Foggy Monday

There are other things to post this week, so I sit here on Monday unsure when y'all will see this. But it doesn't really matter because it is not time sensitive, not like birthdays or medical issues.

When I awoke a little after 6 and saw that it was foggy, I eschewed my start-of-the-morning coffee. Instead I dressed, nabbed my heavy hooded sweater on the way because it was a chilly 15C/59F out there, dropped the Montreal Canadiens tea towel in the doorway (to be explicated below) on my den floor, went downstairs, and drove to the neighbourhood park.

Those with an interest in photography will try to explore fog if possible, and I was hoping for something good. While, I did not exactly get anything very good in the dull, low contrast park, I did get some photos that are not normally available. Fog is probably best when the sunlight begins to filter through in the morning, but the clouds blocked the sun on this day.

I am always on the lookout for benches, so my first photo was of the bench by the pond with a tree in the foggy beyond. A guy walked into the photo. While I was a little late to get him in the perfect spot on the other side of the tree, he does add a little point of interest. He was walking briskly in summer attire on a cool morning. Now, it strikes me that it would be a better photo with the foreground bench cropped out, and maybe I will still do that sometime.

I did not really want to photograph a suburban house on the edge of the park, but the scene was framed nicely by the branches and the path formed a leading line, so I clicked.

Next came the little footbridge. I've got some pretty fair photos of the bridge from the other side in winter, and it did give me a focal point on this day.

Against my better judgment, I took a photo of the pond. It is really just a drainage pond without a very good outlet, so it gets quite scummy at times, and I generally try to avoid it when it gets to that state. My iPhone was imploring me to clean the lens, assuming that the lens was dirty because it couldn't focus well in the fog. This was the only time of the morning that it issued the warning.

Now to explain the Tea Towel on the Floor.

I have the Montreal Canadiens tea towel as a team thing; it goes with my Canadiens beer pop fridge and the team blanket. It hangs on the back of the door, so I seldom see it, but I know that it is there and occasionally use it as a notification for Sue by tossing it on the floor of my den right by the door. When she wakes and finds me missing, she might be prone to worry, so this flags her attention, and she knows that I am not really MIA. I used to go out often in the early morning, but that was mostly when we had old phones, if any at all, that could not track each other. These days, I cannot get away with much and have been forced to drop the myriads of ladies that I used to visit. Too bad for me.

Caturday 95: Sabine has been Mono-tized

Visiting the kids' house for some reason or other one day when all the humans were away, I managed a few photos of Sabine. I converted this batch, all from the same position on the arm of the couch, to b&w (ie: mono-tized, please forgive me).

Happy Caturday, even though cats don't often appear to be anything but grumpy. I understand; people often assume the same about me. 😎😇

Last First Day

I am going to add this at the top, just telling you that
Blogger is preventing me from commenting
on your posts.

My birthday (there it is again, sorry) coincided with Jonathan's first day back to school This was also his last first day back to school in his life, at least regular school. Who knows what the future holds?

It would have been prudent to get a photo of the boy setting off on his Last First Day, but alas! no one in the family did. His girlfriend's mother did get ↓ this. I have already cropped it and eliminated the digital date display, but what can you do with a blurry photo?

I knew that I could replace the background, and in recognition of a return to school, I would ask AI for shelves loaded with books.

But could AI make JJ less blurry? I know that it is beyond normal photo editing, but I thought that I would try by asking AI to bring the subject into focus (I forget the exact words).

The Result was surprisingly good. While the hair is a little fuller and the eyebrows darker, the face is definitely recognizable as Jonathan.

I also made a mono conversion because I like to do that.

I think that Shauna may compose a new, genuine photo and designate it as first day back, and I'll probably update you if she does. However, this suits me in the meantime. AI did what I don't think any human could do, and it did a pretty good job, really. I don't think his grandchildren will know the difference.

