The Squamidian Report – April 24 / 04
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Also in this issue:
North Nova News
The Ontarion
Hi All,
‘The Spit’ is an extension of the dyke along the Squamish River that extends a kilometer or so out into Howe Sound. Once you are out there you have the fresh water of the river flowing past on one side and the saltier water of the estuary on the other with the Sound opening up ahead of you. The view is rather breathtaking. There are high cliffs and mountains to the west. To the east is the Chief and Shannon Falls, backing onto that set of coastal mountains. To the northeast and north is the town with Garibaldi and the other mountains as a backdrop. The Mamquam ice fields that feed the Mamquam River also take up their section of the sky.
It’s a nice place to go for a stroll. You can drive right out to the end so the walking is flat and easy. We watched a small herd of seals that were watching us as we walked along. There was a very large heron standing on a rock. The funny looking west coast ducks were scooting all over the water. We forgot the camera.
Did I every have a boring day on Wednesday. The soil engineers wanted the bottom of the excavation I had worked on last week compacted. No surprise there but they wanted it packed for eight hours straight before they would test it. So I spent 8 hours straight in one of those big roller machines. They are loud and when you turn on the hydraulic vibration it just about shakes out your fillings. And they are very, very boring to run. You just go back and forth all day long.
You try to occupy your mind by thinking of stuff. First you try to think of the lyrics to all the songs you don’t know. Then you plan in great detail your next computer upgrade project. That can take a while as you get to compare all sorts of hardware specs in your head. Then you see how many passes you can make while steering with your feet. The most fun is when you try falling asleep at one end of a pass and wake up before getting to the other end. The trick is to put off waking up until the last second, just before the roller hits the embankment. It’s harder on the reverse run as you are backing up and therefore orientation is off a bit. However, the day finally dragged to an end.
Then Thursday morning we still didn’t have a green light. The soil testers didn’t show up and the layout crew didn’t show up to set up the next section. (This is the laid-back west coast you know). So I dumped my lunch into my backpack and hiked up the Chief. That’s a good place to eat lunch, nice view. I didn’t really know for sure if I’d make it all the way after sitting around all winter but I just plugged away at it and it took the usual hour and a half to make the climb. For a while I was stuck behind a couple of girls from university who were hiking as slow as I was. I didn’t have the steam to pass them so I had to put up with their mindless yapping about all sorts of things useless. One of them had ‘done the Chief’ once before and was asking about the second peak so I convinced them to head that way. The rest of my climb was nice and quiet.
I thoughtlessly forgot to bring along some trail mix for the chipmunks that live up there. They weren’t too happy with my peanut butter sandwich but the ravens that came along sure were. The first sight of them caused the chipmunks to dive for cover. These birds are big and look like they mean business. When one asks for a piece of your sandwich, you ask ‘how big’. It’s no wonder the west coast tribes have all sorts of legends and stories about ravens. They are neat critters.
Oh hey, Ryan reminded me of something kind of neat. It was two years ago yesterday (April 23rd) that the moving company’s packers came in and boxed up all our stuff on Hidden Valley. The dogs and I slept on the floor that night. It was two years ago today (24th) that the moving truck loaded up all the stuff, leaving the house rather empty. Two years ago tomorrow (25th) Ryan and I and the dogs hit the road for the drive across the country to the west coast. Just think of all the birthdays, weddings and other social events I’ve gotten out of attending since then.
****
North Nova News
Enough about Cuba. I
must come down to earth and accept where I live. It really isn’t such a bad place, in fact, it is kind of paradise
of its own. Signs of spring are
everywhere. The cormorants are back at
their old nesting ground along the causeway between Pictou and New
Glasgow. That’s a sure sign. They are a Japanese fishing bird that make
their summer home here. I was digging
and cleaning some of my flowerbeds and I see some sign of growth. Yes!
This probably sounds depressing to those who are so fortunate to see
spring much earlier but we are happy.
The ice is out of the harbour but not out of our pond. It is so sheltered it must always be the
last to go. Over Easter while searching
for our baskets we came across a sad sight.
A stray cat had not made it through our last big storm and died in our
yard. It probably became stranded by
the huge amounts of snow that was accumulating and then buried until spring. What shocked me was it looked so much like
our cat and at first I worried it was she, but this one was fairly large. Today I dug a hole and buried it. Being a cat lover I felt for the people who
once owned it but all the neighbours say it was a stray.
As of this weekend, we now live in George Canyon country and April 19th (in this neck of the woods anyway) is now called George Canyon Day. Let me explain. We have a young musician in our area that is competing in Nashville Star, which is a lot like American Idol. For the last 5 weeks they have been judged and voted on by the American people as well as Canadians and have narrowed it down to 4 artists. The ones that have come this far have been given finally a chance to go home for a couple of days to connect with their families. The people here are so proud of their home grown star a huge group of fans met him at the airport, followed his big bus around the county and gave him a welcome worthy of a king. Red and white ribbons and Canadian flags were flying everywhere. He put on two short concerts, one in New Glasgow and the other in Pictou raising a total of $18,000.00 for the Red Cross. A producer from Nashville filmed his return home and even he was surprised at the support from George’s hometown area. It looks like we have a star in our midst. Even if he doesn’t finish first he is on his way. So look out for George Canyon, he’s tall, dark, good-looking and can sing!
