MORE RABBIT

     I find that many posts I write do not end where I think they should end. In other words there's more to the story. Sometimes more happens and the story grows.

    That's what happened to the rabbit post of   Aug 17. I had portrayed the rabbit as sneaky and a nuisance.

    Well, some of these things may be true. 

    Later on you get some information that shows you are not quite right.

    A rabbit has been hanging around my yard. I also  see it in the morning. It seems to hide in the garden.

    Well yesterday I noticed that this rabbit has nipples. Yes, a row of nipples down her side. This indicates that she is nursing.

    When Jack rabbits have their babies, they hide them in different places  on the day they are born. The babies stay quiet all day. At night the mother comes to feed them several times. When the young are able to fend for themselves they leave the protection of the place that they were left by the mother. 

   So we get a very different idea of this particular jack rabbit when we learn some more. 

AFTERNOON VISITORS

      When we came home from lunch today we drove through the neighborhood. I noticed something strange in the close next to us. There were two large animals in the shade behind very large willow tree limbs. I looked carefully from one hundred meters and couldn't identify them. They had a gray  coat and very large antlers. They weren't moose because they weren't big enough.

    I hurried home to get my camera. I know that shooting from bright sunlight into shade  doesn't make much of a photo. I tried but I couldn't see much in my veiw finder. I was able to identify them as mule deer bucks. I was surprised to see the winter color of their coats. I saw a doe two days before and she still had the summer coat and color. 

   They were rather cheeky and stayed didn't move. I went back later on to get some better photos. 

   There was still some velvet on the antlers. 

AUGUST

       In August the landscape on the western Canadian prairie ever so faintly begins to change. The sunlight is not the direct bright rays as as the angle of the sun has changed. It is drier. Plant activity is shutting down. The nights are colder. Two nights ago our low was plus 3 C.

      It's a good thing that we have these changes or is it people taking advantage of the changes. It's harvest time in this huge prairie land. Weather is extremely important. It has to be dry to harvest the grain.

     So I'm talking like an old farm boy even though I left the farm 68 years ago. You can't take the farm out of the  boy. 

    Farmers grow different crops so that they can stagger harvest times and give themselves a long harvest time. My nephews farm. Their first harvest is silage which they take off green. Then they swath some crops that can lay in the swath until later. Then they straight combine wheat. This means they harvest the grain when it's standing. Nowadays this looks like the indie 500. Combines have a 45 ft and 37 ft cutting width. I can't believe the speed these machines travel. They are one big sensor. An operator sits in the cab but doesn't do much. The canola is swathed. that means that the plants are cut and laid in a row. They can be threshed later when it's dry enough. 

    Things have changed on the farm since I lived there but it's still an interesting process. 

   Now if I've made any errors one of my brothers will tell me I'm sure. 

   So August begins a busy time as many things change on the landscape and people take advantage of the change. .

    Critters take advantage of the change and either leave or collect food for the winter or go to sleep. Some Richardson's ground squirrels have already gone into hibernation.  

MR. McGREGOR

        I felt like Mr. McGregor  yesterday.

        Mr. McGregor was the gardener in the famous TALE OF PETER RABBIT written by Beatrix Potter. Peter Rabbit marauded Mr. McGregor's garden on a regular basis. Mr. McGregor couldn't catch Peter. My favorite part is when Peter hides in Mr. McGregor's watering can and Mr. McGregor doesn't see Peter and walks by. We all want Peter to get away. When Peter gets home his mother scolds him for going into Mr. McGregor's garden.

      So yesterday, what was in my garden but, a big Jack rabbit. He/she was lazily taking a bite of pea leaves and then a bite of gooseberry leaves and then grooming him/her self. It was a very peaceful time for the rabbit. 

     At this time of year my garden is a jungle. The peas are 2 feet high. It's easy for a rabbit to move around and not be seen.  It's also the time of year when most things have matured and one rabbit isn't going to do much damage. In the spring time I close the gates very tightly.

