I bet you he'll get off

From the OPP Media Release web site:

Date: April 26, 2010

MARIHUANA SEIZED DURING DRUG SEARCH WARRANT AT QUINTE WEST RESIDENCE
Quinte West OPP Street Crime Unit AND members of Project "Longarm" with the assistance of the OPP K-9 unit conducted a CDSA search warrant at a Quinte West residence in Sidney Ward north of Frankford today.
During the search a quantity of, [sic] processed marihuana, growing marihuana, cannibis resin, cash, and other offence related property were seized.
A 33 year old Quinte West man was charged with Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking Marihuana and Production of Marihuana contrary to the CDSA.

I'd say they could have nailed him for the cannibis resin, but he'll probably walk for for possession of 'marihuana'. I'm pretty sure it's not illegal....

Ephemeral

Lasting for only a short time; transitory.

At this time of year, before the leaves are out, the forest floor becomes filled with ephemerals -- those short-lived but beautiful flowers that spring out of the just-thawed soil, turn their faces to the sun, and disappear only a few, short days later. They have a special place in the parade of growth; they're first to come and first to go, reminding us that even though we have all of summer to look forward to, nothing is permanent, and all must eventually die.

Some people are like that: they are with us only briefly,
but we feel lucky to have witnessed their brightness
and joy in living.
















We take pleasure in knowing them, and are cheered by their enthusiam.

And when they go, too soon, we mourn their passing.

I miss you Linda.

I love our neighbours to the south!

Three weeks ago, Ian and I headed south on a reconnaisance mission. We were looking for dog-friendly places to rent so that next year we can join the thousands of other snowbirds and escape the winter -- or at least part of it. And obviously if we're going to be absent for extended periods of time we need to find a place that will welcome Zephyr.

First we went to South Carolina. We saw live oaks:

And big old houses. This one's for sale:
We saw drowned coastlines: And regular, undrowned beaches: In our room at the B&B were a selection of magazines. This one caught my eye:

Can you imagine this being published in Canada? Harrowsmith and Hand Guns? Canadian Living with Long Guns? Imagine the shock! Imagine the outrage!

You've got to admit: it's a great title for a magazine.

Everywhere we went, people were friendly, outgoing, and helpful. Their economy is the pits but they are still thoughtfully optimistic. One woman at a gas station told me to have a 'blessed' day. I said to Ian when I returned to the car: "That's got to be better than a regular old 'good' day.

We were told that alligators can be a problem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBJ-lo9AnF8

And while we were there, a man, jogging on a beach, was killed by a small airplane making a crash landing. Apparently the pilot couldn't see the man because there was oil spaying onto the plane's windshield, and the jogger didn't hear the plane because he was listening to his iPod. Is this a cautionary tale about the dangers of flying small airplanes, of jogging, or of listening to your iPod?

You just never know what's coming down the road.

After a few days, we moved on to Florida. We stayed with friends who have a place north of Tampa. We relaxed, picked grapefruit, and put in some beach time:

But this part of the world is crowded, and the only dogs we saw tended to be the type that fit into purses, so we headed northwest to the panhandle and a place called Cape San Blas.

Cape San Blas is essentially a 17 mile long sand spit with a state park at one end and vacation homes along the rest of it. Port St Joe lies 20 minutes northwest and Appalachacola 30 minutes east. Everything seems to be either for sale or for rent (in some cases, whichever comes first). It's quiet, especially in March. And it's dog friendly.

Horse friendly too.We saw brown pelicans and dolphins. We spend hours collecting shells and watching the birds. We sat through a spectacular thunderstorm while sipping wine on our deck.
We and Zephyr will be going back there for a month next year.

And the only alligator we saw was this one: