The Squamidian Report – Mar. 26 / 05
Also in this issue:
More Memories From Vivyan
Fern Glen Update
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Hey, look at that. The first long weekend of the year is upon us. Due to the time differential between here and back in Ontarible, ours actually started 3 hours later than back there but of course ends 3 hours later so it all apparently works out in the end. This has also been the first week of spring although some parts of the country are still waiting for some signs that spring is actually on the way. In other parts of the country we are starting to get bored with spring and are waiting for the next seasonal step.
We had some pretty heavy spring rains last weekend that put some much-needed snow onto to the mountains. It also caused a washout on the Sea to Sky highway just north of Horseshoe Bay. That closed the highway for the day (Sunday). There were a lot of people in the city that were frantic to get up to Whistler to do some skiing and a lot of people in Whistler that were frantic to get back to the city, or the airport or where ever. They were out of luck. It wasn’t actually a washout. It was more of a debris and mudslide from somewhere up the mountain slope that clogged a culvert running under the highway. Very quickly the highway was flooded with water, mud, logs and rocks. This kind of thing is pretty normal around here. Mountain terrain and mountain weather keep things interesting.
The days are also getting noticeably longer. The sun is coming up earlier each day. Actually, it is getting sunny exponentially earlier for us. As the sun moves north (relatively of course) it is moving out from behind a ridge so the point at which it floods the valley with light gets lower every day bringing sunlight earlier each day.
And speaking of weekends, you know all those house and yard projects that I’ve promised the wife I’d do if I just had a pickup truck to do them with? Well, we’ve had that truck for a week now and those promises have caught up with me. Needless to say, no dirt biking pictures for this issue.
*
I had mentioned a while ago what our hardwood forests look like around here. I’ve been working in one this week. There is a stand of hardwood forest between the recreation complex and the highway. The company I work for had gouged a drainage ditch through it to drain the sports fields but the ditch looks just like a ditch. The town wants to put a walking trail along it so I was sent in to soften the ditch and make it look more natural. Working through these forests is interesting. Many of the trees are huge, all are covered with moss. The remains of nurse logs are evident all over the place. Some are so old they disintegrate on touch. Others are still quite solid. There can be hidden holes that could swallow the small excavator I am in there with so you sort of have to feel your way around.
Nurse logs are an interesting adaptation by trees to enable them to start growing. They become the nursery of the forest. A tree standing in the forest dies and eventually falls over. As time passes, it begins to decay, turning back into nutrients. It ends up covered with moss and other small plants including tree seedlings. The forest floor is a dark formidable place so anything that starts to grow up on the top of the fallen tree has a better chance of catching needed sunlight as well as not being washed away during wet conditions or eaten. Because the seedlings that start to grow on top of the nurse log have the best chance of becoming big trees, the forests are populated by short rows of trees that outline the original log. Often the old nurse log is still there, very rotted and just looks like a long mound of moss. Sometimes it is totally gone, the trees that sprouted from its top now showing the bowlegged roots that had rapped around the log on their way down to the ground.
d
****
You may remember the horse pictures from
a few weeks ago. I will explain
them. The horse on the cutter with my
dad was Dick and the dog was my old faithful Shep. My first memory is of my Dad coming home before Christmas when I
was two months short of three years old with this pup peeking out of his big
lumberjack shirt. My Dad got Dick from
a farmer who was afraid of him and probably treated him badly. Dick remained afraid of most men but it
wasn’t long before my Dad had Dick working great. He became my Dad’s main driver for the mail route.
The black horse I was riding was Sifter. My Dad bought her mother when she broke her hoof on the racetrack at Guelph. He probably paid what the pound would have given them as that was what they did with what they termed “useless” animals. She healed up fine and helped on the mail route but Dad had her bred and the result was Sifter. She was a beautiful colt and Dad kept her (thank goodness). Dad had the mother bred again and the spring I was twelve when I went to the field for the cows I saw the mother on her side with a colt half born (she wasn’t due yet or my Dad would have had her in the barn yard where he could keep an eye on her). By the time I found Dad and we got back both mother and colt were dead but we still had Sifter.
I was about thirteen when I started riding Sifter. She was still too young to hold the weight of a man on her back but she and I had great times together. She loved tossing my brother Carman and cousin Ken every time they tried to ride her but most of the time she and I got along good – at least she never managed to throw me. As you could tell by the picture it was all bareback riding as I never heard of such a thing as a saddle, but I sure had a lot of fun. Even with a huge snake (which she hated as did I) under her feet she managed to wait for me to be on her back before she took off “Hell for leather” in our usual charge down the lane. I still miss her and love my memories.
