Year: 2022

EPISODE 615     TRAVEL … NO JOY IN MUDVILLE

alan skeoch

July 23, 2022

Five of uS….therefore five ‘carry on’ bags…no bIg luggage.  I forgot my jammies and

bathing suit.   But I now agree with our sons….”All you need is a carry on.”

Here Marjorie and Julie are on guard while the rest of our party sought washrooms.

Marjorie and I get rubbed and touched with the magic wand.

Even my brayses clips were suspect.  And Marjorie has two

metal knees that made the wand sing. There were hundreds of travellers

anxious to get the wand.  All in a long line.

Today the Toronto Star ran an article on the front page saying

that Pearson Airport is now one of the worst in the world.

I hate to say that.   I don’t like to bad mouth ‘my airport’/

But there is some truth there.

When we flew to Edmonton last saturday the lineup to get 

through security snaked its way through the whole departures

building… huge line.   People on edge. Angry.  Fortunately

I had my cane as my knee can get painful.  An Air Canada

agent spotted my cane and shuffled us forward much to

the displeasure of hundreds of people without canes.

Still clearance was slow.   Marjorie and I had only our carry on

luggage.  We had been forewarned that big bags may get lost

and could mean more lineups.

Here Andrew tries to do the near impossible…close a carry on after a search was demanded.

we were all searched.  Really searched.  And I include

my crotch.  and other parts of the body.   “Are you having a good time?

I asked, much to the amusement of my wand carrying security guard.

He took my cane and looked for hollow places where explosives could

be hidden.  He was thorough.  I was glad…amused even.

Julie was not so fortunate because she had cosmetics.  Her bag

was opened’”  hard to close. The woman in front her, however,

had a zillion cosmetic containers each of which had to 

be cleared.   Getting through security was tough.

Then there was the mask issue.  We had to wear masks in the

terminal and on the flight except when drinking and eating. 

That was tough.    My mask, an el cheapo black thing, refused

to give me enough air.   Or that seemed to be the case.   For

6 to 7 hours I wished for a mouthful of fresh air.  Almost 

a panic situation.’’

It would be worse if Covid 19 valiant or Monkeypox got through

the mask.  Far worse.   I would have to spend 5 days in isolation…

somewhere.   But where?   And how much would that cost?

Costs?   I had forgotten that travel costs money.  the car cost $600 

for four days, food cost between $150 to $200 every time the five

of us ate.  By the end I was ordering toast and jam.   I had forgotten how 

restaurants can make something as ordinary as breakfast  sound

as sumptuous as a five star experience.  One breakfast was memorable…..

pile of toast, pile of waffles, two fried eggs, two sausages, two slabs of ham, special coffee….

maybe a yogurt…cost was around $30 dollars then an 18%  to 30% tip

which was part of the invoice.  My fault entirely,  I did not need

  all that food. Travel is for the fortunate.

This was the worst breakfast that I ordered.  My fault entirely.  I did not need to gorge. I am not

sure why there were two pots…one with ketchup and the other with corn syrup.  

Beer was  necessary even at $9.50 a pint plus tip.

You may have not seen the pint of beer … distracted by Molly’s joyful face.  

Please forgive my remarks….we really had a good time…really good once

we got to Edmonton.   If I Told you about the good times, would you have read this?

alan

EPISODE 613   ELK ISLAND NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA   JULY 20, 2022

alan skeoch

july 22, 2022

“What can we do while waiting for Jack to be welcomed into 

the Canadian army?”

“Visit Elk Island National Park.”

Pictures taken by Marjorie skeoch with her iPhone

“Alan, how did buffalo like this one get to live in Elk Island National Park?

‘That’s a buffalo?

“Stop being stupid.  How did that buffalo get here?”

“Fascinating history.”

“Do you want the short or long version.?”

“Short version…, Dad.” 

 The federal government had bought buffalo

from an American park then did not know where to put them   …They decided to use this park as a temporary holding ground for the buffalo before

shipping them to Wood Buffalo National Park. …when the time came to move them a bunch…40 to 70…

could not be found. “

“How could these huge animals be missed?”

“Elk Island is huge…194 square kilometres….75 square miles.”

“But open prairie…”

“not open…great swaths of aspen and boreal forest…miles and miles of water.Sometimes a buffalo

looks like a rock…invisible.”

“So they stayed”

“Yes and Elk Island is now a famous buffalo breeding ground…bison is a better word.”

“How many buffalo now?”

“somewhere around us are 300 wood bison and 400 plains bison.  The population is

kept around that figure.”

“How?”

“By selling buffalo to small holding  grounds around North America and the world.  One herd

was even sold to Russia.   The Park officials…veterinarians ….believe small herds could

prevent extinction should an outbreak bovine  tuberculosis strike again.”

“Extinction?”

“Disease almost finished off the buffalo after European sport hunters nearly slaughtered the plains buffalo into extinction.  Actual historians thought the plains  buffalo were gone

until a small herd was found in Wood Buffalo Park.  They were moved here and live in the south part

of Elk Island.”

ELK ISLAND NATIONAL PARK

“How could 40 to 170 buffalo be missed?”

“I know it’s hard to belleve.”

“But we nearly missed a buffalo who was sleeping at the side of the road

in the shade of an aspen grove.”