     So believe it or not I just took this picture . There is a Jack Rabbit hiding in the pea patch but I can' get him to stick his head out of the peas.

        

     So I waited and finally the jack rabbit stuck his head out of the pea patch. He's above the bird bath and to the left.

EATING WHAT?

                             GROSS ALERT

   If you don't like gross stuff stop reading now!

      At my Arctic post in northern Quebec, I was teacher, school principal and Local administrator for the federal government. I was extremely busy but loved the work.

    From time to  time government people came through and had to stay at my place as there were no facilities in the settlement of 200 people. 

   One of the people who came through and stayed for seven days was Fred Breumer who is a well known photographer of northern subjects. He also knew a tremendous amount about everything Arctic. Fred was given the Order of Canada . Fred had come to the area to photograph petroglyphs. These were the only known petroglyphs in the  Arctic. An article was written in the Beaver magazine on the petroglyphs. 

    Fred went through the second world war as a young person. He was in a camp and it's very hard to read his story. 

    The federal government gave Fred permission to take any of their flights that had a space.

   So one day  fellow walked up to the house from the airplane. He told us who he was and asked for a place to stay. He was a helpful guest and offered to pay. Fred was there to photograph petroglyphs which were the only known ones in the arctic.

    So he spent days helping in the house with my wife. She says he was the most interesting person she ever met. 

   Another of Fred's escapades was to spend 3 winter months in the Keewatin area with several families.  . Fred promised that he would live as the Inuit did and work and hunt. He would eat all country food.

    In the spring there were caribou. The eggs of some flies were laid on the backs of the caribou in the summer and incubated under the skin. In the spring time  the eggs laid by the  flies were in the larva stage and when large enough the larva popped out of the caribou skin. Now what Fred didn't know is that the larva or maggot was a delicacy. The Inuit loved them and ate them like candy. Fred said it's one thing he just couldn't eat. It's the only thing he didn't eat while he was with the group. 

    Check out Fred's books in your local library. He also wrote numerous magazine articles. Check out his biography, 

COUNTRY FOOD

        I began this series thinking about having nothing between me and the north pole. I then got looking at some photos and was reminded of things that I had forgotten. So the whale hunting popped up on some old photos.

       Then I saw the food processing and that's another whole post about gathering food.

      The men we went out with, were caretakers at the school. They received a decent wage for their work. However, if they bought their food from the Hudson Bay Store they wouldn't have enough money. Food in the store was very expensive. So they  processed country food to augment their food supply from their wages. There were many other people at this location. It had been a traditional hunting area and they still used it. 

     The butchering of a whale was a large process. These animals were about 12 ft long. The belugas are white. The skin is thick and tough. The outer layer of fat and skin are peeled off. Some of it is hung on poles and dried. Some of it is boiled in a large barrel and rendered down. The red meat is cut into strings of squares and hung up to dry. Some of this was made into muk tuk which they considered to be a delicacy. I didn't think it was a delicacy and I didn't try it. 

     So much of the summer was spent catching belugas and preparing the meat. This meat would last for a long time. For our guys (caretakers) they would eat this throughout the year with store bought food. They also shared some of this food with family and friends. 

     Traditionally this food was stored in the area and other hunting areas and consumed throughout the year, They were constantly hunting for fresh food. They could catch many seals and some of the seals were large. The skins were traded at the trading post. 

                                                 Boiling the fat

Whale skin and blubber hung up to  dry

White fish netted nearby

Parts of the beluga

Whale meat hung up for drying

Fat being cut for rendering. 

Fat being cooked in a barrel

Wood supply for cooking. 

ALONE

    How did this ever get posted? I did not intend to post this as there are errors and I have to change the photos. I hope you read the edited version of this post. 

It seems that one incident I write about reminds me of another incident. 

     As I've said many times , I spent five years in the Arctic. I was active and many adventures gave  me interesting times.

    The people and the land changed my life immensely. It gave me a completely different perspective.

    Our school care takers still went out hunting beluga whales. They agreed to have us come to their camp on the shores of the Arctic ocean. They had been there for a few days and had caught 2 or 3 whales and were in the process of butchering them and preserving the many parts of the whale that they would consume. 

    Their camp was between Tuktoyaktuk and Kitigazuit at a place called White Fish station. . They were in a neat little cove that that did not face directly out to sea. They were well protected from storms and high seas. There were not many high seas and the tide was about 18 in. 

    The next morning they took us out. We were in our own boat and were to follow. About a mile off the coast a beluga was sighted. They made a shot but were not sure if they made a hit  and the whale sank or if the whale got away. 

   They looked around for an hour or two and then went back to camp and continued preparing the meat. We were about 3 miles off the coast and were seeing small chunks of ice so it was time to get out of there. About 8 miles off the coast there began to be large areas of ice. 

    Later on that afternoon I climbed over the 50 foot ridge and went down to the beach. I was by myself and sat on a large piece of driftwood on the beach away from the other people. . 

   I gazed out into the Arctic ocean. It hit me that there was nothing between me and the north pole. That experience has stayed with me. So there was nothing but ice. 

                           The little protected cove behind me

One of the hunters telling us about hunting beluga whales

Large slabs of blubber which will be melted down. 

LONG WEEKEND IN MAY

       My last post was about a long weekend here and how I enjoyed the quiet.

       One of my favorite long weekends is a weekend I took to get married. Many teachers choose a long weekend to get married because of their work schedules. 

       The weekend of our first anniversary is one that stands out in my mind. It was the long weekend in May and we decided to spend it camping at Grieg Lake, Saskatchewan. Grieg Lake is a small lake in northern Saskatchewan. It's 1.5 km long and .5 km wide. 

      We were surprised when we got there because we were the only campers. It was perfect weather. The lake is beautiful with clear shallow water.

     We rented a canoe and spent most of the day paddling. Fish were hiding under the lily pads. If you pulled into the lily pads there were many fish trying to find another lily pad to hide under. 

     We were not fishing so spent the day paddling around the small lake. We had taken a lunch 

     There was a clean sandy  beach so we spent one day relaxing on the beach. We were the only people on the small beach.

    And of course, we headed for home on the third day,

    This is a weekend we talk about many times and how we enjoyed the quiet of a northern lake on our first anniversary. 

HERITAGE DAY

        In Canada, most provinces celebrate Heritage Day on the first weekend of August. This weekend is in a very pleasant time of the summer. People can enjoy an pleasant weekend camping. "We don't get snow around Aug 1."

        So this weekend in town has been very quiet. Some people are away. Other people don't have to go to work so traffic is cut down. My neighbor beside me is away, the guy across the street is away. 

       I enjoy this quiet time. At one time I went along with everyone else and travelled. I had a travel trailer so went to many different places. 

      So a very short wish to people and I hope you enjoyed Heritage Day. 

A MONTH'S DIFFERENCE

      I posted a 10:00 Pm photo on June 30 to show how much sunlight we were getting at that time. Someone suggested that I post another photo on July 30. A suggestion like that was too good to miss. 

   So here is my photo from June 30.

Here's my photo from July 30 of the same street as above. It's light but not enough light to show color. 

      Looking north and a bit west from my back steps at 10:00 PM rather than what it says on the photo. 

MORE NEW PEOPLE

       Some comments that were made on my last post about immigrants and temporary status got me thinking about the broader issue. 

      I'll go at this in order. Well, from when people first came to North America. Aboriginals came across the Bering Strait and spread across North America. They were here first so have first rights. 

     Thousands of years later, Europeans showed up in America. At first it was very few. For hundreds of years there were no governments so no recognition of immigrant status. I believe most of the immigration occurred in the 1800. It wasn't long before they began fighting with each other.

     Millions of immigrants came to North America. My family were immigrants. Mennonites who came later suffered extreme violence. Most of them lost everything. Mennonites here found them and paid to get them to Canada.  They were here for economic reasons and to enjoy peace and freedom. 

    Now there are many many people around the world who find themselves in economic conditions where they cannot survive. Others do not have peace and freedom. They come to Europe in small leaky boats. Many of them perish. They leave family behind. The pressure is on them to support their families back home. Europeans are unhappy about the migrants. Europeans were in the same situation many times. After the second war many immigrants came here and it was with permanent status. They had nothing left back in Europe. 

     Globalization has made it easier for people to move around the world. 

     So here we are again with people who just want security, peace and freedom. 

    

NEW PEOPLE

       Here, is like many other places where Ukrainians have come for a time to live during the war. 

     I have met many different Ukrainians. They have all been hard working and willing to learn about us and fit in. 

    One 20 year old showed up here about 2 years ago. She took a waitressing job at the Casino. We were there the night she started. Her English was very limited. The first night was nerve wracking for her and she dropped all her money on the floor. She worked hard at her English and became proficient with the language. She's here for a set time and then she has to go back. She's hoping her time will be extended. 

    So I got it in my head that we should do more to support and mix with these people in our country. I asked her the other day how to say hello in Ukrainian. You should have seen her eyes light up.  She wondered if my question was for real. So now I know one word in Ukrainian. So in Ukrainian hello is pryvit. 

     I'm going to ask the Ukrainian neighbors how to say thank you and then I can say thankyou to Karina at the restaurant. 

    I know that many people work to support some of the Ukrainians. I received satisfaction by seeing the obvious joy one little question brought.   

   So I will not be learning Ukrainian, but I will learn a few words. 

WEATHER

      The weather has been crazy this summer. Some places have been suffering from a heat wave . Other places have received excess rain. And then some places are cold. 

     This week we are cold in Central Alberta. . Today's high was 11 C. Last night it went down to plus 6 C. The furnace cut in. We are having extremes.

     This reminds me of an extreme I experienced one time. It might cool you off.

     I've said at least 1000 times that I spent 5 years in the Arctic.

     I was single and so were most of the bush pilots. I could ask to go along for a ride and if there was room I got to go with them.

     So one Saturday morning It was arranged that I would go to Ft Macpherson with them. I walked the mile down to the airplane. I was there before the pilot. When the pilot got there they had to cover the engine with a tarp and light a fire pot to warm up the engine. Finally the engine started. I had been standing outside all this time and it was minus 40 F. 

    Off we go but the airplane is just as cold inside as the outside. The flight was about 55 minutes. By the time we got to Ft.Macpherson the cabin had started to warm up. So we landed and picked up a mechanic and dumped off some mail. All the time the doors of the plane were open so it was once more as cold inside the cabin as outside. 

   We had a 35 minute flight to Aklavik. After a while the pilot was looking out the window . According to his watch he should have been at Aklavik. He was on the right path to Aklavik but we were against a strong head wind and it caused a slower air speed. We threw off mail bags and headed for home in another 40 minutes.

   So what I thought would be a very pleasant flight turned out to be very unpleasant. The whole trip was miserably cold. Then I had to walk the one mile back to my residence.

   So If your suffering a heat wave, I hope this cools you off a bit. 

    

NOBODY WANTED US

     Every couple of weeks I call my brothers. The agenda for the call goes first; How are you doing; second what are you doing and then it wanders on to what happened in the family a long time ago.

     A lot did happen in our family. My brother and I were Irish twins. Irish twins are when there are two births within the same year. My brother was born on the 6th of the month and I did not turn one until the 21st of the month

    Twins get a bum rap for being able to get into mischief. We've all heard ,"What one can't think of the other one will." 

    However, I think Irish twins can get into mischief by just standing there. 

    When my brother and I were 3 and 4 we were sent up to our paternal grand parents in the middle of the winter. I'm not sure how long we stayed with them but I remember grandma had the big feather comforter that was about 12 " thick. 

   We then went to our uncle Fred's. We got into our aunt's cupboard and found her dried apples which she used for making pies. Fortunately we were caught before we managed to eat the whole package. 

   Then we went to Uncle Albert's . Here, we found a package of playing cards that we hid so that we could play with them but we didn't know any card games. 

   Then we went to Uncle Friske's, who had a large three story house. This was a great place to run around. The teacher boarded there and took us to school the next day. Some of the bigger kids supervised us. The teacher later became our Aunt.

    At some time our family was rescued from us. The hostage exchange was made in the village.

    Why were we away from home in the winter?  We think we were sent away when our brother was born. You can see why they wouldn't want us in the house during a birth. 

    So did nobody want us and kept sending us to different families or did they all want us and took turns looking after us?

    Memories of children is suspect. One of us will remember one thing but not another. How accurate is our memory as young children? The other factor is that now we are in our mid eighties. That's about 80 years ago the this happened. 

    For us it's pleasant to look back.

THE BEAVER

           The last post described a visit that was on the bridge for  good beaver watching. This year a beaver dam has gone in about 60m from the walking bridge over the creek. It's a popular place for people to meet. Most of the time people are there watching for the two beavers. This is where I met the Ukrainian couple and last night I visited with  man from New Zealand. 

         A large dam has been constructed. I think now they are storing food. On a stream like this they tunnel into the bank to make their lodge. So I thought, why not do a post on beavers? 

       

                                        I walk this path almost everyday

Around a bend and you see a foot bridge.

And a little closer and you find a fine bridge. The bridge makes for a great  viewing stand. You look down about 3 m to the water surface. 

And what do you know, Mr Beaver comes along.

This is by far the largest beaver I have ever seen.

                                  The water backs up 400 to 500 m.

                               

                       And every fine outing has to end so I'm on my way back home. 

A GOOD WALK

      A long time ago, a blogger I followed said, "A good walk is an excellent opportunity for photos." That has worked for me many times. Now I rarely carry my camera. 

     I try to go for a walk every evening. My walk is usually in the 4000 to 5000 step category.

   I meet quite a few people and their dogs. Most nights I have one or two good visits. 

   My walk today was special. I met a Ukrainian couple who are doing quite well here but still struggling with things. They are both computer programmers. He had just lost his job but is hopeful he will find another job. 

   After a slow start to the conversation, it picked up. They were practicing their English with me. They found that as an older person I spoke slowly and was easy to understand. For them, younger people speak too fast and use more slang.

     They like the beautiful area here. We were standing on a foot bridge watching a beaver go back and forth under us. 

     So I get to learn about some of their culture. I try and tell them that my ancestors, although they were German, came from the Ukraine. I'm not sure that they understand that. All my ancestors spoke German and Russian when they came here and some spoke Ukrainian. 

    So it was a quiet pleasant evening for a good walk. 

WORLD CHOCOLATE DAY

       Today is a day I really like. Or in other words , I like chocolate. World Chocolate day is thought to celebrate the introduction of chocolate into Europe in 1550.

     There are several other days celebrating chocolate. 

     National chocolate day is a U.S. date celebrated Oct 28. 

    Candy makers have a day designated to celebrate chocolate. 

    So I like chocolate but there's no chocolate in the house to celebrate with. 

    I hope you will find some chocolate to celebrate World chocolate day. 

PEACEFUL SUMMER EVENING

       I've commented many times on how much I love the long daylight hours we have here. 

      There's more to it than that. We get to be outside and enjoy long evenings. Now each evening has it's own characteristics. Many times the wind doesn't go down until just before sunset. We get to see some interesting sunsets. 

     What I really like are those very calm evenings. It seems that people follow a schedule throughout the year and they are not out in the evening. So it's quiet. No people on the street! Very few cars. So with the coming of sunset the day seems to quietly wind down. 

    So on June 30 I decided to go out just before 10 PM and see if I could catch the peaceful evening. When I looked at the photos, it surprised me at how light it was. 

