Tragedy at Lake. Two killed, one missing and presumed drowned. But...who the heck are YOU??

Can a fish drown?

I dunno. But our fishies met tragedy this summer while they were on vacation.

About three years ago we bought a mixture of five little 40 cent feeder fish of various colourings and put them in our tiny little pond which is too shallow to overwinter fish. There's not enough room below the ice to support any water or oxygen for them.

Only two of these little creatures managed to survive and grew quite large. When the cold weather approached, I didn't have the heart to just let them freeze to death so I bought a 50 dollar aquarium for the 80 cent fishies and we kept them indoors for two winters. If you want to see what life was like for them in the aquarium, click here to watch a video of their activities (Note - I didn't choose the music in the video - my son happened to be 'jamming' in the background when I was filming). It will also explain why I called them "Chase" and "Chasee", both females. Each year they would wait expectantly all winter for the warm weather when they could finally go on vacation to the lake (we never let them know it was just a pond).

This past summer was a tragic one. My husband went to step outside on the morning of our anniversary, and there was an icky orangey mess on the porch right in front of the door. The only way we knew it was a fish was by the tail that was distinguishable. Raccoon? Cat? Not sure. But it was sad after all our efforts to keep the fish alive. It was Chasee. Tragic.

Chase looked so very lonely in the pond and would simply stay out of sight without swimming much. So off I went to the store to spend more money buy another fish about the same size so that Chase would not be alone. Bigger fish are $3.99....not 40 cents but price was no object.

What a beauty I picked. I thought it best to get another female. This fish had some white markings on the orange body and reminded me of a Creamsicle.

Chase began to chase Creamsicle right away and soon they were inseparable.

Well, as fate would have it, there was another upset to the pond in spite of our best efforts to secure it from wildlife, and Creamsicle was found on the front sidewalk one morning. The prospects weren't good to revive her. Obviously whatever animal did this did not really want fish for breakfast. Poor Chase. Alone again...naturally.  But tragically, not long after that, Chase just simply vanished without a trace. Drowned? Did she jump? This was a vacation gone completely wrong.

Now I will admit I was a little giddy sad as I cleaned up the aquarium and put it away, knowing I wouldn't be maintaining it this winter.

Yesterday, my husband did his ritual clean-out of the pond which tends to be the recipient of  leaves and debris. He usually sucks all the water out each year with a shop vac and covers the pond to keep out snow and ice. I was in the backyard sunning myself and listening to a robin on a most unusual warm weather day in mid November. He called me over with a little flower pot in his hand and said, "Look at this!!".

I looked. Dirty black sludge and slime. Mmhmm.

"No LOOK!", he insisted.

I peered into the pot again. Dirty black sludge and slime.

"It's a fish!"

Uh huh.

I continued to stare at the mess. Then the slime moved. Freaky.

I couldn't see how this moving, slimy thing was a fish, but when it was taken and put into a nearby birdbath....sure enough....it was a small black fish. Sooooo. Either this thing had survived in that pond for several years, avoiding ice and freezing and shop vac sucking....or it was a product of the conception of two female fish....or perhaps Creamsicle laid some eggs before leaving this earth?

Isn't she just so....so.....ugly worth keeping? 

Alas Hooray! I get to dig out the aquarium again for Mystery or Lucky or whatever we shall call this blackish/grey fish who eluded us in the dark waters of the lake. We will need to be rearranging the house a little to accomodate this tiny guest and I guess I'll be paying a visit to the pet store to spend more money get a few more fish rather than have one solitary sole soul in the tank.

You know, I never really liked fish. But it's amazing when you watch them swim for a few years you actually get attached to them think of more than just Omega 3's or the health benefits of eating them. More than just slime. More than just a lot of work to provide a morsel for a cat, raccoon, or heron. So much more.

Stay tuned for more exciting videos of the lives of fish...coming soon to a blog near you. Bet you can hardly wait.

Is there a better country?

I hate war. Who doesn't?

We could argue the politics...the morality....the horrors of war. My heart nearly stopped as I watched the 'shock and awe' of the Iraq war - knowing behind each blast were families of innocent people being wiped out in a moment of time and the infrastructure of their country destroyed. Was anything worth that cost?

War is so much different now than it was in the days of the First and Second World Wars. We do not always know where the enemy is - there is not necessarily an obvious battlefield.

All of the politics aside, on this November 11th Remembrance Day, I have paused to reflect on our Canadian soldiers and the sacrifices they have given, and continue to give. I may pause for a moment on this day, but those who have lost family military members must vividly remember every day...every hour.

Canada now has a thoughtful way to help us remember on more than just Remembrance Day. If a Canadian soldier falls, rather than being buried overseas as in the past, they are escorted home to travel along the Highway of Heroes in Ontario. Traffic on the busy highway is slowed as motorists consumed in their own busy lives are suddenly faced with a stark reminder that their freedom was bought by one such as this who is now carried past them - whose voice has now been silenced, yet their lives speak volumes. Crowds of Canadians with Canadian flags stand for hours in all kinds of weather on overpasses along that highway to silently salute the soldier as he or she passes beneath each bridge....each one honoured for their ultimate sacrifice. I wish that we have seen the last of those motorcades.

Our country of Canada is not one that has faced invasion or needed to defend itself. Rather, it chooses to go to places of unrest in the world.....fighting if necessary....but trying to rebuild, befriend and assist people in need whose countries have been ravaged by war and ruthless oppression. We have lost too many in the quest to do so.

We are a country of peace and freedom.  And we go with the mission of restoring peace and freedom in other nations.

Whether our troops should be away from home or not.....

they are.....

and today we salute these heroes and support them in their efforts.

New song

One evening about a month or so ago, I came into my living room and sat down to read. I could hear my son's guitar-playing emanating from the basement. It was quite loud, but not the rock music he reserves for the band he plays in.

(Too often his best music is reserved for the wee hours of the morning when I'm often asleep, though sometimes I have the good fortune to hear it.)

I can't even describe what I was hearing. He had blended various strains of his creation together using his computer, and I felt suspended in time as I sat mesmerized....listening. I felt tears welling in my eyes because there was something intensely moving and inspirational in what I was hearing. It was like it lifted me into worship though there were not even any words being sung. I breathed a prayer of gratitude for the gift and a hope for it to bless others.

Just then my son's girlfriend arrived, said hello, and was about to make her way downstairs to see Jordan. I motioned to her instead to sit down for a moment and just listen. She sat down for only a moment before tears began to well in her eyes as well. She voiced exactly what I had just been thinking - that there was something inspirational in the music that Jordan was creating, and it moves her to worship as well. For a few minutes we sat silently teary-eyed and in awe of what we were hearing.

Today our son is 21 years old. I cried throughout his entire baby dedication ceremony on a Sunday Christmas Day in 1988. And now he's got me misty-eyed again....

Love you Jordan. Happy Birthday.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth....and He'll keep giving you a beautiful NEW song.

Sorry to disappoint you

I'll give you 3 chances to guess what these pictures are...

Anyone who does laundry has it figured out.  Yes, that's the inside of my dryer.

Now I'm sorry to disappoint you if you are still raising young children and think that one day you will no longer have to deal with crayon marks on the walls and marker stains on clothes and furniture, etc.

No, even if your children have left home, you will still deal with some heavy duty messes. Especially if they bring their laundry home.

Someone in my family, who will remain nameless, used to have better laundry facilities than I do in HER first apartment away from home, free of charge. In fact, I wanted to cart my laundry to HER place to do it. This past year however, in her new place she has to pay for laundry, so yah....the trips home always involve laundry these days. Normally, I'd let her do it, but it makes no sense not to also throw our laundry in the same load to save money. So last weekend, I did the laundry.

Thought I checked all the pockets! But to my horror, I saw these marks in the dryer as I pulled the clothes out.

