Chasing a fire

Well the news came out this week that Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources is suing CN Rail, claiming that it was sparks from a passing train that caused the big Timmins No. 9 forest fire in May 2012. It was a huge, huge fire. So I was looking through some photo files this week and I came across these photos which tell a little story. I remember the day the fire began, going down to Tatachikapika Lodge to get some pictures. The fire had started south of the Lodge and north of Gogama.

By the time I got there, during the supper hour, the fire was going strong. I could only get photos from a distance. Heading back to Timmins along Highway 144 I noticed there were scores of sideroads leading into the bush, west of the highway. Many were blocked. Most were not. I figured if I wanted to get some photos of the fire I would have to take a sideroad. So I just picked one, put on the 4-by-4 and starting driving west.

Soon enough, after about 10 kilometres, I knew I was getting close to the fire, but I was a bit worried about going too close. The sky was filled with thick, black and grey smoke. I pulled into a clearing where there was an esker. I climbed to the top of the esker to look around and get photos. Yes, the fire was just over the next hillside.

Suddenly there was a helicopter hovering nearby. Great! I started snapping photos and then the helicopter got closer. Guy inside was waving at me. I waved back. So then the chopper circled around and landed. You can see my little truck in the photo. The guy got out and he was angry! He was an MNR Conservation Officer and told me I had no business being there, to get the hell out. Once I explained I was with the newspaper, he calmed down and explained that the fire zone was being declared and no one allowed in the hot zone. So I got out. But I also got some nice photos.

Whoa! Enough pizza!

Here's the thing. Monday was a long day at work... one guy got sick, so I covered for him and didn't get home until about 8:30. Then Tuesday, another long day. A federal cabinet minister interview... but he was an hour late. So I was at the office, just wrapping up when I decided it was too late to go home and cook supper. It was 8:00 p.m. So I went online and ten minutes later I was picking up a fresh pizza! Excellent. Got home, opened a beer and put my feet up. Having half a medium pizza was just about perfect. Tonight, I got home and decided ... leftovers! Pizza, yeah! Let me tell you... I was hungry... but Jeez, having pizza two days in a row is enough, thank you. So now I am full, but I don't think I will be having pizza for awhile. Tomorrow, Mr. Noodles. That's another story!

RIP Uncle Joe and Uncle Sonny

It has been a rough week or so. I was saddened to learn of the deaths of two of my uncles. Uncle Joe Gillis died on January 9th, and Uncle Sonny Rostek died on the 15th. Joe was my Dad’s little brother and Sonny was married to Aunt Theresa, my Mom’s little sister. I remember both of these fellows so much from my childhood. The great thing about uncles is that they always had a smile and a kind word for their nephews. I remember both Joe and Sonny as a couple of guys who were always smiling.
I spent a couple of days in court this past week covering the sentence in a manslaughter case. It was so bizarre. Murder and manslaughter cases are like that. More members of the public should drop in at court to listen to what goes on. It is so real and so raw.

Last weekend was a hoot. Jennifer and Scott and Tyler and Nathan were all in Timmins as the boys had a hockey tournament.
They did very well and had a lot of fun. Scott and Jenn are incredibly dedicated hockey parents and I was amazed at the energy and effort it takes to do that. The best part was seeing how much the boys enjoyed themselves. I snapped a couple of photos of the boys. Ty is No. 91 and Nate is No.13.

Ten years ago...

Just to make things interesting, here are a couple of photos of Jennifer and her boys from Christmas 2004.

So, 2015 is here...

Well, happy January. This means I am entering my 9th year as a blogger. I am also on Facebook, but I am thinking of gradually getting away from it. In a word, Facebook has become just plain stupid. It’s not that people don’t say interesting things, it is just that there are too many others that react so stupidly. Enough ranting.
I had a fabulous Christmas holiday at Jennifer’s place. It was just so nice and relaxing and it was great to spend time with Jenn and her guys. The boys are amazing. They’re turning into men and I am pleased to see that. Yeah, they’re still boys in some ways, but they are pretty cool young guys too. I am amazed at how tall the boys are. I got a real kick out of getting up early Christmas morning, only to find the boys were up ahead of me and making coffee for the adults!
Also on Christmas, we did a Skype hook-up with Don and Denise in Florida. It was the first time I have seen Skype and I was impressed. Jenn and I also enjoyed a great phone call with Neil in Vancouver. We were going to do the Skype thing with him also, but with the time difference and the schedules, it just didn’t happen.

Christmas Day was excellent overall. Jennifer is outstanding in the kitchen and I am always amazed at how organized she is. Of course she was enjoying herself too. Now that she is in school full time, her days normally start at about 6:00 a.m. so she really enjoyed the time off.
Driving back to Timmins last weekend was nice at first as the roads from Sudbury to the Watershed were mostly clear and wet. After that, the snow started and the highways were crap. I just took my time. It took nearly five hours to get to Timmins.
This past week has been enjoyable as I had time off. I am totally relaxed and ready to begin the new year. I was invited to a New Year ’s Eve party and it was nice. It was basically the Timmnins media crowd. Taylor Ablett from Moose FM was our host. It was a good time to brush off the kilt and celebrate in style, which I did. I was not much in the mood for drinking, so after two drinks in six hours, I was the driver for the others. It was kind of funny to watch people transform themselves when they are partying. I am glad I was able to get folks home safely. I got home around 3:00 a.m. poured myself a nice glass of Scotch, sat down, did some reading and went to bed. I slept till 10:00 a.m. and then I had to get up. I was starving. LOL. Breakfast was porridge and strawberries.
This will be a good week. Jenn and her men are coming to Timmins next weekend for a hockey tournament. It’s going to be excellent to see them again.
I have attached a few photos. These include Tyler and Nathan by the Christmas tree, I always get a photo of the boys on Christmas morning. There’s also a few shots of Jenn, making coffee, shovelling the slush and talking to Buddy. There is also a nice night shot of Scott and Jennifer by the bonfire.