    So here there's little activity in the evenings even if it's light. However, in the Arctic it as different. We had sun up for 24 hours a day. People were active at any time of the day. I met some of my students out at 4 AM. Inuit got up to hunt at any time to take advantage of the tide to go out of the bay. One teacher got mixed up with time and came to school just before 9 Pm. She got teased for a long time. 

HAPPY CANADA DAY

      I have never gone out and attended a Canada Day celebration. Yes, I know I'm bad. I have attended the fireworks in the evening. I would take my family to a good vantage point and watch fireworks. It was fun when the kids were little.

     So, today I was doing my regular grocery shopping. Yes, that's me . Grocery shopping on Canada Day.   

     I met an Asian woman with three little kids doing her shopping. 

      She had a three year old who was bouncing with great abandon. That kid had energy. 

    I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the seven year old had a tiny Canadian flag and he was holding it up. I realized that he was saying Happy Canada Day. I wished him Happy Canada Day and I got the politest  "Thankyou" I've ever received. 

     The five year old girl had a pink birthday hat on. I asked her if it was her birthday and she said it was. I wished her happy birthday and also received a very sincere thankyou.

     This really made my Canada Day. 

    It was better than fire works. 

A FEW AMENDMENTS

       Some of your comments showed  that I had not fully given necessary information.

       We had lots of supervision. Three of us taught out door ed. Two  of the three of us usually went on the trip. We  had no problem getting male supervisors. Some of them came with us a few times when their kids were in the program. Getting female supervisors was a challenge. There were very few Moms who wanted to do an overnight field trip. Once we went without a female supervisor but that was the last time for that. 

      Kids on field trips were always well behaved. They were noisy but good. In fact they stuck to you like glue. They also knew the rules and why we had those rules. 

      In the early fall we would do a hike. Before Christmas we would do a cross country trip and sometimes it was a snow shoe trip. In one grade we would do a winter camp. In other words in a tent with snow and below freezing temperature. For this one I threw in all the covers I had to cover my garden when it froze. The blankets were all used and appreciated. 

   So the point I wish to make is that this was a group effort and other than noise they were well behaved and learned many things. . But then middle school kids are great noise makers.  For many of these kids it was their first exposure to the natural world. 

        These blurry photos were from an area that we went to many times. 

   

ANOTHER BUS EPISODE

      Ticks were not the only excitement on outdoor ed. trips. I taught outdoor ed. for a few years. We would pack the bus with kids and supplies and head for the Rocky mountains for field trips. We would overnight in youth hostels, rustic youth hostels. These youth hostels were meant for ten to twelve people. We would crowd in 15 or so boys and 2 or 3 adults. The boys had to cook for themselves. Sometimes there were other travelers there as well. We would reserve the hostels. We never had as many girls so the lady's hostel  was never so crowded. I remember 10 or so boys sleeping on the floor. Supervisors didn't get much sleep. 

    Sometimes a little guy would be rolling and bouncing around. If you could see who it was, it was easy to settle him down. Just tell him to go out and pee. 

   Those nights in the youth hostel were magical as we would go out in the moon light in the Rocky's. The bright snow and moonlight gave a beautiful view. 

   We also took summer field trips. The highway up to High Wood pass is closed until sometime in the late spring. From where the highway is closed to the top of the pass is 19 Km. We had the kids ride up the pass on bicycles. All of them made it. The ride down was dangerous as it was hard to persuade them that they would go too fast down the hill.

     Well, every field trip has to come to an end. We had routines that everybody had to follow. One time we had all the kids on the bus and equipment and supplies loaded. We were making one last check to make sure the area was left as it should be. All of a sudden kids were yelling and screaming. Somebody had seen a squirrel get in the bus. Well, that meant everybody had to get off the bus. It also meant that this old guy has to check the bus to make sure the squirrel was not on the bus. I had to check under the seats to see if the critter was hiding. The all clear sign was given and the kids got on the bus gain.

