Blasted Road Blasting:
I suspect they are being hurried along because of the Quebec construction holidays in July, but yesterday the blasting seemed to be getting more careless. First one of the great rubber tire mats flew to the edge of the road and hung into the lake. Then the next blast shot rocks into the lake.
I feel as if I should be here to see the process and to keep Kenya calm, but I hate being here because of the intrusiveness of the operation. My life feels as if it is on hold until they finish. Because it is Quebec, everything will likely stop for the entire month of July. That would be a real relief, but another part of me just wants to grit my teeth and bear it for the short term to get it all over with.
Their hours have gone up recently as well. They arrive at 7 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m. That is an awfully long noisy period to endure, especially if you are a dog.
Kenya smells like a kenneled dog right now ... very different from her odour when she spends most of her time outdoors. Maybe it is the smell of fear. She hates being outside and refuses to go out alone unless she can hear the little boys giggling next door. When she went over to investigate yesterday she ended up staying for an hour while the family had an outdoor fire going. She paddled in the shallows nearby.
Fake Lakes, Fake Evidence, and Now Fake Laws... Fake Toronto Police Chief?
Have any of you been following the police chief's interviews?
Yesterday I caught a report of his news conference in which he displayed some of the weaponry taken from protesters. Among the items were a chainsaw and a cross bow. When reporters pushed him about these particular items, he admitted that they had been seized in something completely unrelated to the G20. (He sounded like a kid caught in a lie, by the way, nattering about more that he didn't bring and arrows whose tips could have been lit afire.)
Today CBC reported that the "law" preventing people from being within a few feet of the enclosure ... the "law" that allowed police to question, search and detain anyone walking near the fence ... was actually not a law at all. The police chief just wanted to prevent criminals from acting. This time, he apparently smiled rather than appearing flustered.
And yet the real thugs in all this (those men in black) were allowed, despite a huge police presence, to burn police cars, smash windows, and loot stores. The only way this makes any sense to me is if the police actually promoted the use of violence by the thugs .... or instigated it themselves ... in order to make it seem that the obscene amount of money spent on keeping the peace was warranted ... and to intimidate those law abiding Canadian citizens who believe they have the right to protest peacefully in this country.
I really don't want to believe that our Canadian police would do such a thing ... even though I know they have in the past.
I wonder what they did with our real police chief, our Canadian police chief, the one who abides by Canadian law when they replaced him with this blasted police chief.
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
An Update on the Box Itself
Just compare with my header photo ... a month a a half of wonderful weather for gardens. I am very glad I chose this year to start gardening!
Travel Books and Gardens
am reading Laurie Gough's first travel book, Kite Strings. It was written in her twenties and tells of her adventures in the southern hemisphere. Much of it deals with living in Fiji which abundantly supports its society of food gatherers. Laurie taught with me in June. She has a second book out (which I will definitely buy) and she teaches a course in travel writing which I intend to take. Her writing is remarkable ... on a par with Karen Connely's, Touch the Dragon, which won a GG for non-fiction the year it came out. This is a book I would find hard to lend out in case it didn't come home.
My own garden is becoming Edenic in its fecundity too. Here are some photos.
First the beans ... the vines ... no beans yet.
Then the beefsteak tomato plant which has two tiny tomatoes so far. This is one of them.
And the other tomato plant in the box which has five mini tomatoes so far:
And then there are the zucchinis. I am already eating from the first plant shown, but the other garden up by the house looks as if it will soon be feeding me too.
And then there are the nasturtiums which are wonderfully colourful and edible, and the herbs which are all madly producing far more than I can enjoy by myself despite my most heroic efforts.
My own garden is becoming Edenic in its fecundity too. Here are some photos.
First the beans ... the vines ... no beans yet.
Then the beefsteak tomato plant which has two tiny tomatoes so far. This is one of them.
And the other tomato plant in the box which has five mini tomatoes so far:
And then there are the zucchinis. I am already eating from the first plant shown, but the other garden up by the house looks as if it will soon be feeding me too.
And then there are the nasturtiums which are wonderfully colourful and edible, and the herbs which are all madly producing far more than I can enjoy by myself despite my most heroic efforts.
Monday, 28 June 2010
A Book Report and Some Thoughts About the G8 and G20 Nonsense
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
My friend Erma sent me this book recently. It is wonderful. Beautifully written. A fine story. And an important one. I won't spoil it for you by telling all, but it deals with women, global ugliness, relationships, courage and cowardice, and does so in an interesting way. I couldn't put this book down.
If I had to mention one thing that sets this writer right up there with the best, and it is hard to choose just one, I would mention his care with dialogue. He captures so many ways that English is spoken ... by the Queen, by a Jamaican refugee, by Nigerians, and by a four year old who thinks he is Batman.
I was especially taken by the four year old superhero.
I could hear my grandson Max, the pirate, in every speech. It made me sad because I haven't seen Max for almost a year, not since we had his birthday party here.
At his daddy's funeral:
"Mummy, where mine daddy is now?"
.....
"Mmmn. Is mine daddy coming back soon?"
...
"Is mine daddy in that box?"
...
"Is that box heaven?"
.....
"Mummy! Get him out! Get mine daddy out of heaven!"
One of the major themes of the book is what happens when developing countries become inextricably entwined with the politics and economies of the developed nations. So that is my segue into my views about the G8 and G20 in Toronto.
Toronto, the Violent:
I have been in a great many peaceful demonstrations over the years and my first instinctual response is always to assume that demonstrators will be peaceful if they are allowed to be.
I haven't been avidly following this conference but you would have to be dead not to know that Huntsville has been locked down for some time and the central core of Toronto has been turned into a militarized zone. I was dismayed by the idea of the sound cannons.
