COVID VACCINE

    My province, Alberta Canada, decided that people  would pay $100.00 for covid shots. Seniors living in residence would not have to pay, but old people like me living in my own home would have to pay. It gets crazier as you have to order your shots 6 months in advance. How many people  will croak during that time.? After that you have to make an appointment to get your shot,

   Needless to say I have disgust for such a plan. How many people are that organized that they could work through this scenario?

   I got my covid shot today. I had no idea how I would pay for the shot. Cash? check? credit card? So when I checked in I was told that I would be sent a bill in he mail. How many government employees will be needed to count the money?

    So In I go to the little room to get my covid shot. I was asked about health conditions and medication. Oh she says, You're on statins. You don't have to pay!

    That did it! I didn't know that  a government could be so goofy. If this was the case it should have been publicized. Anyway  I've got my shot an still have my $100.00.

TIME CHANGE

        I usually have something to say about time change twice a year. This year is no different. Time change means changing time pieces and then getting used to the change.

      In this house someone has a strict routine for time change. I's not me. The micro manager has all clocks set at the new time the day before the change. So tonight at 2:00 AM or some such ridiculous hour, the time is supposed to change.

       We have an amazing 4 old clock radios. Two of them don't give the time. They only  give the minutes and not the hours.    None of them give decent radio reception so they are of very little use for listening pleasure.

      So the Micro Manager runs around the house carrying a small office desk clock setting clocks. We have seven that need to be set. I think. It could be more. Neither one of us wear a wrist watch. The watches are left in the drawer and the time is not changed on them.. 

       The  oven is of particular worry. She thinks the oven clock buttons are fragile and that they will break and then she can't use the oven which she never uses anyway.

      So the hardest thing for me to do is get used to doing the routine things an hour earlier. At one time the time change didn't bother me. Now it takes a few days to get used to the change.

      

EYE SIGHT

          I have a friend who has very limited vision caused by glaucoma. At 93 he is able to get around in a walker. In fact, he goes to a store about two blocks away. I worry about that one as he has to cross a major street at some lights. He lives in  senior complex with meals provided. He likes more fruit than they serve so that is why he makes the trip to the store. Now to get an idea of his vision, he likes strawberries. He found some strawberries and they were a good price. When he got home he discovered that he had bought tomatoes rather than strawberries.

         He has been seeing a specialist for years about his glaucoma.

         Recently he has found some technology that will help him use the vision he has left. Apparently Apple has developed a number of devices which work with improving the vision you have. He reads best with a green background and yellow print. He can put his reading material under a scanner and is able to read it. He likes this device as he can read his letters. He will go back to this business to try other devices.

      So it's good that some high tech devices have been developed for the  visually impaired. He also has an appointment with CNIB. When my Dad visited CNIB around 2000, the only thing he got was a white cane. Dad was a little disgusted with the limited help.

      Some bloggers I follow, have some visual problems and I hope that they have discovered devices to enhance what vision they have.

DON'T TRY THIS TRICK

            I am in the category known as very aged. So some of us have some common characteristics or you might say disabilities.. 

We have become very forgetful. We misplace things and can't find them. We don't know where we put things.. We do not interpret accurately. We get lost. So in general we have some disabilities.

          I know that I have some disabilities. The disabilities don't really bother me but they do bother other people. Some of these disabilities an cause serious problems.

          I make the breakfast around here. We each have a different breakfast. So I set the table. I'm not supposed to forget plates! Materials have to be made available. The Micro Manager  has cold cereal. I always have hot cereal. I make the coffee. So there are a number of steps that have to be done but it's not rocket science.

        How could anything go wrong? Well it did. Strange things can happen when you forget one thing.

        I forgot to set the coffee pot in the coffee maker. In fact ,  I didn't notice this omission for quite some time. I didn't notice it until the basket was overflowing. Then I noticed the coffee pot sitting on the counter.

       Well the coffee maker doesn't stop on a dime. So coffee  and coffee grounds began running out of the coffee maker on to the counter and floor . So in a few seconds you have a huge mess. Such a big mess that you feel like running away and hiding,

      So needless to say there was no coffee. Other things were also on hold.

      And I was  upset with myself and don't ask me about the micro manager's tantrum.

