Rural Internet!!

I've read a lot about how the lockdown is affecting those who actually keep society running, but tend to be paid lower wages with fewer benefits more than others.  I sincerely hope we can find a way after this is all over to better balance the rewards for doing all this vital work - the grocery clerks, delivery drivers, garbage collectors, and all the others who we take for granted all the time, the ones who are still out there keeping the important things in society running.

Another indication of disparity I read about today is the uneven quality of rural internet, creating a divide between urban and rural.  This is one of my pet peeves as we've lived in a rural area and now a small town for ten years.  There are all kinds of ways in which these areas get poorer service than large urban centres.

Now that schools have been closed here for a further month and the province has moved to provide on-line learning, this is especially critical.

Many students in rural areas will find themselves unable to even download photos, let alone participate in on-line discussions or download videos.  In a lower income family with no computer the expectation that students staying at home will keep up with their classmates becomes ridiculous. 

It is far beyond time that high-speed internet was available to all.  The pandemic simply underscores all the unjustified disparities in our society and makes them worse!

Let's do something about it!

Sunny Days!

It's bright and sunny out and the forecast shows more of the same all week!  Finally a week that may feel like spring and allow me to get out for a ride every day.  I have things to do, so I'll just entertain you with this beautiful sunrise from a few days back, thanks to Mrs. F.G., the photographer.

We woke to flashing lights, fire trucks and police this morning.  turns out our neighbours had smelled smoke and called for help.  They all dispersed before 8 o'clock, so I presume all is ok.  Have a great day!

Signs of Spring

We're just staying at home, so it's hard to get out and document the signs of spring,  But I see a lot right here at home and I know more is happening out in the countryside, even though most of the human world has shut down here.

It may not mean much to those of you further south, but the snow disappearing and the grass re-appearing is by FAR the biggest sign of spring here.  If you don't live with it you probably don't realize the ramifications, but the world outside my window has changed completely, and I'm ready to watch a sequence of changes until the leaves are fully out and the warmer weather is here.  Snowblowers get put away and soon lawnmowers will come out, winter tires are removed and summer tires get installed, winter coats, hats, mitts and boots go away and you forget all that stuff except for a summer hat and light jacket.

And if you're in a wheelchair, suddenly the world outside has opened up to you again.  You can get outside and go places without your tires coming in wet and coated with grit.  I've said before that you can't imagine what a difference this means for me.

Can you see the green shoots rising?  Spring is when all kinds of flowers grow and bloom again, like these Tulips and Hyacinths just poking out of the ground.  Everyone notices this and rejoices, but gardeners go a little mad and start frequenting the nurseries (what are we going to do this year?) looking for new plants.  Here it will mean a whole raft of outdoor work getting the garden ready and watching things grow.

Just after sharing the returning birds with you yesterday, this fellow landed right outside the window to say hello!

Jamie, one of my caregivers spotted this Great Blue Heron deep in the swamp and sent me this picture.  I like the way it almost disappears among the water and dark tree trunks.  We haven't seen one ourselves yet, but it won't be long.  Thanx Jamie!

The wildlife wakes up too, and sometimes groggily stumbles about the first few days.  This raccoon walked all the way across the golf course yesterday, disappearing behind our shed.  Sadly many raccoons, skunks and other mammals are killed on the roads at this time of year, unaware of the hazard vehicles represent.  And soon it will be turtle slaughter season too (maybe I'm being a bit cynical there).  

One thing I realize I'm leaving out are the sound of spring.  Frogs will be calling from the wetlands, and birds calling everywhere.  Stick your head out the door early in the morning and it's just a chorus of voices.  Unfortunately I'm not up early enough to hear the best part of this.  But spring is definitely here.

Spring Birds

Returning and more active birds are undoubtedly the biggest sign of spring for me.  We had very few birds visit our feeders through the winter, right into early March, but since then they've been quite active and a few new ones have appeared, back from the warmer south.

Robins are the most important harbinger of spring for me; this one seems to like the top of this stump, sitting there several times. 

Turkey Vultures are rapidly joining Robins as the earliest returning migrants we see in the spring.  This is an old picture, but we saw one ten days ago, and have seen them soaring over the neighbourhood several times since.  Don't forget the Sand hill Cranes and Tundra Swans we saw on our drive to Barrie either.  And a friends reported a Great Blue Heron yesterday.

The Goldfinch and Chickadees have been hear all winter, but they're certainly more frequent and active now.  And the Goldfinch are turning into their summer yellow plumage.

How's this for the hind end of a Red-breasted Nuthatch?

