... has begun and heaven help us all.
Ya know, I thought it was bad enough last year but this year it's begun already. Let me give you a little bit of history on how eagles became my obsession. It all started so innocently.
Those of you that hadn't witnessed it, had certainly heard me talking about it. There was a cam put up on a bald eagle's nest on Hornby Island, British Columbia last year. It was amazing. An up close and personal view of the day to day operations of a breeding pair of bald eagles. I watched them diligently turning those eggs and taking turns, giving each other breaks. What a beautiful pair they were. I was saddened when we reached around the 40th day and no little 'lets hatched. It turns out they were an older breeding pair and the eggs were infertile, hence the no hatching, there was nothing in them to hatch.
Sad days for a bit but thankfully, David Hancock and his team got a camera up and running on a nest that had two eaglets in Saanich, BC. As sad as it was for the Hornby pair, these guys turned surrogate for me and helped me see what I otherwise would have missed with the elder eagles, the raising to fledglings. Those two little 'lets were quite the characters to watch. At different points they were; marbly looking, looked like they were about to explode due to tumours (turned out to be crops), resembled Mini Don Kings and later developed personalities. I never would have thought that possible.
They affectionately became, "Big," (older of the two an most likely female) and, "Lil," (total underdog and likely male) to me and forever will be. Real original, eh? Lil probably wouldn't have made it if a few fellow viewers who lived in the area, hadn't gone out and left food for them. There were many tears, tantrums, laughs and heart stopping moments to be had. I watched those 'lets do everything from pooping to taking their maiden voyage and falling from branch to branch on some rough landings. I also got to see the day to day struggle of survival of the fittest, even though it was hard by times particularly when the Lil one was clearly not the fittest. Nature can be a cruel force.
On this day that I write this, it looks like we've got the first egg of '07 in the nest bowl. Three or four eggs are generally laid 3 days apart. They'll be incubated for about 35 days. So for the next couple of weeks you can tune in and expect to see Ma (or Pa, as they share incubation) in this position. This is Ma on the wide angle camera...
The easiest way to tell them apart is by their size, number one. The females are much larger than the males. Sometimes when it's only one in the nest though, this can be tough. I tend to go by their heads. This'll take more of a trained eye but Ma's head is much broader from eye to eye and front to back. Her beak is also much thicker and with a more pronounced hook.
If you click on the close up camera, this might be what you'll see. Ma loves to keep her eye on the camera. This picture really shows how broad her head is...
This next pic gives you an idea of what her beak's like. It could snap your finger off in the blink of an eye. These guys can have wing spans up to six feet...
The egg is placed wayyy down deep within the nest, so deep that the cameras haven't picked up on them yet. The nest is about 5' across. The parents seldom leave the nest unattended and if they do, it's usually no longer than 15min. Here they are on the close up cam, looking down on the eggs in what's known as the, "bowl..."
Even though things have been quiet with all the incubating, something exciting always happens when you go to the bathroom, even though you just had your arse plunked there for an hour with nothing going on. I got to see Pa come in, bringing Ma a fish, watched her mantle over it, driving him off and even got to hear her tearing apart the fish. All the while, the both of them screeching at each other. Now that's reality TV at it's finest...
Look at that wingspan...
There's also been past eaglets stopping in to visit the nest. This was likely one of the previous year's baby's coming in for a visit. Looks too mature for last year's (too much white, takes them about 5yrs.) but cool just the same...
If anybody's interested in checking it out, feel free to follow this link to go to the webcam. Scroll down. You're going to see a video loop of the two adults until you click on a choice on the right. One's the close-up camera and the other's the wide angle camera, same views that the above pictures are taken from. Feel free to click the advertisements you see as they're currently seeking sponsors (donate if you can) but also take in money for each hit the ads take in. You don't have to buy. Hey, any little bit helps when this is being offered for free.
Also, if anything I've said has left you a little confused, feel free to follow this link and you'll see our nest map and also a vocabulary of what things are called, no not all of them are technical terms, lots of slang we came up with on our own. This is also a website I go to. Observations are kept on nest happenings, with times, that'll help you catch up on what you've missed and also helps out with research.
No, not mating, just a changing of the guards...
Right about the time I was just figuring out we had an egg, I went out for a smoke break. While out on the step (which faces the river) I saw an eagle soar from one end of the neighbourhood to the other. It appears they're back around here too. That's cool, I haven't seen any in over two months. Now, if the snow'll go away it'll be much easier for me to chase them.
Hopefully I've been able to educate you a little on the life of an eagle. I knew nothing before I joined this website. Heck, I didn't even know we had any around here! It's opened my eyes to a whole new world and if I can get someone else as hooked on this crazy thing as I am, my job is done.
'Til next time...
