Sue plus more at the Mill

Yeah, I did take a bunch of pics at the Mill on Sunday. Here are four featuring Sue followed by a few other Mill photos,

Two sides of the same shed, below.

Spots of Colour at the Mill

As I have just written in the previous post, we are enjoying some awesome autumn weather before the other shoe drops. We drove up to the Mill recreational area yesterday, Sunday, to make the most of it. While most of the big colour has gone to ground, so to speak, there are many spots of colour remaining to appreciate.

We both got to snapping pictures as soon as we hit the woodsy trail. I put a stretchy filter in post on this one of Sue, who was busy taking her own artsy photo.

There were many trees still showing their finery if one were to peer through the bushes, and I was doing exactly that.

I think this ↓ is my fave shot from the walk — a single, glorious tree clinging to its remaining leaves.

We came to Goldilocks's house, which the kids used to love to visit when they were young. There is a little bunk inside accessed by a little wall ladder made of boards nailed to the wall.

Finally, we came to the mill itself. Well, we call it that, but this was a residence. The actual mill had been just a bit father up that stream around that bend.

It's been a tough night with my body complaining in myriad ways, but thankfully, I did have three good hours before things went haywire. However, it is good to reminisce this lovely walk while checking out these photos again.

I Think This is That

I went for a little stroll in the park yesterday morning, wearing what is standard sort of garb for a late Canadian October. I got hot. Later in the afternoon, when the temperature rose all of the way to 20C/68F, I didn't need to wear any extra covering at all over my thin shirt.

They used to call this kind of weather at this time of year, Indian Summer, and I Think This is That as per my title. I don't know if they still call it that, for both the word and the use of it probably wade into sensitive areas. Still, I haven't heard another term for this phenomenon, and you know what I mean by it. It doesn't occur every year, but we are in for a few very fine days this year.

Many trees were bare in the park, and many others were close to it, but these two trees were still both looking rather splendid. As a matter of fact there was still some green on the first tree. I like its wishbone shape too.

Here we are looking along the park path where the fallen leaves still look rather grand. The trees to the left are looking very skeletal though.

I hope the weather and sights are just as fine wherever you may be.

Voting Online

I just voted in our municipal election. Actual voting day is to be Monday 24th, but we’ll be away, so I voted via the internet. 

What with personal ID questions, a captcha, and a unique and personal PIN that had been sent by mail and was then required to be entered online, I thought the process was extremely secure, and if possible even more secure than in-person voting. I also liked the fact that I was asked to verify my selections before they were counted.

Overall I was reassured and satisfied by the process.

It Looked Credible

Phishing is a type of social engineering where an attacker sends a fraudulent (e.g., spoofed, fake, or otherwise deceptive) message designed to trick a person into revealing sensitive information to the attacker or to deploy malicious software on the victim's infrastructure like ransomware. Phishing attacks have become increasingly sophisticated and often transparently mirror the site being targeted, allowing the attacker to observe everything while the victim is navigating the site, and transverse any additional security boundaries with the victim. As of 2020, phishing is by far the most common attack performed by cybercriminals, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Centre recording over twice as many incidents of phishing than any other type of computer crime. (Wikipedia, emphasis mine)

I have emphasized increasingly sophisticated (above) for good reason, for the text I received on the weekend was certainly that.

I have overwritten the personal data, above

It looked genuine, for we had just made a purchase from Apple, and it would be delivered by UPS. In addition to Apple and UPS, it contained Sue's name, the correct postal code, and was texted right to my phone.

Understandably, people get fooled by phishing messages like this. In this case, with all of the correct information, it looked pretty genuine, but no matter how credible the message looked, I had to think that Apple would not direct me to a mysterious text/phone number. I went to the Apple site just to verify that I was right to be suspicious, and, of course, I found that all was in order and that UPS required no additional fee. 

Never call or text the number or what seems to be a genuine link, but always head to the actual site on your own, using public and trustworthy links.

We also get phished via texts purporting to be from Revenue Canada — no, the government will not ask for Amazon cards for payment — as well as our cellular provider. In the case of our cellular company, the text also looks quite credible. The recent attempt stated that we had a rebate coming, and in light of some fairly recent activity, it did seem somewhat plausible. Once again, I refrained from replying to a mysterious number but checked with my actual account just to make doubly sure.

It's easy to fall prey. This happened to a blogger friend, and withdrawals were being made from his bank account before he realized what was happening. It all got straightened out but necessitated the  headache of changing accounts and credit cards etc.

Scary stuff. Be very aware, and use two-factor identification wherever possible.

And by the way, the package from Apple via UPS arrived yesterday, just as they declared it would. I hasten to add that there was no additional shipping charge.

A Port in the Storm

Shall I just begin with the end? Maybe not the end but an end nevertheless. 

To wit: my brand new blood pressure monitor revealed last evening's blood pressure to be 143/89. Sometime later this morning, I will take my first reading of the day. Apparently, I am supposed to wait until well after coffee. I've just had my first cup, and I expect to have one more, so I shall take the test in a few hours time.

