It's the weekend

Typically enough, I said to hubby at 4 p.m., sirens ought to be firing in the next hour. Sure enough. Sirens and then the OPP helicopter.
There was an accident this morning, too

BRACEBRIDGE OPP INVESTIGATES SERIOUS INJURY ACCIDENT

– On September 4, 2009 at approximately 8:05 AM. Bracebridge OPP responded to a three vehicle collision on #11 Highway northbound.

Investigation into the accident revealed that when the collision occurred the area was experiencing reduced visibility owing to dense fog. When traffic slowed for the fog, a chain reaction occurred with lead vehicle being struck by the vehicle behind who was in turn struck from behind by a third.

Two involved drivers and two passengers were transported to the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital in Bracebridge by ambulance. A 15 year old passenger was then transported to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto for treatment of potentially life threatening injuries. Investigation is continuing.

There is much bad news in the media:

Seal drags five-year-old BC girl into water‎ -

-- A five-year-old West Vancouver girl is traumatized but OK after being dragged into the water by a seal Tuesday night.

They say she had been feeding the seals. They jumped up, grabbed her thinking she had food. Now, hubby says its a good thing we don't feed our fish, the snapping turtles and the tourists. I had been shuffling around in the water, raking and cleaning up the shoreline, when I looked under the dock crib. I found a little friend. What was he doing? Looking for dinner, methinks. My minnows like our dock to hide from the heron. This turtle was nothing near the size of the other snapper(see the sidebar!), but its shell was the size of a dinner plate and can do some damage. And the neck! You have to check the video 60 sec. in!

Snapping Turtles locate prey with their "especially keen sense of smell. " It appears to me that they find human predators this way, too!
They are wickedly fierce. They'll bite a large fish off of a line in the water. They'll take off your fingers, for sure! If you Google snapping turtle attack, you'll see!

Common Snapping Turtle

They have a keen sense of smell but limited vision. Snapping Turtles are shy of humans and prefer to move away when approached. (Editor's note, except for my big stud who remained motionless throughout my paddle and my video!)

They crane their necks, sticking their noses out of the water, which must be sharp, up above the water to breathe, but I think he was looking around for the two-legged ones, we are their worst predators. He smelled me (I hadn't had my swim yet!) and retreated, blowing bubbles.

I heard them - geese!

Really, Canada Geese in formation, but they were flying south west. I was not quick enough with the video or camera, but I did spot some in town at the park.






Here they were May 29th:


More signs of the end of summer: brown-eyed susans at their finest...
<=== Visit more camera critters #73 here!

Skywatch Friday Season 4!

What a start to the day. No sky visible at all.
The fog burned off and the temperature inversion ended. (The lake was warmer than the air and fog formed.)

The fog burns off.
I was watching the sky: blue, no clouds. It reflects perfectly on a lake of glass. Lots of fish jumping eating up those dreaded bugs!

A perfect day to watch the sky!

Former Attorney General under arrest

Former Ontario AG under arrest

Michael Bryant allegedly involved in fatal hit-and-run in Yorkville area of Toronto on Monday night; sources say he faces possible charges of criminal negligence causing death, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.

The vultures are moving in for the kill. Doesn't matter who they are. The facts do not matter. Reporters interview witnesses. They report to their editors. Information is printed. This is treated as facts.
Rumours, gossip, innuendo. Bike couriers protest in the street. Bloggers make comments, conclusions are drawn by those arrogant enough to think they know the facts.

There are many stakeholders in this incident, who are being judged by past behaviour, which is a good predictor of present behaviour.

Bike couriers are not the most careful and courteous, nor are car drivers.
Couriers have been barred from downtown offices for their behaviour.
Road rage exists.
Politicians have their own issues. Spin doctors exist.
But all of the people have a right to be judged by the facts, which as yet remain unknown. There are lessons to be learned and more rational thinking must be allowed. Follow the letter of the law.
The police need to move slowly and carefully as much is at stake. Real witnesses must be interviewed. Videos collected. A case put together. This public outcry cannot spin into a pretrial. It violates the justice system on which it is based.

