If you or someone you know would like to try fishing in Ontario waters for the first time (or the first time in a long time), circle the week of July 3-11, 2010 on your calendar. For those nine daysonly (12:01 a.m. Saturday to 11:59 p.m. Sunday), Canadian residents can enjoy the fun of fishing in Ontario without a licence during the annual Ontario Family Fishing Weekend.
All other regulations, fees and limits will apply
You must abide by the conservation licence limits set out in the current Ontario Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary, available from fishing licence issuers, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, or online. For example, your limit on walleye and trout, may be two instead of five or six.
Events related to this special weekend will take place across the province. . . .
It was a warm weekend albeit a little rainy at times when Erin and Jake arrived after noon on Saturday. In conjunction with her job with the St Clair Region Conservation Authority, her mission this weekend was to find some minnows of various varieties to place in the public aquarium in Strathroy. Our daughter never ceases to amaze me, so I hid my skepticism of her ability to catch darters with a small bug catching net that she brought with her.
Picture from: Field Guide to Birds of North America
In her quest for little fish around the condo docks, she came across a young Common Grackle that had somehow crashed into the water and was drowning. It was making an attempt to swim but because of the continuous seawall around the condos, there was no place to exit the water. Erin scooped the poor dying bird up with her bug net. She called the owner of Salthaven, Brian Salt on her cell phone for advice on how to resuscitate the little urchin who was now making a clicking sound indicating the bird's imminent expiration. Erin has worked as a volunteer with Brian for several years.
Erin took the bird up to our condo and with the use of a hairdryer, a space heater and some window screens created a warm environment for the now dry little bird in the bathtub of our lower bathroom. She kept the bird there all night with the light off to try to calm him down and allow him to regain his strength. Sunday morning to our amazement the little thing was still alive and to even Erin's surprise, flew from our balcony to a nearby branch, said "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" and flew off as if nothing ever happened.
We spent a few hours on Sunday in the dinghy (in the rain) mucking along the banks leading to the Guildwood lagoon. Our efforts to catch minnows with a net proved ineffectual even for Erin so she chalked that up to experience, with me promising to check out dip nets next time I'm in USA at Gander Mountain. We spent an enjoyable time in spite of the rain and as Erin said
"Summer's too short to let a little rain dampen your fun." . . .
I asked around and no one seems to know why the Americans would set off a truly extravagant fireworks display at exactly one week BEFORE the fourth of July. The elaborate and very costly display was paid for by Acheson Ventures and is presented from one of Acheson's properties near the Bean Dock on the US side of the St Clair river. My daughter Erin had an explanation for why it is early but first a little background on the man who paid to orchestrate this magnificent show that lasted nearly an hour.
James C. Acheson
As his grandfather was inspirational as an inventor and a protègè of Thomas Edison, so Dr. James Acheson is inspirational as a leader in the arena of community giving. Dr. Acheson ran his family's 90 year-old global specialty chemical firm, Acheson Industries, Inc. for 20 years before establishing the philanthropic organization, Acheson Ventures. A man whose generosity and love of community prompted him to spearhead unprecedented initiatives for the South side of Port Huron, Michigan.
Erin tells me that because Jim Acheson's birthday is the week before the 4th of July, the fireworks are set off early. In fact, the story goes, one year he was actually fined $150 for setting off fireworks on a day other than the 4th of July contrary to local bylaw. He said "It's my property and I'll do what I want." True or False? . . .
The rain was holding off for the annual Sarnia Street Machines car show and shine in Centennial Park. My friend and condo neighbor Gary came with me from Bridgeview in my dinghy. We left it at Sarnia Bay Marina while we checked out the 500 or so beautiful cars.
A nice '57 T Bird with Sarnia Bay Marina in the background
We ran into another friend and neighbor George who had come over on his bicycle.
I was quite taken by this whimsical, cute, custom hot rod. Click the pic to enlarge.
