bunting
The plan is working. Song birds are stopping at the sunflowers left. They gorge themselves like it’s their last meal. A tell-tale of wildness,. The same is true of people too. Winter’s coming.
Tag: humor
story time
An hilarious day. The sky cleared during the night and got down to minus 10. I got to work early to enter yesterdays jobs because the computer wasn’t working the day before.
The groundsman came in next and said, fuck it’s cold, I hope the irrigation didn’t freeze.
Next, the young guy came in and said, what should I do?
Since I ain’t the boss, I said, whatever.
The groundsman said, go check for ice.
We hadn’t had any moisture during the night so that meant, driving around in the cold looking busy till light.
The young fellow radioed and said, we are going to need more salt to melt the ice.
I said, you have two buckets.
He said, they are already used.
He also said, you guys should come out here.
When we got there, every sidewalk and staircase was covered in a thin layer of ice. It looked pretty in a Disney kind of way. . . and dangerous. I imagined someone coming out of their building looking to the brilliant morning sky and stepping on the walk and going ass over tit.
I said, what the fuck is this.
The groundsman said, shit, I forgot to turn off the irrigation.
The sprinklers had turned the resort to ice.
The inventory of salt was in storage a mile away waiting for winter. Since the managers and supervisors with keys to the storage don’t get in till sun up. I grabbed the bolt cutters, jumped in the truck, and got the salt.
We poured a shit load of salt on the resort and had everything thawed by the time the guests awoke and the managers arrived.
Of course, I will have to explain a cut lock at the storage unit, but I’ll think of something.
The groundsman, still walked into the lunch room at 9 am and used the toaster to make toast and peanut butter, even though we don’t take coffee breaks, like nothing had happened. If I was him I would have been ducking my head.
The young guy impressed me, once the sun was out he swept up all the remaining salt. It looked like nothing had happened.
Not bad, I say, for three guys getting paid a pinch more than minimum wage.
The rest of the day was pure sunshine.
Early October
leaping lizards
After all the hoops, even the ones, I jumped high. Here it is; my ankle caught, everything I enjoy caught also.
It’s a struggle. Deeper than flesh. To be free.
I’ve heard it
Seen it this way before.
Still disconcerting.
It looks hopeless,
this time with science
on their side.
It was in the sixties. . . or seventies
eighties even
they said it the same
but different.
addiction
It’s time to get serious, I’ve been told and I’ve been told more than once. The rivers sure look promising, same as the muddy water in those gypsum sink holes, I used to dive when I was younger. Every single time I thought I was going to die. Sometimes instead of coming up I’d keep swimming down. I did it because it was hard. Everything trying to pull me up. The air in my lungs, lifting, my eyes open, facing the current. Stinging. Looking for a breath. That’s the way it is on any given day.
the news
Willow eyeing up the carrots.
Recently, I had a conversation with someone I have a great deal of respect for. She is a business person who is smart and knows how to deal with personnel and clients. There is a lot of juggling that goes on in such situations. She handles it mostly with a smile on her face. Not much rattles her.
I call it ‘high functioning’, being able to deal with more than one thing at a time, sometimes more than ten things at at time. Some people are really good at it, she is one.
The other day her and I and a few others entered into a conversation. We talked about some of the recent events in Canadian news. Everyone in the conversation had an opinion except her. She said, she doesn’t listen, read or watch the news.
Now, back when I was growing up this was a form of ignorance which bothered me. In my uneducated world, newspapers and televised news was how a person educated themselves.
She explained, she didn’t want Trump and everything else in the news filling up her brain while there was more important stuff to think about and accomplish.
***
In the same boat.
My good friend Dave and I talk often. We have always laughed about how many children get rides to school, even when they live within walking distance. He says, it’s because we hear about a kid being snatched in some faraway place on the news and we take notice, it’s real, it’s like it happened under our nose, even though it is the safest time in Canada to be a child. We turn vigilant. It takes up space in our mind. It’s why our children have lost the pleasure of walking to school.
***
If I listened to it all, I’d pack it in. Call it. Say uncle. And sometimes I feel like it.
***
The sky is still blue. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it’s dry. The forest catches on fire and banks get chewed away by runoff.
***
Turning.
The moral of this story, if there is one, let your kids walk to school. Teach them to say, ‘fuck you’, when warranted. They are going to have plenty to be pissed about come future.
Perseids
You know you’re getting old when you go downstairs to get something but forget what it was once down there. Then as soon as you are back upstairs you remember. . . ah my teeth.
***
Wet on and off most of the weekend. I can’t say I’m disappointed. It’s good to face the warm rain. I prefer it to smoke any day.
***
The Perseid Meteor Shower is underway, but will be obscured by the moon and clouds, at least, for the next few days.
***
Was behind the mountains looking for Huckleberries. There was a few, along the cut, under the small pines. Picked enough for a taste. Time is scarce these days. It seems I’m due off the mountain as soon as I work the tension out of my joints.
***
These days it’s the far off dangers we fear while the small seemingly inconsequential pains go ignored. Crooked small town politicians, poor education and inadequate health care for everyone but the rich gets a pass in the face of such impending doom dominating the 24 hour news cycle.
We would all better off if we worried about the crooked little bastards running the local schools, weaselling away money while looking forward to retirement. Or the entire bunch of our small town and provincial politicians, changing the landscape to benefit themselves.
There is plenty to get riled up about right under our noses, before even thinking of Trudeau or Trump, in truth, two narcissist, blowhards that should be ignored while we focus on events closer to us, including the lives of neighbours and family, substantially more important.
long weekend
Dave rolls a dart, Chewy licks the papers. It’s a joint effort.
Damn, this has been a busy long weekend. Calgarians tailgating everywhere they go. All in a hurry to have fun. Making the most of it, they must figure.
While driving through town I saw two incidents of road rage. All four involved were from the city. One had a Flames front licence plate, stealing another’s parking spot. Cue the horn, hand gestures and expletives. I am ashamed to say this warms my heart. I wish the Flames were as aggressive.
It never ceases to amaze me how people act on holiday while trying to relax.
It also never ceases to amaze me the wealth that flows into the valley. If Alberta is hurting, we don’t see it here.
Also, if there is a climate crisis we don’t see it here. It’s big cars, trucks, boats, RV’s, ATV’s and huge second homes built as close to the water as they can get away with. All spewing CO2, polluting the land and water. Perhaps when they start worrying I should too.
Some of these folks can be counted as our most vocal environmentalists. Always reminding us they love it so much this is where they decide to vacation, drive, boat, ATV, fly, build, spend their money and die. Don’t think I don’t appreciate it. I have a $16 an hour job because of it.
Tonight the sky is blue. The breeze is warm. My arms are tanned and I have a full garden of food.
Very fine day.
fine weekend
If you ain’t ready to leap you never will be.
That’s what I’ve heard. Heights with water under have begun to frighten me. Even logs with rushing water, once skipped over, take concentration.
It’s the sky and water telling us to hold on.
I appreciate their concern.
The pure white and jade.
Sooner or later you fall
or jump.
Best to keep
your laces
tied
up.
Palliser Pass 