My 79th

I confused some of you yesterday. I knew that I would. I celebrated my 79th birthday, which means that I began my 80th year, but I am not 80 quite yet. Of course, I have the pics to drop, but I shall try to make the dropping minimal by much combining, as in this first diptych. which I will elucidate below..

We had done so much celebrating already that there seemed little else that we could do. But we like our turkey bacon club sandwiches and we like walking at Riverside Park. While sandwiches in the car are more of a cold  weather treat, we were able to mitigate against rain which has fallen most abundantly recently. After the repast, the weather was good enough for a stroll during which Sue took this photo of me taking a photo.

Of course, there was pizza pie and birthday pie (in lieu of cake), and gifts. On the left I hold my apple pie, and on the right I am sitting on my new office chair and holding a bag of spring bulbs that JJ has promised to plant for us this autumn.

Danica dropped by long enough to say hello, and JJ appeared late after his shift at the grocery store. The photo of Jonathan was both over-exposed and blurry, so I am substituting an older photo, but I will get back to him in another post. The snap of Sue was similarly poor, but at least I have her up above from our morning lunch outing.

I had a good visit with Sabine and got a picture with Sha.

They weren't there, but in the morning I did receive a greeting from PJ, our other child who lives in Vancouver. They are presently in Italy with her choir and where they have swum in the Mediterranean Sea. We share the same birthday, 31 years apart.

 

Then and Now

It's finally here. I begin my 80th orbit around the sun today.

I look a bit different than I did about 77 years ago. You've seen this photo before, but it suits me to post it again today. I was cute then.

I think that was from 1963 when I was 16. Not too bad looking even then.

I had the boys take this one yesterday when they treated me to birthday lunch. As you can plainly see, I am no longer cute or good looking, and where the heck did my hair go? Isn't it awful what time does to a boy an old man? I converted it to b&w to go with the previous photos. I will probably keep the colour version on hand to include in some possibly far-off Orphan Photo post 

Tonight we'll head over to Sha's for birthday pizza. As you already know, Danica is unavailable. Jonathan will also be working for most of the evening, but we'll probably see him in passing. We'll do something or other today, even if it is just a coffee in the park.

Plugged

Walking with Sue these days requires an adjustment that may necessitate milady walking on the curbside. On one recent stroll in order to avoid having her walk on the outside, we deliberately chose a counter clockwise route, so that she could speak to my good ear.

If you don't already know that I have quite a hearing loss, I am, hereby, informing you that I am only about 50%. With hearing aids, I get by although discriminating some words can occasionally be problematic. I always choose to turn on the captions when I am watching tv. I started with the British programs and now employ captioning ubiquitously.

Unfortunately, I have run into an additional problem. To wit: my left ear feels plugged, and the volume that I am getting is greatly diminished with or without the hearing aid. I had the hearing aid checked and was told that it is in good working order. Then, I went to the doctor to check for fluid. I had fluid on my right ear earlier this year, and it took me three weeks of treatment for the ear to drain.

But no! they say that it isn't fluid buildup this time around. The doc feels that it has to do with allergies. I am to use a nasal spray daily and take an antihistamine tablet, but that hasn't worked yet. She feels that I may have to continue to follow the protocol until the first frost.

Oh good grief! The first frost is still three weeks off, and that is if the average holds. 

The extra kicker is that is has usually been my left ear that is my better ear, but now I would say that it is working at, perhaps, 25% efficiency or less as I rely on my weaker right ear.

As you might imagine, there has been a lot of repeating of whatever is being said. It is aggravating for all parties but perhaps more so for the speaker. What I discovered a long time ago is that people are used to speaking at a certain level. Even when someone knows that I have a hearing problem, and I have just asked for something to be repeated, their very next communication will frequently revert to their lifelong normal. It's just natural.

I try not to have Sue repeat everything. Sometimes, I make a judgement about whether or not something sounds important for me to hear, and I may choose to just let the sentence slide away into the ether.

As soon as I leave you, I will apply the nasal spray and take my antihistamine and hope, likely against hope. My wish is that I don't have to wait for three weeks or more until the first frost for relief. And what if it that doesn't solve the issue? What then?