Sunny Timmins...

We had really nice winter weather on the weekend. I was out by Gillies Lake and snapped a photo. Enjoy.

Relaxing ...

Tomorrow is my last day of work before taking a few days off to relax, with Jenn and her fellows. It will be nice. Good news! I bought a new book a few days ago to have something to read while relaxing. Bad news. I have been reading all weekend. Maybe about 60 pages left. I will finish the book tonight before bed time. Good news. I finally got all my shopping done and even have all the wrapping paper. Bad news. I have to pack tonight/tomorrow and I am doing laundry right now. Oh well, got to run ... things to do.

Commenters. Ugh!

Commenters get under my skin. I am talking about those people who feel they have to have insert their clever witticisms on just about every internet news story. I say this because I am a person who reads everything I can about a subject, often in the pursuit of new information. This means I regularly browse the Internet versions of the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. They usually have the best reports on breaking news stories. But they also have some of the gawd dammed stupidest commenters I have ever encountered. Over time I have come to notice that many of these folks are repeat commenters who seem to feel the need to add their two-cents to every issue. Back in the day, it was always interesting to read the letters to the editor where people would submit thoughtful and meaningful opinions on a news story. Not anymore. What's worse is that the comments quickly stray from being about the original issue into petty pissing matches between different commenters. It is a shame. These people are collectively making our society appear so stupid. I guess this is the price we pay for free speech.

What's with winter?

Winter is definitely getting milder. I live in Timmins, so I can say I know what winter weather is like. Or at least what it is supposed to be like. I remember my teen years in North Bay, when I worked in the two weeks before Christmas as a letter carrier's helper for Canada Post. I did that for a couple of years, while in high school. I remember those December mornings as being bitterly cold. I actually got used to it and took some strange pride in being able to endure freezing weather. I moved to Timmins in the early 70s and I remember those winters as being brutally cold. I was out and about today, the wind was blowing hard and it was snowy and drizzly... but the temperature was only minus nine or ten. I didn't even put my toque on. When I got home I noticed that I was wearing my fall coat. I have worn my parka less than seven days so far this winter. Anyway, winter is here. It has been mild so far. But thank goodness for Christmas ... it's a chance to spend time with the important people in your life regardless of the weather.

Bad Habits

One of my bad habits is parking myself in front of the television to watch a Netflix series. I did it this past week with the Marco Polo series. It was good television, good acting and best of all, a cast of unknown actors. I think that makes the story telling a bit more interesting when you're watching a whole new cast of actors that you haven't seen before. So yes, it is a good TV series. Good stories... but I haven't done any housework for a week! And my laundry is piling up. But I have a greater appreciation for Chinese history and the Khan dynasties. Genghis and Kublai were interesting fellows. Check it out.

I talk too much

Yeah, I know. I talk wayyyy too much to people. I think it's one of the good things about Timmins, and not so good things. Ha ha ha. I left the office at 6:00 p.m. but I bumped into our city editor having a smoke at the front door. We chatted and before you know it, 15 minutes had passed. So I scooted over the YIG to pick up a couple of things. I got cookies, Jos Louis cakes, crackers, and stuff for soup. And I bumped into people at the store, so yeahhh, we yakked and yakked some more. Then as I was checking out the cashier felt like chatting... so there we were, smile and nod, smile and nod. I finally got away about 10 minutes later. There was no one else at the fast-lane check out. I got home just a short while ago. Put on boiling water, chopped up carrots, celery, added spices, barley and added the Campbell Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato broth. Looked at the clock. It was 7:48!
So now I am having a drink and waiting for the soup... I guess it will be just right in about an hour.
So I have a new toy in my vehicle. I purchased one of those dash cams. I have been researching them for about a year and finally Garmin came out with a nice affordable model. $200, on sale of course. It has HD quality, records excellent video day and night, and comes with a built in GPS and speedometer. Also, in a crunch, I can disconnect it from the dash and use it as a news cam.

In other news, I got back into my e-reader these past couple of weeks. Oh my goodness, I am reading a Giller Prize winning book ~ The Book of Negroes. It is riveting. I can barely put it down during my morning coffee so I can go to work. Wow, what a book.

Happy with Sorels

I have spent most of today looking after my winter boots. We have snow on the ground in Timmins and so I know the day will soon come that I have to wear my favourite winter boots, my Sorel Caribous. I am pleased to say I am on my second pair. I purchased my first pair back in the 1970s and they were excellent. I had some travels in the Arctic and my boots always keep my feet warm. Then in the 1990s, while living in Sudbury, our dog Brodie chewed them up one day. So I had to throw them out. For a few years, I figured I could get along without them. I had a couple of good pairs of hiking boots that were warm and waterproof and so that was fine. One day I was in a store and saw a nice new pair of Caribous on sale. It was spring or summer. So I scooped them up. Some years later I learned that Sorels were no longer made in Canada. The company was bought by Columbia and so now the boots are made in China. I was so pleased to see that my old boots are Canadian made. I'd like to think that is one reason why they've lasted so long. Also, I treat the boots each year to some cleaning, some TLC and a coating of beeswax. So once again, another winter with my toasty Caribous. I may look like an old farmer, but my toes will be warm.

Pictures worth taking ...

Every now and then I see something that begs for a picture to be taken. That's how it was this morning when I was out shooting photos in the aftermath of the first snowstorm we had this season.

New Whisky

Whisky is whisky is whisky, right? Nooooo! Whisky is like your moods. They're always different. Some weeks I don't have a sip at all and other times, I just crave the taste. So I was in the LCBO this week, looking at different whiskies when I noticed that Wiser's had a new product. Now I enjoy Wiser's Deluxe, which is a nice drink.

