much so we did the driving tour. The homes there can impress anyone. The section of Whistler known as the 'Village' is designed to look and feel like a European mountain village with people only winding cobble streets and open door shops. Lots of outdoor restaurants and pubs.

Today, Saturday (while waiting for Greg's late column) we went for a drive up the Upper Squamish River Valley. This is not where tourist go, its the kind of country that your wife gets mad at you for taking the car. The 'road' follows the river, in places it's squeezed between the river on one side and the rock cliffs climbing up forever on the other. We got up to where we could see the big snow fields, gleaming in the sun. By that time my mother was emitting the vibes that said 'turn this car around'. So reluctantly I did. You can see the pictures I took on my web site, they will be posted by this evening, tomorrow at the latest.

At one point, we had a Lynx run across in front of us. Cool, not the kind of thing you see every day. This is wild, Grizzly Bear country.

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North Nova News

By Sus Brubacher

Since Doug has been covering the west coast and now we have the Ontario Report, it only seemed natural that I jump on the band wagon and complete the country by reporting from the east. Doug and I go back "forever", not only as cousins but as best friends. Being only 3 and a half months apart in age, our parents started dressing us up and taking pictures. Our most famous one, in an old fashioned pose wearing our grandparents hats with Doug standing behind and me sitting in a chair. I can imagine what was going on in Doug's head at the time. We could have been twins except we were born of different parents, not the same age, and we didn't look at all alike. Music was our bond for many years and now he is my long distance computer advisor. Where would I be without Doug to save me from my many computer woes.

Living on the fog free Northumberland Strait in Northern Nova Scotia has opened a whole new world for me. Sometimes it feels like survival of the fittest when the winters are long and cold but the summers more than make up for them. Last Sunday a big ice breaker entered our harbour and broke a trail in the ice to get a big container ship in to get his load at the wharf. Soon we will be seeing seals with their young. Sometimes they are laying on the causeway and other times they are in downtown Pictou. One year an adventurous seal made it up here into the hills, he sure made a wrong turn! We just had a super mild weekend (+5C.) which was a very welcome change. I was driving past the harbour and the water on top of the ice was reflecting the blue sky which made it look just like the turquoise blue of the Mediterranean. I know this long winter is starting to get to me!

By the way Doug you were wondering what the co-ordinate position or our home is: Lat: 45deg. 37.03' N., Long: 62deg.53.16W

(Editors note: that works out to a line of sight distance of 4408km on a bearing of 72deg true from here in the land of Squamidia.)

I can't say I have ever seen Doug drink beer either. Hugh Cameron was here for a visit just recently on one of his drumming weekends. He tries to visit at least a couple of times a year and it's always good to see him. He keeps us supplied with Kitchener summer sausage which we gobble down as quickly as possible.

Until next time,

Sus

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THE ONTARION REPORT

March 07/03

Well here we are again everybody! Another week closer to Spring and another foot of snow on the ground. Oh well, I guess as long as the snow blowers hold up, so will we. Think of it this way, the cold weather keeps the allergy sufferer's from, well, suffering. I personally have the worst and only head cold that I've had in a few years. It's not a nice time of year to have a cold. Of course, is there any time of year where a cold is welcome? I'll just have to tough it out for a few days and keep Tylenol in business. Doug keeps bragging about the nice Spring like weather they have out in BC. I think he's just jealous that he can't make a snowman on his front lawn out of flowers. I keep hearing stories about how Digger was a total outdoorsman when he lived in Ontario. I'm beginning to doubt that claim. After all, wouldn't a total outdoorsman have purchased a few items necessary to go with that title immediately upon arrival in his new wonderland location? Outdoorsman brings to mind visions of snowmobiles, skis, kayaks, fishing gear, snowshoes, backpacks and binoculars. I've seen no mention of any of these things in "The Squamidian". Maybe Doug's just the passive outdoor type. You know, the type that likes to watch all that rugged stuff on National Geographic channel while sipping a hot Timmy's coffee and munching donuts! I guess it's not really fair to pick on my "editor" that way. If I don't find another subject to talk about, I'm afraid he'll put an end to this column that you've all come to look forward to each week. What am I saying???? I'm not even sure if anyone other than Doug, Clyde and myself read this weekly publication! Well, I'll keep plodding forward in hopes that someone takes the time to browse through it. It's actually a bright sunny day here in Kitchener Ontario. I wasn't lying about the new foot of snow though. We were blessed with it a few days ago. At least it makes everything look clean again. Too bad we can't just flip a switch and have it turn to a lovely Spring overnight. I've actually been inspired by Doug's descriptions of the BC scenery and wildlife. Digger and I had a conversation about a week or two ago with regards to the Bald Eagle population in Southern Ontario. We actually have an area along the Grand River that is a nesting ground for these magnificent birds. I'm going to make an effort to check the area out for Eagles this Spring while taking my kayak down the Grand. For anyone interested in the plight of the Bald Eagle, there is a conservation effort afoot or should I say aflight, to track the eagle in Ontario this summer.

The site is www.bsc-eoc.org and will be online as of August 01/03. The people responsible for this site will place transmitters on the backs of several young Bald Eagles that have been raised in captivity. These birds will be released mid summer and will be tracked as long as the transmitters remain intact. It should be an interesting site to watch. Speaking of soaring, there have been 6 lucky Kitchener and area residents that have taken home huge cheques from the Ontario Lottery Corporation in the past 2 months. The latest winners were a couple from Cambridge with a $1 million dollar win last weekend. They won it with an Instant Millions ticket. The week before that, 3 fellows from Schneider's Meats Ltd won $10 million on 6/49. I wonder if I have any uncles that work or should I say worked at Schneider's? Hmmmmmmmmmm? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to buy my own tickets and keep hoping! I guess it's about time to wrap this up for the week. I've decided to pass on some of the wisdom that I've accumulated over the years I've been here on this earth. Each week, I'm going to include "Something to Think About". Hope you learn as much as I have from these quotes. Here goes……#1 - "Seeing ourselves as others see us wouldn't do much good…….. we wouldn't believe it anyway"!

Take care everyone and I'll see you again next week. Bye for now.

GREG.

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Have a good one

the doug