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The
Squamidian Report – Jan. 1/22
Online
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Of This And Past Issues Issue
#1023 From BC Sue From Russ From Karin The Ontarion
Hi All, Do you remember that heat dome the west had last summer when temperatures hit and held up into the 40’s? Well, we have been having the flip side of that since just before Christmas with temperatures way down in the mid to low teens around here and with some areas further inland dropping down to minus 40C and the windchills at those temps being almost unbelievable. Those areas have seen a temperature spread of 80 degrees C since summer and we have seen a spread of around 60 degrees C. Thats a lot of difference between summer and winter. So, we have gone from it being too hot to breath last summer to too cold to breath this winter. Wow. But, it’s a dry cold :) With last summer’s heat came drought and fires. Then the heat turned to endless rain that fell almost none-stop from late September until the end of November. That brought those devastating floods. The rains then turned to snow. Many areas out the eastern Fraser Valley that were still under water when the cold hit are now locked tight under ice. Vancouver had a white Christmas and New Years as did all of the southern coastal area. Victoria over on the south end of Vancouver Island can go for years at a time without ever seeing a snowflake. This year they too had a white Christmas and are still covered in snow and ice. Up at our place we have had so many snowy days that I’ve lost count of them. We are currently having another snowstorm and the forecast is for snow most of the week. On several snowy days I’ve put more gas through my snow blower than I did during all of last winter. Thats ok, I like blowing snow. My neighbors like it too because I helped out many of them during one of our snowfalls that dropped over a foot and a half snow. In fact, after helping some of them clear their knee deep driveways, we would get a knock on the door and there would stand a neighbor with offerings of cookies or a pie (store-bought, not home made like Sue would do) in thanks for my help. Its just too bad that many other people around here refuse to park on their driveways and instead park on the street, blocking the ability of the town’s snowplows to clear the streets. No one seems to care and it drives me nuts. Our street and most streets in Squamish are now too narrow for proper navigation there-of and for emergency vehicles to navigate should it be necessary. Again, no one, including the town, seem to care. Oh, and the city of Vancouver’s idiotic political agenda shows it’s ridiculous head during these wintery times. People live, work and shop in downtown Vancouver, obviously. People have to get to work, or the grocery store, or wherever during and after snowstorms. So, first priority of the Vancouver works department is to clear the BICYCLE lanes first, and keep them clear. Minus 10C and snowing, people struggling to walk along icy snowy sidewalks in order to get to work, older people struggling to get to appointments or stores or wherever along icy snowy sidewalks. Not a single BICYCLE in sight and there won’t be for until the temperature climbs way back up into the comfortable range and the snow and ice are long gone. But, gotta keep those bike lanes open and available no matter what, even at the cost of forcing pedestrian traffic to risk falls and injury on impassible sidewalks. There are no words to describe such stupidity. The arctic cold creates another problem, that being trying to keep our hummingbird feeders from freezing. We have hummingbirds year round and during winter conditions they depend on feeders for survival. The tiny birds burn calories at a very high rate in order to stay warm and must feed constantly. When dawn breaks they wake from a state of stupor and must get to a feeder and feed immediately. If the feeder is not there or is frozen, the birds are doomed, done for, caput, they do not have enough energy resources to get to let alone find another food source. So, we take the feeders in at night so that they are ready for morning. Just before dawn we put one out so it will be there and that sugar water will still be relatively warm. Within an hour ice crystals will start to form so we then switch to another feeder, and so on. We rotate though 3 feeders in an attempt to make sure the hummers are able to drink and therefore survive. A lot of work on our part for creatures so incredibly small and vulnerable, don’t you thing? Garibaldi Mnt as seen from the gondola lift with the 3rd peak of the Chief in the foreground.
The Mamquam Icefields Off To The East.
doug ****
From BC Sue With all the deep snow we have had this year, Doug decided to make Kyra and Olivia a “GT snowracer track” so that the girls could enjoy the fresh snow that they really don’t get very often at their house. Doug managed to build a 4 foot high ramp from the bottom of our deck stairs as the starting place using snow shoveled from the deck. Doug then tramped down a snowshoe flat track across the width of the top part of the backyard to the steep curve down the ramp that leads to our lower backyard. Ryan and the girls arrived Christmas Day after celebrating Christmas at home with Mommy who had to work in the afternoon. After dinner here, the girls bundled up and headed out into the dark to try out the track. They spent the next hour out there sledding. They spent the next morning out there, and they didn’t seem to notice the bitter cold as they knocked snow off the bushes and the roof of the playhouse.. Gramma went out to investigate and rode one of the GT snowracers down the track to the bottom after making too tight of a turn at the lower ramp. Gramma promptly fell off. The girls were concerned that I had hurt myself but years of snowracer sledding at Hidden Valley had tightened me up for anything. It was a day later that we discovered that I had lost a new Christmas earring in the process so out came Grampa with his trusty metal detector and with a quick scan and a howl from the machine, the lost was found. Sue
Happy New Year From Kyra & Olivia
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From Russ Conclusion - Suspect? Or person-of-interest? Oops! Last week I lost half of my Column to cyber space - so here we go again: Recently transferred to Detective Division, and still "learning the ropes of marriage", you find us in our back yard at 222 King Street, South, Waterloo - we're folding clean sheets which had dried in the wind/sunshine - Mm, they smell great! It's a hot, windy day and we've left the front door open for ventilation. That was dumb as Bobbies purse was clearly visible from the sidewalk. She, who must be obeyed, is giving me heck for not having wiped the clothesline as she'd ordered, and now the bed-sheets have black corners, and must be washed again! (Why don't I listen to her?) Just then, a young man (16-18) walks down the driveway between our house and the Pharmacy, all the while looking away. My cop instincts kick-in. This is strange behaviour, he also walks funny......I watch him walk away down the lane. He never looks back. "OH DAMN!" cries Bobbie "my purse! Someone's been in my purse!" I'm wondering how would she know? It always looks 'scrambled'. But, I ask, "what's missing?". Turns out her wallet is gone, but worse - her KCI Master keys are gone as well. She is the Office Manager at the Collegiate, and has access to all locked files, important papers, and cash! "I have GOT to HAVE those KEYS!"! Her voice becoming more intense. "I will lose my job if those keys are stolen"! We should report this to the police, is my first thought. "NO! I don't want them to know! I don't want anything in the paper". She has a point - we don't want anybody to know how stupid we are for leaving our front door wide open - an invitation for anybody to just walk in and help themselves to our stuff! Because we live in Waterloo, the City cops have jurisdiction, and they should be informed, as the thief will likely continue if not apprehended. I suggest phoning Waterloo PD from the Dick office KPD and explain the embarrassing theft. She agrees - but only if nothing is made Public. (I didn't tell her Waterloo PD is not swift at solving minor thefts) Scene: Detective Office, Kitchener Police Department (ten days after the theft at our home); two inexperienced "plain Clothes Constables are on duty (all alone). We have just finished questioning a young man who may be a 'suspect' in a complaint of the theft of expensive roller-skates from a Roller Arena. This is a "nuisance complaint" as renters of skates often keep them. We can't afford to "waste" much time, so he is dismissed. "Thanks for your cooperation - see you around" says Constable Ted Tosheff, my 'green-horn' partner. "Not if I see you first!" snaps the youth as he walks toward the Exit. "Hold-on. Can I talk to you for a minute?" I ask, (noting the way he walks). "Yeah - sure. What's up?", he replies. I begin asking him his whereabouts on the day of the theft from my home in Waterloo. He cheerfully responds, "I left my place and walked to the Roller place in Waterloo". He says he stayed on King Street all the way, and when we asked if he left the street at any time, he quipped, "Nope - never left the sidewalk!". Are you sure? Think back, I ask, looking him straight-in-the-eye. "Oh yeah - for a piss". When asked where did you go for a piss, he remembered, "I walked between a store and a house". I move in for the kill. Did you go into a house on King Street? "No". Do you remember a little girl on a bike at this house? He shakes his head......"No". She remembers you (silence)....that was MY house you went into (his face goes white - his jaw drops). Where are the keys? I MUST have those keys!! He knows the "jig-is-up". He also knows I'm a cop, and he's in serious trouble! Let's go - find those keys, I say. He leads me to a lumber yard on King Street South, Waterloo, and hidden in some lumber, he retrieves the precious keys. And now, the wallet. Where is it? I demand. " I took all the money and some old money, then threw the wallet away - don't know where". Where is the money now? I ask. "Spent it". Where did you spend the old money? I was able to recover most of the old bills that my sweet, nutty, wife kept in her wallet. About now, you may be asking, why I solved the theft, and not the Waterloo police - like I said, they are not very swift. Finally, it was the gait of the suspect that lead to his arrest, charges, and conviction. R.G.Brubacher, Plain Clothes Constable, KPD. ****