Hey All, it's been awhile. Not much has been going on, with, "Franken-Liss," (Scott's new nickname since she'll be a donor recipient) incapacitated, we've been a little grounded. Our usual excitement consists of doing something immature (see post of us running up and down sliding hill) or trips back to the camp. Needless to say, crutches aren't condusive to any of that activity.
I did manage to go on a bit of a shopping spree in Moncton last week. After trying to find an external hardrive around here to hold my pictures and massive amounts of music, finding that I'd have to pay almost $200 when I knew full well they were cheaper, I figured the gas'd pay for itself. Caprice had also been talking about Moncton as she was now excited about buying bras off the rack as opposed to having to special order. A perfect excuse for a roadtrip, right?
That's the first time I've gone specifically for shopping in Monton in ages. I try to keep my shopping on the river for the most part but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Going the Rogersville way opened up a whole new load of shopping down that end. Five hours later, we finally made it to the mall. Tore the place upside down and only found one shirt for Caprice. Hey, when you go from a size G, to a C, your bras ain't the only thing that don't fit anymore.
We managed to end the day with 3 bras and 3 shirts for Caprice and I was thrilled with my purchases. I'm not exactly your typical girl, I guess you could say a bit of a technology geek as I was skipping out of Future Shop with a 250Gb external hardrive and a new polarizing lens for my camera. I ended the day with those two things and a shirt, all for less than what I would have paid for an 80Gb (more than 2/3rds less storage) at Staples on the river. Sheesh, and they wonder why we take our shopping away!
Work has also been going smashingly. I was starting to get discouraged, second guessing my decision to getting back to hair. I was slower than I'd expected, although still very busy. Holy, nothing like an ego burst. This week alone though I had three of my old clients show up back in my chair. Don't get me wrong, I guess they've been slowly trickling back all along but this week just re-affirmed it. I guess that's what I get for not calling any of them, even though I had their numbers. After having abandoned them for five years, I didn't want them to feel obligated though. The river can be a very small place when it comes to that sort of thing. Politics on any level aren't fun!
Also got some interesting news about my car. I'd been smelling prestone every now and then so I took it in to Girouard's Repair Centre (love Ronnie and Alan, never do me wrong or treat me like a stupid girl) on friday. Smelling prestone's never a good thing as that usually rules out lines 'cause it means it's higher up. Ever the optimist, I hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. I called them back today as I got the news at work when I had 1min. to talk with my next client sitting 10ft. away. Turns out it's the head gasket (sucks 'cause a re-built head would be cheaper) but nothing too serious... yet! It's now being sealed with a leak sealant but it's something I'll have to keep an eye on (watch prestone level and temp. gauge) and get replaced before too long. At least the oil changes have been looking good and nothing's getting in the cylinders... phew!
Guess it's a good thing we're not going to the camp as I'll be looking at about $500 in repairs. At least Girouard's is willing to do it as most aren't. Considering I just spent $300 last month (dang Wellington St. making me need shocks sooner), I'm now debating whether it's worth keeping this sinking ship afloat. It'll be a brand new car before too long if I keep replacing parts! At this rate, it'll be cheaper to buy a new car as those repairs would just about cover a payment and insurance. Might be time to start looking for the 4X4 I really need.
Speaking of Wellington St., not long after my last rant about it, I went out, with tripod, to capture some of this nonsense that's considered a road. Notice the shadows?
Right up the road from me is one of the worst spots so I got a few pictures there but the pictures don't sum it up quite as well as video. This video shows how much of a roller coaster this road is. Check out the neverending bounce of the headlights! This video shows a car hitting the above pictured bump. I wish I hadn't zoomed in so tight as you can't see how it truly launches on the off side. This street is such a friggin' mess. There's two other spots on it between here and the Irving that are a nightmare. The rest of the points in between aren't as bad but still enough to make me stick to the shore road.
We've been getting hit with lots of snow this winter and this weekend was no exception. Friday night we got hammered with about 20cm. but it stopped long enough to leave a beautiful day on saturday. They were calling for scattered flurries (5-10cm.) throughout saturday but then we ended up getting wailed again. I've now lost all faith in weathermen as they don't have a clue what's coming in! One storm came from the west (friday's) and the second one came up the eastern seaboard. We must've got about a foot of snow in that one but it's sorta hard to tell exactly how much as it was quite wet and packed down.
Thankfully the clouds stayed clear long enough on saturday to get to see the lunar eclipse. I didn't watch that much of it at night as I've seen (and photographed) them before. The cool thing about this one though was that I got to see it in the daylight. It was beginning when the moon was first coming up (and huge) on the horizon and I saw it on my way home from work. I must say, that was aweseome. For fun, here's a pic of a lunar eclipse I photographed in TN in 2003. This was pre-tripod days so I had my camera set up on a sawhorse at a construction sight. I also cut/copied/pasted all the individual moons in to create this collage. Unfortunately, the second half got rained out.
One good thing about taking the shore road on my Wellington St. boycott though, is that it presents me with nice night shots. This is similar to the other winter picture I took a while back at the first of the season. Quite a bit more snow now! Pardon the lack of tripod.
Forever the sunset chaser that I am, the Napan Bridge provided a perfect backdrop for these winter sunset scenes. For anybody that loves taking sunset pictures, this is a perfect place to do it.
Something that's a familiar winter sight around here is snowmobile trail groomers. I got lucky that this guy happened to be there for this picture. Once again, pardon the lack of tripod. I really need to start carrying it in my car.
This picture cracks me up as it's typical for animals to hang around looking for people food droppings. Darcy doesn't usually put up with it but I asked him to wait so I could get a picture of this. It's not too often you get to see a cat doing this but then again, Teddy isn't your typical cat. Gotta give him credit for smarts, he's the only cat I know that looks both ways before crossing the street.
Of course, what would Skidd animal pictures be without pictures of Jake. Ya know, it's hard not to make him a subject when he's such a goof. This picture was taken within days of Liss' incident. The animals were somewhat displaced as her new bed was then the couch, which was their usual bed. He did this after he tried getting up on the couch and we wouldln't let him. The lengths he'll go to find a nice sunbeam...
Other than that, not much going on for fun and excitement on the good ol' Mystical Magical. Liss is rolling along on her road to recovery and keeping up her great attitude. Her second surgery's been bumped up to March 16th which is 10 days earlier than once planned. She's started her physio and doesn't even hate the therapists yet, which I hear is a common side effect of physiotherapy. The bathroom's also been put back in downstairs to make life much easier for Liss, which I know I'm also thrilled about as I growled Darcy for years for taking it out. Comes in handy during kitchen parties. ;)
Oh, I've also joined an online dating site, Plenty Of Fish. Other than Mr. Bodybuild NB in his pink loin cloth, who lists one of his interests as, "tanning," and a really cute biker dude who has an interest in, "electromusic," (what the hell is that exactly?) there's been not much more there of appeal. So far, a new way to waste time and if nothing else, maybe I'll find, "Mr. Right Now."
'Til next time...
Hey guys, sorry for leaving yas hanging, been a hectic few days. I started to do a reply in the comments and when that started to be way too long (even by my comment standards) I thought it would be best to put it in here.
Nope, no pictures of Liss' knee. Until Liss gets some color back to her and stops looking like the color of snow, I won't feel so bad taking a picture. Let's put it this way, it was four times the size as the other one on sunday, now down to twice the size, with some slight bruising, can't see the knee cap (which is not where it should be anyways) and the leg angles out about 10 degrees from the knee down. How's that for a visual? It ain't pretty! Good news is that she's getting in for some surgery today at 4pm. I think this is the first time I've ever been happy about a surgery. Something has got to be done as she can't go on like this.
They're going to be doing it laproscopically (3 very small incisions) and she'll be knocked out for it which is a good thing. She can't move it even to straighten it so the doctor examining it (and surgeon, Dr. Vandalay or whatever the heck his name is, he'll forever be Vandalay to me) will have to put her under to spare her the pain. It's just now sinking in how bad this really is. We're praying for the best but preparing for the worst. Hopefully it'll be a quick fix that he'll be able to get at today and it won't require a more invasive surgery down the road. Man, "Everything's so scientifical these days," -MitchThank goodness Mitchell took his day off of school (cancelled) to clear out the path and driveway as we got a fair amount of snow last night even though he's hating every minute of it. Stairs have been a curse for Liss, let alone throwing a foot of snow on it. Made even worse by the fact that she's already exhausted from trying to find some semblance of routine, hobbling around on her good leg.
Ya know, being the dark humoured sadists that we are, one thing that's brought us some entertainment is watching Liss perform this interesting little hop-step she's performing on the crutches. We talked about it this morning and it's the fear of free fall and momentum on to an already weakened good leg that prevents her from doing the full swing one would normally do. It turns out it's hereditary. Darcy and I got immense hilarity after watching Mitchell take a go at the crutches and it's the exact same step. Then when they went to the hospital yesterday for Liss' pre-examination, Marybeth commented on how she could never use crutches, then picked up Liss' and proceeded to do the exact same little hop-step. Hahahaha, it's almost too much! Sorry Liss, I couldn't help myself. Honestly, nothing's sacred around us.
Through it all, Liss is staying amazingly positive and I'm so proud of her. It's gotta suck. I'm just glad we're finally getting some answers and most importantly, some action being taken and not just falling through the nightmare cracks of what is our healthcare system. Go Marybeth!
Oh, it's also going to be awhile 'til we get to see the camp blog update as Liss had another little knee-popping (glad I didn't have to hear it this time, ack!) incident yesterday and is under specific orders once again, to keep her ass put. I wonder how long it's going to take before she gets sick of us breathing (I'm sure the snickering's not helping) down her neck. She's not up to it yet anyways, even being upright for too long's a chore for her.
