Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Friday, October 23, 2009
Feral Pig and Pig
The Feral Pig", a good if not great story.
Feral Pig was detected in the fields and the woods along the Burntout
on Lussier's quarter by Pete when he was harvesting grain in the fall.
Pete asked Dad if he was missing Pig. Dad at first said "No!" but
upon counting the snoutlings back in the farm yard, found us to be one
short.
We took to the woods one Sunday in October or November and sure enough
we first found evidence of then we caught sight of Feral Pig. I was
unconvinced that Feral Pig existed that afternoon so when we found
Feral Pig live and thriving I was a little dismayed. Pigs generally
are a nuisance to handle and I was certain that one that had gone wild
would end up in a frozen misery by Christmas time. My own course of
action would have been to build a shelter for it and coax it back to
the farm yard with successive feeding over the course of weeks. The
half mile walk to and from the site of emancipation, hauling chop out
to Feral Pig for several weeks after school did not seem like a
welcome adventure at all. In fact Dad rigged a trap using chop and a
lasso which did the job in within 20 minutes or so. Feral Pig was put
into a pen in the barn away from the others until he/she turned back
into Pig whereupon he/she was returned to its litter mates and shared
their unenviable end.
Feral Pig did not actually spend the winter out of doors but the cold
nights that fall did mean Feral Pig put on a unusual growth of hair.
Feral Pig was detected in the fields and the woods along the Burntout
on Lussier's quarter by Pete when he was harvesting grain in the fall.
Pete asked Dad if he was missing Pig. Dad at first said "No!" but
upon counting the snoutlings back in the farm yard, found us to be one
short.
We took to the woods one Sunday in October or November and sure enough
we first found evidence of then we caught sight of Feral Pig. I was
unconvinced that Feral Pig existed that afternoon so when we found
Feral Pig live and thriving I was a little dismayed. Pigs generally
are a nuisance to handle and I was certain that one that had gone wild
would end up in a frozen misery by Christmas time. My own course of
action would have been to build a shelter for it and coax it back to
the farm yard with successive feeding over the course of weeks. The
half mile walk to and from the site of emancipation, hauling chop out
to Feral Pig for several weeks after school did not seem like a
welcome adventure at all. In fact Dad rigged a trap using chop and a
lasso which did the job in within 20 minutes or so. Feral Pig was put
into a pen in the barn away from the others until he/she turned back
into Pig whereupon he/she was returned to its litter mates and shared
their unenviable end.
Feral Pig did not actually spend the winter out of doors but the cold
nights that fall did mean Feral Pig put on a unusual growth of hair.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Changing Places-Ragged Edges
SJ (Joan) and I have been laying quietly in the hedgerow these past
months as we negotiate our transition in life roles. Focused is not
an adjective you might normally use to describe us but our daily
agenda is now tied to minute twists and turns over which we have
little control but which we intend to react to like a hunting beast.
And like a starving carnivore, we wait, smelling the winds, hiding our
confusion and stink.
We started disowning our house a little over a year ago when we
started talking to real estate agents. At that time the Regina house
market was a joy for sellers so we did start out with a for sale by
owner web site in August. We pulled back in the early fall and to
wait for another season as the "markets began to cool". The sudden
rise in house prices and shrunken inventory changed to over supply and
flat prices on approximately September 12 between 1:45 and 2:00 pm
give or take. By January the inventory was down again. We re-started
our for sale by owner selling in February and we were pretty
encouraged until mid March when we listed with an agent. Since then
the Regina housing inventory has been at an all time high. Again
we've had some interest but nothing that had the feel of a "DEAL" in
it. This process comes with some emotional ups and downs. Joan has a
10 minute, a 15 minute and 20 minute clean up the house routine so
when we get a call to show she gets into action. We have re-priced
the house to keep the momentum going. It does mean we have a little
less predictability in our home life, like how are dealing with
garbage disposal today. We are still very much Regina home owners
which is pretty good place to be as long as I don't think, "Why didn't
we do this a year ago?"
We'd like to have the house sold and be committed to another house on
the coast by this summer but we are now preparing for the possibility
of a fall sale or even a spring next year sale. We have been watching
the homes in Qualicum Beach and area closely since last June. We keep
a short list of 3-4 houses we might want to make an offer on so we
can make the location switch happen in a few weeks when we want to.
I have been re-assigned at work. It's like being given another job to
do in addition to my old one rather than just more duties. It is a
good thing that I was relatively under worked in the last 18 months.
(This is one of the advantages of hiding your stink.) I'm still trying
to duck the new assignment but it means I'd be down to half time at
work. This would allow me to keep my fat reserves in reasonably good
shape but we'll definitely be leaner income wise. Anyway I hear you
don't get a paycheck when you retire. Sounds harsh. Maybe living on
less income will be good practice.
At this point, if we sell the house I am planning to bail out of my
job, move within a month or two and get some kind of work in our new
location. But of course this is conditional so we keep the house in
shape to show and focus on our daily tasks all the while keeping our
nose to the wind.
I had a dream about having a great old car that kept breaking down.
