WILL BE AWAY FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS...

Morpheus has forsaken me again, sticking around only 3 to 4 hours per night, then sneaking back at the worst moments during the day. If he was my husband, I’d give him a taste of the rolling pin. But he isn’t, so all I can do is endure and wonder why the mythical bugger has selected me (among others, I’m sure) for his shenanigans, and this ever since I can remember. I still haven’t found a reasonable reason.....

On Friday morning I’ll be heading to NB. The main purpose is to pick up Helen’s winter tires from her daughter’s house, but I will also take the time to visit my brother’s and nephew’s families. One of my sisters, who lives in Alberta but is currently at her lovely summer place in Perth-Andover, NB, is also on my list. The last time we enjoyed each other’s company was a year or so before Bird got sick.

The change of pace will do me good. The country down east is gorgeous, (I’m sure Nautikos agrees) and I’m looking forward to the drive and seeing all those wonderful people. Helen will stay here with the doggies. I have advised her daughter that I will be stopping by and she said ok. Those two ladies have not talked to each other since Helen moved back here. A pity; time is so short.

Because of the trip I will miss the baby shower being held for my grandson’s girlfriend. I can’t say I am sorry. I am not a ‘shower’ person, and have to force myself to attend when I can’t get out of it. I’d just as soon wait and give her a nice gift when the baby is born in late October; something she may be lacking to spoil my great-granddaughter. This new addition to the family will be christened Lena, an old fashioned but pretty name that one can easily pronounce in both official languages of this country.

I still haven’t completed the documents for the government. A letter arrived yesterday informing me that my file has been transferred to a representative of that formidable collection agency and damn! I’ve dealt with this particular civil servant once before, at which time I was neglecting most work while caring for Bird. We were not compatible then and I doubt very much it will be easier now. I’m already reinforcing the walls of my Happy Bubbles; I have a feeling he’s going to want to burst them wide open!

However, for the here and now our weather is perfect in my book. Soon we’ll be sitting around cosy, crackling fires while cheering on my HABS, who have reinforced the team during the summer. Sam’s Red Wings are in our division this year, so I imagine the texting during the games will be fast and furious, LOL!

Life is good, and one can’t help but SMILE. Sending our big, warm ones for y’all!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

CONTRARY TO MANY....

I hear people lamenting the departure of summer, and I remember how my brother and I looked forward to autumn and the winter. In spite of warm weather, swimming, biking and games of ball, spring and summer meant extra chores to be done. Besides the milking and regular feeding of the animals there was maple sap to be gathered and boiled into syrup, fields of vegetables (and I do mean fields) to be planted, hay to be brought in, pails and pails of berries and chokecherries to be picked, then hours of preparing bushels of the produce for canning.

When autumn arrived there was mostly just the orchard to clean, and school would begin. We both enjoyed school, probably more for the social life and access to the school library than the learning itself. We loved to read.

Autumn ushered in crisp breezes to encourage our burrowing under heavy blankets. Autumn meant Halloween – YUM! Our foster parents were not financially affluent by any means, and the chance to walk miles during the spookiest night of the year and fill a large bag with candy was a terrific event! Thanksgiving was also celebrated by a table laden with goodies; turkey, pumpkin and squash pies, homemade popcorn balls and every kind of cookie one could want. Visitors would be in and out, usually bringing other children to play.

Winter offered us skating, hockey and sliding, where we could spend more time playing than working outside because the fields were under snow, so no planting!! And there was Christmas, more goodies and excitement, the gifts a desirable extra...and last but not least, that holiday would bring our mom, who showed up to spend a couple of weeks vacation with us. With her we would visit relatives, cousins our age we would see only once a year, and our maternal grandparents where our half sister lived. We hated when it ended.

I do recall that our adolescence helped us appreciate summer more. By this time we were off the farm and living in town, so the last day of school was celebrated with appropriate joy. We had summer jobs, but that was nothing compared to the toil in the fields. There was tanning and beaches and crushes...oh yes, summer was much better then. I can honestly say my love for summer lasted until I had the children, and the first day of school once again reminded me how much I preferred autumn. The onset of menopause strengthened the preference; summer heat begone!!

I listen to the moaning every year on or around this date, and I nod in sympathy, but inside you will find me SMILING! Betcha I’m not the only one!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

AND HERE COMES BOB!!

On Saturday I went to town to do some errands, leaving Helen and her son at the house to complete laying the wood floor in Helen’s rooms upstairs. I arrived home to learn that, once again, the police had paid a visit to our corner. It seems that Bob was on the rampage. He was dragging his dogs around, on leash of course, and standing on the road in front of those neighbours who have complained about his antics, shouting obscenities and causing every dog in the area to bark. When he made it to my place, Helen’s son went outside and asked Bob if he was looking for trouble. Bob began shouting that he would call the police. I’m not clear on what happened next, but it seems that two neighbours did call Bob’s bluff and came up behind him. Words were exchanged, and the result was that the police were called and Bob is accusing one of the neighbours of hitting and knocking him into the ditch with a car. Helen said she looked outside and saw the man sitting in the middle of the hill yelling ‘Ow-ow-ow!’, but there was no car in sight. The neighbour in question, when talking to the officer, warned him that Bob was sick, and that he was hassling all of us, and denied the car story. He still has to go to court next month with a deadly weapon accusation. Crazy!

