The
Squamidian Report – July 23 / 11
Issue #478
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
One of the many types of creatures effected by the lack of any sign of summer west of the Rockies are the bears. The higher elevations where they would normally find tender grasses and early berries are still under meters of snow, snow that probably will not melt away this year. There simply isn’t enough time before new snow starts to fall again for last winter’s to leave. So, as a result, bears have become a real problem down low where they must come to find food.
One day early this past week it didn’t rain, so, I saddled up on Big Blue and headed out for a ride. As I rode north toward Whistler I decided to check out the Callaghan. That’s the high valley where the Olympic ski jumping took place. The jumps and related infrastructure are still there as well as a tourist info centre. The road in used to be a narrow steep loose gravel logging road but it had been rebuilt and paved for the world to see. The last time I was up into that area was work related. We also took some of you into there when you were out here for that reunion a couple of years ago. But, as usual, I digress.
The road in is a motorcycle’s dream. Windy and scenic with little traffic. Its also a slow drive, posted at just 60 due to the tight curves and steep hills. It attracts a lot of bicycles as well, for obvious reason. Anyway, the road in is also covered with bear shit. The stuff is all over the place. I guess they would rather poop on our pathways that on their grass. And there are lots of them to do the pooping. I saw several grazing at the side of the road, usually on the steep grassy slopes left from constructing the road. Who knows how many were just out of sight in the underbrush or under the thick trees.
Then there are the garbage day bears here where I live. They seem to know what day to come to each section of town. Thursdays are our garbage day and usually I get the bin out a bit early but this time due to the heavy rain taking place, I waited until the last minute. I was also waiting for the rains to let up a bit so I could walk the dog without either of us getting too wet, again, as usual. When I did get the bin out and started on our walk I noticed that many of the bins had been knocked over. Especially the bins that were put out the night before which is a big no-no around here. I saw lots of evidence of the bear or bears while on the walk but didn’t see the actual perpetrator until I was almost home. Then as I came in off of Thunderbird, a very large black bear was standing right in front of me, on the lawn of the house straight ahead. The dog was not sure she wanted to get to close and personal, and I knew I didn’t, so we waited for it to wander off to the left before we continued to the right toward our house. The garbage truck had emptied the bins while we were on our walk, but the bear was checking to see if anything worthwhile was left. As we walked the short distance up our street I could hear him knocking over the bins right behind us. He was not too concerned about us at all and that’s a bad thing because that means he will have to be removed from the area, probably terminally.
On one evening this week the dog got quite excited and wanted out. Instead of letting her out I checked out the front window and there was a bear standing on our driveway. This one looked a bit like a teenager, thin, gangly and awkward. If he had closes to wear, his hat would have been on sideways and his pants would be down so far his but crack would have been visible. It had checked out our place, then crossed the street and checked out each house as it worked its way along. Once it disappeared into a back yard we came back in from the front balcony and I flipped on the TV. Ironically, there was a nature program about bears. The dog sat herself down in front of the TV and watched those bears with ears up, eyes alert and attentive, and nose trying hard to catch their scent.
Oh by the way, I picked up ‘the wife’ from the airport last night. And it’s a good things she’s home now. I was running out of dishes and groceries and clean cloths, and the lawn needs mowing and I think the house should probably be vacuumed or something. J
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
It’s hotter than heck out there and I really don’t mind! Just think back to this past winter and spring and I’m sure you’ll remember the cold miserable weeks we endured, wishing for the heat of summer! We all vowed that we’d never complain about the heat if it would just hurry up and get here! Well, it’s here and it’s giving us plenty of summer time to enjoy! Unfortunately I’m still hearing people bitching about the heat and it drives me nuts! I love the heat and if it gets to be a bit much at any time, I just slow down and find a way to cool off a little. I grab a cold drink and head for the shade or I head inside to the air- conditioned air for a while. If you don’t want to spend all that cash on your own air conditioning, you can always head to the mall or a local store for some relief! I’d say to sit under the sprinkler but the local by-law officer might nip you for watering at the wrong time of the week! LOL!
One of the easiest ways to cool off is to sit in the shade with your feet in a deep pan of water with ice in it. That always seems to do the trick. When your feet are cool, the rest of you doesn’t feel so hot either! Cold pop only makes you thirstier. So you’re better off grabbing a tall drink of ice water. Alcohol isn’t the way to go either as it tends to increase your thirst too! So what the heck, guess you just have to grin and bear it! Fall will arrive soon enough and you’ll be wishing the heat of summer was still around!
Enjoy it while you can!
I’m lovin’ it and refuse to complain about it!
That’s it for this week folks, short and sweaty…. Oops, I should have said short and sweet! Enjoy the heat while it’s here!
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG.
PS: Something To Think About>
The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows! In the renaissance era it was fashionable to shave them off!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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