EPISODE 1,170: “START SPREADING THE NEWS”…TORONTO’S GROWING TODAY


EPISODE 1,170:    “START SPREADING THE NEWS”…TORONTO’S GROWING TODAY

alan skeoch
Oct. 11, 2024


We got caught in a Toronto gridlock which gave us time
to appreciate the towers that are now Toronto.

I have been distracted by various visitors for the past few weeks
and have been unable to keep up with our ’story a day’ project.
Storoes are sittimg here unfinished.

The shock of my brothers’ death weighs heavily upon us.
So a few stories will be coming to Celebrate his life via
the internet.  The stories will be imaginary conversations between
Eric and me such as :

“Hey Eric, remember when I stole the icing you had carefully
saved from mom’s stole cake?  You outwitted me that day.”

and

“Hey Eric, remember when  you threw that folded newspaper
right through a customers bathroom window…bathroom was
in use at the time or so she claimed.”

and 

“Hey Eric, remember when I Said ‘I will give you a quarter if you grab that squirrel by the tail?’
You did and got your arm ripped with its claws.   Sorry about that Eric.”

and

Hey Eric, remember when dad trained us to sell day old racing forms to men rushing
to catch the last races at Dufferin racetrack.   The poor guys were betting on horses
that did not exist.;”

etc. etc

alan

P.S.  Sorry you are so sick Caroline…your left handed writing needs attention.
I will try to get stories coming.



P.S.   Are you OK John (Wardle)?

EPISODE 1.107: BEACH AT RICHARD’S PARK LOOKS LIKE SAND…BUT IT IS NOT SAND

EPISODE 1.107:   BEACH AT RICHARD’S PARK LOOKS LIKE SAND…BUT IT IS NOT SAND  


alan skeoch
Sept/ 22. 2024



“Swimming will be good for your new knee, Alan.”


WE went for another swim at Richard;s Park.   The beach was empty
at first then a young woman arrived.  Cheerful person.  Recent Ukranian
refugee it seemed.

I wallowed around in the surf propped up with my wooden cane which gave
me the advantage of a three point posture.  Without the cane I would
topple for sure.

The swim was delightful up to the moment we decided to leave the
water.   I wallowed to the shore.   Very unsteady.  The sandy shoreline was very
soft.  Impossible for me to wade as my legs just sank into the gumbo.

“Marjorie, I cannot stand…too weak…these small waves are pushing me over.”
“Don’t get so excited.”
“Cannot stand…no pruchase…I’m going over.”
‘YIKES!   ..I’M dowm!”

And then almost instantly I was rescued by two angels.  Marjorie and the
Ukrainian swimmer.   They fought the waves and tried to get me
back on my feet..   It was not easy because the sand just would
not let me stand.  My legs sank into the sand as they laboured to
get purchase.  I tried to help but legs kept pushing through the sand
as the small waves buffeted all three of us.

“There, we made it.  Thanks to you two.”.  The Ukrainian girl did not speak
English   She smiled and left us. “Without her I do not know what we could
have done, Alan.”
“ Could have wallowed my way to the hard sand, Guess…I was not
going to drown.”

There was something odd about the sandy shoreline.   Odd indeed.
It was not sandy.   Looked like sand.  But the shoreline was composed
of thousands…hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic balls.  Grains of
sand…a fake shore.  That’s why my cane and legs failed.  All three
penetrated the plastic microchips.  A deceptive shoreline.

CURLING DECISION — SAD

“My balance is not good, Marjorie.  These plastic miniballs defeated me.”
“You cannot go curling”
“But I am the skip of my team.  They expect me.”
“You cannot even stand on a sandy shore…how will you stand on ice?”

She was right of course.

Those millions of plastic balls that lined the shore at Richard’s Park were reminders of
just how we have mismanaged planet earth.  It is a fake beach.  A trap for unsteady feet.

I had to send a note to John Morton that I would be unable to curl.  I let down my
team.  But had I toppled on the unforgiving ICE of the High Park Curing Rink and hit my head
there would be no angels of mercy like Marjorie and that Ukrainian refugee.

alan

My knee was replaced on December 12, 2023.  The operation
went well but the recovery has been long and painful due to a
reaction to the drug used.





RICHARD WOLNIEWICZ – RICHARD’S PARK , MISSISSAUGA: WHO WAS RICHARD WOLNIEWICZ?