    Now we've talked about this incident a few times. We're not sure  a squirrel actually got on the bus or if someone's imagination got carried away or if the critter left very quickly and the kids didn't see it leave. 

    Field trips were always a great adventure. 

TICKS

       This morning I listened to an item on ticks on my favorite radio program on CBC. Ticks have been in the news lately as they have become more abundant. They were noted for passing on Lyme disease but now they pass on other diseases. They are annoying because they are sneaky little beggars that attach themselves and are on your body before you know it.

       The expert being interviewed suggested that ticks were moving about 50 km further north every year and that this was due to climate change.

     People remember when they've had a tick or when a pet has had a tick. One I remember is when I had a tick on my throat just below the edge of my beard. Luckily, my brother saw it and took it off before any harm was done. 

    I taught outdoor ed for a number of years. We took the students on 3 field trips a year. When you're taking out 35 kids for two nights and 3 days very strict  routines have to be set up. One of the routines was for each student to have a buddy to check for ticks. 

    One time we had  a couple of extra hours so we took them on a trail on the side of a mountain.. This was in late March and on a south facing slope where the snow had disappeared. So ticks were already active. 

     We got o the bus and one of the students found a tick. There was excitement and pandemonium and all the kids got off the bus. The checking was done and no more ticks were found. We loaded the bus and headed for home with an interesting event to tell about. 

     Whenever I go by I still look up on the mountainside and remember the tick episode 

A CONFESSION

       I just noticed that I had the wrong photos on my last post. When I was replying to comments I suddenly saw that what I posted was a south east photo at the wrong time of the year. I picked the photos by appearance rather thin by dates. 

    So here are Solstice photos from 2018. I went for a bike ride about 9:30 PM and the photos were taken from about 9:45 to 10:15. 

SUMMER SOLSTICE

       The summer solstice is one of my favorite days of the year. We have the excitement of the longest day and then the beginning of shorter days. 

      Here the sun rose at 5:13 AM and sets at 10:00 PM for a total of 16 hours and 47 minutes of sun up. 

     If we watch we can see twilight  at mid night. When I was in the Arctic the midnight sun was always a special event. 

       I took these photos in 2019 in my yard  around 10PM . It was still very pleasant in the evening.

      Our garden plants start to develop very quickly with the long days. 

I WON...AGAIN

   I eat at the casino 2 or 3 times a week. It's good food and a good price.

   Every Wednesday is senior day. Your meal is $10.00. They have one western dish and one Chinese dish you get to choose from. 

   Business on Wednesday is great as the seniors like the food and price. 

   On Wednesday there is always a draw for $500.00. I have won this draw 3 times in the last 7 years. 

   Today they phoned me and I had won the Father's day draw which is a variety of things worth $500.00. Now one thing is a golf package and I don't golf. 

    So a phone call like this just made my day. 

WESTERN JUMPING MOUSE.

      A few years ago I was seated on my favorite viewing platform quietly watching a patch of wetland. I was watching for ducks and geese and other wetland birds. 

     There were many reeds around the platform. It was a quiet calm day. All if a sudden I noticed a reed waving back and forth. Something was at the bottom of the reed where I could not see it. After much more shaking, I noticed a small mouse climbing up the reed. 

    And then, the reed broke off sending the mouse into the water below with a loud plop!. So I thought, "Good bye mousy." No sooner did that thought come into my head when I saw another reed shaking and after a while a mouse climbing up the stem. Well the mouse fell in again and went some where else as obviously it could swim. 

    So this was my first encounter with a western jumping mouse. They quite often are found in wetlands. Their most common predator is the northern pike!

    I had never heard of a jumping mouse before and I have spent lots of time outdoors in natural areas. I haven't seen a western jumping mouse since. 

    They are interesting little characters and can make tremendous leap. They can jump about 6 feet horizontally and 2 ft high. They move like lightening and before you get a good look at them they are gone. 

