A very nice, very fun day

Well it has sure been a fun day. I was planning to take the day off work, since we get our birthday as a floater. But I was awakened at about 5:30 a.m. ... there was a fire call at a remote logging camp south west of town, so I headed out there. That was a challenge, but it's so quiet in the bush on a winter morning that I was able to shut off the truck and listen for the sound of the fire engine motor off in the distance and was able to find the camp. It was still dark and I didn't see smoke until the sun rose.
Got back into town around 8:15 a.m. just to catch the first e-mails from my EARLY April Fools gag that I put on Page Three and the website. What a hoot. We reported there was a new tax on text messaging and twittering. Well, what a commotion. The switchboard lit up at city hall and even the mayor took angry calls. A company rep from Bell Mobility called and asked up to pull the story since their call centre was backed up with angry callers. Then city hall put out a news release asking the other media in town to report that it was all a joke. So... that was fun. Even though the folks at city hall are mighty Peed Off at this fellow.
I called Jennifer but she was AT WORK today... yes, she is working! She has a temp job at the Revenue Canada tax centre in Sudbury.
Then my cell phone died, which was a good thing because I was getting phone calls and voice messages from friends who enjoyed the gag. Some were not so nice! LOL
But the nicest part was all the nice birthday wishes from people i got in emails today and on Facebook. Even my little bro Ronald left a message here on the blog, in a comment with the black and white photo right below this posting. Ha ha funny guy! LOL. Tomorrow will be another nice day. Hard to believe that Tyler is going to 11 years old! OMG...before we know it he will be a teenager!!!

Winter is still here.

I was out in the bush this morning. The sun was shining beautifully and thank goodness I remembered to put SPF on before heading out today. It was just a really nice day to spend time outside and appreciate the clean, fresh air. I have this photo in colour, but I like the black and white version as well. I think it convey's the message of pure outdoor fresh air in the winter.

A big March moon.

I noticed earlier this evening there was a big old March moon in the night sky, so I snapped a photo. Apparently, this was a super moon tonight because for some reason the moon is much closer to Planet Earth than normal.

Staying in touch...

Apologies for not dropping in here sooner. I have no excuse other than my own laziness, but March so far has been a busy month. I was hoping to spend some time with my grandsons, and take time off during March break. But the company cut those plans short. Last week was nice. I got a call from my friend Fay who I haven't seen in four or five years. She was visiting Timmins and so we were able to spend time together. We keep in touch via the Internet, but it's always nice to see somebody. The weather earlier this week was outstanding. The temperature was actually two or three degrees on Wednesday. Of course, I left the parka in the closet and pulled out a spring jacket. My fault. Today we have snow and minus 20 in Timmins.
I covered an interesting story this week where a local firm is now producing mining trucks, brand new ore haulers, and shipping them out to the U.S. It's a first for Timmins. Gold mining is still king in and around Timmins. We reported recently on how Detour Gold Mine is buying new trucks from Caterpillar. A lot of people don't think that mining contributes much to the economy. For new trucks alone, Detour is spending $125 MILLION dollars.
On the other hand, I also covered another mining death. I hate it when that happens. Timmins has been mining now for 100 years. In that time, there have been more than 600 miners killed in our mines. That's terrible! The funeral mass for the dead man is today.
I went out this week to celebrate St. Patricks Day. It was fun to run into the usual suspects that I only see once or twice a year. I hooked up with Colin Kilgour, a fun Irishman if there ever was one. I think I have seen Colin about ten times in the past ten years, and it's always on St. Patricks.
I got over to the bookstore again this week and picked up some new novels. Reading is one of my guilty pleasures. Last night I put on a pot of tea and zipped through about 160 pages. I also had time to play some Wii Tennis. Finally, I broke through the 2000 point mark! Whew, that was an effort.