      So I would strongly suggest that you always put the coffee pot in the coffee  maker.  I'm warning you, don't try this trick.

BLOGGER DISAPPEARED

                I suffered  some distress this morning.  I usually read a dozen or so blogs right after breakfast. I took a quick look  and all he stuff seemed to be from yesterday so I went on to other sites. I checked email. I checked MSN. I looked   for the results of our Monday election. That hadn't been posted yet.

               So I went back to  blogger. Blogger still looked silly. I began to worry that my shiny new laptop was faulty.

              I restarted my computer. No improvement. I thought  well let's wait, It was still the  same with yesterday's posts. After a while I began to think that this was a blogger problem. So sometime later blogger appeared with the up to date material.

               So, did anybody else have the same experience with blogger today? 

LAPTOP

        As I have reminded you before, that I have a new laptop. It's not always cooperative. I had to get my friend to help set it  up when it got stubborn and wouldn't do anything.

       Windows 11 is new to me and so is the laptop. So working with these two new situations and then finding my way back to previous settings has been a problem.

      One thing that wouldn't come back, even with swearing, was my library account. I worked on it  for  about half an hour one night. Today I went to the library and they offered a time for me to work with them.

     I came home and tried it again and up came my library account! I wasn't even swearing!

     Now I wanted to get an ebook so that was my next problem. So I got my book and shut down for supper. I went to get my book after supper and couldn't find it and suddenly thought email. And there was my book on email. 

     So I learned quite a few things today that I have been puzzling my puzzler on.

A COMING BIRTHDAY

       My birthday is coming up in a few days.   I'll be 85. Whoops, I'll be 86 . Yes, I'm sure I'll be 86. Doesn't that just sound like an old guy to get ages mixed up?

      I'm one of those people who feel very fortunate at this age, to have good health relatively speaking. Yes, I have a balance problem but I can live with that. I do have a carotid artery that has some blockage. 

      I do much walking in the 4 to 5 km range. Walking really depends on frequency. Sometimes weather and other activities prevent walking.

    The birthday numbers at this age are getting big. The number has greater significance. Thinking back gives 2 options. Age18 seems like yesterday or age 18 seems like a long time ago. I guess it depends how  I feel on any given day.

    Looking forward, I know that the numbers are getting smaller. I'm not one to do some calculations and say my ancestors lived to be this amount.  It's an influence but how much I'm not sure.

    I will take each day and enjoy my activities and friends and relations.

    As I've said I have enjoyed good health in my life.

IT HAD TO HAPPEN

       Well, what had to happen? Well snow of course. 

        So snow was forecast. Around 9:00 PM there was wind and the air was full of snow. It snows for about 20 minutes and it was over.  

         Today it was plus1 with a nasty wind.

         It was not pleasant.

         Now this is my first post on the lap top, so there are some things I don't have set up because I don't know how. I will find a  solution.

FIRE

       This is one of the very large statues honoring the fire fighters in the community.

        The building began as an armory during WW I. Then it was turned into a firehall for the community. As you can see it was in the days of horses pulling the fire engine. The horses were always excited and hard to harness and eager to go. This statue certainly shows the excitement. 

        The statue is in front of the library as when the new firehall was built this firehall  was not needed. The firehall was next to the library They connected the library and firehall to make a very good library.

        I find myself looking at this statue as well as other people observing it. Kids like to play on it. 

THE AIR WAS BLUE

          "Why is the air blue?" you say.

        " I've been swearing," I replied.

          "What are you swearing about?' he asked.

          Well, I haven't been swearing very much it's just that I got a new laptop and it's a bit different than my old tower.

           My old tower was 9 1/2 years old so it wouldn't take windows 11.

          So I decided to buy a new computer. I was going to set everything up when a little problem popped up. I came to a page and it was stuck. There was nothing there that I could click to move. This was most stressful as I should have been able to set up a laptop. So I called my friend Todd who came to my recue and set the whole thing up.

        Well, I still had a couple of problems. I had to work with windows 11 and I had to use Microsoft Edge. Todd left and I struggled. I had a screen of some kind to operate the mouse. It didn't work for me.

      I phoned Todd the next night and he came over in 15 - 20 minutes with a new mouse. He said the other system drove people crazy. I believe him. I started working with the mouse and I soon found my way around a new laptop, Edge and windows 11. 