So I figured this new Wiser's spiced brand would be worth a taste. Oh my goodness... it is fabulous. It has a distinct toffee taste, which is easy to enjoy. So I am thinking this would be nice, over ice, with a splash of Bailey's... Wiser and Bailey's... I will call it a Blazer!
So be sure to get the toffee blend... dont' confuse it with the vanilla.

Ontario throwing money away ...

Can't figure out why our Queen's Park Liberal government, with all it's so-called financial hardship, can afford to give $85-Million to help the Honda corporation to upgrade its new car plant in Southern Ontario. So we can give $85-Million to a foreign car company but we can't help save Ontario Northland railway? I don't see where there is a worthwhile return on investment for Ontario. Honda has world-wide sales in the $billions. And Ontario is giving them money to improve their engine technology? If we are investing all that money, will Honda give us a piece of their sales?

The lake looks good...

If you haven't been out by Gillies Lake in Timmins recently, the newly completed promenade boardwalk looks pretty nice. I like the fact that our city has such a nice lake right in the heart of the community and the fact that so many people like to spend time there. Hmmmm, I wonder how things will change in ten or so years from now when the open pit gold mine becomes the new Hollinger Lake.

November is okay

I like November. Lots of interesting things happen, or have happened, in this month... I wonder why I only wrote one item in this blog for November 2013. Well I remembered that November is Ronald's birthday month. I think as a kid he always got cheated out of at least one Christmas gift because of his birthday. November also has Remembrance Day, which I always take so seriously. Actually I began wearing my poppy a couple of weeks back, after the attack in Ottawa. November is also the month that commemorates the death of President Kennedy. I will never forget that day. I also remember watching CNN the day the Berlin Wall came down. Wow, what a change in the world that day. November is also the month that took the Edmund Fitzgerald, made popular in the song by Lightfoot. The ship sank in Lake Superior in November 1975. I knew a reporter at the The Globe and Mail who covered that story. He remembered wondering why so many people were astounded at the loss of such a huge ship until he went to Lake Superior and saw for himself how horrible the storms could be.
On a somewhat more happy note, I made a pan of apple crisp last night. OMG it is soooo gooood. I hadn't made one in months, but I was out shopping Saturday and the store had put up a huge display of apples. So I bought a couple of pounds of nice Courtlands. Also instead of adding cinnamon I added allspice, which was quite nice. Had some with my breakfast coffee ... soooo goooood!

Keeping a promise...

Some time ago, in conversation with a local police officer, I made a promise. He mentioned that with the Internet being so active, it was getting to the point that we newsies were getting too fast with our reporting … as it relates to auto crashes. Now crashes are not a big deal, but we cover them and get back to the office and get the photos online quickly. Usually it has something to do with bad road conditions, or a storm, and so we will advise readers to drive carefully. Here’s the thing – In a small town, we would get the photos online very quickly, sometimes in 15 or 20 minutes. So a traffic cop asked if we could slow things down a bit… maybe wait an hour before putting the pictures up, because family members tend to get all frightened, upset and worried if they see a car they might recognize from a crash scene.

So okay, that’s reasonable. So I said yes, I will now wait a full hour before putting up crash photos. Sure enough, we had a crash today involving a car and a wheelchair. And I waited an hour, thinking … somebody knows somebody who owns that wheelchair. I hope no one was alarmed. I hope the guy is okay.
But I gotta tell ya, if you know somebody is flying to Timmins and their plane crashes, and I get the photos, well, sorry, I won’t be waiting an hour…

Back on the books ...

I took some time away from reading these past few months because I was busy and got to enjoying some Netflix and Roku. But now I am back into the books, and a had to warn myself this week to be careful. I am such a cheapskate... But when it comes to books I forget that. Just checked my credit card account and discovered I have spent nearly $40 in the past three weeks on e-Books. I will have to back off a bit and wait.
Oh, Jenn told me about her espresso coffee choices recently when I visited. She offered me a Keurig espresso, but I declined, figuring it would be too bitter. But last week I bought a box of Keurig espressos and they are grrreat! Usually in the early afternoon, I can scoot home to grab a sandwich... So this week I have enjoyed a few expressos and they are fabulous! Just sayin'

just so sad

Timmins fellow on CBS 60 Minutes

It was fun this week to see that CBS 60 Minutes did a story on Shawn Ryan, a prospector living in the Yukon who has become a millionaire for his ability to find gold.
http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Scoop-60-MINUTES-on-CBS-Sunday-October-19-2014-20141017 In this article about Ryan, CBS labelled it a scoop! Here is the TV link.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gold-rush-turning-mushroom-hunting-into-gold-in-the-yukon
Sorry guys, Ryan is a Timmins fellow and we did a story on him back in May 2012. He was honoured by fellow prospectors in Timmins and was unofficially dubbed King of Klondike. I even snapped this photo of him and wrote up his story. Just so you know Ryan cut his teeth with prospecting crews here in Timmins before moving out west, where they told him there was no more gold to be found in the Klondike. As any good prospector knows, the best place to find a new gold mine is right beside an old gold mine. No wonder the fellow is filthy rich!

Voting is so easy now...

I voted yesterday. Yes, it was advanced polling for the October 27th city election. The cool thing was that I was able to vote via the Internet. I am glad Timmins set this up and I suppose this is the thing of the future. It took about five minutes, with various security checks built in, and then the ballot was right here on the screen in front of me. I like how convenient it is to stay in tune with democracy. I hope this idea appeals to more young people.

A nice time ...