From Karin Hi everyone ! Well it is Friday, 31 Dec 2021 and we are settled in for 3 days of hot weather. Max 36 C today, 33 C tomorrow, but Sunday is now a perfect 26 C . I’m kind of glad I don’t have to go anywhere to a New Year’s Eve party. Karl and I are happy to stay home, watching Netflix with beer and snacks. We are so boring, lol. Of course with the way things are, with surging numbers of covid infections, staying home is the most sensible thing to do. Thank God we have aircon in case it becomes unbearably hot. We are not far from the beach, either, but Karl does not like swimming or crowded beaches. I would love a swim in the saltwater. We sometimes like to go in the evening on really hot days. It can be lovely, and only 5 or 10 minutes drive from our house. Altona beach also has many restaurants, and a park, so it’s great for families. It has become very popular. Because we also have a train station very close by , that also makes it convenient to get here from other suburbs. We had a very quiet Christmas Eve as well with Kris and Archer joining us for a barbecue. Most years we have a family Christmas with many of Karl’s relatives, but this year not everyone could get together, so it was nice and relaxing, and we didn’t mind, especially because we had perfect weather on the day. I decided I would not bother to bake this year. My heart just wasn’t in it. I usually make the German cookies , including gingerbread, and a few other family favourites. I managed to find some German Lebkuchen and other German baked treats in the shops, so I didn’t see any point in baking. I did have a bit of fun creating our Christmas tree. We already had a small tree which a friend of mine made, but I wanted a big one, so I made one out of a kids table and chairs. It was fun and everyone loved it. Anyway, I want to say thank you for keeping us entertained and informed with your weekly newsletter. Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2022. Karin
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone and Happy New Year too all! This has been another calm and quiet Christmas season indeed! Once again we spent Christmas with just the three of us here at home safe and snug in our living room on Christmas Day. It was a quiet but lovely day and we managed to enjoy every minute of it again this year for the third year in a row. With Covid keeping everything in check we didn’t want to venture out of even have anybody in for the occasion. No matter how well you know people and how much you trust that they’ve had their two main vaccinations and their booster shot, you just never know where they’ve ventured out to during the past weeks or months and whom they might have been in contact with. So, with our questionable health situations it’s just not worth taking a chance on contacting anyone who isn’t within your own home and immediately family! Having said that, we still had a very nice and fulfilling Christmas! Once again Santa was good to all of us! Having said in my previous Ontarion that being my age I don’t need anything for Christmas. Santa sure did come up with a good array of items for this old geezer! One of the coolest things under the tree for me was a Battery powered “Skill” or “Circular” saw from Carole, complete with a heavy duty battery and Charger! I’ve had a Sears circular saw for about 40 years but it was starting to act up every time I squeezed the trigger! It was also a pain in the butt to have to run an extension cord every time I needed to use it! So Carole was listening to me complain over the past year every time I used it and decided it was time for a cordless saw! She picked a Rigid brand saw which happens to be the best on the market in my opinion! The Rigid company extends a “Lifetime” warranty on all of their power tools! Nobody else that sells such tools offers such a great warranty! I have several Rigid power tools now and they have never let me down! I also received a very cool Karaoke machine which I have yet to put to the test but I’m sure it will be a lot of fun to play and sing with! One never knows when one might produce a hit record with such a fun machine! I’ll try it out soon and keep you posted as to the outcome! Adam bought us an interesting and special Video Doorbell for the house. With all the news items about “Porch Pirates” stealing packages these days one can never have too much security on their house to watch for outdoor activities that are or may be unwanted! These doorbells are interesting in that they record a video as well as sounds produced by the people etc approaching your house! It’s amazing how wide a field of view they can see! A couple of winters ago, Carole had one of her decorative planter pots filled with Christmas display’s stolen from the front of our house and had we had the video doorbell, we might have been able to apprehend the culprit! Oh well, hopefully we won’t have such a thing happen again but if it does, we’ll at least capture the thief on video! One other item that Carole gifted me with was a Book called “The Magic of Zehrs Markets”. It is a book about the history of Zehrs grocery stores which happen to be the company that I served my refrigeration apprenticeship with and also was where I met my lovely wife and of course we all know how that turned out! That romance has lasted going on 49 this Month on the 19th! Carole worked in the meat departments of several of the Zehrs Stores and I of course worked in all of the stores repairing their refrigeration equipment! I also worked in the new construction of many of the Zehrs stores when they were being built! I can’t to this day enter one of their stores without spotting a leaky drain or a display case that’s not working properly! LOL! Actually it was an e’mail from uncle Russ that alerted me to the existence of the Zehrs 50th anniversary book originally printed for that occasion in the year 2000. So when I showed an interest in obtaining the book, Carole picked up on the idea of finding a copy for me for a Christmas gift! She located a copy through my former boss and the former president of Zehrs who now lives in Cambridge. She also found along with the book a die cast model of one of the Zehrs transport trucks which she also presented to me at Christmas. The book itself is very interesting as it has the entire story of Zehrs stores in it as well as having mentioned me in the front Credits of the book. Of course Carole and I both remember many of the people mentioned in the book who were the big bosses back in the 70’s when we both worked there. The executives at Zehrs were very friendly to all of the employees and were seen on a regular basis in the stores! I’ve read the first chapter of the book so far but am looking forward to reading the rest of the book over the next couple of months! This and the other gifts I received for Christmas are very well thought out and I look forward to making good use of all of them. Carole and Adam also received many good and interesting gifts and this made for a wonderful holiday season this year! That’s about it for this week folks! Thanks for tuning in and I hope you all had a very merry Christmas as well! Once again here’s wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year for 2022! Bye for now… Greg ****
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