    Well, I really didn't swear too much and the air didn't turn blue. 

IRISH TWINS

      Well happy birthday to my brother! The Irish twins are the  same number in age again for the 85th time.  My  brother was born two weeks before I turned one. 

     I often think of my mother and how she coped with a new born and a one year old. She had no conveniences. She did not have a washing machine. Imagine washing all those diapers by hand. There was no running water. In the winter they melted snow. 

    However, we survived. this photo was three years ago.

SUMMER IS OVER

        We got a killing frost last night. The temperature went down to minus 8C last night and stayed below zero for about 5 hours. 

To me, summer is officially over when the first killing frost occurs. What's a killing frost? It's a frost that is severe enough that stops the activities in the plant. The plant is officially dead.

      Now all that's left to do is cut down the perennials and throw out the annuals. I usually dig up the soil so that it is ready for next year.

      It's a sad time for me when I stop watering and doing all the things you do to look after plants. 

    I did  couple of oopsys last night. You have to make sure that all materials that will freeze are put away. I put all liquid chemicals in the house two weeks ago. Some how I forgot to empty the watering can and a small pitcher for watering plants. However, I got lucky and the frost did not damage the containers. 

    So I'm now ready if a severe frost occurs again or if it snows. 

WAITING FOR GORDON

      Before our city had a city bus service , a young couple set up a small bus service. They had routes in town and also served local towns. 

      The wife ran a combination bus station,  and waiting room. At times the schedule of the one bus they had was not always punctual. Apparently the wife would be on the street looking to see if her husband , Gordon was coming. 

      They were a hard working and likeable couple who provided a needed service. 

       The city built a large bus depot and put Hazel's statue in front of the new bus depot. 

FALL SCENES

      I was out a few days ago to get more photos. This set of photos is from the same place as the last photos. It's less than 100m from my house. There is the odd photo where you see a house but it's not mine.

YEH, I WON !

      Well, I didn't actually win money, but money was involved in principal. 

      Alberta has a very well organized interlibrary loan system. From time to time I get a book in from another library if my home library doesn't have the title. 

     The last time I got an inter library loan , I found a sticker on the book that said there was a $150.00 fine for a lost book and $150.00 fine for a damaged book. This really caught my attention. I took the book back and showed them the sticker with the fine. I almost asked for a written receipt that I had returned the book. 

    I put in a complaint to the library board. I didn't hear anything but the librarian I dealt with assured me that she took it to the board. Since it's interlibrary a provincial board makes the decision. 

    So I didn't hear anything until today. The fine notice had been erased from the books. 

    Needless to say,  I was happy. I had friends outside so I went over to them and told them I just had to tell them something. They were happy too.

   I encourage reading. A fine like this would very clearly discourage reading. 

A MUSICAL STATUE

     We had a very well liked and competent band teacher here for many years. When he came to this area he directed the band program in one of the nearby towns. The the local college started  music program and he began teaching at the college. He started symphonic winds where locals played with the students. When I volunteered for front of house in the College Arts center I never missed a symphonic winds concert. 

     Very unfortunately he was killed in a motor cycle accident when he ran into a car.

              There was a baton in his right hand but vandals kept on stealing it. 

MORE STATUES

     I've already showed opposites as honoring the founder of Red Deer and an escaped pig. There was a good variety of statues. It's too bad they don't make them anymore. The people behind these statues have passed away. 

     Today's statue is of Hazel Braithwaite. She was active in the community her whole life.  Hazel fought for women' rights. It was a fight that took a lot of time and guts. 

    Hazel voted in the first election women were allowed to vote in Canada. It was 1926 and still hard for women to vote. Hazel went to the polling station and found the door blocked be a number of men. I suppose it bothered Hazel, but she made her way in and voted.

    She was active in getting better  rights for women. 

A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD

      Yesterday' I noticed some places where there where some good photo ops. Yesterday was not good for getting the photos as it was too bright. So I though the next morning would be better. It was a good time for photos. 

     All these photos were taken in the close behind my house. All of them were taken less than 200 meters away around 9 AM

A FRIVOLOUS STATUE.

      We're not all serious, prim and proper in Red Deer. In my last post the founder of Red Deer was honored with a very appropriate statue. 