Although I have been involved in money laundering, washed and dried a wallet, blasted some kleenex to bits, and am forever producing some sparkling clean guitar picks, this was my first ever BLACK PERMANENT marker - top OFF. Who cares that there was also a pen and a lip balm in the same pocket....Would this be a good time to mention that the afore-mentioned unnamed member of the family once washed her cellphone??

Remarkably, the clothes seemed to be unaffected which was a huge blessing.

So now...how to get the dryer clean? I tried a few things....even the Magic Eraser that always works for everything else, didn't work. I thought of asking my husband to use some stronger elbow grease and scrub away at it, but he's been too busy mopping up the mess the washing machine made a few days later when it bounced around and knocked the hose out of the wash tub! (It's a wonder we have any clean clothes). The water spread considerably from the laundry room into the adjoining games room, so he had to take a morning off work to move a two-ton (I exaggerate) pool table, heavy sewing machine cabinet, and a thousand other things (I exaggerate), and then use a wet vaccuum over the whole area.

So I googled.

I found out that toothpaste with baking soda works like a charm, as does rubbing alcohol, although both still require a lot of scrubbing at an awkward angle....so I'm doing a little at a time each time I'm throwing something in the washing machine............................

after checking the pockets.................

all of them..........

twice.

Fortunately, I had stocked up on Arm & Hammer toothpaste on sale this week, though I thought it would be used on teeth. I may even have to return for more before the job's done........but hey, I'm all for polishing enamel wherever it is....and bonus.....the dryer has 'a hint of minty freshness' (to quote my favourite Donkey).

Happy Birthday to my 12 year old

Twelve years ago....our Christmas present was born. 

And our vacuum cleaner has never been the same.


Happy Birthday Nikki!!

I cried today

I enjoy my job because it involves solving problems and helping people. While I was on the phone today, the person who was giving me the next batch of problems to solve, referred to me as the 'Problem Resolution Officer'. I laughed and said I hadn't known that was my official title and queried whether a raise was in order.

I delved into the next problem and called a client to provide a resolution. Now I have been trained to be professional and dignified on the job, with a balance of compassion and empathy for clients in an arms-length kind of way because we have to. But for the first time in 35 years on the job, I cried on the phone with a client today.

I had reviewed her situation before calling her and knew she had while on her job, observed a murder of someone she knew. She was still struggling with that for a very long time after, and has just never had the ability to heal from it. Through a series of events, her world had caved in and she now found herself without any hope of a job, when she had gone through school and thought her career was all set. When I spoke with her, I mentioned something about trying to call her yesterday.

Without any emotion, she quietly made the statement, "I tried to kill myself yesterday."

Her tone of voice told me that there was no pretense of a lie or an attempt to influence or evoke anything from me. It was just a true statement.

In that moment, my chest became heavy, I could scarcely breathe and all I could manage to say was, "Oh Lisa! You're serious aren't you?" And I felt the tears involuntarily starting to spill. I was struck with the fragility of life. How different this call could have been yesterday....a telephone ringing on unanswered....and me starkly unaware of someone in desperation.

We both managed a laugh as I said, "you've got me crying now..." I managed to choke out some encouraging words of hope, and she assured me that she was okay for now. We talked about hope and where to go from here. I took a deep breath and tried to go on with the 'professional' business of our conversation, but it took a little time to suck it up and regain my composure. (I will still probably cry it all out tonight in bed!)

Lisa represents only one of so many. Despondent people. Feeling hopeless. Can't see any bigger picture than beyond their world that has caved in around them. Hanging on by a thread and fragile. I am NOT the Problem Resolution Officer. I can't solve these kinds of problems. People can counsel and advise and encourage, but they can't bring peace to a despondent heart through these things alone. We can only trust in One who can.

Know why I love Christmas so much? It's the hope. It's the remedy. It's the mystery that God cared. He planned. And he sent......hope. And He'll never let go - even if we do.

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.

For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine....

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders.

And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

His government and its peace will never end.

He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.

The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

The Bible, Isaiah 9:2, 6,7  (planned....and written long before the son was given)

Second spring

"Autumn -

           a second spring when every leaf's a flower."