Like most of the commentators I've listened to or read, I thought it was ridiculous to spend the kind of money being spent on this conference; nonsensical to hold it in Toronto which made policing even more expensive; and just plain ludicrous that an artificial Muskoka lake would be built next door to Lake Ontario.
So all my normal prejudices were solidly in place. Harper was over reacting and spending OUR money foolishly.
But when I began to read about the senseless violence directed against plate glass store windows, and police cars, my sentiments began to shift. These demonstrators seemed determined to create trouble rather than making solid political points.
Of course these economic conferences are always more violent than other protests; I think part of the point they are making forces them to scale walls and climb over razor wire. Part of the protest is against spending money foolishly on 8 or 20 world leaders when millions of people in those countries are not being fed, let alone feted. So spending gazillions on security is bound to create more violent behaviour anyway.
But even if one could understand the vandalizing of the police vehicles ... what about those store owners and their businesses?
And then this morning for the first time (remember I was not attempting to follow all this) I heard on CBC about a man who was about 5'4" and 140 pounds who was reporting the conference for the Guardian newspaper in Britain. The police roughed him up ... twisted his arm behind his back and then, when he was helpless, a third policeman punched him very hard in the stomach. All the while, he was protesting that he was not resisting arrest, that he was press. A Canadian reporter witnessed it all and reported it to CBC. He added the information that not only was the man small and no threat to anyone, he had one kidney and was an asthmatic.
So now all my notions, preconceived and recently formed, have been scrambled.
Maybe we got this much violent behaviour in Toronto because it was provoked ... by the police ... and by a government that expected the worst so it created an environment that encouraged it.
Early this morning I received an email that read:
"If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet." Isaac Bashevis Singer 1904-1991, Journalist and Writer
Mr. Singer died long before Mr. Harper came to power in this country, but he could have been talking to our prime minister, who has spent six times as much on this summit's security as was spent in Pittsburgh last year ... a summit that was much more peaceful and whose damage was far less costly.
My friend Erma sent me this book recently. It is wonderful. Beautifully written. A fine story. And an important one. I won't spoil it for you by telling all, but it deals with women, global ugliness, relationships, courage and cowardice, and does so in an interesting way. I couldn't put this book down.
If I had to mention one thing that sets this writer right up there with the best, and it is hard to choose just one, I would mention his care with dialogue. He captures so many ways that English is spoken ... by the Queen, by a Jamaican refugee, by Nigerians, and by a four year old who thinks he is Batman.
I was especially taken by the four year old superhero.
I could hear my grandson Max, the pirate, in every speech. It made me sad because I haven't seen Max for almost a year, not since we had his birthday party here.
At his daddy's funeral:
"Mummy, where mine daddy is now?"
.....
"Mmmn. Is mine daddy coming back soon?"
...
"Is mine daddy in that box?"
...
"Is that box heaven?"
.....
"Mummy! Get him out! Get mine daddy out of heaven!"
One of the major themes of the book is what happens when developing countries become inextricably entwined with the politics and economies of the developed nations. So that is my segue into my views about the G8 and G20 in Toronto.
Toronto, the Violent:
I have been in a great many peaceful demonstrations over the years and my first instinctual response is always to assume that demonstrators will be peaceful if they are allowed to be.
I haven't been avidly following this conference but you would have to be dead not to know that Huntsville has been locked down for some time and the central core of Toronto has been turned into a militarized zone. I was dismayed by the idea of the sound cannons.
Like most of the commentators I've listened to or read, I thought it was ridiculous to spend the kind of money being spent on this conference; nonsensical to hold it in Toronto which made policing even more expensive; and just plain ludicrous that an artificial Muskoka lake would be built next door to Lake Ontario.
So all my normal prejudices were solidly in place. Harper was over reacting and spending OUR money foolishly.
But when I began to read about the senseless violence directed against plate glass store windows, and police cars, my sentiments began to shift. These demonstrators seemed determined to create trouble rather than making solid political points.
Of course these economic conferences are always more violent than other protests; I think part of the point they are making forces them to scale walls and climb over razor wire. Part of the protest is against spending money foolishly on 8 or 20 world leaders when millions of people in those countries are not being fed, let alone feted. So spending gazillions on security is bound to create more violent behaviour anyway.
But even if one could understand the vandalizing of the police vehicles ... what about those store owners and their businesses?
And then this morning for the first time (remember I was not attempting to follow all this) I heard on CBC about a man who was about 5'4" and 140 pounds who was reporting the conference for the Guardian newspaper in Britain. The police roughed him up ... twisted his arm behind his back and then, when he was helpless, a third policeman punched him very hard in the stomach. All the while, he was protesting that he was not resisting arrest, that he was press. A Canadian reporter witnessed it all and reported it to CBC. He added the information that not only was the man small and no threat to anyone, he had one kidney and was an asthmatic.
So now all my notions, preconceived and recently formed, have been scrambled.
Maybe we got this much violent behaviour in Toronto because it was provoked ... by the police ... and by a government that expected the worst so it created an environment that encouraged it.
Early this morning I received an email that read:
"If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet." Isaac Bashevis Singer 1904-1991, Journalist and Writer
Mr. Singer died long before Mr. Harper came to power in this country, but he could have been talking to our prime minister, who has spent six times as much on this summit's security as was spent in Pittsburgh last year ... a summit that was much more peaceful and whose damage was far less costly.
After the Weekend
We are back to clanking, roaring, beeping noisiness this morning, but the weekend was pleasant, and quiet.
Our next door neighbours were entertaining, but the only sign of habitation was the fact that two little boys with no experience with kayaks were out most of the weekend playing on the lake, their paddles occasionally skimming the surface of the water at first but by Sunday dipping in more often than not.
The only time they became loud, Kenya went over to check out what was happening, ended up staying with them for an hour or so and came back exhausted and water logged.