I am back in Timmins after enjoying a very nice couple of days with Jennifer. The boys went south to spend the weekend with Victoria; Scott was out to catch the first weekend of moose hunting and so Jenn and I did a nice quiet Thanksgiving with a couple of bottles of wine, turkey, stuffing, cake and even movies. Heck we even got a chance to go out to dinner. We went to P & M's to check the latest menu and were pleased to run into Junior. It was great to chat and get caught up with him. The funniest part was when the young hostess was bringing us to the table. She made reference to the idea that we might be a dating couple. I laughed and said “I'm her Dad!” I reassured Jenn that she didn't look older at all. If anything, with her nice new hair style, she looks younger. I figured with my newsboy cap and cashmere blazer, I looked a few years younger. I took it as a compliment. Anyway, it was a very relaxing weekend. I stayed in the Nathan Suite as usual and slept great. Jenn said she woke early on Sunday and could hear me down the hall, sawing logs. I never heard a thing!
Jenn is up to her elbows in school work. There are days, she admitted, that the workload is hard, hard, hard. But she continues to get good marks ... because she studies hard. But she is also smart, smart, smart. So I have much confidence in her.
The boys are also doing very well in school. I am so proud of those guys. So this is good. I am thankful.
The drive back north was very relaxing. I pulled off in the bush for a nature call, but I didn't drive too far. There were hunters everywhere. I also got a photo of the train crossing at Windy Lake. A northbound freight was pulling a huge train with five engines. I like trains. I took pictures.

So don't read it

I have spent the last 20 minutes reading Christie Blatchford's stories in the National Post about the Luka Magnotta trIal. If you don't know who he is, nevermind, you really don't need to know. Here's the thing; Magnotta is a monster. He cannot possibly have a human mind to do the things he is accused of doing. Magnotta killed people, chopped them up and then mailed out the body parts. He also videotaped much of what he did. So Blatchford has reported the courtroom icky stuff in detail. Anyone who has spent time covering court knows they talk about all the yukky stuff in court, the terrible things people to do other people. What is upsetting to me is that so many people read this stuff and then criticize the newspaper for writing about it. Well, excuse me. Anybody with a clue is going to know what the Magnotta trial will be about. If you're upset that it is being written about, THEN STOP READING IT! Put the paper down, and go for a walk. Call your kids. Pick your nose. Do some housework. But don't waste my time or tempt my bloody good nature by complaining. We live in a free society. That's means we have a reasonable amount of academic freedom. People can discuss things and write about them. It's the price of democracy. Live with it.

Catching up

So October is here. And Spring is on the way! Yeah, yeah, we all know that we’re in for a tough winter, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. May as well look on the bright side and look forward to Spring. I was out on the local hiking day event and we really can’t complain. The weather has been amazingly mild … or maybe I am becoming more tolerant of the weather. In Timmins in the fall, one has to dress in layers, depending on the time of day. Walking out to the car at 7:30 a.m. you need a heavy sweater, maybe a jacket… or a heavy blazer. Toward noon, you can start shedding layers. By mid-afternoon, it is shirt sleeve weather and by 6:00 p.m. time to reach for the jacket again.

We had some excitement last week when a Beech King Air came in for a belly landing at the Timmins Airport. The incident was good for a few stories, but it boiled down to an electrical - mechanical problem with a wiring harness gumming up the front landing wheel. The wheel was only partially down when the pilot came in for the landing.

I managed to get a half decent photo of the plane speeding along the runway just before he touched down. The good news is that the two crew and seven passengers walked away without a scratch.

Had to write an obit a couple of weeks ago about an old friend. George Delich, the district chief of the Schumacher firefighter brigade died. I know people always say nice things about people when they die, but George was one of the truly good guys. We chatted a lot. Whenever I showed up a fire scene, he always had a smile. He was a former teacher and principal, a community volunteer and still an active firefighter. George was 79. I am going to miss him.

A Timmins icon

Timmins celebrated something interesting this week. They re-dedicated the last surviving original version of the Hollinger House, one of the hundreds of company houses built by the Hollinger Gold Mine back in the 1920s to provide homes for miners and their families. The houses were truly an icon of the Porcupine gold mining camp. Over the years I have met many people and families that grew up in these homes. For my Cape Breton cousins, they might be interested in knowing that the famous CB fiddler, Buddy MacMaster, was born in one of these houses back in 1924. His family had moved to Timmins where his father was employed at the Hollinger mine. The family lived at 14 Messines Avenue.

Just some cool things ...

A couple of cool things happened this past week. The RCAF Snowbirds dropped in at Timmins airport to get some fuel. They were heading back to their home base in Saskatchewan. So I grabbed a few photos. While they were at the airport, they startled some Canada Geese, who were on their southbound journey for the winter.

No more turtles

Okay I have stopped buying Nestlé water and eventually I will stop buying their food products as well. No I am not some wild-eyed foodie protester, but I will carry on my own little boycott against Nestlé. There has been a lot of publicity lately about the Nestlé Pure Life water products, something I would buy just for convenience sake. The company is now promoting the total commercialization of fresh water sources, not just in Canada, but everywhere in the world. I believe that is wrong. I believe water belongs to the government; the people. It should not be sold off to multi-billion dollar food corporations. I am not making this up. Nestlé wants to take over the world water supply.
So here’s the problem. Nestlé own so many companies I am really going to have to do research on what I should NOT be buying. Okay I have stopped buying Pure Life bottled water. But the company also owns Perrier water, Pellegrino water, Acqua Panna water, Montclair water. So yes, these were my favourite brands, but now I will change. I still buy bottled water for the convenience … but I will buy the ordinary house brands, once I am sure they’re not Nestlé owned. I also re-bottle my own tap water through a Brita Filter.
My other concern is that this company has gone into third world countries to buy up huge parcels of land, simply to take advantage of the “water rights” that come with the land. Nestlé then sets up pumping stations to suck out all the underground water reserves and this often leaves local wells to dry up. Farmers suffer. Community wells run dry. But Nestlé is happy to sell them back the water in convenient little bottles. I think that’s wrong. So there is not much I can do except refuse to buy their products. Sadly this includes plenty of other things I like such as Kit Kat bars, Nestea ice tea, Delissio pizza, Coffee Crisp, Aero bars, Smarties and Turtles! (Sorry Jenn).