                    - - Albert Camus

Let's go! Blue Jays!

I know it's all over this year for the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a disappointing year...again.

Not so in my back yard though. It was a great summer for the Blue Jays.

I had the delight of watching two baby blue jays awkwardly learning to find their way in the world. They lived for a time in the tall pine tree that spills over onto our deck, so I spent many a time sitting on the swing and watching their antics for the few weeks they were tiny. Blue jays can be very agressive, nasty birds to other songbirds...but somehow my heart attached itself to these two siblings in spite of what I knew they would become. I mean how can you not love faces like these?

Here they are on the little bird bath next to the pine tree:

I got a kick out of watching them flit from branch to branch. They were very tipsy. Landings on branches were executed with heads too far forward, little tails pointing skyward until they could get their balance and right themselves.

One sibling was unafraid of water - just jumped right in to get cooled off.

The other was timid, and was simply content to lap up the water below the bird bath that was being splashed down from above.

One late afternoon I brought my camera out for a few shots. I had been waiting to get a pic of Mama placing food in baby's mouth, but Mama would always hop way up into the heights of the tree for baby to follow....far away from the prying eyes of that lady on the swing.

Tonight was different. Mama and baby were perfectly within range.

Freeze for shot...press shutter.

Right on cue, my camera's batteries died.  (I had ignored it's earlier warnings).  Worse than that for a photographer though, was what happened next.

The 'timid' baby decided it was going to try to fly over the swing to the maple tree behind me to join its sibling who had accomplished that feat.

He didn't make it.

He swerved to avoid the cover above me, and he landed right beside me on the swing! (So cute! And my batteries were dead!) It was one of those 'slo-mo' moments. I sat in frozen silence. Mama and Papa were going crazy in the pine tree because their baby was sitting right beside 'that lady', but they could only watch and 'quack' because they wouldn't come near me. The baby although not seeming afraid of me, hopped around, managed to get underneath the swing, into another small tree by the deck, and then back to the pine tree. Mama scooted him back up into the heights of the tree. And I went to get fresh batteries.

Throughout the summer, these little ones, and their parents would wait for me to refresh the water and put the peanuts out each day, and in return they blessed me and gave me pictures. Mama and Papa have planted peanut trees for us.

The little ones are now large, loud, and cocky like their parents.

I think I can still distinguish them from the other Jays in the neighbourhood. They have spunk...very high energy and continually return to the same pine tree and bird bath. When I'm outside, they will begin to 'scream' and I can't resist. I put out the peanuts which they happily snatch up and go and 'plant' as their parents have shown them.

I hope these beautiful birds stick around much longer than their baseball namesakes.Who knows. Maybe one of these days, or even next year, one of them just might join me on the swing for old times sake.

Flicker....not to be confused with Flickr

I've become a bit of a woodpecker lover this year. I hung suet feeders out back when I realized the woodpeckers were still looking for it in the summertime - I thought it was just winter energy for them. But as I sat on the deck this summer I was able to observe and photograph a downy woodpecker feeding suet to her baby - so I made sure there was plenty available. They are so unafraid of people. In fact, they come near as I fill their feeders and they get right to eating as soon as I move a short distance away. 

Here's a baby...

(Gap between pics courtesy of Blogger)

Here's mom and baby.....

Baby is below, waiting to be served (kids are all alike aren't they??)
 



Notice the awkward stretch backwards to get the suet into the youngster's mouth.

And not to be forgotten...........here's dad.

The other day I had a little birding treat when I pulled into the driveway after work. I saw a bird the size of a robin moving down a tree trunk like a woodpecker. Knowing it wasn't the usual downy woodpeckers around here, I peered to see what it was.

It flew onto the gate at the end of the driveway as I continued to sit in the car. I could see glimpses of beautiful yellow feathers on its underside  and I began to wonder if it was someone's pet that had gotten loose. It flew back to the tree, then back to the gate. To my delight he flew directly into the pine tree right next to me where I had an up close look at him and he was joined within seconds by his mate. The two of them conversed for a few minutes while I studied them, and then they flew off and I haven't seen them since. They were northern flickers, of which I have not seen any for years...but then again, they can be hard to spot unless you're looking for them because they like to forage on the ground in search of bugs.

Here are some Wikipedia pictures of flickers. 

Finally, take a look at a YouTube video of a mother flicker tending her babies. I am envious of the owner of the camera who shot the close up video, complete with a baby flicker and his looooooooong tongue and the surprise ending. Excellent quality! Now I will wonder what really goes on high up in the upper recesses of our maple trees.  Maybe I should get my husband to do some climbing and install a webcam trained on any nice round holes in the trunk.


Somehow, I don't think that's going to be happening....

Fresh Face Day

This past weekend has been picture-perfect weather. Warm, sunny, yet still with a fresh breeze....beautiful for drying clothes on the line.

There is no smell I relish more than sun and wind-dried sheets, pillow cases, and clothes.

Days like these, I pull dried sheets off the line and bury my nose in them to inhale the fresh scent.

Intoxicating.

On laundry days, I almost can't wait until bedtime to lay my face on a fresh pillowcase, nestled under fresh sheets.

So when I awoke on Saturday morning it felt great to know it was such a beautiful day.

Ladies, you know how great it feels to have a morning shower, freshly washed hair and face, and if the barn needs paintin'...a little fresh touch of makeup to feel alive and invigorated.

 That's how I felt with my freshly brewed coffee and fresh face - ('Fresh' is the word of the day, if you hadn't figured it out).

I went downstairs to begin the laundry. We have a laundry chute, and I noticed a sock suddenly fall behind the dryer. So I got in beside the dryer and peered behind it. Not seeing the sock very well, I leaned in farther. I submerged my fresh face squarely and completely into large dusty cobwebs. BLEEECH! So much for fresh. More like itchy (I'm allergic to dust). I couldn't shake the thoughts of tiny spiders and dust mites on my scalp.

Did you know that it is a fact that spiders build their webs at the height of just under 5 feet? It's true. I have several years worth of documented proof....on my face. Whenever my face is fresh - particularly early morning on the way to work - I will walk somewhere where there is a web, just under 5 feet in height, that will hit my face square on. Another little known fact is that oranges or grapefruits when cut will always, without fail, squirt directly into a fresh face...and most often, stingingly into an eyeball.

But I digress.

I carried on with the day, got the laundry out on the line and things were great until I started to prepare an early supper. I peeled the potatoes and prepared some green beans and cauliflower.

Then I got out my trusty compost bucket that I keep under the kitchen sink. It's a beauty from Lee Valley, made of stainless steel so it does not hold odours and washes up beautifully, so smelly compost in your kitchen is never an issue.

I had noticed that the lid had been slightly off on the compost pail a week ago - nothing to do with my son cooking and putting his scraps in there, of course. I had closed it tightly as soon as I noticed it.

I put the pail on the counter in front of me to dispose of the vegetable peels.

Removed the lid.

HUNDREDS of fruit flies flew right up into my fresh face! I slammed the lid back on immediately, but the damage was done. I had released a cloud of these tiny annoyances into my kitchen. Worse than Grade 9 Biology - fruit fly reproduction 101. My face got itchier.

I took the compost pail promptly outside to the composter and I had to open the lid and release some flies to the backyard as well - keeping my face well away from the pail. Too bad I didn't know about those flies in there beforehand or I would have donated them to some Grade 9 biology lab.

I set traps...and will continue for many more days...of baggies with decaying fruit. Every morning I will dispose of the baggy full of fruit flies and wonder if they are reproducing faster than I can catch them.

My face was safe for the rest of the day, although I had doubts when I was sloshing and splashing around cleaning a dirty birdbath.

'Twas nice to wash my face before bed and lay it down on the intoxicatingly fresh pillow case.

I even managed to wipe the thoughts out of my brain that there might be tiny spiders, dust mites, or fruit flies crawling around in my hair.

 That would be a problem to tackle in the morning..... after putting on my fresh face.