Early Birthday Scones with Danica

Danica went back to the city yesterday but not before meeting with us. Since she won't be attending my boisterous and rollicking birthday party, she joined us at Blue Spoon for scones. I think it was very nice of her to think to make special time for her grandfather in her busy life.

Sue took a photo of us. Her half was so cute and mine was so uncute that I cropped it.

This is or will be her gift to me. I had mentioned to Sue that I would like a Carlton U sweat or tee shirt, and she has passed that on. Since Danica will be working in that store, starting today, she can pick out something using her discount.

When I struggled to get the three of us in one selfie while we were sitting around the table, a nice lady offered her services. I had been hoping that would happen.

I really appreciate that Danica made the time for me.

Pre-Birthday Brekky

We meandered over to Dark & Deadly on Sunday morning for a pre-birthday (mine) coffee and breakfast sandwich. Anything for an excuse, eh? Actually, we've been almost overusing that excuse lately.

I sat beside the figure which have seen before. A lady asked if that were our son. I replied that he looked like his mother. lol

Unrehearsed, we both found in-between shots: hers between legs, mine between hands. I like hers a lot.

A couple came in with a guide dog. I so dislike dogs that I decided to shoot it. Kidding: I don't dislike dogs, but I did shoot it.

I also shot another member of the D&D family. Sue said that he wasn't new, but I don't think I have photographed him before.

Now, what other pre-birthday treats can I wangle?

Caturday 94: Forrest and Shelly

It's Caturday, and though I have photos of Sabine from a recent visit, I am going to post about Forrest and Dickie's Cause 4 Paws -kitten rescue, which is a local fb page that you can find here.

Shelly Dickie is a local lady who does her own kitten rescue, but she helps older cats as well if the need arises. This is what she posted about the kitten, Forrest.

Just brought Forrest home and getting him settled.

This poor kitten has been through a lot of stress and pain. He was found literally in the middle of nowhere , deep in Limerick forrest.

His hind leg was broken aprox a month ago and he’s endured this pain and suffering on his own.
He has severe ear mites, and a neck wound where a cuterebra was located , along with being skin and bones from starvation and upper respiratory infections.

How long was he in the Forest? How did he get there? Would someone be so cruel as to dump him where there was hardly a chance of being found ?

I’m so thankful he was found and brought to us. He is such a dear kitten of aprox 10 weeks old .

He’s safe now . And I’ll cuddle him as long as he needs to feel safe .

Thank you to all who donated to his vet care .

Shelly does so much for the cats and never refuses them. She raises funds through online auctions and many readers support generously. From time to time, we make a modest donation. We did so for Forrest.

This was a follow-up post.

Forrest is such a good boy. After lots of cuddles yesterday he settled down for a long nap. 

His ear mites are being treated, he’s on antibiotics for his neck wound and upper respiratory infection. 

His hind leg break was from a month or more ago and has since healed in a crooked position . But we are hopeful as he grows it will straighten out a bit more . He can use it and isn’t in any pain anymore .

I hope he recovers quickly and finds a wonderful loving home .

He deserves to be spoilt . 

Thank you all who donate to save kitties like Forrest

 Forrest

The rescues goes on and on and on, but I will add just Ramsay and Apollo 

Ramsay almost died of starvation and infection. He is an orange male kitten of 6 months of age. Showed up in a ladies back yard begging for help.

We almost lost him but our vets worked hard and here he is, eating on his own and slowly recovering.

He is fiv/Fel negative but has upper respiratory infection . I’m thankful he is a fighter and wants to live.

He will be staying in clinic until he’s strong enough to neuter and then he will go to his foster home.

Apollo had a set back with some diarrhea and vomit . He also has a urinary Tracy infection.

He came back to stay at the clinic to receive the help he needs. It’s easier to give him medication while at the clinic than in a Foster’s room.

He too is on the mend and should be going to his foster home next week.