Overall it was a very special weekend for Kenya. She had Charlie (an extra dog but not very sociable or playful) here to pretend that there was some competition for her sticks, and two young men who threw those sticks into the water. Techwood and Scott came up on Saturday and left Sunday afternoon. We ate well (I made Tamarak's Island pork tenderloin with barbecued veggies and rice on Saturday, and Scott made hamburgers on Sunday. We played with dogs, lounged around the garden, weeded, moved some black pipe up to the storage spot with the roofing tin, turned the clothesline right side up, drank more than we should have ... and just generally had a relaxed happy weekend.
I am still not drinking the water and won't be able to till later this week ... I expect by Friday if my plumber works that day. It makes planning for the long weekend a little trickier, and it was already tricky ... I had hoped to visit friends near Montreal but M. is undergoing tests and so her dates are up in the air.
We are supposed to have good weather so maybe I will just hang out here ... and invite friends to join me at the lake.
I am teaching the following week so will have an escape from the noise every morning at least.
I hope you all had a great weekend and that the week is beginning well for you too.
Our next door neighbours were entertaining, but the only sign of habitation was the fact that two little boys with no experience with kayaks were out most of the weekend playing on the lake, their paddles occasionally skimming the surface of the water at first but by Sunday dipping in more often than not.
The only time they became loud, Kenya went over to check out what was happening, ended up staying with them for an hour or so and came back exhausted and water logged.
Overall it was a very special weekend for Kenya. She had Charlie (an extra dog but not very sociable or playful) here to pretend that there was some competition for her sticks, and two young men who threw those sticks into the water. Techwood and Scott came up on Saturday and left Sunday afternoon. We ate well (I made Tamarak's Island pork tenderloin with barbecued veggies and rice on Saturday, and Scott made hamburgers on Sunday. We played with dogs, lounged around the garden, weeded, moved some black pipe up to the storage spot with the roofing tin, turned the clothesline right side up, drank more than we should have ... and just generally had a relaxed happy weekend.
I am still not drinking the water and won't be able to till later this week ... I expect by Friday if my plumber works that day. It makes planning for the long weekend a little trickier, and it was already tricky ... I had hoped to visit friends near Montreal but M. is undergoing tests and so her dates are up in the air.
We are supposed to have good weather so maybe I will just hang out here ... and invite friends to join me at the lake.
I am teaching the following week so will have an escape from the noise every morning at least.
I hope you all had a great weekend and that the week is beginning well for you too.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Johnny Baptiste Day
Today is Jean Baptiste Day ... if you don't live in Quebec you may never have heard of this holiday ... but when I was a Quebec teacher it was special because it meant a day off in June ... and it means that many things halt today ... including the blasting and hammering and other noise on the lake.
I had intended to go into town today to run some errands and escape the noise, but now I am reveling in silence and even if it is grey and misty after last night's downpour, it is still a lovely place to be.
Yesterday afternoon after the workers quit, there were a few minor landslides and one small tree tumbled down but not all the way onto the road. But after the earthquake and the weekend's more impressive slides, these were hardly noteworthy. Kenya, however, still regards the other side of the lake as a menace and refuses to leave the relative safety of the house ... and complains when I stay down on the deck. "Can't you see that's dangerous?" she whines, and no amount of cajoling will induce her to join me.
When no one showed up at 7 a.m., I thought perhaps they were not working because of the dampness of the earth, that the rain might have created a more hazardous situation ... but I think it is just that Jean Baptiste Day is a good day to sleep in, especially if you went home and had a few beers to calm your nerves after the earthquake.
If I thought it sounded and felt like dynamite, what must have gone through the minds of those men who had been working in such close proximity to actual dynamite for a few days?
I may just have a lazy day and take Kenya for a long walk. She needs more exercise than she has been getting since the blasting started.
And tomorrow morning, if the machine all rev up at 7 a.m., I will head away from the hills and into Ottawa. I want to get a swiss chard plant because I have uprooted one of my renegade nasturtiums and the chard seeds I planted have not done much of anything yet. I also need a hoe for the other gardens.
Tomorrow my plumber is coming in the afternoon He will replace the ultraviolet light and get my system working properly again because the municipality phoned yesterday to tell me that I have fecal coliforms in my water supply. Funny I haven't been ill ... maybe I am immune to all kinds of fecal matter!
I had intended to go into town today to run some errands and escape the noise, but now I am reveling in silence and even if it is grey and misty after last night's downpour, it is still a lovely place to be.
Yesterday afternoon after the workers quit, there were a few minor landslides and one small tree tumbled down but not all the way onto the road. But after the earthquake and the weekend's more impressive slides, these were hardly noteworthy. Kenya, however, still regards the other side of the lake as a menace and refuses to leave the relative safety of the house ... and complains when I stay down on the deck. "Can't you see that's dangerous?" she whines, and no amount of cajoling will induce her to join me.
When no one showed up at 7 a.m., I thought perhaps they were not working because of the dampness of the earth, that the rain might have created a more hazardous situation ... but I think it is just that Jean Baptiste Day is a good day to sleep in, especially if you went home and had a few beers to calm your nerves after the earthquake.
If I thought it sounded and felt like dynamite, what must have gone through the minds of those men who had been working in such close proximity to actual dynamite for a few days?
I may just have a lazy day and take Kenya for a long walk. She needs more exercise than she has been getting since the blasting started.
And tomorrow morning, if the machine all rev up at 7 a.m., I will head away from the hills and into Ottawa. I want to get a swiss chard plant because I have uprooted one of my renegade nasturtiums and the chard seeds I planted have not done much of anything yet. I also need a hoe for the other gardens.
Tomorrow my plumber is coming in the afternoon He will replace the ultraviolet light and get my system working properly again because the municipality phoned yesterday to tell me that I have fecal coliforms in my water supply. Funny I haven't been ill ... maybe I am immune to all kinds of fecal matter!