Scott has also arrived home safe and sound. He arrived tuesday evening and stopped in to check on Liss for a few minutes before heading on his merry way home. Glad you got to try it out Scott, otherwise you'd always have a case of, "What if...?" Glad ya made it back though, we missed you.
Also, I'd like to thank Dean for the little creature identification (mousey thing in campfire) from my last entry. See Dean, wandering through the woods does pay off! :D Without seeing the full body of it, Dean says it's a, "meadow vole." For size comparison, that red thing's one of those plastic cups laying on it's side. Heehee, I thought I was doing good to see a mouse. He also had this to say and I'll quote it here as I found it to be very interesting...
"I think it's a meadow vole. Voles are very common in New Brunswick.
You see them in the woods more often than mice. More mice in the camps though. voles have stubby or mid-sized tails and fat little bodies. mice tend to have longer tails and slimmer bodies. Shrews are pretty small and have sharp teeth, they are not rodents. New Brunswick has voles,moles,mice,rats and bog lemmings. It also has shrews. There are a few species in each order in New Brunswick."
Speaking of Dean and without going in to details as they want to keep it private, I know not all of you are prayer sayers but Dean and his family are in need of some right now so please be with them in this time and keep them in your thoughts as well.
And just to keep this entry from being totally photoless, just a pretty picture I took a few years ago in TN and some colour that I've been desperately missing in my pictures as of late...
'Til next time...
... we were making our final trip out from the camp. What an event packed time it has been. So event packed that I can't believe it's only been that long.
As most of you already know, Liss had quite an accident this weekend. For those of you that don't know, no it wasn't a snowmobile accident. It's mind boggling how something that can happen so quick can totally alter someone's life. How a slip on ice can so drastically change how one functions day to day. How the isolation we all love, crave and cherish so much can be an absolute pain in the butt at the most inopportune time. How having a functioning knee can make trips up and down stairs easier. All things we take for granted.
Please don't get me wrong, Liss is being the tough trooper that she is, even getting a couple of laughs over the incident already and even fielding the gentle jabs we just can't resist getting in there. Needless to say though, the Skidd household is having a tough time adjusting. Heck, we all are and I can't even begin to fathom what must be going through Liss' head! I think we're all still in shock, at least I know I am. Hopefully she'll get in to see a specialist soon (it's on rush) and we can start getting some answers. This not knowing, "What the hell?" is the worst.
The weekend started out like any other camp weekend with Liss, Darcy and Mitch going up friday. I arrived on saturday after work and just got out of the car to get a sunset picture when the welcome wagon arrived...
We had a good fire going so of course, that meant rotisserizing which was made difficult due to the fact that the crazy cedar threw some wicked heat so we had to step away from the fire for fear of melting into a nylon mass...
left to right: Trenton, Andy, Tracy, Chris, Mitch, Darcy, Liss, Mary
And just in case there was a shortage of chairs, Darcy was forced (yeah right) to move the snowmobile over for a chair. Liss and Mary look so cute...
Snowball fights seemed to be the order of the night and it didn't matter if you were inside or out. I thought for sure I was going to wake up to a skating rink on the floor of the camp after all the water that was on the floor at lights out. Here's Liss trying to remove snowball chunks from her drink after she got pelted with one. Don't worry, she finally gave up after she found black chunky things as well as snow. Paralyzer smoothie anyone?
Still, it didn't take snowballs to make things slushy as it was pretty friggin' cold too. Here's Trenton drinking his slushy Dr. Pepper...
Not long after Liss had her slip, we ventured indoors. Unfortunately I'll have to leave out lots of details 'cause after 2.5 drinks, I got the worst headache I've ever had in my life and had to go to bed as soon as we got in there. I did manage to stay awake through the majority of it though. Things like the indoor snowball fights (ducking for cover under my sleeping bag), toenails getting painted and people not being allowed to sleep. One good thing about being in the top bunk is it makes it harder for people to just drag you out of it. That wasn't the case for everyone though.
We did however, manage to get breakfast on sunday morning, believe it or not. Tracy was on a mission and made a point of making sure we got breakfast this time. She wipped up some great omelettes (an old camp trick of Andy's) where she pre-mixed them in ziploc baggies and to cook them, all you had to do was drop them in boiling water for 13min. What a novel idea! They were delicious too guys, thanks.
We were a little slow getting out sunday morning. Poor Liss was so incapacitated that she could barely sit up. She was under direct orders to not move until the last trip out and the joys of winter, there was a ton of them to be made.
While trips were being made I got to snap off a few shots. Here's a pic of a puffy gray jay...
Trenton entertaining himself...
Jake's always a subject...
Almost everybody's final departure...
How the two sleds made it back, pretty inventive...
