The Squamidian Report – Apr. 16 / 16
Issue #725
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Our fence replacement projects is finally finished. It seemed like we'd
been working away at it all spring and I guess we were, on and off. The
whole section along the back of the yard needed to be replaced. To be
more specific, all the panels needed replacing. I had replaced most of
the posts a few years ago and at the time had replaced the lattice
sections on top of the panels. So we removed the lattice sections and
set them aside then pulled off the old panels. They were in pretty bad
shape as would be expected in this climate considering they were put up
about the same time the house was built. Now remember those posts I'd
already replaced? They all had to be shifted a small amount due to the
fact that the posts they replaced had been true 4x4s, not the 3.5 x 3.5
things you get these days. Therefore, before each new panel went up,
each post had to be reset. No big deal but it made for more work and
added to the time needed.
We had pre built the new panels in our garage so every time we had a
section of fence down and the post reset it was just a matter of
grabbing a new panel and putting it up. Everything is held together
with screws so anything can easily be taken down or apart should that
ever be necessary. Once the new fence was up, we cut the old panels
into small pieces and loaded them into the back of the pickup and ran
them out to the dump. That old wood does not get buried in the
landfill, it gets ground up and composed into soil. The machine used to
grind used wood contains incredibly strong magnets that catch all the
old nails etc so the wood chips come out clear and uncontaminated.
Hopefully thats it for big projects for a while. I don't mind doing
them, in fact I enjoy doing them but it would be nice to relax and
enjoy the nice spring weather for awhile, get out on the bike a bit
more than I have been doing and so on.
*
Just some observations.....
Do you ever think about glass. Probably one of the most important
technical advances of human history and yet something that is taken for
granted. Without it we could never go very fast because we'd be looking
right into the wind with unprotected eyes. Without it our homes would
either be dark or cold. There could be no electric or electronic
devices, and so on. Just think about it next time you ride in a car,
you are sitting behind a hard protective surface that is transparent.
It blocks the cold and wind and yet you can see right through it. Its
pretty amazing stuff. And incidentally in its original form, its a
liquid, not a sold. Given long enough, it will flow. Obviously we've
altered the original version to make it more stable and useful but it
is very interesting stuff. Just something to think about.
And then there's geese on a roof. Thats not something you see very
often. They do not roost or perch up in trees like birds with grasping
feet. They have paddled feet. And they are not exactly graceful when
landing or taking off so how they managed to get there is a bit of a
mystery to me. I was taking the dog for her morning walk and could hear
geese honking but I couldn't spot any flying over. Then I noticed a
pair standing on the peak of a house roof. It looked kind of silly.
They stood there looking around, watching the world go by. They were
still there as I made my way home. After I'd gone by the house they
were on they started honking louder and faster, as if trying to get
themselves psyched up. Then, they dove off the roof, wings flapping
hard and built up enough air speed to achieve flight. Luckily for them
it was a two story house with a high peak because they were pretty
close to the ground by the time they were able to pull up and fly away.
Interesting.
doug
****
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello my fellow Squamidians!
Sounds like I’m in a good mood doesn’t it? Well, I am and it’s because
our weather forecast for the coming 14 days is showing sunshine and
double digit temperatures with only a low possibility of a smidge of
rain mixed in there somewhere. It’s been a long while since we’ve been
able to step outside without a coat on and I’m looking forward to doing
that this coming weekend. It’s not fair that Doug and Sue get all the
nice warm sunny weather out their way is it? So things are looking up
and spring has finally sprung in Ontario. Today our front lawn actually
looked like it could use a mowing but the neighbour beside us still has
a strip of snow lying beneath his huge pine trees on his front lawn so
we still have a reminder of what was and still could be but, finger’s
crossed, that part of our early new year is just a memory! I’m saying
this as I enjoy the warmth of my glowing “Duraflame” radiant electric
heater as it shines on me from the office floor. It might be
sunny outside but it’s still cool enough to need a supplemental warming
device at my desk! Too bad I don’t have two of these handy heaters so I
can get some warmth on the right side of me as well as on my right
typing hand. When I sit at the desk there’s not enough room to my right
to allow the placement of the heater so I have to stop every so often
and hang my right hand over my left thigh to catch a few warming rays.
If I don’t, it takes a good half hour after I finish writing my
Ontarion to get my “mouse” hand back to a normal comfortable
temperature. LOL! I guess what I’m saying is I’ll be glad when the
evenings are once again staying at a normal late spring/early summer
temp so I can put the heater away until next fall! It’s not too big a
deal, but I do look forward to the moment when I hit the send button to
mail my finished product off to Doug so I can join Carole on the couch
in the family room where I have my lovely warm electric blanket waiting
for me! I’m not sure just why this has happened to me but since I’ve
lost 50 lbs back in the late 90’s at the advice of my cardiologist I’ve
been suffering from a loss of body heat. Especially when it comes too
my hands! It seams they are almost always cold! They say it is usually
a sign of poor circulation but I know I still have loads of good red
stuff running through my hands because I only need to experience the
slightest nick or abrasion and I bleed like a “stuck pig”! Oh well, I
guess I have my blood thinners to thank for that and now that I’ve said
that, thin blood is likely the reason I’ve got cold hands! Oh well, you
know what they say “Cold hands, warm heart!” so maybe it’s not the loss
of my layer of fat that’s caused me to cool down! At any rate, better
to be minus a few pounds and healthier than my old porky self and
teetering on the brink!
*
With the appearance of our
lovely sunshine today I was encouraged to get out and clean up the Jeep
both inside and out to start the good weather off on the right foot!
For years I have been washing my own vehicle and would never even think
of running my baby through a carwash with all those nasty plastic
brushes assaulting it’s paint! However, with the advent of what they
call “base coat/clear coat” paint on most vehicles a number of years
back, the finish no longer suffers from a mechanical cleaning. SO, for
a few years now I’ve been using an automatic car wash. I discovered a
place out on Victoria St N that does an amazing job on the exterior and
it’s a whole lot easier and less time consuming than washing a vehicle
by hand and it’s only $6.00 per wash! So the only part of the clean up
that I have to do myself is Windex the windows inside and out and clean
the interior when I get the Jeep home! It takes me about an hour or so
to do a proper job on the interior but when finished, it looks like a
new vehicle! I figure today’s effort will last at least a month for the
interior cleaning and if the weather holds out maybe the exterior wash
will last a couple of weeks as well. I’ve always envied those who live
in places like Southern California and Florida where it only rains a
few days a month, maybe, and the rain just rinses off the bit of dust
that is in the ocean front air. A car wash in those states seems to
last for months at a time whereas we here in the northern climes could
wash our vehicles a couple of times a week when the weather is dicey.
Oh well, as long as we have automatic carwashes I guess I can put up
with our changing weather. At any rate, the Jeep is shining like a new
Looney and the sun is too, so one less reason to worry and one more to
be happy!
Looks like we’re in for a beautiful
summer, hopefully a warm spring and of course a lovely fall! With
sunshine in the offing and the right attitude we should be putting the
winter blahs behind us in short order and getting on with the nice
stuff!
That’s about all for this week 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>
Advice from an old farmer:
Always drink upstream from the herd!
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
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