I’m grateful for Almonte Veterinary Services for taking such good care of our rescue cats and kittens. Without them I could not save lives.

I’m grateful for fosters willing to give scared cats a chance .

I’m grateful to all of you who follow, comment and donate to help save lives. Without all of you there would be no rescue.

Thank you

Shelly does so much. If she helps older cats that cannot become pets, she practices TNR: Trap, Neuter and Release. But she doesn't abandon them. She has a farmer or two that provide for cats in barns, and Shelly supplies the cat food. Occasionally, she calls for help when the food runs out. Some people help a lot. We have helped a little.

However, this is primarily a kitten rescue, and she takes them into her home and adopts them out to those who meet her rigorous standards. Cricket and Calamity are bonded and are just about ready to go. Hopefully, they will be adopted soon as a pair.

I am in awe and deep in admiration of Shelly and thought that Sabine wouldn't mind giving up her place in the sun this week. My blogging family is mostly from far away, so I am not fund-raising, just posting about a worthy person working a worthy cause that I thought some might like to read about.

Remembering the Slight but not the Story

I am sorry, but I don't read your book reports or your recipes because I know that I won't read the books or cook the meals. It's not that I don't read or cook in my little life, but it is highly unlikely that I would ever get around to reading your particular book or trying particular your recipe. 

However, I did catch enough of JellyJules' Land post to realize that, judging from the first sentence or two, she wrote it very well. It made me think that writing a good book report takes talent and thought. And that caused me remember my verbal book report way back in 1961 in grade 8. It was on Young Mac of Fort Vancouver.

from Wikipedia

After I read my report to the class, Ms Janny commented that it sounded like it was from the back or flyleaf of the book (I forget exactly).

I shook my head and said, "No," but I guess I should have been indignant because it wasn't borrowed or copied. It was my own, and I would like to march back through time right now and state that emphatically. As I look back I think that I could have found the book and brought it to her as proof positive, but it is now a little late to state my case.

I remember nothing about the story, but I remember the incident. I did dig this out of Wikipedia, but it feels foreign to me after all of this time.

Young Mac of Fort Vancouver is a 1940 children's historical fiction novel written by Mary Jane Carr and illustrated by Richard Holberg. Set in 1832, it recounts the adventures of Donald "Mac" McDermott, a young mixed-blood fur trader. Mac's father's dying wish was for Mac to receive an education from Dr. McLoughlin in Fort Vancouver along the Columbia River. At the fort, Mac is injured after a horse he is riding trips. He is taken to Three Gulls, a medicine man, where he recovers. Three Gulls dies of the plague, and the other indians in the village capture him, blaming him for the death. Mac escapes with the help of Yellow Bird and returns to the fort. Later, he travels to Quebec to locate his grandfather, and Mac moves to Edinburgh to study medicine, returning to the fort ten years later. (Wikipedia)

Whether I remember the details or not, I clearly remember the name of the book and Ms Janny's accusation after I read my report from the second seat of the fourth row. I am not so much irked by Ms Janny because she complimented me in a way that she did not intend5. I am disappointed in myself for letting it drop, but I was just a kid and never thought to fight for myself.

A Short Word on the Tariff Fiasco

There is so much that could be said about the collapse of the tariff talks between Canada and the USA, and I cannot say it well. Looking for something fairly brief, this post by Annie Justice Primeau on Facebook seems to do the trick. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ga1oPsxV9/

I know Grump hasn't been saying much about the abrupt ending of the trade negotiations with Canada last night so in case some of my American followers are curious as to why Canada is fuming over Grump and his ilk, let me catch you up to speed....

Grump didn’t just demand veto power over Canada’s trade partners, he practically tried to downgrade us from a sovereign nation to a franchise he could manage from his recliner.

 
He wanted to hand‑pick which countries we were allowed to trade with, then went a step further and suggested we toss out our bilingual identity like it was an optional accessory instead of a constitutional pillar. He even said that our immigration policies should “align” with his preferences.

