This is Not a Beach

I've blogged before about my migraines and this past week was especially   bad; there were three days that I spent in bed, throwing up.  I have not been sleeping lately, so I know that's a huge trigger.  When I got off work this morning, I went for a walk, hoping it would help.  No luck.  Even though the mist didn't lift, it wasn't a bad day.
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.Although these shots look like they could be taken on a beach, they are actually taken on the banks of The Fraser River.

.I walked up a road, which actually serves as a dyke as this is a flood plain.
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I then entered a large field with one lone tree that stood by itself.  I wondered about this last hold-out and why it was left.
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However, despite my good intentions,  I came home, hit the  Gravoll and  only  laid  there,  staring   at the clock.  There's few things as frustrating as being really tired yet being unable to fall asleep and stay that way.  It's going to be another long work week.

Scene / Seen (Seeing Green)

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Not Dry at all.

"Dry," is another memoir from Augusten Burroughs, the author of "Running with Scissors."  In it, he recounts how his drinking caused problems for him early in his career as an advertising executive.  Although he had found early success, it did not chase away the demons of his youth.  After being brought into the office and being given "the talk," he was provided with  an option; rehab or unemployment.  While Augusten Burroughs may have had visions of a rehab centre populated by denizens from Fire Island, it didn't turn out that way.  His witty recounting takes us from "I don't belong here," to "How will I survive without this place?"
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Augusten Burroughs gives us a different take on the rehab experience in that he opts to go to a LGBT facility.  Sadly, many addicts in that recovery centre have a loathing of their sexuality to deal with as well as guilt over using.  Like others before him, he breaks one of the major tenants  of recovery and gets involved with somebody during his first year of sobriety.  He details how this sabotages his efforts.
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At the same time, his best friend is fighting a losing battle with AIDS.  How anybody, especially a person in recovery choses to handle such obstacles, is a focus of Burroughs' words.  Do we use it as a reason to opt out or do we use it to make ourselves better?
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This is a thoughtful, witty and entertaining read.

The Stray (Update)

Here's a Gif of the stray, who I suppose can't really be called "feral" any longer.   Unfortunately, I suspect she may be pregnant, which means I'll have to catch the kittens when they are old enough and bring them to the local shelter.  Since she's become comfortable with me, it shouldn't be an issue trapping her for a catch and release.   I might add that this is how I came to earn Schmutz as a member of the household.  

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                                                                                                                                                              She was a "Catch and Release" who was convalescing  at my home until the stitches healed.  On the day that she was to be freed, I opened the door, let her go and ....nothing.  She turned around and looked at me with utter contempt and disdain.  A super model being evicted from the Chateau Marmont couldn't have done it better.  Cats don't have eye brows to raise, but she managed to convey, "Bitch, where do you think I'm going?" just fine. 

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I have a couple of cats that were labelled unadoptable due to their feral status.  They  are fine with me, although shy with anybody else.  They'll  pull the "skee-dadle" as I call it, when others come over.  Seriously, if I were a drug dealer I'd fashion a special collar and affix  it to the cats, insert the drugs and let them go.  No  cop would  ever find it,  especially since so many of them seem to have allergies.    Plus, those cats have hiding places I don't even know about.

Scene / Seen

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I worked last night, but since the time changed, I used it to take some photos in the morning.

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The Fraser River is low at the moment.

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The moon was still visible in the sky.

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I spotted this guy going for a swim in the river and he spotted me.

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There were a number of seagulls flying around.  They got very agitated when an eagle came around, swooped down and stole a fish that one of the gulls had just procured. 

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The river was not moving at all and thus reflected the birds as they came in for their landing.

It's Now Been A Week

It burned all last night.  It's going to be gorgeous today and I pity anybody directly beside this place.

Scene / Seen

A Magnolia Blossom.

Since I was here the other day, somebody added a nest in the cherry branches.

These are the colours of a baby shower or Easter---pale blues, light pink and fuchia.

Gold was the traditional colour of CP Rail and gold was the colour of this morning's early light.

The old railway station still functions as a VIA passenger stop for The Canadian as it heads towards Toronto.  It also holds a museum.

A sign of the times.

Still Smoking....

When I wrote my blog two days ago  in regards to the smoke, it had already been an ongoing nuisance.  Because the wind shifted the other night, the stench was very cloying in my area.   I could even smell it in my garage as I set off for work.  It was burning when I drove in for my shift and spewing smoke when I went home in the morning.  It was the same thing today.  Here's some photos, set in H.D. so you can see just how pervasive it is.  I've also included the air quality reading from the Government of Canada.  Glad to see they're on top of it and reporting that all is well in the world.  Again, ask me  why I considered Air Care a huge farce and tax grab.   As I said, the air quality readings  are taken about a hundred yards up the street.  Today is supposed to be a very warm day, yet thanks to this nonsense, it's not possible to sit outside and enjoy it.  A good day to hang the washing outside?  Think again.  If you go out for a jog  you'll probably end up wheezing.

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This Stinks (Literally)

One of the local farms has been burning piles of wood for days.   Yesterday, the conditions were beyond the pale.  Anybody who knows me can back me up that I am not a scent-free fanatic. I enjoyed the movie "Safe" with Julianne Moore, but my read of her character was that her symptoms were psychosomatic.   I have a vast array of perfumes sitting on the counter.  I have no problem scooping up cat litter or dealing with people who have thrown up.  I lived on a farm when I was a kid, so cow poop fails to impress me.  This, however, is something else:

It's wafting over the town and can be seen from some distance.

It's actually worse at night, because it is allowed to smoulder and the air is heavier.  The smoke doesn't rise, but settles a few feet above the ground, like Tinker-Belle's slovenly, drunken alter ego.

I had to stop to refuel and from that brief encounter, my coat and hair reeked.

The sky above is clear and blue.  It's not mist or fog---it's smoke.

There's piles of burning trees that were cut down.  I actually made a complaint to the Ministry of the Environment, which I've never done before.  I have yet to hear a response.  I told them that this has to be hell for the elderly and people with breathing problems, as there are subdivisions in the area and this smoke, as you can see, is wafting all over.   This is a farm that makes claims on its web-site that it is organic.  If so, one would think that they would take better care to seek out more environmentally friendly means.  I guess it's cheaper for them, but what about the increased health care costs?   It's such a farce that the government has made us take our vehicles in for Air-Care, year after year, when there is no control over this sort of nonsense, for I see this taking place far too often in this town.  However, don't let them catch you having more then two pets.  I've discussed that by-law before.  That law they will report with a heavy hand.

Environment Canada measures weather conditions a few hundred yards up the street and as part of that, they list air quality.  Even though this burning has been going on for days, and the smoke is clearly visible and uncomfortable, here's what they posted:

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Low risk.

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I'll keep you posted if I get a response to my e-mail.

Scene / Scene

The above was taken on February 26.    It's unusual to have cherry trees in bloom this early.
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While the east coast is battling snow,  we've got pink blossoms on the ground.  There are actually Magnolia trees in full bloom this week.  They aren't usually out until June.
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The river is really low at the moment.

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There is a very low snow-pack on the mountains, which means we will probably have a very high risk fire season.

Scene / Seen

 

Patches Primping

What Are the Odds? (of finding Ollie in a Havana Brown video)

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I was not sleeping one day (yes, what else is new), and I was surfing Youtube rather then cleaning the house.  I believe in the existence of the Cleaning Fairy and I was awaiting her arrival, you see.  But, I digress.  Being the feline loving Cat Lady that I am, I typed in "Havana Brown" and up popped this video.  Imagine my surprise as I spotted Ollie---my Ollie---in the video.  It's not quite Hollywood, but I can write it down on his IMdB that he has been featured in an Indie Short Film.  That's him on the pink chair.  I'd run that photo on my blog a few years ago.  No wonder Ollie feels free to eat the furniture (see story below).  You know the saying about  actors that are true hams---they chew the scenery.  Watch out, Pia Zadora!

Who Needs Termites?

Ollie has been eating the furniture.
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I had noticed the corners of coffee tables and cabinets missing.  They were chewed, rather then bumped into.  I knew that I hadn't done it.

I realized what was happening one day when I caught him in the act, totally brazen.  I've got scratching posts and climbing trees situated throughout the house.  This has not  stopped them from tearing tufts out of the rugs, either.   Each morning I get off shift and find more piles.  It looks like somebody has not only sheared a sheep, but gathered the wool and bundled it into a ball of yarn.

So, not only do I have this shrunken down black panther living with me.  Now it's like a rabbit has taken up residence.