Deer collisions in Canada: costly economic toll

OPP respond to 10 vehicle collisions in a 24 hour period
Between the mornings of December 8, 2011 and December 9, 2011, members of the North Bay Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have responded to ten (10) vehicle collisions. Four (4) have involved wildlife bounding onto the highway, five (5) have involved drivers reporting that the weather and roads were the factor
Nov. 25, 2011
“Eighteen out of the 47 (property damage accidents) in October were car versus animal, mostly deer,” said West Parry Sound OPP staff sergeant Ron Campbell. “Thirty-one collisions were single vehicle collisions. People need to be aware and slow down.”

If only they would.

Nine out of every ten vehicles collisions in Canada involving large animals are with white-tailed deer. According to a 2008 study released by a major insurance company, approximately 60,000 Canadians hit a deer, led by Ontario with about 14,000 collisions. The study projected that 50 drivers and passengers would die in collisions with deer annually, and thousands would be injured.

It is a costly part of car insurance: economic toll of the deer/vehicle conflict in Canada is about $400 million. In 2010, in the Thunder Bay area, there were an estimated 640 to 850 deer/vehicle collisions, resulting in 42 injuries.

Before and after – snowfall

Nov. 22 - frog pond covered up to keep out leaves

Nov. 23 – now it is REALLY covered up!

 Total of 12 cm on Nov. 23, 2011.

Kittens were non-pussed. The cat, with 6 years under her whiskers, was out and about!

Buster thought I should get out my snowshoes!

 Buster was out chasing the turkeys from *his* bird feeder.

He roared out and sent them on their way.

He was up to his armpits in snow!
Then thought better of it, once the turkeys took off.

Lanark County snowfall

Total 2011/12 snowfall =  12 cm

Nov. 23 – 6:00 a.m. – 10 cm

Nov. 23 – 12 cm by noon

Feeding flying squirrels, cats, snow

Feeding time in our zoo. They are like flying squirrels flying up and down off of the counter. Sheer entertainment value.



I have gone to Vimeo these days. Much less advertising, spam and the like.

I've photographed real nocturnal flying squirrels. They are amazing. Hard to photograph in the dark, though! And the cold... I created a video of them one year in Bala.


JB managed to lift his aching back out of bed, fuzzy with pain medications, to film me preparing to feed the cats having dinner. I laugh so much.

forest walkies (run?)

With 16 acres of grassy knolls, 4 bird feeders, lawn, bush, forest, wetland, the twerp keeps crossing the highway.

We've stopped feeding them breakfast, as Felix has been crossing the highway after he's been fed. Treating him like a dog, I'm getting a collar and leash. Short leash in the afternoon when he crosses the highway for field mice.

Such innocence!

See him across the highway? Yikes.
They travel at great speeds on this section of road, and pass one another hurrying in to Perth or south to Brockville.

Today's 10 cm, and still falling snow, has him a bit in shock. At nine months, he hasn't seen snow.

We have our snow tires on, the snow blower is tuned up, and now I shall dig the shovels out of the shed!
Winter, bring it on!

Our World Tuesday– week 13

Lies, whistle blowers, secrets

This American Life

#419: Petty Tyrant 58:43 11/6/11
In Schenectady, NY, a school maintenance man named Steve Raucci works his way up the ranks for 30 years, until finally he's in charge of the maintenance department. That's when he starts messing with his employees. Teasing them at meetings. Punishing them with crummy work assignments. Or worse things, like slashing their tires, planting fire bombs.

The State We're In - Faking It 52:12 11/11/11

• A small lie lands a promising politician in prison. Jeff Smith's article in the blog “The Recovering Politician”.
• A Dutch artist on the joys of forging works by great painters. 
• A Nigerian man on how he scams women into love relationships just to swindle their money. 

Spilling secrets 52:13 12/3/10

• An Indonesian man survives the extermination of his village by Dutch forces and why he's not vengeful, Dutch soldiers talk about their participation in the massacres. A black page in Dutch history.
• A man blows the whistle on Swiss banks and their shady dealings with Holocaust victim.

Whistleblowers 


In 1998 and 1999, Shiv Chopra, co-workers: Drs. Margaret Haydon and Gerard Lambert, testified to the Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry that they were pressured by senior supervisors to approve multiple drugs of questionable safety, including Bovine Growth Hormone (rBST). Prior to the mad cow disease crisis in Canada, Chopra warned the government that the current handling of feed to cows was inadequate.