Eating well ...

Jennifer speaks often about the importance of eating well, especially fruit. I grumble sometimes but I usually listen to what she says. I had her words in mind when I was at the LCBO lately. There is a very nice tasting "desert beer" called Wells Banana Bread Beer. It is made in England. It is quite tasty, is not bitter, and has a very pleasant aftertaste. This is not the sort of beer you will quaff while ice-fishing or watching a hockey game. This is what you will enjoy with a nice warm piece of chocolate cake with a sweet icing. So yes, when it comes to eating well, and drinking well, there are many good choices.

* * * * *
Had a very nice chat with Neil this past week. He is changing jobs. He was quite excited to tell me he is taking over a new restaurant, a fine dining pizza place if you can imagine. I checked it out here. It was even recommended by the Globe and Mail food critic. Well, la dee dah! It is in the same Gastown neighbourhood as Steamworks, and so it is easy for him to get to work. He seemed quite pleased with the change, especially since they came to him with the offer.

Music music music

I am quite proud of the fact that Timmins is home to the TSO. Yes, that is the Timmins Symphony Orchestra. I know nothing about music, except that I know what I like and what I listen to. One of the best things about our city is that we have the Timmins summer concert series, where local artists are featured every Wednesday night in the summer. The final concert of the season was last week. What a show! Starting off was an incredible performance by jazz pianist Seve Kessler, who now lives in Timmins.

Yes, this is the same Steve Kessler, an American jazz artist, described by critics as a piano prodigy. Kessler was accompanied by friends playing a violin and a saxophone. He was followed by the TSO under the direction of conductor Matthew Jones. If you missed it, I won't make you feel bad by telling you how good it all was. But yes, it was so worth it to put up with a bit of a breeze and a few raindrops.

Anyway, I am thoroughly engrossed with Jazz these days. Last night I did a bit of research and found some recordings online of a fellow named Stan Getz, an incredible saxophonist. Listening to his music is like eating chocolate cake... you just can't get enough!

Picnic at High Falls on the Grassy

So I am back at work today (Yes, I KNOW it's Labour Day). Back in from a week of vacation time which I spent in Timmins. It was nice to sleep in each day and luckily we had some nice weather. Sunday was the perfect day to head out to High Falls on the Grassy River near Timmins. I had a picnic there with my friend Maggie and her daughter Willow.

Too often we ignore the nice things we have in the North and I am amazed that it hasn't been that long since this whole area was first explored and settled by the early prospectors.  Getting to High Falls takes about 30 minutes of slow driving on back roads. It was a real treat. The water was low since my last visit in early June when the river was running fast and very high.

In praise of cast iron ...

It has been about a year and a half now that I have been enjoying my cast iron fry pan. Some visitors have expressed surprise that I no longer have any Teflon pans in my home. I was pleased to show off this week when folks were at my place for omelettes. Using my big pan, which is now perfectly seasoned, I was able to make excellent omelettes without anything sticking to the pan. The same goes for steaks, chops, burgers, raw veggies and even grilled cheese sandwiches. And it's perfect for frying fish. Cleaning up is easy. I have a couple of stiff brushes, some hot water and then wipe it clean with paper towels. When I cook fish or eggs, I usually throw in a bit of baking soda and vinegar, to kill any lingering odors. Rinse with hot water, wipe with paper towel and then half a teaspoon of oil to season the pan.
I noticed that the Lodge Company, which makes my favourite pans, has released an updated video about cast iron cooking.
It is worth taking a few minutes to have a look.

This is important because I have read that in some parts of the world, factories using any kind of recycled metal to make up cast iron, including old lead.

Northern lakes are so refreshing

I have been nursing a bit of sunburn in recent days, but I think it was worth it. I have been prone to burning ever since I was a kid, but these days I feel it more. I don’t have enough hair to keep my scalp from burning and last night I had to soak my head with cold water for relief. I say it was worth it because I spent a day at Bigwater Lake, just north of Timmins. The water was clean, fresh and oh so cold. I find the best way to beat the heat it to jump into a northern lake. I had put sunscreen on my shoulders and face, but forgot the top of my head. Anyway, if the hot weather continues, I am heading back to the lake.

Just some photos from this summer in Timmins...

A woman, Lynne Bouchard, was the captain of a winning mine rescue team.


The Mr. Schumacher statue was nicely repaired and cleaned up.


Entrepreneur Jon Bonney set up a wakeboard ride on Gillies Lake.


Gillies Lake, just a nice place to hang out on a summer day.


A blasting incident at the Hollinger pit. A rock escaped the blast zone and landed on a parked car. Production shut down for three weeks.


Some local teenagers were rescued after spending a night stranded on the shore of the Grassy River when their canoe flipped over.


The summer concerts every Wednesday night have been a hit with a lot of Timmins folks.

Click on the photos to see the large version.
Photos by Len Gillis ©

I was hooked ...

I had an excellent discussion this past week when I dropped in at Collège Borèal in Timmins for a photo. They were having a fish fry to entice students, parents and visitors to drop by the campus to see what courses were being offered. Pretty good marketing idea. It was even better, when after I shot my photo, one of the kitchen staff walked over and plopped down a heaping plate of pickerel, French fries and cole slaw. Now that is what many folks in Northern Ontario call dinner fit for a king. How much better can it get? … well it could be a little better with a nice bonfire, a breeze off the lake and a fresh beer so cold that it snaps your molars. Anyway, during lunch, I was joined by a staff member. We discussed that life is indeed good in Northern Ontario. Yes, it’s nice to visit Toronto and other points down south, every now and then, but it is hard to beat the good life in the North, where people know you, where the streets and pretty safe and we are close to the best of Nature. Both of us could name several instances of where folks have gone south and then returned to raise their children and carry on. I try not to get political here, but the only downside is that we are not masters of our own destiny. Northern Ontario makes up nine-tenths of the province. We have the gold, silver, copper, diamonds, electricity, clean air and fresh water. But a bunch of know-nothings down south always seem to get elected by know-nothing voters (ha ha, now I am in trouble) and the North gets shut out on the decision making.