You've heard of defensive driving, now you need to practice defensive cycling. Also, demonstrate basic respect for those around you. Take care, somebody out there loves you.
~~~~~~~~
See also: CTV-Police video (Thurs., Sept. 3.09)

• Police study video of cyclist clinging to vehicle
• Former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant now facing charges after cyclist killed
• Michael Bryant's deadly duel
• Ex-minister Bryant resigns CEO post: Reports
• Darcy Allan Sheppard "wanted man" in Edmonton

The masked bandit

I arose before dawn
I heard such a clatter
Suppressing with a yawn
What could be the matter?

The moon it had shifted
A connection I made
My stupor was lifted
My shin the bed frayed


Stumbling on the deck
I flicked on the light
I said, "What the heck?"
Outdoor rustling not right

On the deck was the lid
In the photo you'll see
Bird seed no longer hid
Bandit hid well from me

Who is that masked bandit?

After a restless night, painting in my sleep, nightmares about ladders, the caulking, and worrying about the work to be done...at 5:07 a.m. I heard something go bump in the night. If you look down into the can, under the white lid - there is a furry body! She didn't move at first, brother/sister took off when I threw the lights on!
Here is my story.


I arose before dawn
I heard such a clatter
Suppressing with a yawn
What could be the matter?

The moon it had shifted
A connection I made
My stupor was lifted
My shin the bed frayed


Stumbling on the deck
I flicked on the light
I said, "What the heck?"
Outdoor rustling not right

On the deck was the lid
In the photo you'll see
Bird seed no longer hid
Bandit hid well from me


She moved not a muscle
The can's lid a bonnet
She ate up: no hustle
I wrote her a sonnet

Slowly she departed
She admired my painting
Leaving scarcely a look
Fear not really feigning

My bed calls my body
Muscles sore from my work
The rock I must replace
My duties I won't shirk

Ergo this my lesson
As summer's departed
Remove the delicatessen
Before slumber's started

Watery Wednesday #51

Two different sunsets!
This is my watery contribution. Click on the badge for more!

September- when did that happen?

You may think, since I've spent the better part of the last week up a ladder, I'd hardly notice it. But I did.
September...

And it is true.

There are signs!
I took up the garbage this morning, and managed to put off climbing the ladder and picking up the brush.

The sumac is started to turn.
Back down the drive way to get the camera...

Cold nights and cool days.

I looked closer and found some galls on them.

Critters all over the place!





Of course, as a former elementary teacher, I had to open them up and figure out what was inside.

Sure enough: little teeny aphid colonies.


But since I have spent days scraping, painting and repainting, I am being taken out to dinner.


I must get the paint off of my face!




And my hands.

But the chocolate paint and new white trim looks really great!

Winter, bring it on!!!

The Best Laid Plans

Terry Fallis self-published, as I did, but rather than having to sell it out of his car's trunk, the breakthrough came when The Best Laid Plans was won the 2008 Leacock Medal for Humour. I am somewhat defeated when it comes to self-publishing, I cannot get any media attention since the big-name publishers can have an interview and 15 minutes of fame with just a phone call to any media outlet. Mine is a heavy-duty topic, too: cancer.

Terry's book, however, deserves the attention of the Canadian public. He has taken his experience in politics and created a humorous look at life on the hill! He has used a marketing strategy that has launched his book quite well.

From his website:
"Terry Fallis is the author of The Best Laid Plans, a satirical novel of Canadian politics. This debut novel was originally self-published in 2007 and won the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Then McClelland & Stewart published TBLP in September 2008. He also won the Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards in the Regional Fiction - Canada East category."

I love reading. With retirement, comes more time to do the things you like. Reading is one. Combining chores with pleasure, I have been listening to the podcast of The Best Laid Plans as I work. As with many authors, Terry has a blog, he is on Facebook, and has a following. He has been making many speeches, the last at the Ontario Legislature. See his blog post: "Now this was a thrill…"

This book has won awards, and rightly so. Firstly, it is a humorous look at Canadian politics. With a son-in-law (a P.Eng, BTW) just named Green Party candidate in Nepean-Carleton, (am I proud?)! I am eager to listen to tales of same. Having lived 25 years in Ottawa - you just have to become a political animal. The plot, the characters, the incidents ring true. I have met and worked with these people. I find myself giggling, even while standing atop a ladder, arms sore from sanding and scraping.

Terry embeds the work with description, and with references to people, places and things that are dear to my heart: women's liberation, Ottawa, the Hill, university life: uOttawa ( where I earned my B.Ed. and taught a semester!), teaching adults (is it on the exam?), plagiarism, university politics. All his underlying themes and messages speak to me. But the strongest one was bereavement, and it was most beautifully portrayed. As I am a former caregiver and a current Hospice Volunteer, I found he treated the subject with grace and illumination.