Creativity, art and the middle-aged woman

butterflies are free!

'Katagiri Roshi says: "Poor artists. They suffer very much. They finish a masterpiece and they are not satisfied. They want to go on and do another." Yes, but it's better to go on and do another if you have the urge than to start drinking and become alcoholic or eat a pound of good fudge and get fat.'

––Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones,

I bought an old whipple ($15!) and it took me two days to figure out how to put the right pieces together to put up my new art work purchase, a stained glass butterfly. The whipple was used with horses, ploughs, and the like. It is rather like the yoke used for oxen, except for the size! Down at the Rideau Ferry junk/antique store, there must be a dozen of them!

It is fun work and great play. Outdoors in 5 C. weather, getting some fresh air and exercise!
Poor hubby is a minimalist, and anti-clutter-freak. But he tolerates my attempts to play with structure, art and the old dead elm stumps.

Front lawn, with newly repainted urns!

I have put up some festive decorations, some years I have not chosen to do so for many emotional reasons. This year I feel relaxed and content. I can manage the pressures of the holiday season.

At our house Frosty was up all year! I couldn't *do* Christmas for a long time, being a single parent, alone, I didn't have enough money for a tree. Our Christmas traditions became flexible. Our 4 years in Muskoka we didn't have a tree, my parents died, and the kids couldn't visit us, I let it all go. My girlfriend, bless her, brought me groceries one year.

Frosty in 2008!

When traditions become rules, and you cannot afford them, financially or emotionally, you get bitter. I make choices now. It is liberating!

At my late Mom's house Frosty was up all year! She invented Christmas in July in Bala.

I couldn't *do* Christmas for a long time, being single parent, alone, didn't have enough money for a tree. Our Christmas traditions became flexible. Our 4 years in Muskoka we didn't have a tree, my parents died, and the kids couldn't visit us, I let it all go. When traditions become rules, and you cannot afford them, $ or emotionally, you get bitter. I make choices now. It is liberating!

Other art that we have I have truly created, like the totem pole. Made of a tree all holey from pileated woodpeckers, put back together I have been putting on decorations.

sunsets on the day's work

You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. ––Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), author (1928)


Of course, the same is true of love!

Creativity is the life force that Dylan Thomas called 'the force that through the green fuse drives the flower.' ––Julia Cameron, American teacher, author poet, (1948)

Sunset over Perth's Lanark Lodge
–I may take painting lessons some day,
meantime I take photos.

Words, like flowers, have their colors too. ––Ernest Rhys, author and editor (1859-1946)

Creativity is the residue of time wasted. ––Albert Einstein, German physicist (1879 - 1955)


There is creativity everywhere. These young men were playing music outside at the Perth mall, one warm evening last week.


One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other. ––Jane Austen, novelist (1775-1817)

The Occupy Movement–I'm in the middle %

This car belongs to the middle %!

There are many resources for the homeless.
For example, Ontario Resources, or The Ottawa Mission.
"The Ottawa Mission has 223 beds for the homeless and provides more than 1,100 nutritious meals each day to those who stay here and to individuals in the community who are facing hunger."
For those who choose the streets, and cannot live in a shelter, or a building, we must respect their choices and keep them warm and feed them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excellent article on the Occupy Movement. I don't really understand Occupy, though. They tried free love communes, they tried communism (can you spell USSR?), and they didn't work very well. Capitalism is how it works in a democracy.

We know what started this recently: The reality is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac are the real disgrace
 -- the two US government-sponsored mortgage underwriting agencies -- walked away with paying minor fines. Its impact on the world has been tremendous, but the fault is not capitalism, Obama, or the wealthy.

Ian Millar's farm - 1%?
A national treasure - hard-working owner of 600 acres.

This is a democratic country. There are many things that can be improved in this society. But this is Canada.

We believe that all should have access to healthcare, all should be able to live and work in safety, freedom, without fear. We have supports and infrastructure, and access to soup kitchens, home care, long-term care.
Yes, there are people who live without the necessities.
Many photos have been taken of Occupy Ottawa. From TopHat, Aritapiero (both of these are professional photographers–interesting!), and some photos from folks just popping by on the way to work.

It would seem that those still occupying are those who are victims, homeless, out of work, and able to sit in a park 24/7. The rest of us have jobs, work, debts, and commitments. We are far from the so-called 1%, although the 1% at the other end of the spectrum are the ones still in the park.
I resent those who are shoving their protest in my face.
Most of us get up every day, find work, and contribute to society.
Most of us put one foot forward every day. Some go to jobs they don't like. Many (60%) don't have pensions, or healthcare plans that pay for drugs, or dental work.


A poster at Occupy Ottawa says:

IF YOU HAVE DEBT–

IF YOU ARE HOMELESS–(300,000 in Haiti)

IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET–

IF YOU CAN'T SPEND ENOUGH TIME WITH YOUR KIDS–

IF YOU ARE UNEMPLOYED–(7.3 % in Canada)

IF YOU ARE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR CHILDCARE–

IF YOU THINK YOU CAN'T AFFORD RETIREMENT–

IF YOU HAVE LOST YOUR JOB–(Whistleblowers)

IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD HEALTHY FOOD–

IF YOU FEEL TARGETED, PROFILED OR OPPRESSED–

IF YOU ARE A STRUGGLING SMALL BUSINESS OWNER–

IF YOU DON'T TRUST MAINSTREAM MEDIA–

IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF POLICE BRUTALITY–

IF YOU DON'T HAVE CLEAN WATER–

IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY YOUR BILLS–

IF THIS ISN'T THE CANADA YOU CAME HERE FOR–

IF YOU OPPOSE WAR–

IF YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T VOTE FOR REAL CHANGE–

IF YOU WANT TO BE PART OF A GLOBAL MOVEMENT

YOU SHOULD

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

This pup looks a bit fearful
–we all have to take risks! 

Now, really. I joined the movement a long time ago. I dug myself out of debt as a single parent, a girlfriend brought me groceries one Christmas. I found a home, held tight to family, and took charge of my life. Then my parents became ill, but that is another story!

I refuse to be a victim, and it is my attitude that will change me. It is all about how you frame it. Your ATTITUDE. You cannot let others take your power from you, whether you've been hit with illness, hard times, or simple fate. Take your power back from the bullies. Honour the rights of those to make a fortune, respect yourself for earning a living. Now some are victims of police brutality, this is a different kettle of fish, and not something one can blame on the 1% who are rich. This is power and control, not wealth.

Sunset on the trees

I watched a fabulous Oprah show in which she said she stopped feeling guilty about lifting herself up, since someone else pointed out that when she lifts herself up, she is lifting others up to a higher place. She brings up the rest of us, and provides the world view I admire. Many philanthropists are doing the same.

Oprah reviewed an interview she did (1997-ish?) with a young woman whose heart was broken as their family house was in foreclosure, and her husband had left her, and her three children.
Suze Orman made a great point; an AHA moment. The young mother felt she'd failed her kids by not having a 4-bedroom house anymore. A house does not a home make. A FAMILY, that is what is important. You are not your job, your house, your car or your income.

"You get in life what you have the courage to ask for." says Orman. The mom needed to change her attitude. Her family is where her heart should lie, not in the things she has lost. Her grief overwhelmed her. Her perceived curse, losing a house and husband, is her blessing. The young woman turned her life around and realised how little material things matter.

The road rises up to meet me

Oprah spoke of Jeanette Walls, who lived on Park Ave., while working as a gossip columnist for MSNBC.com, despite having been homeless as a child with 3 siblings. The teasing, the bullying of school-peers was merciless. She rose above it. The guilt this woman felt, seeing her still homeless mother on New York city streets, picking through garbage, was an embarrassment to Walls. She had offered to help her parents, but they didn't want her help. There are some who cannot live indoors. There are some whose choices we must respect.

Those of us in the middle class, with mortgages, children to support, send our tax dollars to CBC Radio, and support radio shows, like Q, that feature too many Americans, to my listening ear.
However, I believe in the power of working together. Very few seem to be speaking out against Occupy. I think these misguided people need to get a grip.

And all is not well at Occupy...

AndrewBreitbart AndrewBreitbart 

#OccupyOttawa: Violent & Sexual Assaults Should Not Be Reported To Police: bit.ly/s0DYgw Seeing a trend, anyone?!

How much fun are grandchildren?!

Isabelle having lunch

I drove the car the hour and a half into the Otto Subaru dealership for a major tune-up. Winter approacheth and rural driving requires a vehicle be kept in shape.

Subaru told me it would be 5 hours for this big tune-up.
They were having fun doing an art project. I was inspired.

I phoned my son-in-law, and asked if he would take in an orphan for the duration. Ma Mére, his mom, was babysitting. I phoned in desperation, hoping someone would babysit *me*!

Like this, Gramma!

With my daughter off on a trip to Washington, studying 'Construction Dewatering' (I kid you not–she's a hydrogeologist!), my son-in-law ('Papa') is working from home as an encryption engineer consultant.

Ma Mére was busy making grilled cheese for them all. (I was still full from my breakfast!) Papa was on a conference call.

We raided Mummy's make-up drawer!

Josephine wanted to make a cat mask. That was right up my alley! I have three degrees in people, B.A. (ECE), B.Ed., and M.Ed.! I can use my skills and training! I so prefer Home Day Care, non-profit day care, nursery schools for preschoolers. In the safety and intimacy of home day care, with caring, licenced professionals, kids thrive. I am against putting kids in school institutional settings in full-day kindergarten. With pupil/teacher ratios that border on criminal, the Home Day Care ratios of 1:5, or public Day Care's 1:8, preschoolers have the opportunity to thrive in an atmosphere love and family. Education is such a political thing.

It's a cute little project, from a 'workbook' one of the grammas gave her. Me, Ma Mére, who knows! We love spotting good buys at craft stores, the second hand stores, used book sales, garage sales!

Jofee wanted green whiskers,
she cut them herself.
Motivated, she will be 4 on December 9th!

 The sheet has a list at the bottom of materials we needed. This is far more organised than I was doing art with my students. I used to find some interesting materials, pine cones, bits of material from crafty parents, felt, and cheap materials. Then present them to my class. Some bright light would create a brilliant model, others would create an individual art project that didn't look like any one else's project.

I loved having open-ended art like this. Kindergarten teachers spend much time pre-cutting materials, ensuring that each craft looks the same. That isn't art. That is structured activity.

We discussed the lesson plan.
I suggested that while the cat in the sample was black,
our cat mask could be any colours we wished it to be!

Kids need opportunities to choose from a variety of materials, come up with a plan, invent a new idea.

Projects need not look like they are fine art, and it is the process, not the product.

Papa found some string -for those ties that bind!

Isabelle laughs at her gramma from the other end of the table!

She loves acting the part of a cat.
Jofee adores our cats, too.
The little bit of red on her cheek was a dab of ketchup! Oops.

Final project done.

Thankfully they took me in. Jofee and I had fun, while Ma Mére had fun with Isabelle.

Below is a video I made of our last forest walk.
The kids visited us and they had a sleepover!



Nothing like the shush of leaves during a forest walk.
It is so much fun being a gramma!

Who is the best person for whom you have worked?

I love the Pike Place Fish Market, in Seattle. They do so much for employees.
I drove the car the hour and a half into the big city, the Otto Subaru dealership, in Westboro Village, for a tune-up. Winter approacheth. Surely.
They told me it would be 5 hours for this big tune-up.

I took myself off for breakfast, as I had arrived at the dealership for 9:03 a.m.. left the house at 7:30! I went to Westport Newboro. It was delicious, and held me till dinner. Wireless internet, and the Elvis Sighting Society memorabilia were great.

When I returned, lo, and behold. A team-building art project for the holiday season.
This is so funny. All were having a grand time. I've seen art created by Huntsville's famous Napster, who paints with his tail. This could be fun, too.

Otto Subaru, they tell me, is owned by mother/daughter, Hugette, who inherited it after Otto passed away in 1998. Ken drove me to my daughter/s-i-l's house, where we did an art project of our own.

wall photo: In memory of Otto,
'our driving force', (1937 - 1998).

Ken told me that this is a fabulous place to work, where they work hard and play hard, and where lessons in humanity have been learned. I've certainly been the victim of bullying in the workplace, I understand the negative impact of it all.

Here is Ottawa, ALUnion #279 is busy telling OCTranso riders not to do a 'witch hunt', looking for driver errors, while they ought to be telling drivers to be respectful, to do their jobs well. They have no right to tell the public what to do or not do. They must be counselling their employee to drive as if everyone in watching (because they are!), treat passengers with dignity and respect, and if you are facing more stress than you can handle, seek some support. The union needs to step up and step in. The strident unions of the past must change their stripes. Union members now have more than fair wages, pensions, wellness plans, sick leave, and this attitude must stop. Full stop.

Rather than alienating passengers the union should be uniting its drivers. (You can read more about the whole thing here!)

OCTranspo is in the business of safely transporting its citizens, funded by Ottawa taxpayers, dealing with passenger needs fairly, treating drivers fairly, preventing disasters; like the singing bus driver, the swearing bus driver, and when drivers take out their frustration and anger on passengers we all suffer.