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
I felt the earth move
Today I have been feeling like someone imprisoned by noise. Huge earth moving machines have been clanking, rumbling and drilling since 7 a.m. across the lake and beside me. After lunch I considered escaping somewhere in my car but then Kenya would have been here alone and miserable ... and besides, there was nowhere else I wanted to be. I just wanted it to be quiet.
I went up to my bedroom, closed all the windows and lay on my bed reading. Kenya was asleep on the floor.
Suddenly there was an explosive noise (I think) and the whole house shook. Curtain rods leaning against the wall by my bureau rattled to the floor and Kenya disappeared downstairs to her crate.
I went immediately to the windows facing the lake but nothing looked any different outside.
My plants, however were still trembling, and so was I.
I went to the phone to dial 911, certain that the drilling and blasting across the lake was responsible. No phone.
I went next door and asked if they had felt the blast. The four men working on their machines said it wasn't a blast; it was an earthquake; that they had heard about it on the radio.
Cripes ... my ears still felt blasted. I was feeling shaken. And my phone still wasn't working.
I went home, and tried the phone again. It wasn't working as a phone, but the service is intact so I was able to go on-line.
Now I am going to check the whole house.
I went up to my bedroom, closed all the windows and lay on my bed reading. Kenya was asleep on the floor.
Suddenly there was an explosive noise (I think) and the whole house shook. Curtain rods leaning against the wall by my bureau rattled to the floor and Kenya disappeared downstairs to her crate.
I went immediately to the windows facing the lake but nothing looked any different outside.
My plants, however were still trembling, and so was I.
I went to the phone to dial 911, certain that the drilling and blasting across the lake was responsible. No phone.
I went next door and asked if they had felt the blast. The four men working on their machines said it wasn't a blast; it was an earthquake; that they had heard about it on the radio.
Cripes ... my ears still felt blasted. I was feeling shaken. And my phone still wasn't working.
I went home, and tried the phone again. It wasn't working as a phone, but the service is intact so I was able to go on-line.
Now I am going to check the whole house.
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
A Little Ketchup on the Side ... updated
* Lake Front News: On Saturday Tamarak, and her Carino came out to share local barbecued beef burgers. Our entertainment consisted of a display put on by Mother Nature with a lot of help from the people who have been felling trees and carving out the base of the mountain that borders the road on the other side of the lake. I know nothing about physics, geology or botany but I do know that if you remove a large chunk of the base of a triangle, the top will tumble, and if you remove trees, you will no longer have a root system which help keep shale and earth in place. What they have done is destabilize an already fragile rock face. From about 3 p.m. and on through the night, we watched and listened as small avalanches slid down the ravaged almost vertical slope tossing rocks onto the road and into the lake. On Sunday I rode my bike around (still far too skittish to take a car) and realized that one section of the road was now the exact width of a compact car. Any vehicle larger than that would have one wheel up on the debris as it drove through the narrow opening between the lake and the cliff.
I called one of the councillors and ended up speaking to two of them. They suggested that I file a formal complaint about the dangerous conditions, and recommended talking to the local newspaper people.
On Monday workers arrived with blasting caps and spent the day creating small explosions near the base.
Today they are drilling through rock (and through my skull). Kenya has been indoors for a couple of days now with her paws over her ears.
As I write they are now preparing to do some more blasting. It's quite interesting. They lay the charges and then cover them with huge mats made of old tires. Then they move all the machinery used in the process out of harm's way. Just before they set off the explosion, the biggest machine with the air horn honks several times and then the lever is pushed. The one they are working on now is the site of one of the Saturday night landslides. I expect that it will cause several trees to tumble and possibly take out the hydro lines. So I am closing down for now.
After writing this, I biked over for a closer look and ended up speaking with one of the councillors I had spoken to. They have decided to put off blasting the spot I wrote about and are nibbling away from the left hand side where the work starts. It is slow tedious work ... prepare for blasting, blast, shovel up debris and deal with it, confer, start again.
They have been dumping the debris alongside the road and very close to the creek that feeds the lake ... wonder whether that is environmentally sound, too. But they are running out of places to put it.
While all this was going on a line of cars were halted for about 1/2 hour ... on their way to the 5 Lakes Fishing Club (I know because of the red licence plates). Maybe if they inconvenience the club members enough something will get done. They certainly have more pull than the residents here have. We are too few and not nearly important enough.
On the Social Side: Tamarak, Carino and Ian came and made dinner yesterday. They made their wonderful Island Pork Tenderloin and I made up a dressing using a little oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice, water and herbs, and basted slices of red and green pepper, eggplant and zucchini on the barbecue.
Today I am going to meet Liz at Le Hibou for lunch. She is on her way home from golfing and has some ESL materials for me. I am looking forward to escaping from the drilling.
Neighbours: My next door neighbours have picked the perfect time to install their septic system. They have huge earth moving machines roaring away providing accompaniment for the drills and the blasting caps.
On my way back from biking over to take a closer look I noticed that the new neighbour had parked his car on the road in front of his driveway where his truck was parked. For a couple of weeks he parked his truck on the road directly in front of the mailboxes necessitating about five manoeuvres for anyone trying to collect mail and then turn using the private road across from his place, so I was pleased that the car was less obtrusive than the truck had been. I suspected that someone had finally complained to him. Then I stopped to say hi to Rowboat Flo who told me about the excitement this morning. One of the massive vehicles used for the roadwork got held up by the car on the road.. No one was home to move the car and it took an hour for the big vehicle to make its way past. Several cars just sat there waiting for the the vehicle to move so that they could continue.
So ... between our new inconsiderate neighbour and the demolition of the mountain we are have an exciting start to summer ... I could do with a return to the peace and quiet of Pike Lake's usual boredom.