****
Well, I wish I had a bigger update in terms of the construction progress. However, it has been painfully slow. We inch forward every day, but I wish it were faster. We thought we'd be moved into the main house by now, but the end isn't even sight. We received an email Friday from a potential guest, inquiring whether we'll be open for business by the last week of April. I replied that we'll be able to accept a small number of guests by then. So Monday I'll let the contractor know he's got four weeks to get this ship in shape. Last week when we asked when the house will be ready for us, he said "a couple more weeks". It's been "a couple more weeks" since mid-February. Welcome to life in the north!
Frustrations aside, we've been enjoying our property, the local area, and the beautiful weather. Lately, the morning temperature when I walk the dog--usually around 7:00 am--is about -8 C. In the afternoons it gets up to +8 C. The days are mostly sunny and the sky a gorgeous blue. This warm weather is shrinking our snow and I'm sad to see it go. We haven't been up here long enough to get sick of winter, it's still a novelty. But any time I start to mourn the end of the snow, I just have to take a step off of our trail and sink 12-18" into the white stuff to remember it's not gone yet.
The trails near the house have been packed down firm from our daily walks, but they aren't very wide. One step off, or even near the edge of the trail, can mean suddenly sinking knee-deep. Just a few weeks ago, before this long run of warm days, we had a lot more snow. Jim took a picture of me standing in snow up to my thigh, almost up to my butt. It was a ton of fun. We could fall straight backward and let the snow catch us, or leap and launch ourselves belly-first, action-hero style. That was when the snow was light and powdery. Now it's wet and heavy. Great packing snow.
Jim's family--sister, brother-in-law, nephews, father--came to visit for a couple days during March Break. They stayed at a nearby motel since we still can't accommodate anyone. It was great to be able to show the place to more family members. Jim and his brother-in-law took the kids skiing at the local hill. Later, the kids took their crazy carpets down our little hill. Us big kids had to go for a couple runs at it, too!
Earlier this week Jim found a dead owl behind the Coop (ski shack). It was beautiful. We're pretty sure it's a grey owl from what we could find online. Jim called the Ministry of Natural Resources to see if we should report it. They'll be accepting dead crows and bluebirds this year to test for West Nile, but they aren't interested in owls. They said they've been getting a lot of calls from people reporting dead owls and that the poor things are starving to death. Apparently there's a large population this winter but a scarcity of food. The rodents which are a main food source have a thick cover of snow to move around under and tunnel through this year. It's sad to see this beautiful creature just fallen like this, but I know that's nature, and that these things work for a reason.
On Friday Sylvia came over to go for a snowshoe hike through our trails. Bruce is in Russia for a month on business. I actually got to say hi to him when he phoned Sylvia on her cell. Pretty cool, from Russia to Fern Glen on a wee little phone.
It was a beautiful day for a hike. The sun was shining, the sky was clear. Jim brought the owl and returned him to the woods to let nature run its course (far from the house). We were out for a couple hours and got quite a workout. The crust has melted off the top of the snow so we sink down, even with snowshoes. And the snow is so heavy with water it's hard work to travel through it. Jim got a REAL good workout since he wasn't even wearing snowshoes (we only have two pair so Sylvia and I got to wear them). It really tired out the dog, too. She normally manages to stay on top of the snow but even she was sinking through regularly.
When we're not enjoying the great outdoors, we're busy with prep work, errands, and meetings. We attended a Huntsville Chamber of Commerce event last week and met some interesting people. Up here, as anywhere I suppose, networking is key to a successful business... it all comes down to who you know. We also met with a local Filemaker Pro programmer who's put together a reservation system for inns/resorts/hotels. He and his wife also own the local Apple computer store, which is a pleasant surprise to discover in Huntsville. (Little note to Doug: I'm sure you'd LOVE mac if you got your hands on one for a couple months.) More meetings with the bank to set up our credit card processing. And we're attending a seminar next month on PST and GST. Now doesn't THAT sound like fun.
We're heading down to Orillia on Saturday to prepare one of our units for a new tenant. We just have some nail holes to patch and do a little painting and cleanup after the outgoing tenant. We might pop down to do some "city" shopping in the booming metropolis of Barrie while we're at it. I've been looking for a good sale on a bread machine, but I guess with the low-carb craze, these things are not great sellers anymore. We'll stop in Bracebridge on our way home and hook up with Sylvia again for dinner. Then Sunday we have to play catch up and get a bunch of administrative chores off our plate. Uhg.
We've got so much to do, and yet the pace of this place is seeping in. I don't accomplish as much in a day as I used to. I have to remind myself that that's part of the reason we wanted to change our lifestyle. All in good time, I tell myself, all in good time.
We'll add posting pictures online to our To Do list, and hopefully share more of this snow and sky I seem to go on about. Take care everyone,
Hello my fellow Squamidians!