Peter is busy getting his boat ready for launch in May. It is hard to believe all the stuff that comes out of the boat in the fall and is stored in our house. I am looking forward to having some room back. We have redesigned our brochures somewhat, had them printed and already are being distributed around the province to all the tourist bureaus. Our local tourist association chose our boat to go on the cover of their annual Pictou County Tourist guide and we are thrilled. Advertising like that is hard to come by. This week we ordered 3 signs to go on the truck and a new sandwich board sign to go outside the marina office. Next month Peter will be going to every business, bed and breakfast, hotel, restaurant etc. to promote Sunshine Sailing. It’s amazing how much work there is in promoting a business especially a seasonal business. And then we hope for good weather all summer long because the weather is real factor in the sailing business.
Well I’ll sign off for now, have a good week everyone.
Until next time,
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
APRIL 24, 2004
Hello everyone!
It’s
that time of year once again when the lawn mower springs back into action. I
cut the lawn for the first time this year today! I thought it was usually
sometime in May that the lawn gets it’s first cut but I could be wrong. Anyhow,
it looks amazing for this early in the year. Knowing our lawn, it’ll need to be
cut twice a week from now on. Once I start, it seems to know that I’m retired
and figures I need something to do. Oh well, it could be worse I could be
mowing the lawn at the Fire Hall! I sure am glad those days are over. The
gardening is just beginning around here but the weather isn’t cooperating very
well. We are looking at only one sunny day in the next 5. Saturday is supposed
to be nice so Carole and I are planning on fixing up the gardens with fresh
topsoil. We had a thousand pounds of nice rich mixed soil delivered two days
ago and it looks like it won’t go far. Carole found a place in Bridgeport that
delivers the soil in 100 lb bags instead of those HUGE cubic yard bags that are
such an eyesore and pain in the butt that you see on people’s driveways. She
figured it would be better to have the individual bags than have to wheel a
barrow full of soil from the front to the back every 10 minutes for hours. No
sense in handling the soil twice she says and I agree. The company will deliver
the bags to any spot on your property and there is NO delivery charge. Carole
spread 2 bags in one small section of the garden and from that we can tell that
10 bags won’t be near enough.
We ordered
another 10 for delivery Friday but looks like we’ll be waiting until Saturday
before the weather will be nice enough to do the work. No matter, it’s a lot
earlier this year than most so waiting another day or two won’t matter. It’ll
be nice to have the gardens all topped up and looking fresh. We haven’t added
any soil since the gardens were cut out. Carole has been adding to the garden
size since the second year we lived here. The first year we had Doug bring us a
couple of loads of topsoil so we could rebuild our back yard. The former owners
had a pool in the back yard and had buried it about 3 feet down. Once a couple
of winters had passed the level of the back yard had sunk about a foot and a
half. Doug helped us build it back up to a nice level and contour. It has
looked great ever since. Gardening is not my cup o’ tea but I do like the
results. Carole is really good at it and I don’t mind helping a tad when she
needs me. I’m the lawn mowing and fertilizing guy around here. I like the lawn
to look well manicured and nice and green as you probably all remember me saying
other years. I’ve found a source for organic pest control and also weed
control. I’m hoping this system works as well as the old “Chemical” system! If
it doesn’t, I may just pave the whole damn lot and forget the grass. Let’s see
the bugs try to eat the asphalt! Hahahahaha! I’m sure the organic way will do
just fine. We are hearing more and more about the potential problems we face
with regards to our water supply and every little bit helps! I read an article
about a week ago that stated that washing your car in the driveway with a
standard hose and soap and water puts 4 times the pollution into the Grand
River and eventually Lake Erie than does a commercial Car Wash.
The gov’t requires that these businesses remove any
sludge etc from the water they use before releasing it into the storm drain
system of the region. It’s nice to hear that a commercial enterprise is setting
an example for the rest of us. Although I can’t give them too much credit
because I’m sure they would rather not have to go to the expense required to
accomplish such a feat. Environmentally responsible business people are a rare
breed for sure. Most only comply because it’s a requirement by law. Anyway,
it’s nice to know that the Environment Ministry is doing something to earn
their place in government. Hopefully we will be able to save the planet from
total disaster, even if it is only a little at a time.
I
attended the Waterloo Fire Fighter’s “Retirement Banquet” on the 20th
of this month and talked to an old coworker of mine. His name is I’m sure
familiar to many of you Brubachers. Lorne Huber and I worked together for 20
years. He asked me to say hello to the Brubacher clan!
I guess that’s about all I have for this week.
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll talk to you all again next week.
Bye for now…GREG.
PS: Something to
Think About>
The key to many
troubles is the one that fits the ignition!
****
Just a reminder for anyone interested in having an article included in next week’s 100th addition, the submission deadline is Friday evening, April 30. Try to send it in before then so I have some extra time to pull it all together.
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