The
Squamidian Report – Aug. 11 / 12
Issue #533
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Coastal BC doesn’t usually get thunderstorms and when it does, they are generally small and short-lived. Well, we sure made up for that the other day. We had just had our 2 hot days for the year. Yes, it was sunny AND hot for 2 full days, mid 30’s hot. Keep in mind I’m talking about the coastal sections, not the Interior where hot is normal. Then a marine cold front came through and all heck broke loose with the 2 air masses colliding right over Vancouver. It started off in the evening while I was in Horseshoe Bay on the bike at our weekly club get-to-gather. The dark clouds started to boil up, the wind picked up and we all knew we were in for wet rides on the way home. That’s not too bad for the guys who live within 20 minutes or so of the Bay but I live almost an hour north of there. We cut our meeting short and headed for home. As I rode up Howe Sound the dark sections of cloud got darker and lightning flashes could be seen all around. Basically I was pretty lucky as I only had to ride through ‘normal’ rain and got home just fine. As the evening wore on the rains got heavier and the sky got darker and the lightning got brighter. We could see the continuous flashes over the North Shore mountains in the direction of the city and hear the thunder. They were getting hammered.
The storm moved inland in a north easterly direction so the brunt of it passed just east of us through Garibaldi Park. By midnight we had given up trying to sleep due to the endless banging and rumbling. The mountains all around us were being continually brightly lit up. It was quite wild, very reminiscent of the thunderstorms back east. Many parts of the Lower Mainland ended up without electricity for the better part of a day as crews repaired lightning damage. We got off pretty easy here, just a really cool light show and lots of noise. ‘The Wife’ and I went out the next day on the bike when all that stuff was supposed to have moved off into the Interior but we managed to find one wayward little piece of storm that was lollygagging over the Upper Levels Highway and ended up a bit wet again. The bike ended up dirty again and had to be washed, again.
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Some of you might remember the arbutus trees that grow along the west coast. They are the broad leaf evergreens that (obviously) keep their green leaves all year round. What they do instead of dropping their leaves is they loose their bark every summer. They have a bright copper-red bark that falls off in mid to late summer and a new layer of lime green bark is exposed. It then slowly turns reddish over the winter. The arbutus trees are currently loosing their bark and look quite colorful with the bright green leaves, and bright coppery bark exposing bright green bark. These trees grow along the coast from California on up to here. And ‘here’ is the limit of their northern extension. On the mainland side they grow up Howe Sound as far as Deek’s Creek just past Lion’s Bay and on Vancouver Island they grow up as far as the Comox area. They are never further than a thousand feet or so from the shoreline and prefer the rocky slopes that overlook the salt water. Just thought you’d like to know.
And guess what, my bumper blueberry crop is actually ripening this year and I’m picking more berries every day than I can possibly eat. So, I’m freezing a good sized bowl of them every day. Looks like there are going to be blueberry pies this winter, and lots of them.
doug
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THE ONTRION REPORT
Hello everyone!
I was doing some wood working today so the hands are cramping a lot and this will be a short report!
I have been feeling somewhat sorry for the people I’ve seen so many times standing on street corners or at the ramps to the expressway panhandling or should I say begging for money. I would have said “change” but for the most part, I’ve witnessed drivers dropping five and ten dollar bills into these cans rather than change and it’s brought me to wondering just how well some of these beggars do in a day or a week! As my son has pointed out to me, he’s seen some pretty expensive coats and sport shoes on the regular panhandlers not to mention some expensive modes of bicycle transportation laying off to the side waiting to take the poor soul home at the end of his shift! Does anyone know if it is illegal to partake in such an activity in Waterloo Region? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a police officer telling the panhandlers to move along or arresting one for begging at these corner locations. I do know that if you wish to sit anywhere in public and play your guitar or other instrument the city calls this “Buskering” and demands that you either close up shop or pay a substantial amount at City Hall for a license to keep playing for the public or your own enjoyment. SO, why don’t the beggars have to pay for a license to conduct their business on public street corners? I’m sure if Revenue Canada ever took an accounting of the annual take of some of these folks they’d find that they meet the minimum requirement for paying income taxes! What the heck, if people like myself that live on a pension have to report and pay up, why don’t the street cashiers have to do the same?
I was stopped at the light at Ottawa St S and Fischer-Hallman a few days ago and noticed that the street person on that corner was taking a break from reaching for change as he’d been doing about a half hour earlier when I passed by the same spot. He was sitting down with his back against the light standard and was tapping away on his “iPad” with his coffee can of cash, a large Dr Pepper and a “Subway” Sub sitting on the concrete beside him! I couldn’t believe my eyes when the guy ahead of me in a black SUV called him from his lunch break to hand him what looked to be a $5.00 bill, then he simply settled back down to continue his leisurely noon meal! Now I don’t begrudge him a meal and a break but it sure looked like he didn’t have a care in the world and was taking for granted that people would just continue to hand him money whether he put out any effort or not! You’d think he would at least take his break in a less obvious spot or maybe he was afraid of losing his prime location to some other claim jumper! Oh well, if people want to hand their hard earned money to the “Thanks and God Bless” sign corner mongers, it’s their choice but I can think of much better and more deserving places for my charity bucks to go! If this particular individual really is “Laid Off” as his sign says, there’s a Wendy’s Burger joint with a “Help Wanted” sign out front just a hundred yards east of the very spot he’s spending his time on warming the concrete!
Needless to say, I no longer am feeling sorry for these individuals, or at least the ones I’ve seen that fit the description I’ve just told you about with the Ottawa St/Fischer-Hallman Rd regular! I wonder if he also has an iPhone? Hmmm….? Maybe the guy in the black SUV will drop him one off tomorrow? Oh no, I forgot, it’s supposed to be raining tomorrow so he’ll likely stay home and play video games and toke up!
That’s it for tonight folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
Two Eskimos sitting in a Kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your Kayak and heat it too!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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