“Elk Island National Park remains a wilderness.”

Pictures by Marjorie Skeoch

We spent two days in Elk Island National Park and managed to see 5 buffalo.   There are hundreds there.  The park is immense.  Lots of room for buffalo.

“How are wood buffalo different from plains buffalo?

“You tell me….look at the pictures.  Darn similar to my eyes.”

Where once there were no surviving beaver,there ere are now 1,000

“Thajt’s Andrew trying to get a picture of two buffalo way in the distance.”

“If they charge Andrew, can you outrun them?”

“No, but I am no worried.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know I can outrun you. dad.”

alan skeoch

July 22, 2022

Note:  This short story only touches on the history of the buffalo in Canada.    The herds were once so large

that 40,000 wolves preyed on them.  Yes, 40,000 wolves.  To kill the wolves a few buffalo were shot and 

their corpses loaded with strychnine poison.  The wolves were then skinned.  The buffalo were expendable

in early Canadian history.  Sometimes all that was taken were the tongues.  Piles of buffalo bones once dotted the

prairies to be grand up into fertilizer for farmers.  The history of the buffalo is not a pretty story.

More pictures to come.

episode 612    PRIVATE JACKSON SKEOCH SHOWS US HOW TO MAKE A CANADIAN ARMY BED

alan skeoch

July 14, 2022

“Please just whisper…the GIANT HOGWEED might hear us and then try

to get us….deadly plant.  I wonder if John Wyndham used giant hogweed  

when he wrote Day of the Triffids? Hush!”

Quite pretty when in full floor stage.

Charlotte McLeod wrote a book with Giant  hogweed in mind.  The book

jacket cover says it all.

RETURN OF THE GIANT HOGWEED

“Marjorie, The GIANT HOGWEED is back..now ten feet tall.”

“Where?”

“Same place where we thought it had been killed.”

“How come, Andrew put on overalls and mask and spent a day

cutting and bagging the cursed plant…then he poured poison down

the throat of the roots…the giant hoqwwed seemed gone for the

last couple of years.”

“Well the cursed plant fooled us.   Hid for a couple of years. Now it 

is back worse than ever.”

“Some say the hogweed plant can hide for 15 years then pop up.”

Giant hogweed can blend in to its surroundings until it reaches full flowering stage.

Hogweed plants are now higher than our ATV.  Seems we just noticed the plants.  But “Vroooom!” ….plants are ten  feet high.

the hogweed patch is on the far left…hardly noticeable right now..July 14, 2022.  Those gloves are not

enough protection.  Need full body armour!

The return of Gint Hogweed was a mystery until I found a short note saying the seeds of giant hogweed can remain dormant for years and

then suddenly germinate.   The giant hogweed patch in the farm fencerow cannot be ignored for as much as 15 years.   Yesterday these picture were taken and

the plants are higher than ten feet already.  That growth happened fast.  So fast that we did not notice until now.  Now 10 feet high…may grow to

15 feet and even higher.  Getting rid of the plants

is not easy….need to cover all flesh so that no sap gets access to flesh.  Particular danger to the eyes.  Do not try to be heroic when destroying

the plant.  Hogweed will get you before you will get hogweed.

WHERE DID GIANT HOGWEED ORIGINATE?

Giant Hogweed was a natural plant in the Caucasus Mountain region of Asia.  Victorian gardeners and scientists brought the seeds to Kew

gardens in the early 19th century.  From there seed companies began selling the seeds as curiosities. It took some time before the

danger was noticed.  Now considered one of the most dangerous plants on earth.

Biology

Seeds may take several years to germinate and are viable in the soil for up to 15 years. During the first year, the plant produces a rosette of leaves up to one metre high. After 2 to 5 years the plant produces flowers. As it grows a large root, thick hollow stems and large lobed leaves are formed. The stems of the plant are covered with reddish-purple flecks and stiff hairs filled with sap. Sap may also collect in the hollow stem bases. Giant hogweed flowers once in its lifetime, unless the flower clusters are damaged before opening. Once the plant produces seeds it dies. Each plant can produce up to 120,000 winged seeds (typically 50,000). Seeds dropped in streams can float for three days. They can move long distances via water in ditches and streams. Seeds can also be spread up to 10 metres by the wind.

Photo courtesy of Ron Black, NDMNRF

Natural resource impacts

There is evidence that Giant hogweed can shade out native plants, although scientists have not done extensive research on its impact in Ontario or Canada. In the United Kingdom it grows in areas bordering lakes, streams, and wetlands and causes rocks, soil and other material on stream banks to fall into streams. This threatens salmon spawning sites. Similar impacts may occur in Ontario.

Health concerns

The clear watery sap of Giant hogweed contains toxins that can cause severe dermatitis (inflammation of the skin). You can get severe burns if you get the sap on your skin and the skin is then exposed to sunlight. Symptoms occur within 48 hours and consist of painful blisters. Purplish scars may form that last for many years. Eye contact with the sap has been reported (in the media and by various web sites) to cause temporary or permanent blindness. However, evidence of permanent blindness linked to exposure to Giant hogweed cannot be substantiated by any existing research. Coming in contact with Cow parsnip and Wild parsnip can cause similar reactions.

EPISODE 611   “1931…What have you got for 1931 or earlier, ALAN”