It was an electrical problem. It was at a garage and couldn't go
anywhere until it was fixed. The mechanic took out the battery and
said it wouldn't be ready to go till January. I was really frustrated
because I couldn't go where I wanted let alone use this fine car. I
wonder if this dream has something to do with our life at this point??
months as we negotiate our transition in life roles. Focused is not
an adjective you might normally use to describe us but our daily
agenda is now tied to minute twists and turns over which we have
little control but which we intend to react to like a hunting beast.
And like a starving carnivore, we wait, smelling the winds, hiding our
confusion and stink.
We started disowning our house a little over a year ago when we
started talking to real estate agents. At that time the Regina house
market was a joy for sellers so we did start out with a for sale by
owner web site in August. We pulled back in the early fall and to
wait for another season as the "markets began to cool". The sudden
rise in house prices and shrunken inventory changed to over supply and
flat prices on approximately September 12 between 1:45 and 2:00 pm
give or take. By January the inventory was down again. We re-started
our for sale by owner selling in February and we were pretty
encouraged until mid March when we listed with an agent. Since then
the Regina housing inventory has been at an all time high. Again
we've had some interest but nothing that had the feel of a "DEAL" in
it. This process comes with some emotional ups and downs. Joan has a
10 minute, a 15 minute and 20 minute clean up the house routine so
when we get a call to show she gets into action. We have re-priced
the house to keep the momentum going. It does mean we have a little
less predictability in our home life, like how are dealing with
garbage disposal today. We are still very much Regina home owners
which is pretty good place to be as long as I don't think, "Why didn't
we do this a year ago?"
We'd like to have the house sold and be committed to another house on
the coast by this summer but we are now preparing for the possibility
of a fall sale or even a spring next year sale. We have been watching
the homes in Qualicum Beach and area closely since last June. We keep
a short list of 3-4 houses we might want to make an offer on so we
can make the location switch happen in a few weeks when we want to.
I have been re-assigned at work. It's like being given another job to
do in addition to my old one rather than just more duties. It is a
good thing that I was relatively under worked in the last 18 months.
(This is one of the advantages of hiding your stink.) I'm still trying
to duck the new assignment but it means I'd be down to half time at
work. This would allow me to keep my fat reserves in reasonably good
shape but we'll definitely be leaner income wise. Anyway I hear you
don't get a paycheck when you retire. Sounds harsh. Maybe living on
less income will be good practice.
At this point, if we sell the house I am planning to bail out of my
job, move within a month or two and get some kind of work in our new
location. But of course this is conditional so we keep the house in
shape to show and focus on our daily tasks all the while keeping our
nose to the wind.
I had a dream about having a great old car that kept breaking down.
It was an electrical problem. It was at a garage and couldn't go
anywhere until it was fixed. The mechanic took out the battery and
said it wouldn't be ready to go till January. I was really frustrated
because I couldn't go where I wanted let alone use this fine car. I
wonder if this dream has something to do with our life at this point??
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Looking Forward
I am now on the inside. The inside of a human institution that permits me to have an assurred income (as long as I play by the rules) till May 2008.
I still hurt though.
I still hurt though.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Pedestrian Snow Events
This has been a beautiful day in winter. I was out for a walk in
brilliant sunshine. Our house backs onto a uncared for public space
surrounding a drainage channel which is linked to a neighbourhood park
and then to a par 3 golf course. There are enough pathways in the snow
made by the collective footsteps of myself and my neighbours to make
the 40 minute outing easy going.
These temporary winter paths are like stories of recent undertakings
of people on foot. Drifts deeply cut with human tresspass;
footprints breaking through the skin of ice; dog tracks alongside bas
relief prints from the bottoms of industrial age footwear. I found
places where children ran knee deep sorties disturbing the eloquent
white space that may have awed them. There are steep icy slicks on
the sides of the channel where kid friends tickle their senses with
the help of gravity.
The dogs warm themselves by running full out along the trails and
then rubbing their heads on the hard packed snow.
If I hold my view downward for a long time letting the path skim by
while I walk, with the low angled sun on the edge of my vision, I feel
like I am in a trance. Its like I am in midwinter.
brilliant sunshine. Our house backs onto a uncared for public space
surrounding a drainage channel which is linked to a neighbourhood park
and then to a par 3 golf course. There are enough pathways in the snow
made by the collective footsteps of myself and my neighbours to make
the 40 minute outing easy going.
These temporary winter paths are like stories of recent undertakings
of people on foot. Drifts deeply cut with human tresspass;
footprints breaking through the skin of ice; dog tracks alongside bas
relief prints from the bottoms of industrial age footwear. I found
places where children ran knee deep sorties disturbing the eloquent
white space that may have awed them. There are steep icy slicks on
the sides of the channel where kid friends tickle their senses with
the help of gravity.
The dogs warm themselves by running full out along the trails and
then rubbing their heads on the hard packed snow.
If I hold my view downward for a long time letting the path skim by
while I walk, with the low angled sun on the edge of my vision, I feel
like I am in a trance. Its like I am in midwinter.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
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