It's about time, "M.Skidd," made it on something, heehee. This should look familiar from the curling funspiel photos...
As I was about to make a trip out to the fire, this little guy caught my eye in the firepit. He's got such a weird little face at first I thought he was a mole, then when he took off, he had a really long tail. He was a pretty brazen little fart, whatever he was. Glad he stuck around for the picture. Looks like he liked Mary's melba toasty things as much as we did...
On a lighter note, we got word that Scott's working his way back home and should be home by tomorrow evening or wednesday morning. Sorry that it didn't work out for him as planned (crazy cost of living unless in camps) but at least he got to do some travelling and hopefully he got lots of pictures for us to look at. Hey, maybe we'll finally get a blog update, hint-hint!
Sorry that I'm leaving out lots of camp details, (was horizontal remember) I'll let Liss take care of the rest of it when she's feeling up to it. They got some really good pictures too. I know she's going to be getting very shack wacky (pain or no pain) and crutches in the winter are a pain in the ass so she'll be looking for entertainment when she feels up to it. In the meantime, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
'Til next time...
It seems I may have finally figured out the way to organising an adventure for all of us... give them 24hrs. notice. We've talked about going sliding in passing a few times this winter. Friday night I mentioned that it would be a good idea to go sliding saturday night. Almost exactly 24hrs. later, we were at England's Hollow with tubes, sleds and Jungle Juice (new name for my blue raspberry martini stuff, thanks Tracy) in hand.
On my way in to work saturday morning, I stopped at Chatham tire and got them to dig up some tubes for me. The weather forecast through the day was a mixed bag. Some were saying warm, others were saying 70km/h wind. Throw that on with wind chill and that would not a sliding party make! Fortunately for us, it was the former and what a beautiful night. It couldn't have been any better if it had of been special order.
Everyone arrived at Liss and Darcy's by 7pm. rarin' to go. I don't think I've ever seen so many jackets, ski pants, hats, scarves, tubes, etc., piled in to one room in my life, not to mention all the bodies. We had a few totties there before putting the full plan in action. Janna brought along her half sister Tasha and her boyfriend Corey. They were great fun! Tasha's my newfound friend.
Mitchell and Trenton decided to go for a walk (likely to get away from the crazy adults) to the store and next thing ya know, Trenton's wandering around with this. Tracy must have somehow passed that trait on to him 'cause I seem to recall a time back the camp that she had an *ahem* extra large beverage in a can.
This started out originally as Tracy and Trenton, then Mitchell walked by, then I threw Liss in there (moms and sons kinda thing) when Jake decided he wanted to be in the picture. He is a son too...
Yup, it was definately close quarters in the kitchen, especially once Mitchell and Trenton got the tubes blown up...
Now that everyone had finally peed and gotten dressed, we loaded everyone we could (Liss, Darcy, Mitchell, Tracy, Andy, Trenton, Janna, Tasha, Corey, myself) in to the Skidd's truck and Janna's car, sliding gear included. Considering one piece of gear was a grader tube blown wwaaayyy beyond it's limit, it's a miracle we pulled it off in one trip.
Thankfully I thought to bring my camera, yeah, like I ever leave home without it. Children of all ages (13 and up) had the time of their lives. You don't realise how old you are until you have to get back up the hill you just flew down screaming at the top of your lungs. Made even harder when you and your friends get in to a giggle fit half way up, eh Liss? I'm amazed that grader tube held up, considering it was flung, flipped, rolled, dog piled and launched. Mitchell's mean green machine made for some pretty fast run fun too. No better seat was had though than the trip I took down with both tubes piled on top of each other. Nobody else attempted it once they realised that bringing the two tubes back up was no picnic. It was worth it though, they don't know what they missed. :D
Mitch taking one of the first runs down...
I think Darcy was the official pusher as well as testosterone limit pusher. Here he is about to launch Tasha and Janna down the hill on the grader tube...
After failed attempts at standing on sleds going down, they decided to go get a snowboard. Well that did it. It was bodies flying everywhere with Darcy (our supposedly responsible designated driver, at least he was sober) pulling the most spectacular face plant I've seen in some time. Made even funnier when it came at the very end of a perfect run. Darcy seems to be the main subject for the videos as he was the one that was willing to try anything. Man I wish I got that face plant.
Here's one of Darcy starting to go down backwards. Aborting was the right choice there. This one's of Corey and Mitchell. Mitchell's on the trail we coined, "The Bumpity Bump," and Corey decides to launch himself off the ramp. Too funny. Guess we should have told Darcy that you're supposed to sit on the tube and not in it. In this video, it's Corey pushing Janna and Tasha (I think) towards a ramp. They managed to stay on somehow.
And when us old, "geezers," -anonymous snot nosed kid, needed a breather, we could catch it on the guardrail that was sticking out...