Yesterday Helen’s son, who knows both Bob and his brother Johnny, went over to attempt talking some sense into them. Luckily Bob was not there, so a quarrel was avoided, but Johnny didn’t help matters when he implied that I had started all this, that Bob is acting as he does because of my complaints about his dogs. Right! He made a huge mistake; everyone around knows how many times I have tried to reason with those men. We imagine that he is attacking ME because I am the only person whose complaint could actually cause him trouble. His dogs HAVE and still DO come onto MY land, I have pictures of the results from their fighting with my dogs, and so many witnesses of both that I could fill a courtroom. Helen’s son told Johnny to not even go there, and that he was fortunate I am an animal lover and therefore have been so patient.

During our short community ‘conference’, which was held at my house after the event, I remarked that both men seemed mentally unstable and that maybe this would bring them help. One of the neighbours ended the meeting by declaring that he could get a machine and help them move elsewhere, literally, house and all – that both the men and their dogs wouldn’t have to lift a finger, but just hang onto the walls as he picked up the house and moved everything away, lock, stock and barrel. We all laughed, but I can’t say that one of us disagreed with his idea.

In spite of the action, Helen’s floor did get finished, and she is hopping around like an excited child cleaning things up, placing the furniture, hanging pictures. I think she is finally feeling that she has a space she can call her own, and seeing her so happy makes me SMILE.

Sending them out to you all on the last day of this long weekend – hope they make your day just a bit better!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

ACCOMMODATE WHO?

In spite of living in the most controversial province of my country, I’m not into politics. I believe that the majority of people working in that field are there for their own benefit; their own pockets and power. Even those who enter the political arena with the noblest of intentions seem to end up a good example of if you can’t beat them, join them.

But believe me; I wouldn’t want to do their job. Part of my duties while working 10 years for a municipality required that I rub shoulders with more than one politician, provincial as well as federal. I realized that constant wearing of white gloves is not my thing.

I am not a fan of Pauline Marois, our present provincial leader, and her PQ party. However, I have to say that the Values Charter she has introduced has merit. I suspect you have heard about it – this legislation that would ban all religious items and clothing for those working in or for our provincial government. There is one thing I don’t like about it, and a commentator on a news article took the words out of my mouth:

Quebec was historically a Catholic territory with other minor groups of religions! Why is it then, that the Quebec government needs to legislate the removal of Catholic or Christian symbols from public institutions merely to accommodate other people whose country of origin is predominantly non Christian?

If I moved to a country where women were required to cover up, I would cover up. Their country, their culture, their laws. And I am certain their government would not bend over backwards to accommodate me.

I rest my case.

And because I really need to keep plugging away at this censored file I am trying to complete, I will send you big SMILES at get back to it.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

NOTHING MUCH

Hmmm – yes, well okay. This will be a post about nothing much.

I’ve found a way to avoid becoming very grouchy each morning when I am just out of bed, not yet had my first coffee, and the doggies are bouncing around demanding their walks because they have to...well, you know...go!! Before Bob and his shenanigans, I would just open the door and away they would run, then 15 minutes later they’d come back to a caffeine satiated mistress who delights in playing with them a few minutes before starting her workday. While waiting on the fence, which is not financially possible at the moment, a part of that reason being the huge vet bills after Grump’s fight with Bob’s dogs, I anchored a long chain on the cement footing of the gallery. Now I can open my office door and tie them out, one after the other, to do their needs. Their required walk is less immediate, and I have time to wake up before being pressured into action (which, for me, is like being poked with a stick) and my mood has greatly improved, so mornings are once more pleasant.

After last week’s hot spell, the weather has been perfect; lovely, warm days for our strolls outside and cool nights where one can snuggle under a comfy blanket and welcome Morpheus. He actually has been staying around longer lately; that also greatly improves one’s morale.

I have been working on a huge file that our greedy government wants by the end of this month. I doubt it will be complete, but I should be able to remit enough to satisfy the desires of our insistent civil servants, and I am determined that it be off my back as soon as possible. Truth be told, the delay is mostly my own fault. As I once mentioned in a previous post, I am having more and more difficulty in focusing on accounting; I definitely need a change of pace. However, for this one I must bite the bullet and get it done. I can’t afford not to. So I’ve had to put my Lady’s story on hold (although I do write some of it every day) with a promise to her that I’ll give it most of my time whenever this ordeal is ended.