Blessings

Here it is another nice Friday in August. Lucky me I have a day off. Last Friday was excellent. I had a visit from Jennifer, Tyler and Nathan and it was just the best time. I am not much of a prayer guy, but when I went to bed that night I thanked God for the blessings in my life. That sure includes Jenn and her family. Jenn was in good spirits having just completed a couple of summer school courses as she works towards her nursing degree. I knew I would forget the course names… some science thingy or two – but she earned 90 per cent in one and 86 per cent in the other. She figured it would give her a bit of break during the regular school year to take advance courses in the summer. No kidding. I am amazed that she is a housewife, mom and university student all in one. I have to give a lot of credit to Scott and boys for their excellent support. Wow, what a change from five years ago eh? The visit was nice despite the rain we had. As usual, there was chocolate cake to be enjoyed. Whenever the boys were sniffing around the kitchen wondering what to snack on, I’d just say Chocolate Cake? Yes!! I should have snapped a photo of one such snack… we sliced a banana lengthwise, put it in bowls, ice cream down the centre topped with strawberry syrup, smack a hunk of choco cake on top of that and then smother it all in hot fudge sauce. The boys actually had to work at eating it all. It is fun being a grandfather.

I can be a pocket pain in the a$$

What a pain in the a$$ I am. Yes, mea culpa! My phone is a pocket-dialing nightmare. I thought it was ALL my fault but I have since learned that the BlackBerry is one of the worst phones for this, likely because it has a keyboard. But the keyboard is exactly the reason I like the BlackBerry. Anyway, I called Jennifer this week, not once, but twice. To make things worse, the call was late in the evening... at the time when nobody wants an unexpected phone call. As it was I took a call from another reporter, named Joey, who was trying to find the house where a murder investigation was underway. I was heading out the door and pushed the phone into my pocket. Jennifer's name was close to Joey's name. Suddenly I heard a voice saying, hello, hello ... Yes it was Jennifer. So I apologized. But it seems a week doesn't go by that I don't mistakenly pocket dial somebody. I went to the BlackBerry website and there is an app available to disable the keyboard quickly and easily. I will have to explore that.

Just catching up

Catching up. Yes, I am a procrastinator. But we can talk about that another day. Just kidding! With summer in full swing, I am indeed enjoying the outdoors a lot more. I so enjoy summer mornings, when the air is cooler and so fresh. Some mornings I sit on my balcony with a nice mug of coffee and just enjoy how nice it is. I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the birds, the wind in the trees. Good or what. I don't missing winter a bit. Working is turning out to be okay. Although I am back in the assignment pool, I find I don’t have to work as hard as when I was alone. I still do the writing and layout for The Timmins Times, but I don't have to look after so much paperwork. The past few weeks have been nice. I was down to Sudbury to see Jennifer and her guys last weekend. The boys are so tall! I love it. You just know that a kid enjoys the compliment when you remark on how tall he is getting. Tyler and Nathan looked great and I enjoyed having some alone time with them. We went to a model air show, and then had pizza. By the way, that cheesey crust pizza aT Pizza Hut is soooo good. Jenn and Scott were off to a family wedding. Don and Denise were in town for that and so was Christine and Demetrios. I think the best thing about family weddings is how the women love to get all dressed up. They spent hours over their hair, their nails, their make up, picking the right dress, picking the right shoes… And they looked fabulous of course. The guys not so much. LOL. They jump in and out of the shower, scrape off a few whiskers, throw on a clean shirt and they stand around drinking beer waiting for the ladies to be ready…this includes matching your earrings with your dress, with your necklace, with your shoes and don’t forget it has to match the handbag too. What an effort. The important thing is that they have fun. Ty and Nate both had great school years and great report cards. Ty was mildly disappointed because he had a C in dancing. Phfft. Who grades dancing? They should have graded him for doing backflips from the top of the woodpile… He does that very well. Anyway, Tyler enters Grade 9 in the fall. It will be a whole new world for him and I know he will enjoy. Nathan is going into Grade 8 and he will be the boss of the school. This is the first time he and Tyler are in different schools. But I just know he will shine. Had fun this week writing a story about a lady whose cat got lost after some home renovation work. Twenty six days later they found the cat – still alive – which had been trapped inside a wall in their home. It was fun to write. It was even more fun to watch other media pick up on the story. It was run in papers all over Canada and then radio and TV stations picked up on it. Went out and had a nice dinner at East Side last night… first time I have been there in two or three years. But it was nice. The food was great. The company was excellent. That’s it for now.

... To be on your own, with no direction home ...

It was interesting to read that the lyrics for the famous Bob Dylan song Like A Rolling Stone sold for auction this past week for more than $2-million. I've always like Dylan. Loved his music. It reminded me that it was this week, wayyyy back in 1971, that I hitchhiked out west. Part of the trip was through Minnesota and we stopped for a few hours in Hibbing, Minnesota. That's where young Robert Zimmerman (AKA Bob Dylan) grew up. We never found his house, but we did see his high school. It was a great time to be alive. I think the world was more interesting then. People didn't walk around with cell phones in their hands. They talked face to face.