I called one of the councillors and ended up speaking to two of them. They suggested that I file a formal complaint about the dangerous conditions, and recommended talking to the local newspaper people.
On Monday workers arrived with blasting caps and spent the day creating small explosions near the base.
Today they are drilling through rock (and through my skull). Kenya has been indoors for a couple of days now with her paws over her ears.
As I write they are now preparing to do some more blasting. It's quite interesting. They lay the charges and then cover them with huge mats made of old tires. Then they move all the machinery used in the process out of harm's way. Just before they set off the explosion, the biggest machine with the air horn honks several times and then the lever is pushed. The one they are working on now is the site of one of the Saturday night landslides. I expect that it will cause several trees to tumble and possibly take out the hydro lines. So I am closing down for now.
After writing this, I biked over for a closer look and ended up speaking with one of the councillors I had spoken to. They have decided to put off blasting the spot I wrote about and are nibbling away from the left hand side where the work starts. It is slow tedious work ... prepare for blasting, blast, shovel up debris and deal with it, confer, start again.
They have been dumping the debris alongside the road and very close to the creek that feeds the lake ... wonder whether that is environmentally sound, too. But they are running out of places to put it.
While all this was going on a line of cars were halted for about 1/2 hour ... on their way to the 5 Lakes Fishing Club (I know because of the red licence plates). Maybe if they inconvenience the club members enough something will get done. They certainly have more pull than the residents here have. We are too few and not nearly important enough.
On the Social Side: Tamarak, Carino and Ian came and made dinner yesterday. They made their wonderful Island Pork Tenderloin and I made up a dressing using a little oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice, water and herbs, and basted slices of red and green pepper, eggplant and zucchini on the barbecue.
Today I am going to meet Liz at Le Hibou for lunch. She is on her way home from golfing and has some ESL materials for me. I am looking forward to escaping from the drilling.
Neighbours: My next door neighbours have picked the perfect time to install their septic system. They have huge earth moving machines roaring away providing accompaniment for the drills and the blasting caps.
On my way back from biking over to take a closer look I noticed that the new neighbour had parked his car on the road in front of his driveway where his truck was parked. For a couple of weeks he parked his truck on the road directly in front of the mailboxes necessitating about five manoeuvres for anyone trying to collect mail and then turn using the private road across from his place, so I was pleased that the car was less obtrusive than the truck had been. I suspected that someone had finally complained to him. Then I stopped to say hi to Rowboat Flo who told me about the excitement this morning. One of the massive vehicles used for the roadwork got held up by the car on the road.. No one was home to move the car and it took an hour for the big vehicle to make its way past. Several cars just sat there waiting for the the vehicle to move so that they could continue.
So ... between our new inconsiderate neighbour and the demolition of the mountain we are have an exciting start to summer ... I could do with a return to the peace and quiet of Pike Lake's usual boredom.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Still wobbly
Yesterday I received a free 1 1/2 hour massage that I had won without realizing I was even entered in a draw!
Afterwards I felt as relaxed and boneless as a jelly fish. I ate dinner (prepared the day before) and fell into bed around 7 p.m. and awoke this morning at 6 as always. I am still feeling relaxed and stress free.
An extra bonus came in the form of gardening advice. The masseur is a gardener and has been since he was a little guy growing up on the farm. He and his family almost never have to buy vegetables as they have a super cool cellar in their basement with three foot thick stone walls.
Here are some of Jan's gardening tips that I plan to try this year or next.
1. Pepper plants like to grow close enough to touch their leaves. (Mine do)
2. They like to have a drink of epsom salts and water and will reward you with a bumper harvest.
3. He (and now I) are going to try some upside down gardening next year. You make a hole in the bottom of a pail and plant your cucumber or tomato or whatever seedling int the hole. You line the hole with a slit coffee filter to keep the soil away from the plant's leaves and fruit. You fill the pail with prepared soil and hang it plant side down wherever it makes sense. I plan to hang some from the deck railing next year.
4. He has also promised to share some of his seed from amazing tomatoes that create slices the size of a piece of bread with me for next season.
5. He also told me about a tomato that is picked green in the fall and wrapped and kept in a cool place and delivers fresh home grown tomatoes until February.
So far today I have cooked up some rhubarb that Rowboat Flo gave me, thrown sticks for Kenya, weeded a bit, entertained the next door huskies and talked to their owner, and drunk some iced tea made from a variety of herbals ... green tea with pear and mint ...
When I complete this post I will check the lotto ticket I bought the other day (I almost never buy lotto tickets) and then I will take another glass of tea down to the garden and read.
Unless of course it turns out that I won ... and then I might go a little mad, do a frenetic little dance ... and then go down to the garden with my tea and my book.
I feel very lucky just now ... and still very wobbly ... When it warms up a bit I may spend the rest of my day floating around the lake.
Afterwards I felt as relaxed and boneless as a jelly fish. I ate dinner (prepared the day before) and fell into bed around 7 p.m. and awoke this morning at 6 as always. I am still feeling relaxed and stress free.
An extra bonus came in the form of gardening advice. The masseur is a gardener and has been since he was a little guy growing up on the farm. He and his family almost never have to buy vegetables as they have a super cool cellar in their basement with three foot thick stone walls.
Here are some of Jan's gardening tips that I plan to try this year or next.
1. Pepper plants like to grow close enough to touch their leaves. (Mine do)
2. They like to have a drink of epsom salts and water and will reward you with a bumper harvest.
3. He (and now I) are going to try some upside down gardening next year. You make a hole in the bottom of a pail and plant your cucumber or tomato or whatever seedling int the hole. You line the hole with a slit coffee filter to keep the soil away from the plant's leaves and fruit. You fill the pail with prepared soil and hang it plant side down wherever it makes sense. I plan to hang some from the deck railing next year.
4. He has also promised to share some of his seed from amazing tomatoes that create slices the size of a piece of bread with me for next season.