Speaking of geezers! There were a couple of kids that invaded the party (dang that public place thing) and after Darcy's face plant snowboard attempt, Mitch overheard these kids (that he knew from school) calling him a, "Geezer." Poor Mitch got worked right up and that made it even funnier. Being the vultures that we are, we laughed and cackled at that for some time. I think the boys thought we were going to get them because when Darcy went to get something out of the truck, they beat 'er down the hill pretty quick. The kids left not too long after that, now that I think of it. Moral of this story boys and girls, "Respect your elders!" Hahahahaha! Darcy managed to show them up with this move though.One good thing about drinking Jungle Juice (such a perfect name considering it was concocted for the first time back the camp) is that I mix it in bulk. It was the perfect drag along drink. Here's Liss sampling it...
A cute one of Liss and Mitch. I thought they were both oblivious to my picture taking but I now see that Liss was on to me...
A cute Skidd family portrait...
At the last minute, I thought to bring my tripod which I'm now glad I remembered as it enabled me to get this group shot of all of us. I'm not even going to attempt to do the left-right thing as it's just body parts everywhere, none particularly identifiable. The only one that may appear absent is Andy but if you look really closely behind my right shoulder you'll notice this whitish blob. Andy got to make it in the picture after all. I think that's his thumb. He said he thought the only chance he had of getting in the picture was to reach his hand way up and that does resemble his glove. The rest of us are all there and visible though so if you need a refresher, just scroll up and read the names again...
After at least 1.5hrs. of running up and down hills, sliding, going off cliffs, screaming, laughing, cackling, needing to pee and running out of jungle juice, it was time to go home. Everyone crammed back in vehicles again (made easier with tubes deflated) and headed for Liss and Darcy's. Janna, Tasha and Corey unfortunately had to be on their way but we still managed to push onward. What brave little soldiers we are.
I snapped a few shots around the table when we got back and this is what I managed to capture. Not bad considering I wasn't too far off of having to close one eye to focus.
This picture of Andy cracks me up 'cause it makes me think of that commercial, "Do you have a job for someone like me?" Hey, if I have to explain, you wouldn't understand...
In getting to know Andy better, it seems we haven't scared him off too badly, he came back. Atta boy Andy, you're a good sport with a thick skin. Two important traits when you're gonna hang out with us. It also seems that Andy's going to allow some snoring video to be captured. We do have a camp trip coming up this weekend and they're supposed to be joining us so I'll put my camera to good use then. Don't worry Andy, nothing'll be posted without your permission. So far though, even being allowed to take video's a step in the right direction.
Heehee, it also seems that Andy's the latest victim to fall in to the, "I'll make breakfast," trap. We called them at noon and there was no answer.
'Til next time...
Vatis, "Vatis," you ask? Well, with, "24," back on the air there has been this really strange commercial that has caught our eye.I noticed it on week one and decided it had to be recorded. Week two came and went with me missing it. Finally on the third week, second attempt, I got it. I know this seems extreme for one 15sec. commercial but I'll let you see and judge for yourself.Porn furniture anyone? I wonder if they have any, "Easyboys," - Liss Vatis'Til next time...
Actually, it's more like a gripe and I'm not quite sure where/who I'm going to take it to but starting with the Miramichi Enquirer (aka. Miramichi Leader) and our City Council would definately be a start.
First off, let me fill you in on a little bit of T'ainville's history. We're between Chatham and Loggieville, "T'aint Chatham, T'aint Loggieville," T'aintville. We were a happily unincorporated piece of land, about one mile long for as long as I can remember. Even as a kid, they tried to incorporate us in with the Town of Chatham. I was too young for my signature to have counted but there were forever petitions going around to fight it. We knew, even then, that no good would come of it.
Unfortunately, on january 1st of 1995, the two former townships and outerlying communities became one sleepy city. No vote taken. By the time we realised what was happening, it was too late with budgets and councils divvied up.
Being unincorporated had it's benefits, one of them being that the property taxes were markedly lower, much, much lower. We were ok with that 'cause we didn't get anything for it anyways other than guaranteeing we'd be the last subdivision to be plowed in the winter.
Now that our property taxes have tripled, the only thing I've seen change in the 12yrs. we've been a city has been street lights on every second pole on Wellington St. (I mean, really, is that necessary?) and garbage pick-up, not to mention we're still the last subdivision plowed. Boy oh boy, aren't our tax dollars being put to good use? Oh yeah, almost forgot. We finally got our sewage hooked up last year which was at our own expense and we would have had to start paying for it the following year whether we were using it or not! No sign of water hook up for at least another couple of years either. It makes sense to me but apparently our council doesn't see that it makes sense to run through both water and sewage at the same time. Made even more interesting when the people that are doing it don't know where your underground wires are (even after telling him for the 10th time) and catch them, literally pulling them out of your fuse box, some even right out through the foundation... I kid you not!
Thought I was kidding, eh?