EPISODE 1,105;    WHO WAS RICHARD WOLNIECWIZ?  (RICHARD’S PARK, MISSISSAUGA)


alan skeoch
sept. 17, 2024



AN EMPTY BEACH ON LAKE ONTARIO  NORTH SHORE

“ALAN, you need to walk more.”
“I do walk.”
“not enough,according to the therapist.   So today we are going for a walk at Richard’s Memorial Park….smAllest parl
on Mississauga lakefront.”
“Who was Richard?”
‘Bit of a mystery…not much is known about him except that he was 14 when he died.
“Why is the park named after him?”
“Because the boy’s heart was transplanted to Mayor Robert Speck ,mayor of Mississauga
back in 1971.  Mr. Speck wanted something done to remember Richard Wolniewicz”
“What is known about the tragic death of Richard?”
“Nothing that I can find.”
“Isn’t that strange…the boy has one of the nicest parks in Mississauga named after him but
there is no record of why he died at age 14…just before his 15th birthday.”



RICHARDS MEMORIALPARK, MISSISSAUGA

So, on September 17. 2024, Marjorie took me to Richard’s Park.  Hardly
anyone was there. The sun was shining and the beach was inviting so we
stripped down to our underwear and waded in.  We we’re almost alone
…one man doing excercises on the beach and another swimmer so far
out in Lake Ontario that he or she was only a bobbing speck.

These two humans took no notice of  two underwear clad 80 year old
citizens.  The water was delightful…soft sand…the water  gradually
got deeper. I was helped by my wooden can.  We left the walker on
the beach.   We had the whole park to ourselves really.  It was wonderfull
and  we plan to go swimming every day until fall turns to winter.
Next swim we will have bathing suits.  

**Please obey all signs posted at the beach and take caution if it has rained in the past 24-48 hours.**

Richard’s Memorial is the smallest of Peel’s three lakefront beaches. It has picnic areas and BBQs as well as a mostly sand beach. The park commemorates Richard Wolniewicz, a fourteen year-old boy whose heart was donated to Mayor Robert Speck in 1971. The Park is also home to a five-foot tall peace monument, bearing the inscription “Planet Earth is our Home, Humanity is our Family.”

RICHARD WOLNIEWICZ

  1. Mayor Bob Speck’s heart donor was to turn 15 on Tuesday. Mississauga News, December 22, 1971
  2. The generosity of a family is honoured in Lorne Park [Richard’s Memorial Park]. The Booster, January 4, 2006

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episode 1,104SANDHILL CRANES – 4300 LIVE HERE – 95,OOO STOP TO REST AT SPOTS LIKE LOING POINT -TOTAL POPULATION IS 450,,000 – SHOULD HUNTERS START KILLING THEM?




EPISODE 1,1O4:  SANDHILL CRANES – 4300 LIVE HERE – 95,OOO STOP AT REST SPOTS LIKE LOING POINT -TOTAL POPULATION IS 450,000 – SHOULD HUNTERS START KILLING THEM?

alan skeoch
sept. 13, 2024


Sandhill crane in flight at the Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, California, USA



“Dad, four huge birds were eating grain dropped by the combine harvester.. I Checked
them out.  They are SANDHILL CRANES.  When they stand erect they are almost as 
tall as humans.  All four took off making a gobbling noise.”
“Wonder if I can get a look at them?”
“Doubt it Dad. They saw me before I saw them…took off immediately.  Try the back field.”

Result?   No sign of the Cranes even though I drove the Kubota through all the fields most of
which were now covered with red clover plants. also Must be lots of grain dropped by the combine
harvester.

“SURVIVAL?” … SURVIVAL IS A QUESTION

I Have never seen a Sandhill Crane even though 95,000 of them live or pass through
Ontario each year.  I am 86 years old and an amateur naturalist which means I love
nature but have no easy answer to the survival of Sandhill Cranes.  I do not grow
wheat, oats. or barley.

What is known about Sandhill Cranes?
– nearly became extinct from over hunting but seem to have rebounded as there
are now around 95,000 visiting Ontario each year.   4300 were counted at Long Point
on Lake Erie.  The total population in Canada is around 450,000.
-Right now they are protected but pressure from farmers may result in a change.
Why?  Because flocks of sandhill cranes devastate some grain fields particularly in Northern
Ontario.  Losses of grain on some fields are as high as 50%.
-Sandhill crane nests usually have only two eggs but only one hatching survives.
Of late the population has grown about 4% per year.
-Nestng sites are always close to wetlands.  Big nests of dry reeds and even burdock.
-They eat almost anything including frogs and snakes but grain seeds
are their favourite food.
-preditors are raccoons and other carnivores which are driven away by adult cranes using their
feet.  
-24 cranes are wearing collars in an effort to determine if population of cranes
should be ‘harvested’ (which means shot)
-Breeding sites are mostly in the northern tundra.
-wintering sites are as far south as Florida and Texas where they gather in thousands.
-wingspan as much as 7 feet

-they remain aloft for hours

-considered a prize by hunters as they weigh as much as ten pounds

-Skeoch family sitings on Fifth Line, wellington county – Andrew saw and photographed four sandhill cranes
      -Alan Skeoch saw none because the cranes saw him first it seems.

alan skeochSandhill crane in flight at the Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, California, USAupload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Grus_canadensis_in_flight-2618.jpg/400px-Grus_canadensis_in_flight-2618.jpg 2x” data-file-width=”3646″ data-file-height=”2051″>
sept. 13, 2024




HERE IS THE QUESTION…IS CULLING THE FLOCK A QUESTION OF SURVIVAL?

