The marathons

After my marathon garbage pick up, I have a better marathon upon which to report. 

 Jesse, in Vancouver, ran in the 39th annual 10 K Sun Run!  He was one of 35,000 runners! 

I remember going on runs with son Jesse, on weekends back in the day. I loved running. He would run rings around me. We'd jog around the neighbourhood; he'd go on ahead, circle back, and visit me. I think that was in Nepean. My knees preclude this now. That, and shin splints from softball; tendonitis, after biking too much. Those were the days! 

One can order photographs or a video from the marathon. I figured the video might be fun. He appears in the video at 16 - 18 second, 49 seconds. More or less. He's wearing a dark ball cap, dark windbreaker and pants. It gives you a notion of being there!

I sent him a cheery message, he trained as an actor (BFA), and work as a financial planner:

        "All the best for tomorrow! I'll bet 'break a leg' isn't appropriate now!  "

The video was a crap shoot. You can order them, but aren't really sure of the quality. They offer photos, but he wasn't really front and centre, and was a blur. He is below, stopping his wristwatch timer. All in black, with a black cap. His orange shirt peeking out. I am so proud of him! He turns 40 next month. 

 

Jesse Sun Run from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Back to home... 

In the forest, I spotted a brown creeper while I was harvesting trailcam cards. This is a screen shot, as I'm never able to capture it in photos, only video. Some marathons are best not taken up!

I moved to the trailcam, and heard a bird singing. I didn't have any idea about what it could be. I recorded it to use with BIRDnet, and it said 'Brown Creeper! ' What could have been more logical?!

We have daffies!

Tulips, nearly!

My so-called Lenten Rose! We are well past Lent. I took these photos with my new phone. Just an experiment.  

This one isn't too bad! It's a lot easier than getting on my belly in the wet, dirty garden!

I pointed out this tulip for JB. It's been here for years. I did not plant it. Each year it would show leaves. Finally, it appears to have a blossom coming along, a marathon? Now,  while the deer have taken off into the forest, you never know when Clover will come back. I'm going to have to put my garden fence up soon.

Yay, spring! Except it is snowing this morning. The plants will be fine, but the warm weather lulled us into a false sense of the season.

🐣The Phoebe nest seems done, but since the colder weather moved in – they have disappeared. Their marathon is not yet done. 

Our federal government employees are on strike. They've been negotiating for two years, another marathon. My pet peeve is the disparity between front line workers, and CEOs. The difference between the workers and CEOs used to be a factor of 100 fold. In recent times, this disparity has gone to 243 times the salary of workers. The average top CEO in Canada made $14 million in 2021.  This is just Calgary:

It's not limited to Canada, either.

From SVSU.edu

Six-figure salaries by those who raise money from you and me

Having sat on a number of boards, I find it interesting how quick people are to vote for pay

raises for those making more than 6-digits, while lower level staff earn a mere pittance. It is shocking comparing MP and MPP salaries, these fundraisers. Ontario's Sunshine List, names those earning above $100,000 per year. This information is available through Canada Revenue Agency.



I wrote a post awhile back, commenting on top salaries for physicians in publicly-funded hospitals.

 While CCACs cut Home Care services, CEO salaries increase on the sunshine list:

•  For 2013, these 14 CEOs were paid a total of $3.5 million. 

  

  There are 14 regional LHINs
  with the responsibility of distributing
  Ontario healthcare tax dollars.
  The total budget for LHINs is $68-million

• Nearly half made annual salaries in excess of $250,000 – more than any provincial premier. CCACs in turn report, at least on paper, to another marvelous bureaucratic invention known as Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). 
• The 14 CEOs earned a total of $3.8 million, ranging from $231,000 for the CEO of South West LHIN to $328,000 for the CEO of Mississauga-Halton LHIN. 
• Twelve of the 14 CEOs made in excess of $250,000 in 2013. 
•  The CEO of Toronto Central CCAC made $180,000 in 2009. Her successor pulled in $306,000 in 2013, an increase of 70%. 
• In 2009, the CEO for South West CCAC (London/Middlesex)  made $180,000. Four years later, she received $288,000, an increase of 60%. 
• In 2009, the CEO of Champlain CCAC (Ottawa) brought in just over $168,000. In 2013, her successor was paid $315,000, a jump of 88%. 

Six-figure pay at charities the cost of giving and getting by Kelly Egan 

Charities are generally reluctant to release salaries of senior executives but the Canada Revenue Agency requires annual reports that include the compensation of the 10 highest-paid employees, without naming them. Quite an eye-opener.