On with the story.

It begins yesterday morning with me seated in my chair. Suddenly, I was seeing wavy, shimmering lines out of the corner of my left eye. It must be a mirage, thought I. But the waves followed me to the bathroom and back again, at which time I thought it would be best to reveal this misfortune to Beloved, who became just a tad concerned.

As I sat in a mildly fretful state of mind, the waves dissipated, but I wasn't seeing quite right either. After contemplating this odd occurrence, I thought it prudent to call my local, friendly optometrist for a consult.

Meanwhile, Sue the Worrier was texting Shauna, who, in turn, texted her doctor boss, who felt that I should call my doctor to get my blood pressure checked. With one appointment already on the books, I thought that would be overkill, so I declined. "Nope. I am not going to do that," said I with feet firmly planted and arms defiantly crossed.

However, I did consent to have Sue drive around the corner to the pharmacy to sit in that very public chair and to see what their BP monitor had to say about it all. I scored a whopping 171/96 when anything over 140 is considered high. Yikes!  The machine gives three consecutive readings, and my third was down to 146/96 — still high but not quite so scarily high.

We walked around the store calmly for awhile before sitting for another set of three. The results were only mildly better.

This was odd because, historically, my BP has been pretty rock solid in the very good 120/80 range throughout my adult life. Having said that, I haven't had my BP checked regularly for some time.

Thus ensued a call to the doctor, and thus followed another trip to the pharmacy, this time to purchase my own BP monitor in order to take regular readings at home.

The good doctor wants me to take two readings per day for a week, after which time we shall consult again. I am to sit quietly for five minutes before each testing. Then, I am instructed to sit for another two minutes before taking a second reading. I am to scrap the first reading and record the second, which last night, was the 143/89 mentioned above. It could be worse, but a reading above 140 is said to be high.

In the meantime, the optometrist had examined my eye using drops and a very bright light. This was my second appointment in two weeks after having abstained from regular eye exams during COVID. Thankfully, she reported that she could see no structural damage. However, the sight in that eye was worse than it was two weeks ago, for I had trouble reading the very first line.

Two weeks ago, I gone for a comprehensive eye exam for the purpose of getting new glasses, even though I hadn't been legally required to wear corrective lenses for something like the past decade. There had been an odd improvement in my vision after having been legally required to wear corrective lenses for decades. My vision was still good, but I felt that it could be sharper in  low visibility driving conditions, such as at night or in poor weather.

I had been running a bit late on that appointment day, so I didn't stay around to order spectacles then. My procrastination turned out to be a good thing for once because this new trauma has caused, at least temporary, deterioration. If I had gone ahead and purchased new specs two weeks ago, they would probably already be in need of upgrading.

While I am thankful that the exam revealed no structural damage to my eye, there is that change in vision to contemplate. She suggested that, if I could bear with it for now, I should return in a few months to monitor progress — or regress! I can do that. The right eye is still good enough that I can watch tv from some distance. As long as I can watch tv, what else matters, eh? I am also doing well enough with my near vision as I sit here typing this morning.

Another moderate blessing is that the BP monitor was almost free, for I was able to purchase the lion's share with accumulated points. Any port in a storm, eh. (I don't think that is the most apt metaphor, but it is still very early and all that this all that this old boy can think of.)

Local Autumn Photos

Several years ago, just off the trail by the river, I spied a swirl of leaves floating past. I didn't get to photograph them at that time and then forgot to go back with my camera. But I did think of it yesterday. Alas! when I go to the spot, there were no leaves floating by. Well . . . the occasional floating leaf zipped by but nothing like the mass that I had seen previously.

From that past sighting, I had had it in mind to capture a swirl of leaves in a slightly slow motion photo to show the movement. Of course, I tried to isolate a few single leaves yesterday, but they were at various distances and moving rapidly, that by the time I found focus . . . well, it wasn't happening for me.

I took other photos to compensate but confess that I was disappointed and in a somewhat grumpy state of mind. However, I did find some goodness when I looked at them and processed them later: such as this one in that very spot. The submerged leaves weren't moving, but the water moving over them created a different and impressionistic effect.

Not finding floating leaves to photograph, I looked around and did take some photos of autumn foliage across the river.

And as Sue does, she captured me capturing those photos.

There were other photo ops too, such as this unique tree nearby in the adjacent bush.

Nearby was one of the trail footbridges. I like this view with the reeds fore and then the defoliated trees aft, just past the bridge.

On the bridge itself, there were fallen leaves, right on the railing. I love the one in the middle and nudged the two beside it to form a row. I could have chosen a better leaf on the left, but it was right there at hand.

Sue got a photo of me taking that precise shot in a rather unique perspective using the railing as a leading line.  Excellent eye, she has.

We have several rainy days coming up. We'll see if there are more photos to be had afterward. If not, we've had some pretty good autumn photo excursions, whether they be local or out in the hinterland.