And this for a distant silhouette of a Cardinal up high in a tree.  We've hardly seen them all winter, but now they're singing like mad around every corner in the neighbourhood!

The Crows are much more active, flying past frequently.  I suspect a pair is nesting in the tall Scots Pines across the golf course.

Dark-eyed Juncos have appeared finally.  We usually see them in the winter, but not this year.  They only re-appeared ten days ago.  They will disappear again soon, flying north to nest.

A small flock of Starling has been flying around, and landing to forage out on the golf course.  We've seen Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds in the yard too.

This is my fsvourite.  I have two dozen pictures of this fellow, mostly twisted around behind the bird feeder.  But in this one he turned and looked straight at me.

How I'm Keeping Occupied

I'm sure we all wonder how others are keeping occupied during our current enforced self isolation.   Well the short answer here is that I am writing my blog, doing my workouts, reading quite a bit, and learning some new history.

In fact,  days like these are not that unusual for someone who is disabled. Although most of the year we do get out a lot, there are many days especially in the winter, when you end up simply staying inside. You quickly learn how to keep yourself occupied and your brain active, otherwise you go stir-crazy!

It helps that both Mrs. F.G. and I are introverts so we've always spent lots of time together and alone rather than socializing.   We both have personal hobbies that keep us busy.  I also know that I have to keep up my workouts to build and maintain my strength.

So the first thing I do is try and write my blog every day. I miss occasionally, but I don't worry about it. Sometimes it's relatively quick and easy, like the series of barn posts I've been doing, but other times it takes a fair bit of research and thinking .   In any case that's a highlight of my day, and it makes me feel less guilty later on when I'm reading other posts. I feel like I've made my contribution.

Then I do my workouts. I  use small 3, 5, and 8 pound weights to build up my arms and shoulders. Then I do number of stretches with the Theraband. I also do a number of upper body stretches that try and keep me slightly mobile!  This tends to happen in between boats of reading, spread throughout the afternoon.

         [ I just saw a raccoon walk across the golf course! ]

I usually have a couple of books on the go, one fiction and one non-fiction.  Currently I'm reading AWOL on the Appalachian Trail, and A History of Canada in 10 Maps.   I also dip into the news, which I can read on my iPhone. Between this and watching videos after I've gone to bed in the evening, I get a lot of screen time during the week!

Just by accident we came across three videos on King Edward VI, Mary I (Bloody Mary), and Elizabeth I ( the three children of King Henry VIII), and that reminded me that I know very little of English history even though I know Scottish history quite well.  So I set myself the task of learning the English kings from William the Conquerer on, and now I'm reading beyond that to understand things like the War of the Roses which I've always found very confusing. That keeps my brain occupied and hopefully gives me a little bit of mental exercise!   Maybe after this I'll move on to Canadian and American history; I'm just fascinated with history.

In the evening we watch a bit of TV,  usually watching British mysteries, garden shows, or travel shows.  We only watch things available on a streaming service like Netflix where we can choose what we want to watch and there are no commercials!

Too soon the caregiver is here to get me back into bed. So I do all this in about an 11 hour day, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.  I do usually get eight hours sleep a night,  but I lie in bed either waiting for the caregiver in the morning or after I've been put to bed in the evening.  That's when I watch YouTube videos.

And that's the end of my day.   Hope you are keeping occupied too!

Through the Seasons

After reviewing my collection of barn pictures repeatedly the past few days, there's one that turns out to be my favourite.  And it also turns out to be one where I have pictures through the seasons, so here it is.

Early Spring

 Early summer

 Late Summer

Winter

Hope you've enjoyed my obsession with barns!

A Few More Barns

I'm sure you're tired of my barn pictures, but I'm quite enjoying them and I'm certainly not getting out to take other pictures these days!  So here are an almost last few barns for you to enjoy. 

This is a friend's farm just down the road from our former home.  I thought this distant shot from the back looked nice.

Another neighbour had this large cattle farm, but he also kept a team of large workhorses which he brought to the fall fair.  We'd see them out in the pasture with the cattle.

This farm dedicated a field to the Canadian Food Grains Bank.

At this cattle farm we once rescued a calf that had escaped under the gate!

I took this shot more for the shadows than the barn, but it's a very well-maintained cattle farm.

This is the farm where that dry stone wall I posted about last week is found.

Sometimes I manage to frame the picture of the farm buildings in the distance with a big tree in the foreground.  I think it makes a nice photo.

And last, I wish I knew the story behind this pickup-topped silo!  Someone was having a little fun!