We are back in London. It is difficult to stay in one place for more than a few days in a row. I have been having trouble with a sore shoulder so I had an appointment for an ultrasound. Wendy has had some dental work ongoing and of course there’s her mom.
Gene has not been adapting too well to the nursing home. I can’t say I would either, the place is in stress right now. Oh, the building looks OK, only four years old, but there is an underlying feeling of general inadequacy and employee dissatisfaction. The place is under-staffed and the help is severely overworked as they deal with an ever increasingly pared-down budget.
For example, the washrooms feature the very cheapest of toilet paper and paper towels, presented in frustrating, torn, little pieces by miserly chrome dispensers. We have observed that most of the time the call bell goes unanswered for extended periods. Several times Gene has been forced to wait to get help to the bathroom until it was ‘too late’. Bad communication due to high employee turnover has produced some bizarre results like when they provide her with a laxative but allow toilet visits only every two hours. Of course, if these problems were rare exceptions we could overlook them but they are continuous, ongoing and seem to be getting worse. One hates to complain though in fear of recrimination.
Since nursing home fees for services are controlled by the Province, there appears to be no way for them to alleviate their cash problems. This, being a not-for-profit home should by all logic fare better than a for-profit operation but I wonder if that is the case or is this home just badly run? Are all licensed nursing homes this bad? There is a vastly negative difference between this place and the unlicensed retirement home from which she came. I realize the levels of care are different, but by comparison, the basic services like food, laundry, and social/recreational are grossly inferior at this nursing home.
All this adds to the level of stress that Wendy has to endure in dealing with the complexities of caring for her mother. She doesn’t like to be too far away in case she is needed. Last week the nursing home called to say they were sending Gene over to the hospital by taxi for x-rays. We know that this could not have worked unless Wendy was ‘on call’. Even so, the ordeal was nearly too much for Gene to handle. Hospitals are not good places for anyone to spend much time and are particularly bad for people who are mentally confused. We don't think we'll do that again unless there is absolutely no alternative.
Gene in 1977
People with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia often alienate themselves from family and friends because of their behavior. I have to keep reminding myself that Gene is Wendy’s loving mother and she can’t help herself now. It's not her fault. She has an illness which is beyond her control and she feels like she's locked in jail. I can only try to remember her as she was years ago. I like to recall the fun we had with her and Howard and the laughter and good times we all shared.
Click on the map to enlarge So for now we’ll keep moving back and forth. It’s only a one hour drive down a smooth, straight road and; at least for a day or two or three every week; we can escape some of the hassles of reality. After all, that’s why we bought the condo 15 years ago. Back then we sought ‘elbow room’ and an easy escape from those more rigorous realities of life in a larger city. Now we still seek the same things but in a different context. In the big picture, our problems are few compared to those of many other people and for that we consider ourselves very fortunate. . . .
This Fathers' Day weekend we were favoured by a visit to the condo by Erin and Jake. Friday night they arrived and Wendy and I hadn't eaten, so they suggested we go over to Stokes Bay. I coincidently had a coupon for half price chicken wings - so you know what I had. Saturday around noon, Andrew and his friend Brian arrived. Erin had fishing in mind for this weekend so we took the Phoenix out on Saturday afternoon to check things out.
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Andrew snickers at Erin's catch of the day. She says she caught this one four times.
Unfortunately there was a strong breeze which made anchoring or trolling uncomfortable so all we got was a jammed, stuck anchor (which we finally released with some damage to the anchor) and a couple of rock bass (released) to show for our efforts.At least we didn't have to cut the anchor loose.
The crew are on the bow of the Phoenix having a meeting about how to free the snagged anchor. Jake left, Andrew, Erin and Brian right.
Wendy to the rescue! Wendy instructs the crew on anchor retrieval techniques.
Damaged anchor will need to be welded. It took a lot of force to rip the steel plate, but at least we still have the anchor.
Sunday the weather was calm, so Erin headed out at 5:30 AM to fish by herself under the Bluewater Bridge, a traditional favorite spot for shore fishing. I caught up to her around 6:30 and cast unsuccessfully a few times before we decided to try another known spot. Guthrie Park is downriver and features the 'outflow' of cooling water from a refinery. The water is bathtub warm, attracting several species. On our second or third cast, using a small, ordinary red and white 'daredevil', we landed a nice 1+ lb. largemouth bass. Alas, the bass season doesn't start 'til next Saturday so we had to release him.
I'm sure this guy would have made a nice breakfast. Amazingly when we held him he was hot to the touch. I guess they adapt to the warm water. Two young boys were fishing here too and they told us that their bait minnows only last for three casts because they perish in the heat.
Later, after breakfast, we took the Phoenix out for a short tour of Sarnia bay and tied up to a public dock back close to the condo. This is the place we usually tie up to watch fireworks on the bay. Our position afforded a panoramic view of Sarnia Bay. While Andrew had a swim in the 60° F water, Erin and I explored around the spit and the river bank in the dinghy. This federally owned dock is called 'Winter Harbour' because it is where the freighters tie up when they can no longer traverse the St Lawrence system in January and February.
Later, while Erin was bottom fishing with dew worms in the shadow of our boat, I decided to try a few casts with a 4" spoon. Maybe there is a trout or a walleye lurking around. Anyway, Erin's line was just getting nibbled by rock bass that were eating all the worms. The other crew members were snoozing after a fine lunch of sandwiches that Wendy made earlier. It was a fine, sunny day and definitely the wrong time for fishing according to the experts.
I was casting with a very large ocean spinning reel and quite a heavy rod (that I use with the downriggers for salmon and trout) I was just about ready to call it quits myself when I got a strike. No way of knowing what it was but it was heavy and ran with my line. The landing took at least ten minutes as the fish pulled and lurched continuously. By now all hands were watching as I wrestled with the fish. As the fish finally tired, we agreed it was a Muskie.
I caught him on this lure with NO LEADER!
Apparently they are fairly rare for this area. Even in their known habitats, they are refered to as 'the fish of 1000 casts' because they are hard to catch. Although small for this species this specimen was still over three feet long and weighed 14 pounds. Fun to catch indeed. Everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend and fishing with my daughter made it a perfect Fathers' Day for me! . . .
Dirt on the eave troughs (gutters in USA) after cleaning out the winter 's accumulation of leaves, silt, and pine needles.
Today I rented a pressure washer to clean the siding on our house. I have tried before with my little electric toy with no encouraging results. The electric models may work to wash your car or lawn mower because they boast up to 2000 psi but where they fall short is flow. The volume of water, usually expressed in gpm (gallons per minute) needs to be high to do an effective job of removing dirt and chalk from aluminum siding. The rental unit boasted 1800 psi with nearly 3 gpm which makes a huge difference compared to my 1100 psi 1 gpm toy washer.
See the area where I have not sprayed?
Above, I left a spot to show the difference. You can see the area of chalky oxidation. With no soap, just water under pressure and lots of it.
My son Tim can reach higher than me without a ladder. Click a picture to enlarge.
Since we haven't seriously cleaned the siding in over twenty years, it was showing signs of deterioration but the rented pressure washer blasted through the layers and now the house looks great. We had gotten a quote of $2000 to wash and paint the house but now it's apparent that it doesn't need painting so we saved a lot of cash. The rental was well worth the $70 cost. These heavy duty models can cost up to around $700 or more so renting is the way to go for most home owners who want to get the job done right. . . .
Again, in the name of security, my life is affected as even my credit card company is forcing me to re-arrange my comfortable little world. It seems almost everywhere on the globe except the good old USA, (where most of this security crap started) credit cards are now being issued with so called 'smart chips'. (I think it's ironical that the country (USA) where security and terrorism are so high in the minds of the populace to the point of being paranoid, they opted out of the smart card in that country)
As far as I'm concerned, there was no real need to press security to this higher level but I'm sure that my reasons for not caring for this expensive and excessive security measure are far different from the powers that be in the USA . I have read that the crooks are already able to duplicate the ultra secure drivers' licenses and passport chips so I don't think they'll have any problem with these chips. Anyway, I don't really have all that much to lose on my Mastercard. If someone steals it I'm libel for only a maximum of $50. And then only if I don't notify them soon enough of a problem.
The irksome part of this new card is that one must memorize yet another PIN number. If that's not enough, you have to type in the PIN number on a little hand held keypad at the merchant's cash register. The first time I had trouble was at the Bulk Barn where I go to get my favorite dried mangoes. I forgot my pin number and had to use a different card to escape. The next time I was more severely inconvenienced was at the fuel pumps in our marina. I had to climb up the seawall, out of my little rubber dinghy, in order to go into the marina office to play with the little key pad. Normally the attendant would just hand me a clipboard for my signature and I could remain in the boat.
The more we come to depend on all this technology, the more we will be inconvenienced when it either malfunctions or an unforeseen situation arises. Give me back 'the good old days' when chips came with salt and vinegar. . . .
Our favorite waiter Colin over at Kelsey's told us that this might be the last week for the Half Price Wing Deal. With that in mind I ordered 16 Medium Hot for myself and then another 8 just to be sure I was full. Gosh, they are something to cluck about!
Now that the deck is extended past our bedroom window, we decided to get a quotation on having a door placed where the window was. The picture above is a Photoshop visualization of what it might look like when it's finished.
This year I attended the show as a spectator with my good friend Mike. We arrived bright and early at 8:30 am on Saturday morning. I had been worried that the weather would not cooperate but my fears were dispelled as the sun tried to burn away the morning mist. The slight overcast was great for picture taking as it avoided harsh shadows.
Partly because of my involvement in 'The Great Deck Project' and partly because I have no room in my garage, my '48 Oldsmobile was still at the condo and wasn't ready in time to de-winterize it and take it to the Fleetwood show. Last year Wendy and I took the Alaska cruise in the same time period so that makes two years that I have not been able to display the old Olds. Anyway, that freed me up for a better opportunity to explore some of the 3000 or so cars. If you click on any of the pictures they will go extra large for this series.
This 1942 Cadillac was in General Ike Eisenhower's personal car pool during the war.
Meticulous engine compartments are themselves like artwork.
When I was 15 this was the most expensive car imaginable. Built for royalty. (That's Mike on the right)
I love the old Morgans.
My first car was a '59 Morris Minor 1000 although mine was dark green and it was not a convertible like this beauty. I paid $4 for it from an English fellow named Arthur Britain. He only wanted to recover the price of the recently installed block heater. In 1965 newly introduced retail sales tax was 3%, I had to pay 12¢ at the license bureau. That's how the government slipped it in: "Oh well it's only 3%. How could that matter?"
Brian Salt (above) runs Salthaven.
I got to meet Brian Salt who had a display at the show. I knew all about his work because our daughter Erin loves to do volunteer work at this worthy charity. They rehabilitate all kinds of wildlife that people bring into the shelter. Click to read more about Salthaven.
Since the theme this year was 'American Graffiti', there was a Mel's Diner set up where the actors and personalities could sign autographs and pose for pictures. There was even a drive-in movie showing the famous movie on Friday night. Unfortunately the rainy weather caused some cars to become stuck and many had to be towed out. Mike was at the dance last night and he said they had to stop the band from playing because rain was leaking into the huge tent, dousing the entertainers.
Steve Plunkett's new salon was the a highlight of the show and it housed some of his most prized collector cars.
I love the old Studebakers...
Photos from the internet.
...even as a kid they reminded me of the 'Rocket Ride' at the market.
We ran into our 'Circle of Friends' friend Barry and here is his '37 Chev looking great as usual. Mike is looking in.
The pond was filled to overflowing from the rain. The banks were too soggy for the boats and Amphicars to get in and out so the displays were land-bound this year.