 
He tried to turn the entire country into his personal doormat. He behaved as though Canada’s sovereignty was a negotiable coupon he could redeem whenever he felt cranky, pushing demands that ignored our Constitution, our institutions, and our identity.

Of course Canada takes a hit with these new 50% tariffs, but Americans get the bruise and the bill. Tariffs are a two‑way punch: Canada loses export revenue and faces supply‑chain headaches, while Americans get slapped with higher prices, pricier manufacturing inputs, and retaliation that hits their own industries. It’s mutual damage, but the U.S. ends up paying for the privilege of hurting itself.

Even when economists, manufacturers, and farmers warn him the policy is damaging, he ignores them. The crazy part is that the damage is very visible yet he keeps swinging the same hammer because it fits the political storyline he wants to sell.

 
Canada will adapt and come out on top when this is all over. Our country is resilient and united but I cannot say the same about the USA.

 

  A Sad Indictment of the USA

.   

The Reciprocal Door

One of Sue's recent photo prompts involved doors, and since she is always looking for something special, we thought of the reciprocal door at the Blakeney Conservation area, so we made the 16 minute drive.

I was to pose at the unique door that you shall soon see, below, but first let me tell you what the accompanying plaque says: "Relationships are built when doors are opened and people are allowed in!"

The plaque goes on to explain that the door is a metaphor for the past, present, and future relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canadians, serving as a reminder of mutual commitment in a reciprocal relationship.

I was a willing model but not for long, and ye shall anon come to understand why.

While I really prefer all of the above poses, this ↓ is a better photo of me because my eyes are less in shadow from my hat.

Had we not been absolutely swarmed by ferocious biters and been able to study the images, we might have noticed the shadow issue, but we were absolutely beside ourselves to beat a hasty retreat. We still rather desperately swatted at those that followed us inside the car.

That makes two savage attacks within a week. While I am not anxious for colder weather, at the same time, I am thinking that a killing frost would be a rather good thing.

Flown from the Nest

Today, Danica wakes up differently than ever before. Yesterday, she moved into what will be her residence for the school year: a room in a house in Ottawa, shared with three other girls women.

You may recall that she commuted to Carlton U for her freshman year. You may also recall that her car got totalled near the very end on last semester when exams were almost finished. Since there will be no possibility of commuting this year, she will be staying in the city, just a bus ride from campus. I think, however, that she would probably have made the move regardless of the car situation, for it seems to be a natural progression.

The semester won't begin for another two weeks, but she has landed a part-time job at the university store where students may purchase books and other paraphernalia. Today is a training day, but she doesn't yet know the rest of her schedule.

She'll be up early, going outside to the bus stop, and travelling to campus. I am not sure if she has been on city bus before, but she will manage because she is a grown woman.

On Sunday, we stopped by to give her this last-minute card because Sue thought of her own experience of standing at bus stops in the rain in Toronto at that age.

A last-minute creation with an AI-generated character.

I forget what else she was given, but I know that we gave her a whistle to blow if she ever felt threatened when walking to or waiting at the bus stop.

I took pictures of both Dani and the cat, but the cat photos can come later. I really like these two candid shots. She's a real gem.

Depending on her work schedule, I think she'll be back and forth between here and there until the 9th when classes begin. At some point, we hope to visit her and see her domicile and also tour campus and her book and merch shop. We haven't seen the campus yet although we have driven by in the more distant past. We'll depend on Shauna to get us there and back when circumstances permit.

Jonathan got a picture of Danica saying goodbye last night from her new front door. But I'm okay. Really, I am. 

Friday

On Friday morning, I was abruptly and rather rudely awakened at 8 by someone poking at my body. It was Sue, who was doing me a favour since I had to take Jonathan to work. While I still had an hour before departing, she knew that I would like to have a coffee and do some of my morning things.