The latest thing to really gripe my ass though has been the state of Wellington St. Any of you travelling it can attest to this. I was going to try to stretch my shock replacement out 'til the summer but the mess of that road unfortunately made me spend $300 dollars not too long after vacation. The thing that pisses (pardon my swearing, usually don't) me off even more about it is the fact that they took all friggin' summer paving the McKnight road! For any of you not familiar with that route, it's the one that connects Loggieville to Napan. I know, pointless, eh? Rumour had it that it was supposed to extend and include Wellington but either time or budget didn't allot for it as it's still a mess. Yes, the McKnight road was a mess but nowhere near as bad as Wellington St. and certainly not used the amount that our main drag is.
I know, I know, I'm prone to exaggeration but I kid you not about the state of this road. Speed bumps have nothing on that mess. The bumps are so big that they have shadows... SHADOWS! So now I'm reduced to driving the shore road which would be nice if it weren't a bumpy, icy mess and I don't even get to enjoy all the lights on the poles. It also means I have to chalk on a few more minutes for my morning commute. That may not seem like much but when you have to be there 15min. before your shift and you got stupid people ahead of you that insist on ordering a sandwich for everyone they work with at the drive through, it means the difference between on time and late. Oh yeah, that's another thing that gripes my ass to no end so if you're one of those people, please stop doing it it drives those of us getting just coffee, crazy.
I guess a big thing for me to do is to write a letter to the editor of the local paper and work on getting some signatures and head to a council meeting. Frig, I can't even stand to watch them on TV let alone having to sit through one. Could be interesting but it'll be worth it as it's certainly necessary. I'll have to break out my tripod and get pictures of it or video would certainly get the point across. Unfortunately, that means having to drive it. Here's hoping I get it right on the first try as I won't be travelling it until well after the spring thaw.
Phew, that was like therapy, I almost feel better now!
'Til next time...
I'm not even quite sure how to begin this entry as my brain's swarming with so many things, particularly this week. I don't even have a title as I write this so be warned, there's bound to be extensive babbling broken up by some pictures.
I think the reality of being a 30 something singleton in a small, sleepy community that they have the nerve to label a city has hit home. From comments I've heard back, some of you didn't realise that Scott and I have been broken up for a couple of months. Don't worry, it's a good and mutual thing, we make better friends than boyfriend and girlfriend. But his leaving has made me realise that life as a single person on the Miramichi leaves something to be desired. Let's see, my options are; 1) Young men that like to play video games, 2) Married men or those that are in a relationship, 3) Someone who's gay or bi, 4) Someone that's strung out on drugs and spending their spare time at the methodone clinic. Needless to say, none of the above are relationships I'm interested in persuing!
I know I've spent five years travelling abroad but being back home has brought the reality back as to why. I've spent the last week trying to get some brainstorming done for a roadtrip. Thoughts of a trip to Ontario to get to see Matt, Brian and Brent seemed like a great idea until the voice of reality (otherwise known as Darcy) intervened. Yup, it could get a little costly 'cause no matter how much we kid ourselves, we're not going there without wanting to do, "things." We're also working very hard at getting a trip in to Gornish to see Coll and Dan but storms and days off keep rearing their twisted heads. We thought that during a trip to Gornish we could head over to Crabbe Mountain to participate in a little bit of skiing but Liss and her fear of heights don't make for a good ski trip. Of course, any time I'm ever skiing it's take a couple of runs then head to the lodge for a few cups of courage. I don't think Liss'd be real happy about being abandoned in the lodge all day by herself though. Wanna keep her company Coll?
So the best I could come up with was Italy. Needless to say, my friends won't be accompanying me on this, ummm, roadtrip but it's somewhere I've always been drawn to. My dating record has paired me up with three different Italian men (love them) and I love the food so no major culture shock. Not to mention the beauty of the place. It's a win-win situation, right?
Please don't get me wrong, I love all my friends dearly and any girl would thank her lucky stars to have been so blessed with such a wonderful motley crue for entertainment. But there has got to be more to life than this. I've come to the conclusion that we're going to have to take all the single women on the Miramichi (belive me, with the Alberta exodus, there's lots of us) and meet the Anchorage men somehow. I guarantee you, the ratio's got to be similar.
What does one do in the meantime for entertainment? Well, I do manage to find some but winter on the east coast can leave one limited which is why not so many blog entries in the last few weeks. One thing I did manage to do last weekend (even though I was feeling a little under the weather) was have a party with my friend Caprice whom I met while working at ICT. She's having a breast reduction surgery on the first of february so in true Caprice fashion, she had a going away party for, "The girls."
Another thing that has given me a great source of entertainment is the Skidd's animals. I've always tried taking pictures of their cat Teddy but my focus would never work on him, probably because of all his hair, where does it begin? My new camera finally enables me to get decent pictures of him. So now I present to you, the many faces of, "Teddy..."