Teachers

I have a greater appreciation for teachers. This past week I was able to drop in on several high school graduations, and one Grade 8 grad. It was indeed satisfying to see the faces of the young people, so full of hope and confidence, as they move to higher education. It is one of the things that makes Canada a great place. I was equally impressed at these events to see the teachers, obviously happy with the achievements of their young students. There has to be immense satisfaction on their part to know they have given so much to these young people. That's a good thing. That being said, I was also so proud that Tyler has graduated Grade 8. I so wished I could have been there. I think he knows how everyone in his family is so pleased for him, especially his Mom and Dad.

Tweeting

I have been known to say that there is a reason that Twitter is not called SMARTer. I am not a twitter person. Several of my colleagues are, and say it is important. I fail to see why. I think some people feel the need to be "in the loop" and if they can comment on a developing situation, then they feel they are a part of the bigger world. Some of my newsie chums believe they can stay on the edge of really important news by monitoring what other people are tweeting. I don't buy it. If it's that important, we will know... I grew up in a military family, in the Sixties. If something was that important, we'd all see the mushroom cloud on the eastern horizon. Also, so much Twit information is just not reliable. Some people tend to Twit some pretty stupid things ... and those things come back to bite them in the a$$. There is also that new situation known as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) as described in new urban dictionaries. A lot of people have FOMO. They also buy into the internet situation called ICYMI, which means In Case You Missed It. This just gives people reason to go twittering other people, usually with the most inane trivial bits of information. Thank goodness they can't see anyone rolling their eyes. Maybe we should create RMEAWYJT (Rolling My Eyes At What You Just Texted).

Passing on secrets ...

It's what families should do. Although this is not a big secret, I was kind of pleased to tell Jenn about it last week. It began as I was discussing how food can quickly "go bad" no matter how much care you take. I was telling her that I bought a pint of strawberries and they rarely last three or four days before they go all soft and mushy. But I also mentioned that I use a bit of vinegar when I wash the strawberries and it sure helps. When you get home from the store, wash the strawberries with one part vinegar to ten parts water. Rinse them all over really well, drain them, rinse them a bit more with fresh water and put them in the fridge. The word is that the vinegar kills the mould spores and keeps the berries fresh, longer. But I still say you should eat them within a week ... and they're still fresh and sweet.

Throwing out my socks

I read somewhere a few years back that actor Sylvester Stallone doesn't wash his socks. He throws them out and buys new socks all the time. I do something like that. Today was my sock-throwaway day. Just for my white gym socks. Every summer I buy several new pairs of white gym socks. I wear them with my sneakers, usually just during the summer. Here's the thing. White socks get dirty and yucky and no matter how much you wash them, they just get old, real fast. And you can never match up the pairs right. Some get stretched out. Others do not. So I throw them away and buy new socks. This year I picked up several new pairs of Fruit Of The Loom gym socks. they're less than a dollar pair. That's cheaper than a cup of coffee. I know it seems like a waste. My mom would be so upset. It's not like you can donate socks to the Salvation Army. So now I have all news sock again, that will last for the summer. Lucky me eh!

Meals to remember

It was nice to chat with Jennifer earlier today and we talked about one of those Internet sites that are all about healthy food … only this website put out a list of the nine foods you should not eat. Things like margarine, canned tomatoes, processed meats …on and on. Okay, I go along with some of that stuff, but after awhile I just think, Hey I am gonna die one of these days and when I look back on my life I just know I am NOT going to be thinking about how much soybean curd or quinoa I should have eaten. Truth be told I don’t eat that stuff. That being said tonight was a steak night. In deference to Jenn’s beliefs I have cut way back on red meat. I have stopped eating pork. I have stopped eating canned tuna. Other people have assured me this is a good thing. So every five or six weeks I treat myself with a nice cut of beef. In this case, it was a very thick slab of top sirloin that marinated for about 30 hours (Black pepper, Pepsi, olive oil). I sizzled it in the big cast iron pan for 11 minutes, then I let it settle in the oven for another 10 minutes. I added half a baked potato and some grilled veggies. It was perfection. Instead of wine I quaffed a freezing cold pint of Danish ale. But the steak was too big. So tomorrow morning, I will have an egg and steak McMuffin for breakfast. These are the kinds of meals I like to remember.

Disappointed ... well just a bit

Ontario has a new government. Voters gave Premier Kathleen Wynne a majority government Thursday. I like her. I've met her twice and she seems a person who is positive and sincere. Problem is, she's a Liberal. I could not vote for her party Thursday because of the many well-documented scandals of the previous Liberal government. Former Premier Dalton McGuinty makes Richard Nixon look like an altar boy. Funny how the Toronto media made a big deal of Mike Duffy over-spending about $90,000 on his expenses. They seemed to make less of a deal over McGuinty misspending more than $1.1 Billion on the gas-plant scandal. Anyway, it is a new time and I am hoping the new government moves forward. Interesting that Northeastern Ontario pretty well thumbed its nose at Queen's Park and continued to vote NDP.

On another note, I switched allegiance on camera brands. Since 1974 I had been shooting Nikons. In the past year or so, I tried Canon. The company bought me a new Canon 60D, a nice $2,500 mid-range pro camera DSLR. I liked it. Now that I am integrated into a new newsroom, the company said I have to share the camera. So I handed the 60D over to the boss and went out last week and purchased my own new Canon. Except I bought the one that is more expensive and more state-of-the-art; the 70D DSLR. (Seven frames a second up to 1/8000th of a second!) It also shoots HD video. So expect to see more photos here in the coming weeks and months as I continue to learn.