    So on the day of my sighting, I stopped at the nature center to report my siting. They were familiar with the jumping mouse. 

BRIAN WILSON

      Brian Wilson passed away a few days ago after a very productive music career and a life full of struggles. 

     Brian Wilson and his two brothers started the Beach Boys about50 years ago.

     I'm always far behind when it comes to music. I knew who the Beach Boys were and some of their music.  With the coming of the internet and You Tube I became familiar with the Beach Boys. I liked their vocals and harmonies. I was amazed at how many instruments were used to make their sound. 

    With all the ups and downs with personal problems, Brian Wilson left us with some great music and influenced other musicians. 

    He will be remembered. 

A CLOSE CALL

    We all have close  calls from time to time. Sometimes it could be very serious . Other times not that serious if the close call had happened.

    I had a close call yesterday that was serious. 

    I was going through a traffic circle. Now I can hear people saying, "I hate those things." If you are used to them it works. One problem is that the traffic people keep swinging back and forth. Sometimes we get traffic circles and then for a few years traffic circles are torn up. 

    All right, getting back to the traffic circle. As you come up to a traffic circle there's a lane that allows you to go right without entering the traffic circle. There's another arrow that lets  you through to an exit that  takes you in the same direction. You stay in the outside lane. The third arrow takes you 3/4 or the way around. Which allows you to proceed left.

    Yesterday as I approached the traffic circle there was no traffic so I could enter the outside lane. I was entering and all of a sudden there was a blue blur crossing in front of me at high speed.

   I thought I was a goner . Between his excessive speed and my breaking we did not collide. 

   However, my heart was beating rapidly

   This traffic circle has shrubbery in the middle to make things look pretty. If everybody plays by the rules it's attractive. One idiot going through at high speed makes it a hazard.

    I am an elderly driver so I don't need any close calls. 

A BAD DAY

       I guess we all have to have a bad day or two once in a while. 

      So, here's my story.

     We have been trying to downsize for many years. One of us thinks that not much progress is made and the the other one thinks that we are getting rid of some "stuff" 

    So the neighbor across the corner was having a garage sale today. The micro manager thought that this would be a good opportunity for us to put things out and people may visit our garage sale while going to the other. 

    It was a very nasty day. Wind gusts were well into the 60 km range. It was plus 12 C. Now those two things are enough to tell me that it will be a very nasty day. I said we shouldn't have a sale with such poor weather. The Micro manager thought that it was a great opportunity for a garage sale. Words were said. Strong words were said. Finally I gave in and we rounded up stuff to put out. 

   Now a few things about garage sales. There's more to it than just putting things out. People like to see a sale with  much stuff displayed. They look at a sale with only a few things and they don't stop. You need an attractive sign. Your sign must be clear. It was so windy today that the sign was blown across the yard. Put things out so that they are attractively displayed. 

    Finally about 3 PM the micro manager gave in and said let's quit.  The neighbor next door wanted some of these articles so we invited Darcy for a visit. Darcy took about 75% of the stuff. What was left, we took to bibles for missions.

   Did we learn anything? Probably not. 

THE WEATHER IS IN CONTROL

       At this time of year I would like to have my garden planted. I try and have seeds planted around the twenty first of May. It's possible to vary the time of seeding as it takes a few days for seeds to germinate . By that time I hope there's no danger of frost.

     Plants that have a long growing period and are started in the house or a green house is another issue. If there was frost they would be damaged.

    So last night the low forecast was plus 6. I left my tomatoes and corn outside. At 7 AM this morning there was frost on the roof! 

    Now there are a few things to know about frost. At this time the ground  is warm enough that is will not freeze at ground level. So unless it gets very cold plants at ground level should not freeze. Also, if I have my plants beside the house foundation, there's warmth from the foundation to keep the frost away.

    So today I just said, "I'm going to plant my tomatoes now matter what." So this afternoon , I planted my tomatoes. There is still risk of frost at this time but you take the risk. 

   So here we go for delicious tomatoes.