In this first one, Liss opened a can of tuna. I like this one 'cause it shows how truly big he is...
In this one, he's examining the contents up close...
This one he's rolling around and half hanging off the chair. He's so social and loves sitting at the kitchen table with us...
Here all he wants is food and he'll even take it out of the dog's dishes. Poor starvin' thing....
And of course, no Skidd pet pictures would be complete without a picture of Jake. When we say he's a lap dog, we're not kidding. Here he is in my lap...
Just for fun, I thought I'd include some videos as picture don't truly capture the essence that is, "Jake." In this video, Jake and Kate have to go pee. We know what they want but it's still fun torturing them. Jake's so vocal when he gets all worked up. Even Kate's carrying on but I love how they're both jumping around. In this video, we're torturing Jake over the squirrels. Yup, he is a bird dog but he seems to like squirrels too. I love how it sounds like he's answering me back, you can almost hear the words.
We've also had a co-op student that joined us from MVHS. Sherrie usually takes one kid in a semester. Katie, our girl this year, really hit it off and has actually gotten accepted to hairstyling this fall. Our association makes tough regulations, so tough that we couldn't even let the poor girl do shampoos. I'm sure the days got long for her as there's only so much hair you can sweep, towels you can fold and observing you can do. I asked her if she actually learned something. She said she learned that it was something she'd like to do for a living. That's good enough for me. She was so sweet and funny to have around, miss you Katie...
l-r- Me, Katie, Ashley
I would have to say, the most entertainment I've seen the last few weeks was a curling funspiel that Marybeth got Liss, Darcy, Kari and Nick signed up for. I'll let Liss give more details on it but I know one thing, I sure wish I didn't have to work that day as it looked like lots of fun. Instead I got to see them play their last game, go back to their place while they got freshened up and go witness some of the most *ahem* interesting karaoke I've seen in a long time. The Dawson boys had nothing on some of these numbskulls.
Before karaoke could get under way, we had to sit through the awarding of the prizes. Marybeth did a great job as MC (think we have some video of it on her camera, wonder if she found it yet?) and everybody got to go home with something. Nick practically got a standing ovation at one point. They drew names out of hats for the remainder of people and his was one of the first names drawn. After twenty more names were called and he still hadn't found anything, we began to wonder. Finally he trundles back over with a $5 gift certificate for Tim Horton's, proclaiming he already had everything else. By this point, everyone else had noticed his lack of decision making as well.
The rest of the crew got some interesting prizes. Liss came back with a hot pink rubbermaid container that may be the first thing that Darcy doesn't initial, "D.Skidd." Good thinking Liss. Kari and Darcy also come out with some cool aluminum stools. You can never have too many places to cop a squat, I guess.
"Gordioke Karaoke," was in town to put together the entertainment portion. I must say though, I have to agree with, "Garioke Karaoke," -Kari as it seems to roll off the tongue so much easier. With such hits as, "Staying Alive," (don't worry Liss, vid's deleted) and, "Twist," it was almost like I was at a wedding. But when three doctors got up there to sing, "Summer of 69," totally out of key, we knew it was time to go home. Thank goodness Mark (Liss' Dad) arrived when he did as I think I would have been walking home from French Fort Cove. Hey Mark, have I said, "Thank You," yet?
A few random pictures as we're sitting around the table. I had about 5 seconds to prepare for this picture Darcy took. I'm still trying to heed the warning, "Don't forget to smile," which is the warning I got after posting the last few blackmail pictures of them. Future note to self, don't take it to the opposite extreme...
Not sure if Marybeth finally discovered all the pictures/videos on her camera here or not but I like how her and Darcy are framing the dancefloor...
I must say, Nick has now become my favourite candid subject as it seems that every picture the boy takes is hilarious. In this picture, Kari's in the middle of telling him something, "naughty." They still won't tell us what it was though...
I can't for the life of me remember what song was playing here but with this picture, I don't think it really matters...
With this next picture, upon review later in the evening, we've now dubbed Kari with the title, "face of vogue optical." I love this picture of the three of them as it sums up how good of a time we had...
This next picture we tossed around whether to post or not as we don't want to hurt anyone but it was a big thing for all of us so I feel it should be included. Winston did this in memory of Marilyn and it was beautiful, as emotional as it was. Every time Liss threw her rock, she did well with it...
I guess when you put it all out in words and pictures, life on the Miramichi isn't totally boring, definately monotonous by times yes but life is what you make it. I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up for awhile and hope that maybe it's just the winter blues as it's definately winter here now. We've already gotten more snow now than we had all year last winter. I love the snow though so that's not it.
In the meantime, I'm going to try going back to volleyball on mondays and wednesdays in hopes that it'll get me through the dolldrums.
At least Newcastle's closer than Italy and I don't have to pack a suitcase.
'Til next time...