I don't usually sleep until 8, and you might think I had a wonderful sleep. I guess I did in the end, but for the first hours of the night I was absolutely exasperated. I was restless and uncomfortable and tried two beds as well as my usual chair before roaming the house and having cookies and milk. I sat in the porch for awhile and determined that when I went back up, I would play Sudoku to help unwind and tire me. It often works, and it did that night, for I closed down the second game halfway through and soon settled to sleep.

I got JJ in plenty of time, and on the way, he informed me that he was scheduled for a 6:30 start this coming Saturday. That is normally not a problem for me, but sleep has been erratic lately. Whatever the case, Siri or Sue should poked me awake.

Back to Friday: by noon, Sue and I were sitting in Generations on the Lake restaurant, where we shot each shooting each other. I wanted to get the restaurant window in the background while she focussed on the subject — wonderful me. We had a nice lunch/brunch.

As we were leaving, I decided to take a snap of the old stove in the foyer. It's a Findlay stove which was manufactured right hear in Carleton Place. Too bad the Findlay factory is totally gone.

We drove a little way along the lakeshore where I took these shots, the second resembling a Gandalfian carving in the house directly across from my lake photo.

We got back just in time to pick up Jonathan from work at 1:30. We then exchanged JJ for Danica who has been sorting her stuff as she prepares to move into her room in a townhouse in Ottawa for her sophomore year at Carlton U. She loaded the car, and we drove her to the thrift store where she was able to drop off her old stuff.

From there, we took her to Tims for old times sake, where she punched in our order at the kiosk. We didn't need to do it that way because there wasn't much of a line, but that is what she likes to do.

I took a photo of Sue and Dani. I am not biased when I say that there are two wonderful and compassionate women. I have been lucky that way. And I am also just realizing that I have called my grandchild a woman, and I don't think I've done that before, so permit me i little sniff. Just a little one.

Sue took a photo of me and the girl. Then Danica put on my hat, and Sue clicked once more.

I will be posting more about Danica tomorrow. 

AC Learns to Never Boast

I had 3 good nights of sleep, which I define as getting more than 6 hours. I have my goal set at 6.5 hours, and I attained it twice with a glorious 7 hours on one of those nights.

On a walk, I bragged to Sue. Of course, 2 rather fitful nights ensued.

Then, I got 4 good nights, reaching 7.5 hours on two occasions. That is actually sublime territory for me.

Being a slow learner, I bragged again. Never brag, folks.

What followed were two rather wretched nights in which I awoke at 3:30 after 4 hours.

I drives me crazy, I tell ya. Not that it's a long drive, eh?

But then I met my goal of 6.5 hours 2X with one night over 7. That was last night as I write this.

On one of the early mornings, I saw a glimmer of a decent sunrise from my chair, so I went to the window before 6, and snapped this photo.

While it would have been great to get out to a better location for the sunrise, the good light is brief, and it would have been long gone had I attempted to go out and chase the light.

That night, while watching tennis with Beloved, I could see a bright half-moon through the patio door. I stepped onto the deck and took a phone photo around 8:45. The clouds really helped to make a rather good photo.

I am so impressed with this quick, handheld phone shot. The exposure is very good, and the moon is quite in-focus. I had to remove some distractions, 4 wires for example, and do a little editing, but the point is that the phone gave me a great starting point.I cannot explain the light streaks that we see, but I don’t mind them at all. 

I did go up to the bedroom to try for another photo, but the moon was already obscured by the clouds. Sadly.

The next night, I did get the moon in about the same spot from the bedroom, but it was about 45 minutes later in reaching the same point in the sky as it was on the previous night, so the blue was gone. There weren’t clouds either, but here it is for the record.

The bright building to the bottom left in both photos is a car wash.

The lighted building in the second photo of the post is a daycare centre.

The lesson to me is how great a lunar exposure the phone rendered. I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. The other lesson, that I really knew already, is  that night photography is best while there is still some light before it gets very dark in what we call blue hour. 

Of course, if you are shooting the Milky Way, you may have to take what you can get when you can get it. Of course, this is true for much photography.