I know I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now but
this time I mean it, Spring is definitely here! Carole and I pulled into the
driveway yesterday afternoon and there were two Robins on the front lawn. They
were enjoying the green patch that has melted through the snow. We’re slowly
but surely getting rid of the white piles. I can hardly wait for the first
cutting of the grass! I think just being able to go outside without a heavy
coat on will be a blessing. Is it just me or are the winters getting longer as
I get older? They say if you stay active during the winter ie: skiing or
skating or some such sport the season goes by quicker. I guess I’ll just have
to find myself a winter interest to help pass the time. Oh well, I’ll worry
about that next year! We had a pretty mild day today for a change. It was +4 on
the thermometer on the back fence today. We are looking forward to opening the
pond but when I see the 2 feet of snow that’s still covering it I have my
doubts about doing any such thing before May sometime. The fish have all survived
the winter in the aquarium and in fact I think they’ve all increased in size a
little. I guess there isn’t much room to swim and stay slim with 9 of them in
the same tank. We had 10 but lost one at the end of the season last year. Not
bad since they are all original stock from when we first built the pond. Do any
of you know how long gold fish live? I expect they’ll be good for another few
years anyway. We’ve lucked out and haven’t had any cats dipping their paws in
after the fish. The water is probably too deep for that anyway.
*
Doug finally sent me a couple of pictures of his new
truck. It’s a beauty to say the least! It should be plenty strong enough to
travel those mountain highways and back roads. I’ve always been partial to
pickup trucks. I’ve had 5 of them over the years and found that they really
come in handy. I’m not hauling stuff around so much anymore so the Jeep is
sufficient for our needs now. Both Carole and I like to sit up higher than a
conventional car when we drive. We feel safer and more aware of what’s
happening around us when we have a better view of the traffic. I was reading a
report from the Insurance Bureau Of North America the other day about SUV’s. It
said that for the most part they are pretty safe vehicles. There were only two
makes that they found fault with. One is the Ford Explorer and the other is the
Chevy Blazer/GMC Jimmy. The Explorers tend to have a problem when towing a
trailer any larger than a 4x8 utility trailer. In fact when I rented a 19’ cube
trailer to help my brother in law move to Kitchener from Toronto, U Haul asked
what I’d be towing it with and that if I had an explorer of any year, they
wouldn’t rent to me. They apparently have had several huge law suits over Ford
Explorers flipping on the highway while hauling their trailers. Ford says it’s
U Haul’s trailer designs fault and U Haul says it’s a problem with the Ford
Explorer. They have had no problems with any other make of SUV pulling their
trailers. U Haul actually has this rental exclusion of Explorers printed right
on their rental agreements. I was surprised to see that but I guess they have
had enough problems that they don’t want any more. The Blazer/Jimmy has had
more drivers killed when involved in accidents than any other make of SUV. I
think the stats were 356 driver deaths for every one million Jimmy’s on the
road. This is compared to 25 to 105 driver deaths for every one million of each
of the other makes of SUV on the road in North America. Still doesn’t sound
like much either way but even 1 is 1 too many! The Jeep Liberty ranked as one
of the safest of the SUV’s. I was glad to hear that for sure. It made the top 5
for safety if I remember correctly. Hopefully I’ll never have to test its
safety aspect first hand. We’ve got 111,000 kms on it now and it’s still
running like new. Hopefully we’ll get another few years out of it before having
to get another. I hope so anyway, heck it’s only been in our driveway for 2
years this coming July! I’m sure it’s got lots of live left in it yet.
Getting back to the pictures that Doug sent of his
truck, the grass and other surrounding plants in the back ground of the
pictures appear to be in a mid-summer like bloom! As I look outside our front
window, I’m terribly jealous at how far ahead BC is when it comes to nice
weather. I guess though, there are parts of BC that will be behind us weather
wise too. I guess we’ll just have to wait our turn for the nice warmth of
spring/summer. It’ll get here soon enough!
*
Stuff in the news:
Carole and Adam were watching TV last night and the
American news came on. Carole said they had a story of a woman that went into a
Wendy’s restaurant and bought an order of Chili. She was thoroughly enjoying
her meal until she bit into a human finger half way through her cup of Chili.
YUK!!!!!! They showed the finger on the news report so I gather it wasn’t a
hoax. I guess I won’t be eating chili at Wendy’s for some time to come. I used
to enjoy their chili but just the thought of it turns me off now! Wouldn’t you
wonder how such an item could make it’s way into their product?
I said to Carole that they probably have a central
processing company that makes chili by the barrel for Wendy’s and someone
caught their finger in the machinery. However I would think that responsible
management would have flushed the batch down the crapper when they couldn’t
locate the woman’s missing digit! LOL! Carole said it had quite a long
fingernail on it so they think it belonged to a woman. OUCH!
Just wanted to leave you with an appetizing story
for this week. Thanks for tuning in once again. I look forward to talking to
you all again next time in The Ontarion Report.
Bye for now……..GREG.
PS> Something To Think About>
Next time you’re eating at a restaurant, take a
moment to look through your food before diving in! You’d hate to find that the
lovely looking and smelling dinner on your plate is actually “Finger” food!
LOL!
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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