5. He also told me about a tomato that is picked green in the fall and wrapped and kept in a cool place and delivers fresh home grown tomatoes until February.
So far today I have cooked up some rhubarb that Rowboat Flo gave me, thrown sticks for Kenya, weeded a bit, entertained the next door huskies and talked to their owner, and drunk some iced tea made from a variety of herbals ... green tea with pear and mint ...
When I complete this post I will check the lotto ticket I bought the other day (I almost never buy lotto tickets) and then I will take another glass of tea down to the garden and read.
Unless of course it turns out that I won ... and then I might go a little mad, do a frenetic little dance ... and then go down to the garden with my tea and my book.
I feel very lucky just now ... and still very wobbly ... When it warms up a bit I may spend the rest of my day floating around the lake.
Thursday, 17 June 2010
Mood Cycles
Now that I no longer have any hormones my moods seem to be controlled completely by weather and events in my life.
Several cold damp days with little evidence of sun combined with yet more tax bills from Quebec have had the effect of turning me into a wretched couch potato. Today the sun is streaming in through my windows and I feel much more energetic. As soon as I finish this post I intend to write some cheques and send them out, have a coffee with Rowboat Flo who is now back at the lake and feeding her feral cats herself again, and transplant some Mugo pines while the earth is still dampish enough to be easy to work.
During my doldrums I watched several movies. Yesterday ... Alice in Wonderland and Son of Rambow, both kids' movies intended for adults, and ones that succeeded in raising my spirits.
Alice provided a swirl of colour that cut through the greyness. And it was fun to fall into the madness of that world with Alice. The other movie also celebrated the world of the imagination, this time a crazy colourful world concocted by two little boys whose everyday lives were as grey as my days have been this week. In both films, the excitement of imagination wins out over the everyday dullness of a boring life.
I think I may be missing my funky furniture with all its bright colours.
So ... first the cheques, then the coffee, and then the pines ... but next, the first coat on Lily's high chair. A bright happy yellow, I think.
Several cold damp days with little evidence of sun combined with yet more tax bills from Quebec have had the effect of turning me into a wretched couch potato. Today the sun is streaming in through my windows and I feel much more energetic. As soon as I finish this post I intend to write some cheques and send them out, have a coffee with Rowboat Flo who is now back at the lake and feeding her feral cats herself again, and transplant some Mugo pines while the earth is still dampish enough to be easy to work.
During my doldrums I watched several movies. Yesterday ... Alice in Wonderland and Son of Rambow, both kids' movies intended for adults, and ones that succeeded in raising my spirits.
Alice provided a swirl of colour that cut through the greyness. And it was fun to fall into the madness of that world with Alice. The other movie also celebrated the world of the imagination, this time a crazy colourful world concocted by two little boys whose everyday lives were as grey as my days have been this week. In both films, the excitement of imagination wins out over the everyday dullness of a boring life.
I think I may be missing my funky furniture with all its bright colours.
So ... first the cheques, then the coffee, and then the pines ... but next, the first coat on Lily's high chair. A bright happy yellow, I think.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Noticing
This morning I was planning a lesson for a writing workshop and decided to use my camera to try something out. I took photos of the Paw plant, an enormous creature that was a couple of inches high two years ago when it was started from a plant that dated back to a plant grown by someone I loved, now long dead.
The Paw plant has completely taken over my den window, and I have several smaller rootlings started downstairs. A rabbit makes its home in its branches and it is in bloom right now.
The other day Kenya raced over to my bedroom window to bark furiously at the Mergansers that were trespassing. At that window I have dried wild flowers and grasses. Her excitement caused the bullrushes to explode into the room and all over her. By the time I got my camera out, she had shaken off most of her fluffiness, but here is what I managed to capture.
And here is my sleepy girl this morning. Most mornings she gets up on my bed for a cuddle before we start our day and she becomes far more interested in sticks, cookies, Sadie and toads than in snuggling with her mom.
The Paw plant has completely taken over my den window, and I have several smaller rootlings started downstairs. A rabbit makes its home in its branches and it is in bloom right now.
The other day Kenya raced over to my bedroom window to bark furiously at the Mergansers that were trespassing. At that window I have dried wild flowers and grasses. Her excitement caused the bullrushes to explode into the room and all over her. By the time I got my camera out, she had shaken off most of her fluffiness, but here is what I managed to capture.
Monday, 14 June 2010
A hairy little heartening weekend ...
I seem to have been running from one social engagement to another all weekend ... and also bought (foolishly) a very expensive pair of German sandals and then returned them a day later.
But I did manage to watch one of the movies I picked up at my favourite little second hand store. It was called "Heart" and cost me $3.95. Unless you grew up in the fifties, it probably won't mean anything to you, but when I was fourteen, in 1954, a sixteen year old girl swam Lake Ontario. Her name was Marilyn Bell.
She learned to swim at the same place I did: the Sunnyside pool. And while my swimming in Lake Ontario was confined to short distances from the raft we neighbourhood kids knocked together, she swam 32 miles across that grey, cold, rough-waved lake.
Still at fourteen, and living by then in Halifax, I felt a sense of kinship with her.
"Heart" is her story. I am very glad it jumped off that dusty shelf into my hands. I like reading about people who struggle against tremendous odds.
Another hitherto unknown movie I bought recently was called "The Freedom Writers". It too was about a young woman who fought against terrible odds and succeeded; another movie that reminded me of my youth. This time, I was taken back to those years I spent teaching.
Today we have rain again and I have botched a loaf of banana bread. It is still edible, just not pretty. I used one of those silicone loaf pan things.
Ever since Kenya went to the groomer she has had dandruff. I am not sure whether the groomer used a shampoo she is allergic to, or whether she didn't rinse her properly or whether it had something to do with the fact that she shaved a section above her tail (something I would NEVER do and that is where the dandruff started). It is also possible that it was all just coincidental. But Kenya's coat is usually beautiful ... long and sleek and silky.
The first attempt to remedy the problem was almond oil applied topically. She seemed to enjoy it but she looked like a wet hen with spiked hair. After a few hours I bathed her with warm water from the hose and puppy shampoo and then rinsed her really well.
Then I decided to fix things from the inside out. I mixed olive oil into her food She liked the olive oil fine but I went on line to see if there was a better choice. They suggested Vitamin E or fish oil so I went to the health food store and bought something specially for dogs' coats and skin.
Her coat already looks better so I think I am on the right track.
But I did manage to watch one of the movies I picked up at my favourite little second hand store. It was called "Heart" and cost me $3.95. Unless you grew up in the fifties, it probably won't mean anything to you, but when I was fourteen, in 1954, a sixteen year old girl swam Lake Ontario. Her name was Marilyn Bell.
She learned to swim at the same place I did: the Sunnyside pool. And while my swimming in Lake Ontario was confined to short distances from the raft we neighbourhood kids knocked together, she swam 32 miles across that grey, cold, rough-waved lake.
Still at fourteen, and living by then in Halifax, I felt a sense of kinship with her.
"Heart" is her story. I am very glad it jumped off that dusty shelf into my hands. I like reading about people who struggle against tremendous odds.
Another hitherto unknown movie I bought recently was called "The Freedom Writers". It too was about a young woman who fought against terrible odds and succeeded; another movie that reminded me of my youth. This time, I was taken back to those years I spent teaching.
Today we have rain again and I have botched a loaf of banana bread. It is still edible, just not pretty. I used one of those silicone loaf pan things.
Ever since Kenya went to the groomer she has had dandruff. I am not sure whether the groomer used a shampoo she is allergic to, or whether she didn't rinse her properly or whether it had something to do with the fact that she shaved a section above her tail (something I would NEVER do and that is where the dandruff started). It is also possible that it was all just coincidental. But Kenya's coat is usually beautiful ... long and sleek and silky.
The first attempt to remedy the problem was almond oil applied topically. She seemed to enjoy it but she looked like a wet hen with spiked hair. After a few hours I bathed her with warm water from the hose and puppy shampoo and then rinsed her really well.
Then I decided to fix things from the inside out. I mixed olive oil into her food She liked the olive oil fine but I went on line to see if there was a better choice. They suggested Vitamin E or fish oil so I went to the health food store and bought something specially for dogs' coats and skin.
Her coat already looks better so I think I am on the right track.
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Rainy Day Musings
A Day Full of Surprises
First of all there was the strange email trapped in my junk mail that I mistook for an ad for child prostitutes when it was really coming from a reputable travel agency.
What the ... ? I asked myself. Surely to god no one would that blatantly advertise child prostitutes.
I was about to delete it when I noticed that the sender was Flight Network, the cheap flights service I used to fly to London in November.
That made me think about the odd sign I saw several years ago in Orleans. I went out of my way to tell them there was a problem with their sign. It was one of those cheap ones ... big ... but cheap. You placed the letters of your message yourself. Sort of like magnetic poetry on the fridge.
The fact that it was in a very francophone part of Greater Ottawa might have explained the lack of interest shown by the employees I spoke to.
The sign read in BIG BOLD letters:
I decided against attempting to let Flight Network know about my confusion. They would likely have been just as disinterested as the massage therapists had been.
And then a while later as I dealt with steady unremitting rain and very wet dogs who followed me from room to room, the smelliest one never more than five feet away from me, I thought it would be appropriate to say that they were "hounding me", or " dogging my footsteps" perhaps.
Because of the stink I opened windows upstairs and lit the wood stove downstairs providing fresh air for me, warmth for all of us, and drying spots for wet dogs.
The open windows inspired the newly airborne robin youngsters to attempt to join us. Two flew right up to the screens in my den and one dropped a white calling card on the cedar sill before flying back to his tree.
Yesterday I planted creeping red thyme in the zany zen garden ... and it is very happy with all this rain ... even if I could stand a little more sunshine.
It has been an odd day in many ways. I am still not dressed ... lazing about answering emails, talking to friends on the phone, researching perennials that like damp places.
A good way to spend a rainy day.
Hope you are enjoying your weather ... and your day.
First of all there was the strange email trapped in my junk mail that I mistook for an ad for child prostitutes when it was really coming from a reputable travel agency.
Kids are just $99 at select Sun Resorts - LIMITED TIME OFFER
What the ... ? I asked myself. Surely to god no one would that blatantly advertise child prostitutes.
I was about to delete it when I noticed that the sender was Flight Network, the cheap flights service I used to fly to London in November.
That made me think about the odd sign I saw several years ago in Orleans. I went out of my way to tell them there was a problem with their sign. It was one of those cheap ones ... big ... but cheap. You placed the letters of your message yourself. Sort of like magnetic poetry on the fridge.
The fact that it was in a very francophone part of Greater Ottawa might have explained the lack of interest shown by the employees I spoke to.
The sign read in BIG BOLD letters:
MASSAGE THE RAPIST
I decided against attempting to let Flight Network know about my confusion. They would likely have been just as disinterested as the massage therapists had been.
And then a while later as I dealt with steady unremitting rain and very wet dogs who followed me from room to room, the smelliest one never more than five feet away from me, I thought it would be appropriate to say that they were "hounding me", or " dogging my footsteps" perhaps.
Because of the stink I opened windows upstairs and lit the wood stove downstairs providing fresh air for me, warmth for all of us, and drying spots for wet dogs.
The open windows inspired the newly airborne robin youngsters to attempt to join us. Two flew right up to the screens in my den and one dropped a white calling card on the cedar sill before flying back to his tree.