Gillies Lake in Timmins

A summer morning in Timmins ... ( A shot with my new camera. Click for large size)

Small world or what

The new job brought an interesting fact to light this week. One of my new co-workers, a fellow named Ron, mentioned growing up in Toronto and riding the Roncesvalles bus. That twigged a memory. I told him I used to sell newspapers nearby at The Junction, when I was a kid. I was a street corner newsboy near Jane and Dundas. I said it was the by LCBO store and the old army surplus store. That's when Ron revealed he remembered going to that store as a teen. He lived near The Junction. I said I used to hang out there every Saturday and then I would go to my uncle's house on Jillson Avenue. Ron's eyed went wide. "Who did you know on Jillson?, he asked. Now Jillson Avenue is one of the shortest streets in Toronto, all of two blocks long. I said it was my uncle Mike Maclean, his wife Marg and their children Tina, Laura and Jamie. Ron laughed. It turns out he and Jamie were school buddies. I said Jamie was really big on playing hockey. Ron said yeah, he and Jamie were on the same team. How cool is that? You never know who you know.

Back where I started eh ...

One of my colleagues said it best this week, telling me I had come full circle. I came to Timmins 40 years ago, to take a job as junior reporter at The Daily Press. Over the years I worked in private radio, network radio, magazines, freelance, TV news and then the weekly newspaper. Well go figure. I was handed a letter Tuesday, on Sunmedia letterhead, directing me to shut down my office at The Timmins Times and to move over to the daily. Today is my first day on the job. I am still going to put out the Times every week, but the company is saving huge dollars by merging our operations now. In time, I will join the general assignment pool at the daily, but I have to make sure to keep putting out the Times since it still has a huge circulation. I am told the only thing changing is the location. So we will see how it goes. The Times building has been shut down and will soon be for sale. I will miss my nice quiet office with a window. I am now in a big, big newsroom... but there are only a handful of us newsies left. We've been told that at some point, they will also put this building up for sale, and that we will also move into a storefront. Interesting times ahead... (no pun intended!)

Endorsement!

Journalists are not supposed to endorse anything! But I am gonna step out of line right now and endorse Muskol spray. I spent several hours in the bush last night and early this morning and the Northern Ontario blackflies are swarming by the billions out there. Muskol is amazing. It works. The blackflies stayed away from me. If you are going out into the boreal forest anytime soon, grab a can of Muskol!

I never did this before ...

Was pleased to go out and spend time with friends at a house party this weekend. It was nice in the sense that it was a chance to have some really good conversation. At one point I remember thinking, how is it possible for so many people to be talking all at once? It was just a huge cacophony of voices. Anyway, around midnight, I figured it was time to go. After four hours, I had nursed only two drinks. I was hungry and had not had supper. I was ready to grab a cab, but didn't need to. So as I was driving home, I saw Chez Nous ... the most popular place for poutine in Timmins. It's also where Shania used to go when she was a teen. So I stopped, went in and placed an order. About seven minutes later the lady handed me the take out bag (I also ordered a burger) and I went home. Okay, now I know. Now I know why so many people go to this place. The poutine just tasted so so sooooo good. Yes, I have tasted it before ... but this was the first time I went in and bought the stuff. This was all mine. I could savour every french fry, ... every lump of cheese ... and every piece drenched in gravy! Yeah, it was that good.

We carry on ...

It’s Saturday morning after a nice week; well nice for the most part. Tea and cake for breakfast is a good thing. I was looking at the newspaper Thursday morning. It is the last newspaper that will be printed in Timmins. From now on the papers are going to be printed at a press plant down south, and the papers will be trucked north. Our parent company Quebecor made that decision. It means the six guys in the press plant here at our paper are being laid off. Not a happy time. Our press plant had printed the Timmins Press, The Timmins Times, as well as the newspapers in Kapuskasing, Hearst, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls and Kirkland Lake. It's a shame they're closing our plant. I wonder how much thought goes into that kind of decision. It may save a few dollars today, but if the price of fuel goes up, who knows. I enjoyed some television last night, by watching Netflix. I am pleased to report that The West Wing is being presented. So I am watching it again. It was a great show that began in the late 1990s and ran for a few seasons … one of the best television shows I can remember. I had a pleasant evening Wednesday, when I attended a local coffee house where an event called Timmins Voices is presented. In this case, the voice was Diane Armstrong, our main columnist at The Times. She did a reading from her latest book. That was nice. It was also nice to see so many young people there, as well as a few oldies, who did poetry readings. When is the last time you sat down and listened to poetry? Exactly! It was just excellent. Some folks at the microphone were getting really personal and pouring their hearts out. I plan to be at the next one. It is Mine Rescue time in the North. That’s when Mine Rescue teams from the various mines compete for bragging rights. Kidd Operations won this year, at an event held last weekend. Second year in a row. Congrats to them and my brother-in-law Moe the miner, who has been part of Kidd mine rescue for 20 years. Team Kidd are also the defending champs for Ontario. ( I am proud of this because I am a former Kidd mine rescue man.) So in June, all the winning mine rescue teams will be in Timmins to once again, compete for the title of best mine rescue team in the province. By the way, this is the May long weekend. Saturday morning and there are snow flurries outside. The river is rising, and the city has set up sand-bagging stations because flooding is expected any time now. Life in Timmins … it goes on. People just carry on.

Books, and the pretty sales girl.

So I read a lot. It’s my vice. I bought more than 35 books last year alone. I was shopping on the weekend when I dropped in to Coles just to see what might be new and interesting. I was really just browsing. A pretty sales girl walked up and asked if I was interested in anything specific. Not much, I told her, but I do like history. She picked up a nice looking hardcover and handed it to me. It looked interesting. I flipped it over. The comments on the back cover seemed enticing. Okay, so I bought it. I got home and a few hours later cracked open the new book. Damn! It wasn’t really history… it was more of a science fiction novel with a history twist to it. I don’t know why I bought it or what I was looking at or thinking of, when the pretty girl handed it to me. Thankfully, I have other books waiting to be read. I guess I will save the science fiction for the day when I am in a nursing home, sneaking out the back door to enjoy some cigars and whiskey…