While it is predictable, it is a satire - you know the political Achilles' heels, it is rather funny! Like Stuart McLean's on Vinyl Cafe, you know the hole the main character has dug himself, you can identify with it, and you can laugh with him as he walks into it. That is anticipatory humour at its most delicious. Little toilet humour - there is some!, but it adds to the character development and rings true.

The author, Terry Fallis, is an articulate, well-read, educated politico (not an oxymoron!), who uses interesting words one likes to taste and reflect on: nascent and assiduous. Words that demand that you think. I can identify with the main character. I jumped into union politics in the early 90s, and I saw what goes on. And still I laughed!
One memorable quote, " I didn't see the soap box until it was beneath my feet!"

Regarding Terry's target audience; politicians, politicos, and Ottawans, anyone who has ever voted, they (we) are the target. If you cannot laugh at yourself, then you cannot laugh. His self-deprecating humour, as a former party pundit, lends insight to the novel. You know he has lived this life. You know that satire is based on more than a kernel of truth. It is based on a whole bowl full of popcorn!

I heartily suggest you read, or listen to this book. Terry is working on a sequel, and I wish him luck with that. Good job, Terry!

See the previous post for the cheat sheet! Our system is British-based, but not so dissimilar that you wouldn't not get the jokes! I had fun teaching during the various elections. The students really got into the topics. Here are our bulletin boards photos.

Words from Terry, "I can honestly say that the most gratifying part of this amazing adventure, has been the opportunity to hear from readers who have found the novel to be worth their money to buy it, worth their time to read it, and worth their breath to recommend it. When all is said and done, having satisfied readers is what it’s all about. As well, I can report that over a year later, I still haven’t recovered from the Leacock shock. The sequel to TBLP, tentatively entitled The High Road, is about two-thirds written. I’m writing away and hope to have the manuscript done by mid fall. Thanks again for reviewing TBLP."

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@Barrie Summy

A job not yet well-done

I have spent hours working at sanding, scraping and getting ready to paint the cottage. You can see it (right) in the 1960s.

Entirely made of 4" thick cedar, from a prefab, it has withstood the weather. Eventually, by the mid-60s, we managed to have a deck put on, but only on the front, facing the lake! The side door step was a doozy! Actually, it was a ladder for many years.

By the 70s everything was to be painted. As I scrape the paint this past two weeks, I find an green layer in the front bottom panels, under the current chocolate brown, and then an orange. I am going to keep it brown with white trim.


Water damage is a serious problem. You really have to put on good paint to protect the wood. The cottage has had many, many coats of paint! It has outlasted the trees around it. Eventually, my parents saved up enough for a deck. Mom worked part-time from the time I was five. She was a great role model! She took summers off and took off 'up north' for July & August.

Fluffy, the cat always was there with us. Cats are so supportive when any work needs to be done. Mine, not so much. Too many chipmunks to kill.

I remember one summer mom repainted the deck. She sent me in for a quart of paint, on my bike. Then, after she used it up, another quart. It was so funny. Then, of course, two more. Thankfully, it was only 2 km into town, and people in those days didn't see the highway as their own Nascar track. I was quite safe buying the paint and returning home. I think I was about 10 years old!

Like any work you seem to need to add a 30% factor. Add that much to the cost, materials, time or effort. Once I scraped the paint off the trim this past week, I realized that the paint needed to be removed. Too many chips.

Then, as I scraped it, I realized the caulking was really bad and needed to go. Yikes. Then, I tried to power wash it, as they recommended, but I couldn't coax an erection from my old power washer. I gave up on that idea. I just slapped in on over the sanded green growth, and a couple of spiders, too. I know I'll pay for that!

Then, I found areas where I needed to fill it is where it had settled: cracks in the wall that needed to be filled. Aren't all jobs like this? They are never simple. Rather like life, methinks.

Fortunately, I had put on my iPod. I was listening to a wonderful satire on Canadian politics, The Best Laid Plans, I reviewed it on My Reflections for Wednesday. It passed the time. I managed to listen to the entire book - that is how many hours I worked!

I wasn't alone. Up in the oak tree, the squirrels were still sending acorn bombs down below. They really make a racket! My Mom's favourite creature, the loon, parked herself out in the bay as I was working. She was quiet, but she was moral support. I felt mom approved!

Now, hubby was great. He made me coffee at lunch time when he returned from town chores. Bought me wine to ease my aching muscles. The cats popped in from time-to-time. They sniffed, made their inspections and left --bored. None stepped in my paint. Good thing! It was glorious being outside and accomplishing something. Back to work. Next is window trim and then weather stripping. Amazing after 45 years how things just fall apart! But we must be prepared for the weather to come!