      We also have a statue of a pig! Here's the story as to why we have a pig statue. We had a small abbatoir close to downtown. One day a farmer was unloading some pigs. Some how one of the pigs escaped. It took off at a rapid pace and got into some brush and trees. Well, they left the pig and would look for him in the morning. The next day they  couldn't find the pig. It was winter so tracks were left. They found many places where the pig had taken shelter. Finally after a week or ten days, they captured the pig. 

    The pig was not in good condition. The powers that be thought it wasn't fair to kill the pig after his great fight. The pig went to a farm to live out his last days. 

    A few years later, some money was gathered to honor Francis the pig so a statue was made of Francis. 

REV GAETZ

          A few years ago a group here got busy and had a number of bronze statues created about important historical events. I believe the first bronze made was of Rev. Leonard Gaetz.

         Rev. Gaetz came here to do a little preaching and promote the area for settlement of farming.  Many of his family came here and they were all active in the community. Rev. Gaetz just happened to have land that the railroad went through and where the railway wanted to establish a town.  

      So a very appropriate bronze was created and put on a bench at the center of downtown Red Deer. Rev. Gaetz is sitting on the bench as if watching all the people go by and visiting with them

. 

PENSIONS

       I have a neighbor who lives about 5 houses from me. She has lived in the house since she was about 5. Her parents passed away many years ago. I taught B in middle school and she's been my neighbor for 60 years.

      I often visit with B. Every once in a while the R word comes up. Today I jokingly brought up retirement. So she told me she's 64 and will retire at 65. 

    People who work for government or large corporations have pensions. Usually around 10% is taken from your salary to pay for your pension. You usually contribute to cover your benefit plan. 

     What I found out is that she knew nothing about retirement and how it works. 

     A big part of pension is the benefit plan. The benefit plan looks after us when we're working. So the benefit plan covers things like :teeth, eye sight, physio therapy, drugs, hearing, travel insurance and more.

    When you retire make sure you take the benefit plan with you. You still have to pay for the benefit plan but that's much less than paying 100% of you treatment. . Some people opt out of the benefit plan and that's a big mistake.

   There's much more to know when retiring. Make sure you get reliable advice. 

   I've been retired for 28 years so I know that I've had many benefits and it's given me a good life. 

BACK TO SCHOOL

       In many  jurisdictions school has been starting the last few  weeks.

       Today I was reminded of this yearly event when my grand nieces showed their kids on first day of school photo

      The first day of school photo was kind of a ritual. . In looking for photos I found many of my kids. It went from kindergarten to gr. seven or eight. Then they got too big for the back to school photo. I thought I had one where they came to the school I was teaching in and they were both in the same school. 

      My Mom lined us up on the first day of school and took a photo. 

                  My son and daughter starting kindergarten and gr two.

My brother and I starting gr. one and two. I had an abscessed tooth so my face is swollen. 

        I taught for 37 years so had all these kids who'd just had their pictures taken by their Mom. 

HUMMING BIRD

      Every year I get a visit from a hummingbird. One bird . One visit. That's it.

      Two weeks ago I was at the edge of my vegetable garden and out of the corner of my  eye, the humming bird flew to the middle of my garden and then zigged and was gone. I could not see any color or make an identification.  The whole thing was over in a second. I'm used to this kind of visit.

     At one time I had scarlet runner beans running up a trellis on the side of the house. I did get more visits with the beans but not many.

    I enjoy birds and like to watch humming birds. I've  been places where they have a feeder and many visits are made through out the day.

    I guess I'll have to be satisfied with what I get. 

EVENINGS

      On June 30 I posted that the sun set just before 10:00 PM. I took a photo to show that it was light enough for the camera to pick up color. 

      Somebody suggested that I take a photo at about 9:55 PM to compare June and July. On July 30 it was still very bright and you could take a photo but not pick up color The sun set at 9:28 PM. 

      So today on Aug. 30 the sun sets at 8:26 PM

      So from June 30 to July 30 the sun set 32 minutes later. 

      From July 30 to Aug. 30 the sun set 52 minutes earlier. We are losing daylight very quickly. 

      I walk most nights and I get home around 8:30 PM. I'm going  to have to change my route as I'm getting home when it's just about dark. 

     So sunlight is deceasing rapidly a this time of year. We know what's coming. 

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.