Yesterday I planted creeping red thyme in the zany zen garden ... and it is very happy with all this rain ... even if I could stand a little more sunshine.
It has been an odd day in many ways. I am still not dressed ... lazing about answering emails, talking to friends on the phone, researching perennials that like damp places.
A good way to spend a rainy day.
Hope you are enjoying your weather ... and your day.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
My Heart Breaks
My heart breaks for that 17 year old mother whose error in judgment resulted in the death of her newborn baby girl ... and who has now been charged with manslaughter.
I think about all the people I know who have made similar errors in judgment; who encouraged their dogs to interact with their children for all the right reasons; who walked out to look at the flowers leaving the door open, the baby safely ensconced in a car seat on an easy chair or couch.
You don't have to be a 17 year old mother to make mistakes.
But surely if you are a 17 year old first time mother your grieving should not be shattered by a manslaughter charge.
I think about all the people I know who have made similar errors in judgment; who encouraged their dogs to interact with their children for all the right reasons; who walked out to look at the flowers leaving the door open, the baby safely ensconced in a car seat on an easy chair or couch.
You don't have to be a 17 year old mother to make mistakes.
But surely if you are a 17 year old first time mother your grieving should not be shattered by a manslaughter charge.
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Another Lovely Dinner Party
Tamarak, her Carino, her youngest daughter and her partner, and their three dogs all arrived on Saturday afternoon prepared to make me another great dinner. This time it was Island Pork Tenderloin (yummy) with asparagus and jasmine rice ... and a birthday cake. The young 'uns left around 11 with Kaiah (the little dog with the enormous ears) and the rest of us hung out a while longer and then all went to bed here at the lake.
Today is a grey day, so I am lounging around reading the gardening magazines Tammy brought me. Tomorrow I will plant the seeds that accompanied them ... wild flowers mainly ... Thank you all for a wonderful birthday ...
Here is a smattering of photos ...
Today is a grey day, so I am lounging around reading the gardening magazines Tammy brought me. Tomorrow I will plant the seeds that accompanied them ... wild flowers mainly ... Thank you all for a wonderful birthday ...
Here is a smattering of photos ...
Friday, 4 June 2010
This post is specially for Techwood
Techwood asked if I had photos of my garden on my blog. I thought I had ... but it seems I was too busy gardening to post the progress.
Look what warm sunshine, lots of rain and great soil conditions have produced already!
ARUGULA, RADISHES AND NASTURTIUMS; TOMATOES; MORNING GLORY BLOSSOM; BEANS; HOT AND SPICY OREGANO; A BEAN THAT DECIDED TO GROW IN SAND (JUST SHOWS HOW HARD IT IS TO KILL A BEAN! ; HOSTAS; AN OLD DANDELION ; LETTUCE; . RADISHES ALMOST READY FOR HARVESTING
These were all organized but then the computer overrode my wishes and produced something random.
In other news, I finished teaching Andreas yesterday and Linda and Bob drove all the way from Barrie to bring me dinner. What a thoughtful loving thing to do! Dinner was wonderful., and Linda also gave me her tea chest ... which I have coveted ever since she got it. My first words (god help me ... those first words I blurt out often get me in trouble ...)
Anyway ... my first words were ... "But you're not dead yet." She looked a little startled ... and I reminded her of when I first saw the tea chest and joked that she should leave it to me in her will ... But no ... she is not yet dead or ready to will anything to anyone just yet ... she was simply giving me something she knew I would love. All the labels are hand made. Not sure if you can see the calligraphy. Can you blame me for having had tea chest envy all those years ago???
It is an absolutely lovely day here at the lake. I may cancel an appointment I have in town and just revel in my new found freedom ... and organize my boxes of wood kindling or firewood for the garden's fire place now that Odin at Property Solutions has cleared a spot for them.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Look what warm sunshine, lots of rain and great soil conditions have produced already!
ARUGULA, RADISHES AND NASTURTIUMS; TOMATOES; MORNING GLORY BLOSSOM; BEANS; HOT AND SPICY OREGANO; A BEAN THAT DECIDED TO GROW IN SAND (JUST SHOWS HOW HARD IT IS TO KILL A BEAN! ; HOSTAS; AN OLD DANDELION ; LETTUCE; . RADISHES ALMOST READY FOR HARVESTING
These were all organized but then the computer overrode my wishes and produced something random.
In other news, I finished teaching Andreas yesterday and Linda and Bob drove all the way from Barrie to bring me dinner. What a thoughtful loving thing to do! Dinner was wonderful., and Linda also gave me her tea chest ... which I have coveted ever since she got it. My first words (god help me ... those first words I blurt out often get me in trouble ...)
Anyway ... my first words were ... "But you're not dead yet." She looked a little startled ... and I reminded her of when I first saw the tea chest and joked that she should leave it to me in her will ... But no ... she is not yet dead or ready to will anything to anyone just yet ... she was simply giving me something she knew I would love. All the labels are hand made. Not sure if you can see the calligraphy. Can you blame me for having had tea chest envy all those years ago???
It is an absolutely lovely day here at the lake. I may cancel an appointment I have in town and just revel in my new found freedom ... and organize my boxes of wood kindling or firewood for the garden's fire place now that Odin at Property Solutions has cleared a spot for them.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
A Tiny Glimpse of Heaven
Tomorrow is my last day on this assignment and I am looking forward to having some freedom.
Friends are coming tomorrow afternoon and bringing dinner ... what a lovely break!
Yesterday another old friend came for lunch and brought me a beautiful morning glory which is anxious to climb the deck. When it has climbed a little higher I will post a photo.
I have realized that I planted too many zucchinis in all the wrong places ... and now have to transplant them before they take over. I am thinking of moving them to the grey water field area. I just have a few tomatoes and some herbs there now so they will be a nice addition, and they can sprawl out to their hearts' content.
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