Thanksgiving and sometimes, our thinking wanders off into wonderland…
Rotzy deals with a loaded question this week.
It’s Saturday 8:00AM….
….as I get into this week’s column, and the overnight/early morning showers appear to be clearing off and as we’re heading towards this afternoon they’re calling for a sun and cloud mix with a high of 15 or 16C. However, yesterday and the two days previous we’ve enjoyed wall to wall sunshine and temperatures around/just above 20C! Not bad at all as Thanksgiving approaches!! Then again, there’s Manitoba….and in particular Winnipeg (aka Winterpeg) and surrounding environs where they’ve been subjected to a storm that dumped 50 c/m of snow! which was being blown hither and yon by 100 k/m winds!! Much, much worse than Miz. Jo’s niece’s family reported from east of Edmonton about a week ago. And Manitoba’s weather woes usually continue on to Thunder Bay, hence The Big Turnip forwards them along the north shore or on a north-east route toward Nakina and the vast Municipality of Greenstone. In which case it’s pretty much a given that it’ll pick up steam (and more snow) crossing Lake Nipigon. Meanwhile, down here in Brant’s Ford, Rotzy’s biggests concern seems to be ‘what tyme will the sun appear today’? Methinks I’ll go with Noon. Sound about right?
Readers Write
It seems last week’s item (”An Omen”?) about yours truly and the abundance of ‘vultures’ in and around Brantford has stirred up some interest and I/we received a couple inquiries about it. Not to mention a question I’d never actually given any thought to (*see below). Firstly, I gotta clarify something….Miz. Jo and Rotzy are certainly ‘interested in birds’, various species, identification, their overall well-being, questions that may arise now and then (*see below) and cetera. So….SO….you see, we’re not ‘professional Birders’ per se, travelling to birding events all over the country/continent/globe in our Tilley*tm hats, Eddie Bauer*tm Hiking Shoes, Columbiawear*tm Jackets, toting Nikon*tm Cameras and Bushnell*tm Binoculars. Anyway, you get my drift?….we enjoy/like birds, but we don’t go overboard. Anyway, back to the reader’s question (*see above) and here it is….”DO BIRDS PEE”? Well, it done stopped Rotzy cold….Miz. Jo too!! I’m quite sure the reader didn’t know either. Of course everybody knows they poo….on your hood, on your trunk and especially on your windshield!! Those of you who remember Earl The Truck (my 1995 GMC Sierra) know what I’m talking about. Anyway, as always when I get in a ‘bird bind’ I go to our go-to guy up in Thunder Bay, Brian Ratcliff, who writes in the Chronicle Journal regularly and asked him point blank, His response….’NO’….’they get rid of their urine mixed in with their solid waste in one ‘package’ through their cloaca’. So there ya go….and don’t ever let it be said you don’t learn anything reading this “F/N” column!!! (Thanks Brian!)
Thanksgiving….
….will have come and gone by the tyme this hits the streets….unless your Thanksgiving is running on U.S.T…. Uncle Sam Time….although Unit #303 here at Harris Place is abuzz and smelling good even as I write this with Jo Ann tearing the whole wheat bread for dressing, adding onions, cranberries and secret herbs. The weekend plans call for us to eat/give thanks today around 6:00PM….turkey, gravy, cranberries, dressing, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, turnip, beet salad, rolls, a tomato juice ‘toast’, French white and/or red wine….and perhaps a pie for dessert, apple or pumpkin. Sunday’s menu is for (most of) the same stuff in what we call ‘one pan left-overs’, and by the way, Rotzy’s favourite. That will take place after an early afternoon visit from our grandson and his girlfriend and I’ll set out some nachos and salsa for them as they have a dinner to go to later. Son and daughter will join us for a Monday luncheon/bruncheon featuring a giant Turkey/Caesar Salad and garlic bread, along with some pickles, olives etc on the side. Jeez….Rotzy is feeling some serious hunger pangs as I’m clicking away on this….mainly because of Miz. Jo’s’ dressing? Anyway, we have plenty to be thankful for…..we hope that you do too….and here’s hoping that YOUR Thanksgiving turned out to be everything you wished it to be.
W.O.T.W.
This Word Of The Week more or less ‘jumped at me’, seeing as it’s now Sunday 8:30AM as I put the finishing touches on “From Nakina” for this week….and it also happens to be Sunday October 13th, not quite the same as a Friday 13th like we had in September, but it’s still the 13th, especially if you are among those who suffer from ”Triskaidekaphobia”….fear of the number 13. Yours truly has never gone in for that black cat and ladder stuff and I’ve no idea how many people deal with that particular phobia, but if you’re one of ’em, I/we hope last Sunday was uneventful/went smoothly for y’all.
Bad Day At Black Rock….
….is a saying (actually it’s a Grade B movie title from circa 1960) I use regularly in this space. Most often it would seem when an olde blues music icon/legend departs from planet Earth. It could also apply to a former football star, athlete or maybe a well-known actor/actress. But it could have numerous other applications that have zero to do with any of these I’ve mentioned. OK….I’ll give you a clue as to my current concerns….it involves food! Actually, fresh fruit to narrow things down….and as of last week, its unavailibility. I got the word last week from ‘my guy’….the produce department manager….that Niagara area peaches and nectartines are ALL DONE for the year!!! Put simply, in order to continue eating my favourite fruit and one of my fave foods, that translates to Rotzy having to put up with the very inferior crops from Chile, South Africa, USA and other places until late July/early August 2020!! So….SO….as I was scanning the aisles at Zehr’s last Saturday, I said (to myself) ”C’mon Toad….don’t be so damned fussy, go for it….they can’t be THAT bad”. Hence, I grabbed a couple (rather expensive) Chilean Nectarines, and a pair of ‘Tree Ripe Peaches’ from somewhere in the USA. Well, Uncle Sam has a different take on ‘ripe’ than Niagara growers do and it was kinda like biting into a rock, tho the taste wasn’t bad….actually it didn’t taste like anything. As to the nectartines from Chile….methinks I’m gonna let ’em ripen up for a day or five. Imagine. Stay tuned for a Rotzy Road Rage incident….or not….I ran outta space. Sorry for the rant.
*Thought Of The Day….In order to insult me, I must first value your opinion….nice try though.