Helen and her son are here again this weekend, still toiling, among other things, on the wood floor upstairs. We hadn’t realized that the toilet in her bathroom would have to be removed, as well as the vanity under the sink. It’s a whole new ballgame. Her son is able, but not a construction person by trade, so there is time lost with humming and hawing while figuring out how exactly the task should be approached. Fortunately I am used to renovations in this place taking forever, and Helen is slowly adapting to things not being done yesterday, and is able to joke around with the rest of us instead of getting uptight. We all relaxed around the BBQ this evening, and they are both in bed now, and I am heading there after I finish writing this.

And I’m done.

So I’ll send you as many SMILES as the airwaves can hold, plenty to go around and even share, and say goodnight.

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

DOGS, POLICE, AND RENOVATIONS

The neighbor’s dogs are still there – and Bob is again walking past the houses, mine included, that have animals which will, of course, bark wildly. Early Friday morning I had just come back upstairs from tying Smooch in front of my garage door when Grump, who fortunately was on the gallery, went ballistic, alerting me that something was not right. I looked through the window and saw the two mean dogs loose in my yard, and they were running up towards Smooch. I yelled, and raced back down, nearly taking a header off the stairs in my haste. The combination of Grump’s angry noises and my yelling and Smooch, who had no choice but to stand his ground and snarl loudly, made them turn tail and run home.

Enough is enough.

I had errands in town, and stopped to talk to the police while I was there. As I thought, they can do nothing, nor can I, if Bob is on a public road walking his dogs as long as they are leashed. As for their coming into my yard, I have to call the Municipality first, who would then authorize the dogcatcher, who will pick them up if they are still in my yard when he gets here... maybe about an hour later??

“I’ve had it, and they’re dangerous,’ I told the officer. “Am I allowed to shoot them if they come back?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. The law right now protects animals nearly more than humans.”

“Really?” I asked. “Well, then can I shoot their owner? I’d prefer doing that anyway.”

She thought I was kidding, so laughed and shook her head again.

The long and the short of it is:
- Complain to the Municipality and hope they do something, or
- Civil court, which could take years and cost a fortune, or
- Wait until the mean dogs do something drastic, call the police,and they can shoot if they think they are being attacked.
- Other than that – endure.

“Or a fence,” said the officer. I nodded. I have already been working on it. It will be expensive, but makes more sense than to keep spending for vet bills...not counting the daily aggravation.

Helen and her son were back Friday night. We picked up the wood and started to cover Helen’s bedroom floor the next day. We got enough done to set up my antique bed in there, so next weekend she’ll be quite comfortable. She is making that part of the house her own, and it’s nice to see her finally feeling that she belongs somewhere, especially since she hasn’t heard one word from her daughter since leaving NB.

I have been writing my Lady’s story (with help from my Blogit friends, for which I am most grateful) and also have a load of work to complete before the end of the month. In the second week of September I hope to go back to NB to visit my brother and his family, and to meet his little granddaughter for the first time. I’ll be driving down, and will stop to pick up the winter tires Helen left behind when she moved back here. That may be interesting.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying the activity (and challenge!), the beautiful weather, my mountains and my bush, and life in general. It makes me SMILE, and you know I’m sharing!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.

MORE ABOUT BOB

Well, well – the police did come to the neighbor’s (see previous post), but it wasn’t me who called them.

Bob continued his menacing walks with his dogs on Monday. Grump and Smooch barked to let me know he was there, then surprisingly stood silently while we watched the trio walk by. The demeanor of Bob’s animals struck me as odd too. Tethered at the end of long leashes, they were trailing slowly behind their master, and gave the impression that they would rather be anywhere but where they were. Not once did they turn their great, furry heads and look at us. Was there some kind of communication among the canines? Is that why my boys suddenly became quiet, respecting the embarrassing position imposed on warrior pets by a hard-headed human?

Because of the trees and bush between our properties, I can’t see into Bob’s yard. Sound carries though, and I heard his arrival at his house, and the loud, angry words exchanged with his brother (we’ll call him Johnny), then the yelp of an animal being hurt. My hackles rose. I waited, knowing that nothing would keep me from racing down there if more yelps were forthcoming. I cannot abide any person beating an animal. Fortunately a gate slammed (I guessed it was the one on the dog-pen) and the voices ceased. I didn’t see any of them again that evening.

It was 10 PM when the sirens and the slew of fast moving tires went by my house. I was in bed, and didn’t get up. It was just the next day that I learned that both police and ambulance had been at Bob’s. No-one seems to know the reason, but the neighbour living just behind them told me she heard Johnny wandering in the bush outside around her place quite late, before all this happened. He was drunk and swearing at his dogs, loudly and...damn, but those men are so stupid!!

Since the visit by the authorities, there has been no barking when I go out with mine. Bob’s dogs are either kept inside or no longer there. I’ll know soon enough which it is.

If I was ever granted 3 wishes, one of them would certainly be that not one animal on this earth (snakes included) would ever again be mistreated. Letting Nature take its course is okay, but humans would not be allowed to be mean or irresponsible. That’s a huge wish!!

As for the other two wishes...well, I haven’t decided yet, but one of them will be about SMILES!!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec.