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Good Morning.

Well she’s a cloudy morning here in Port Loring waking up. And by the looks of things we could get some rain as the day moves forward.

Which is fine with me as my lovely wife and I did manage to get our veggie garden planted the day before yesterday. And things could use a bit of water.

Highway 522 is very slow right now traffic wise which is normal for this time of year. It will pick up when things warm up a bit more.

Bug Report

The black flies are out in full force these days, which didn’t make planting our veggie garden any easier. They showed up right on schedule, same as they do every year, as if somebody sent them an invitation.

My wife wore a net, which helped her some, but they still manage to get at her. For myself, I never wore a net and never got bit. They annoyed my eyes some though, having to wipe them away so I could see what I was doing, but other than that they left me alone. My wife finds this entirely unfair, and I have to say I can’t argue with her on that one.

I kind of think, being as old as I am, I’m not as tasty as most other folks. Tough and such will do that.

One thing I do is… I use only unscented soap when washing my face, hands and hair, along with our clothes. That does help a lot. A black fly may be many things, but he’s not entirely unreasonable as if you don’t smell like a flower, he’ll move on to someone who does.

Another thing that helps is not to talk too much, as the carbon dioxide you give off from your breath draws them right to you. So for once, keeping quiet actually pays off. My wife may dispute that one though.

Anyway, they are here and will remain with us right up till Father’s Day. Consider it nature’s way of making sure we earn the summer.

On another note I did manage to get the grass cut around our property yesterday which will make things look nice for the weekend. There isn’t one part of our property that isn’t a picture in itself. No matter where I walk I have to stop and take it all in.

Today I am planning on planting a row of potatoes which will be tasty. I did order a couple fifty pound bags from friends of ours for winter, but I do enjoy a few that we grow ourselves earlier in the season.

Then, if the rain holds off, I plan on working up our driveway a bit, bringing the stone back up where it gets packed down from a summer and winter’s worth of driving. I’ve got an old blade I put together that I drag behind my old Roper riding mower, which works pretty good for what I need doing.

My wife says that old Roper mower is sexy. I told her, “Well yeah, she’s an oldie…but she’s a goodie.” Then I had to explain I meant the mower, not my wife.

My wife just stood there smiling at me. That smile right there is why an old feller can still get himself into trouble after all these years.

I told her she oughta put them tight fittin’ jeans on and sit up on the front while I am mowing. She smiled again, and I swear that old Roper started running smoother just hearing the idea.

Truth be told, that woman still got enough spark in her to make an old mower sound like a hot rod.

That old mower is over forty years old now and still runs good and cuts grass like a champ. Never complains, always starts up, and doesn’t ask for much beyond a little gas, some oil and the occasional kind word. You’d be hard-pressed to find a riding mower these days built that solid or lasting that long. They’d rather sell you a new one every five years, than build you one that goes forever. It’s a throwaway world.

With that I am off for my breakfast and then will see what the day has in store other than what I have planned. I make plans but the results,,, that remains to be seen.

In Closing: Keep Your Minds Open & Your Stories Alive. GW

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Good Morning

It’s a cloudy morning here in cottage country, but the good news is it’s not all that cold. Which is fine with me as I am looking forward to some front porch sittin’ with my lovely wife.

That said that porch sittin’ part might be cut short a wee bit, if them black flies gets to roaming around. But speaking of them black flies I have noticed a lot of the birds are back that enjoys them for their meals, like the swallows, bluebirds, wrens and the stripped headed ones. And once it warms up some and the dragon flies wake up after their long winters nap, they will clean them up real quick.

But other than testing human’s sanity, and trying to carry you away piece by piece, and being a ready-made meal for the birds, they do have other uses. One would be that the black fly larvae are one of the main foods for brook trout and rainbow trout which in turn is great for us fishermen, as it keeps them fish nice an fat.

They also produce a large amount of waste, or what I would call fertilizer which feeds a lot of plants, especially the ones that grows in the water like water lilies.

Another thing that many doesn’t know is that they are great pollinators and without them there wouldn’t be many wild blueberries or wild flowers.

The old-timers used to say black flies build character. If that is true, Northern Ontario should be producing philosophers by the truckload. However… looking around these days, I can only assume some people stayed indoors.

Highway 522 has picked up traffic wise, which tells me folks aren’t staying home because of the high gas prices.

On another note I did manage to get my old rotavator running the other day and got my vegetable garden worked up. It’s a lot different from the rototiller’s of today, as it really chews and turns the soil over fine… instead of just scratching it up. Different beast entirely. I have to say I sure do enjoy the smell of fresh turned soil in the spring.

And once it warms up a wee bit more, my wife and I will get to planting our vegetables that we have been nursing for the past week or so. Nothing like fresh veggie salads all summer long. Not to forget them toasted tomato sandwiches. Damn making me hungry just thinking about them.

With that I am off for my morning bowl of organic oatmeal, not the kind you buy in most grocery stores though, but the kind that I order in special, no pesticides… or ingredients that I can’t even pronounce, or begin to figure out how to write. Some will know what I mean… those ‘good things’ we’re told are perfectly safe for us to eat, because the powers that be always have our best interests at heart… or so we’re told.

Until the next time: Keep your minds open and your stories alive. GW