Should we allow hunters to kill sandhill cranes…one crane per hunter?
Consider that they mate for life.  Shoot a crane and leave the mate to fly alone.
Consider that each pair of sandhill cranes produce one hatchling per year.
Consider that predation by raccoons, coyotes, foxes, eagles, disease, loss of wetlands
already is a natural check on population growth.
Consider that I have never seen a sandhill crane but would like to do so.
Consider that I do not make my living by growing grain
Weigh the checks and balances carefully
We are considering a road trip to Long Point.





On a mid-February morning at Big Creek National Wildlife Area, which encompasses 771 hectares on the north shores of Lake Erie, eastern sandhill cranes patrol the icy surface of a marsh. The large grey birds with red-splashed foreheads take off, swooping one way, then another, and the air fills with squeaky chatter. They land in a field and scratch for grain. 
Sandhill cranes are no strangers to the area, which sits at the base of the Long Point peninsula, a 40-kilometre sand spit that’s a little more than an hour’s drive from London. It’s one of Ontario’s most important staging areas for bird migration. What’s unusual, though, is that they’re here now. Typically, the migrating birds visit briefly in the fall and early winter before continuing toward the American Midwest and, sometimes, as far south as Florida. But, this year, thousands have remained — there are roughly 4,300 today, according to a Canadian Wildlife Service count.



EPOSODE 1,101: TIRE COUNTING: BIG RIGS HAVE 22, 24, EVEN 26 OR MORE TIRES






I AM a tire counter.  How utterly boring!  Right, maybe, but consider
the cost of those tires.  Perhaps $500 per tire which amounts to $11,000
for a 22 wheeler.  No wonder these huge machines dominate the roads.
They pay their way

Here is a picture of a 22 wheeler hauling fluid of some kind.  Fliuds slosh
around.   The weight on the tires must vary making the truck dangerous.
Yet I have never seen a huge rig upset.  Rollovers are usually 18 wheelers.
Why is that?

Dad was a truck tire builder.  Big Strong men were needed to construct
truck tires.   He qualified and was proud of his work.  The day
he reTIREd  Eric and I visited the Dunlop factory in Whitby
and actually saw dad building a truck tire.   Impressive.  He slapped
great lengths of heavy rubber on a spinning wheel. Vulcanized I imagine whatever that means.
Real pure rubber tires were reserved for aircraft because real rubber
can take the stress of a B52 trying to land on a Norad  airstrip in
Minot, North Dakota. Loaded with atomic bombs.  Or the stress
of an airbus loaded with people like us.

alan

P.s.  This is the second version of the tire counting habit. The first
version was longer but I hit the wrong button on my computer..
Perhaps a story about rubber will come next.

EPISODE 1,100; WHAT TO DO TODAY? SALVATION ARMY STORE




EPISODE  1,100;   WHAT TO DO TODAY? SALVATION ARMY STORE

alan skeoch
september 5, 2024

“What can we Do today?”
“How about a trip to the Salvation Army second hand store?”
“Dad, maybe the zoo would be a better idea”
“Why?”
“Because that shirt makes you look like  a turtle “
“A turtle;?”
“Where did you get that shirt Dad?”
“Marjorie bought it for me at the Salvation Army store.”
“Will they take it back?”
“Let’s find out.”

And so this fragment of the Skeoch brood took a trip to the Sally Ann …Salvation Army store.
Why send this story?  Because A trip to the Salvation Army is fun and now my green turtle shirt could be
on the men’s rack…extra large.   Then again I might keep the green shirt.  Turtles have tough shells 
that resist insults.   

alan


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EPISODE 1098: music in the rain at Benares august 16 with RIDDIM RIDERS BAND


EPISODE 1098:  music in the rain at Benares  august 16, 2024, with Riddim Riders Band


Once again the Friends of the Mjuseums of Mississauga have presented music at Benares…
even in a summer rainstorm   Those attending were ready with umbrellas except for Sebastien
whose pants are obviously soaking wet. (find him if you can)  Seems I got wet myself
but did not notice until we got home stripped by the fireplace which was little help.

These pictures are taken to show how devoted the audience was in spite of the rain.  All smiles.
And to thank the committee that made music possible on summer nights.

alan skeoch
august 16. 2024

Wanda…send this forward to sebastien and his wife…sending a couple of stories
for you to forward if you can….now have written nearly 1100 stories you can find on
alanskeoch.ca I think.