ROBBLOG #786- Plants, Puddies & Professors

A bit of this and some of that...

Last time, I wrote that we were planting Leyland Cedars along our front wrought iron fence as well as along a backyard fence. The idea was to afford us some privacy. We have since made a gardening change and are now the proud "parents" of 15 Portuguese Laurels. Here on the Island, Laurels have a thick leaf and stay green year round. This particular variety grows fast, loves full sun and makes a great hedge. These 10 litre pots hold plants that are about four feet tall now. In a few months they'll be at five or six feet in height.
Things grow fast on our Island.

I love this this time of the year.
I loved summer in Ontario too but I really love this extended summer and long, almost year round growing season that Vancouver Island affords.

Now, that a our gardens are full- and I do mean full, after 12 months of growing, we needed to add something to bring them to life- namely bird feeders. The Hummingbirds already visit twelve months of the year but we wanted to see other feathered friends enjoy our yard. We bought two feeders and boy did the birds come! Robins and sparrows and more. Everything was great until we experienced a couple of bird deaths. One may have come by way of our orange kitty Dickens.

We didn't actually see it happen but we found the expired birdie in the garden near our Easter Island  statue. It could have been from a pair of cats that live in a neighbourhood a couple of blocks away. We can't be sure but now we supervise Dickens more when he's out for his short playtime twice a day.

Dickens doing what he does best- relaxing!

By the way, our puddy is 9 years old today. We actually got him and his brother Doyle- who is still missing, on September 19th when they turned three months. They were quite the pair and we had problems with breakage and bad behaviour.
One event stands out.
Our schnauzer Missy was sleeping on her pouffe minding her own business when one of the brothers decided to pee right next to her- on her really.
Poor Missy!
Damned cat!
She was bathed and the pouffe was either laundered or thrown away.
I can't remember which.

I still check the Winnipeg Lost Cats page for Doyle almost daily, hoping for a miracle. Just two days ago a cat that had been missing for three years turned up at the Winnipeg Humane Society. He was chipped. The WHS called the owners and later that day they were reunited.
What a great ending!
I want the same ending.
Doyle will have been gone two years this August 19th. He jumped from our RV at 1030 at night as we sat parked at a KOA in Winnipeg.
Not having closure has been hard.

Finally, with all this right-wing, bullshit and politicians playing havoc with our world, I want to draw your attention to a BBC series called "Years and Years". It's in six parts and is a must see.
It smartly shows us what may happen in a world run by right-wing conservative types. It even alludes to the fact that the world has seen this before.
Those in power lying to the people.
Hiding facts.
Telling lies.
Painting the media as being false and untrustworthy.
Incarcerating people like you and I.
Think, Ford(s), Scheer, the People's Party, Communists, Nazi skinheads and that lardass with the orange hair.

I don't want to give any of the story away but as the Mister and I watch we realized that this could be our "real" future. This could be our Canada in a few years- and I am not talking a decade.
I mean less.
You might have to find an online link where you can watch it. The BBC Player will not work in Canada no matter how hard you try and disguise your ISP.

We watched the series on our Amazon Fire Stick. Check it out at amazon.ca
or do a search for Amazon Fire Stick. You might find a local company who can set you up with more and even provide you with the stick in their installation price.
Some sticks allow you to watch a 3000 channel universe- all in real time.
Sometimes, I watch Eastenders at the same time it plays on BBC in England. One just has to take into account the time difference.

Finally, speaking of time, did you hear about the US Math Professor from Virginia who ended up in Calgary instead of Carleton University in Ottawa? Of course both Calgary and Carleton begin with a "C". Can you understand his confusion?
No?
I couldn't either. Neither can Lucy & Ethel...

Huh- and he's a professor, eh?
Oh, I think so Lucy...

Hennaway, it seems this Professor was to attend a Math Conference at the University. As he flew north, he believed there was some "magical" time change happening as he crossed the border into Canadian airspace. He couldn't quite figure it out- until later.

After checking into the Calgary Westin he called for an Uber. He checked out the GPS as he climbed into the back seat to see how long his ride would take. The GPS showed him a very long route to Ottawa and Carleton University.
Finally, our Professor figured it out.
He was in the wrong city.
In his own defense, he says when he booked the trip from home, the Calgary Westin looked a lot like the Ottawa Westin- in nightime photos...
Whaaat?

Egads!