Month: November 2013

My truck

My truck

I bought this 1999 Mazda B2500 new off the lot in January 2000. The shell was added in 2002 and has been removed perhaps three times.

It’s a ’99 model and has been an extraordinarily reliable vehicle. Though it’s almost 14 years old it has around 132,000 miles because for much of its life it’s been the secondary vehicle therefore not driven as much. There are a few scratches yet is virtually no rust, still runs on the original clutch and tranny, probably needs a new power steering pump. Speaking of tranny it has a five speed manual linked to the 2.5 liter engine.

My major (and really only) complaint is that it’s woefully underpowered, which made merging onto IH-35 in downtown Austin an adventure in tooth-grinding as I wound the engine up near the read line simply to approach highway speed as the merge lane came to an all-too-quick end.

Having said that it gets decent mileage (22-25 mpg highway), is fairly comfortable for two people, and the stereo has no blown speakers so it still rocks. I do not permit the dogs to ride in the bed so two dogs fit somewhat comfortably behind the seat, which is where Achilles and Stella rode when I moved to Canada. Three can be stuffed in for short trips.

TX-Canada_Day1 009

We hope to get several more years of service from it.

New header photo

I like this photo of the wooden barn on Lambton Line so much I am going to use it as my header image for a while.

Squall

Faye and I set out to visit people a couple hours to the northeast. Just north of London we ran into this.

IMG_00000717

Previously texan still isn’t terrifically experienced never mind comfortable with snow squall driving so prudence (or perhaps an abundance of caution) dictated that we about-face and head back home. After backtracking about a mile we came upon a serious four-vehicle collision; since numerous people were already on the scene we drove on. Back home in Dresden, we are mostly in the clear with an occasional flurry so Faye is doing and hanging laundry.

Winter arrives

Winter arrives

It seems that the first true taste of winter will arrive today. A cold front came through yesterday and will be reinforced today, dropping the temperature throughout the day to a low of -5 tonight. Though we will not see the high side of freezing until sometime Monday or Tuesday, the snow squalls will stay to the east of us. Kendal will not care about any of this as long as the furnace works.

Almost lost in the fog

Almost invisible, this tree is perhaps 100 yards off the road. The bush beyond was a vague shadow.

image

A thought for today

Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. – John F. Kennedy, 35th US president (1917-1963)

Main Street, Dresden Ontario Canada

Main Street, Dresden Ontario Canada

A view of the main drag in our little home town, Dresden Ontario. The northern part of it is called St. George Street, and the southern part is called North Street (why, I have not yet learned).

This photo, taken on a kind of gloomy and quiet Sunday, belies the traffic we see during tomato harvest season, or on any busy weekday. Cars, tractors, transports, can clutter the street then. I like the cool mural, and the clock tower in the middle distance graces the municipal building. the clock chime still works and keeps good time; we can hear it on a calm evening at very close to the time our mantel clock chimes.

Dresden is less busy these days than during its heyday in the 1800s and the early 1900s. Like so many small towns in farming country in Canada and in the States, it’s trying to stay relevant, trying to keep people from migrating to and shopping in larger towns and cities. I think it’s doing perhaps not as well as some towns, better than others. Our grocery store is busy and almost vibrant. There is a good butcher a the edge of town. there are two attorneys, a good photographer, a Tim’s (of course), Bella’s (a very good place for lunch), a marvellous small Carnegie Library with extraordinarily helpful, personable staff, the ConAgra canning plant, the Esso station where brothers Dennis and Francis dispense gasoline and conversation, Burns Restaurant, Uncle Tom’s Cabin Historic Site, and much more.

Dresden is a human-scaled town. You can comfortably walk from anywhere to anywhere in town. People walk in the streets and drivers move over, hockey goals are set up in the streets, people wave at one another. We love living in our small town.

Stella at ease

When I sit down after getting home from work, Stella almost always asks for permission to get on the couch. Permission is almost always granted. If denied, she rarely pursues the issue.

image

Sunset

It seems that the entire universe is talking about Rob Ford, offering their opinion, blogging their outrage. So I will . . .

. . . say I am embarrassed and that I hope parents use him as an example of how to not conduct oneself. And that is all I care to say here.

This lovely sunset greeted me when I walked out to my car at the end of my work day. I zoomed in to the scene in another photo yet decided I liked this one more, liked the road angling through the image. Scenes like this are reason to give thanks to be alive.

image