Let's Make Some Art, Dammit

April 29, 2023. This is the skin on my back, photographed fairly close up. I'm still struggling a lot with itchy skin; the itch sort of migrates, but right now it's on my back. As promised yesterday, today was a work day; I attended to some coding issues on gRSShopper and doing some reading for the newsletter. https://flic.kr/p/2ox4m2K

April 28, 2023. It was a beautiful day today, sunny and warmish, with a moderate east wind, so I decided to cycle today and work over the weekend. I did a loop out to Riceville along the Ridge Road and then back to Casselman through St. Isadore. This is the view north from the ridge looking out over the Natioon River floodplain. https://flic.kr/p/2owUDfz

April 27, 2023. Just another dreary spring day commute. I spent the morning preparing all my slides for my presentation (I didn't even have time to join the strike over lunch) and then the presentation was postponed for a week. These things happen. https://flic.kr/p/2owYQAA

April 26, 2023. Lunch at the Thai Express by the Gloucester Costco near work. The scene made me think of those 1950s diner photos. Things haven't changed, except now the restaurants are brightly lit and more varied, and the food costs ten times as much. In the office today; I found myself giving a presentation ad hoc after the planned presenter was delayed on a flight. https://flic.kr/p/2owX5bK

April 25, 2023. This is the Touchette Bridge, a key crossing on my usual bike ride to St. Albert. As can be seen, I won't be using it for a while. Today was another day focused on my newsletter and catching up with paperwork. https://flic.kr/p/2owSXs5

April 24, 2023. Charlemagne watching me as I go down the stairs. There's a spot in the front hall where I can interact with the cats at eye level. This is now the 'petting zone'. The shadow is created by cardboard barriers we installed to prevent them from falling into the stairwell when they were kittens. Work today was mostly me getting a bunch of posts ready for the week, as I knew it would be a busy week. https://flic.kr/p/2owX2VD

April 23, 2023. Evn if they're not quite blooming yet, it's nice to see trilliums all through the forest floor. We went for an 8.7 km walk along the Mer Bleue trail. It was supposed to rain all day, but it didn't, though trail was pretty muddy in places. Otherwise a quiet day of rest. https://flic.kr/p/2ovoBeP

April 22, 2023. This is a train with two engines and two cars in Finch, Ontario. I thought it was going to rain all day, but instead the rain held off until evening and the result was a beautiful day for cycling (if you don't count the 50 kph wind gusts). It was 56 km on the road bike, average speed of 18.8 kph, which is really good this early in the season (for me, at least). Too bad about the Jays loss, but it was a heck of a ball game to listen to for the first half of the ride. It was a full day off for me today - no real work, no part time work, just me. Also, the new duvet cover arrived, which means I can use the new lighter duvet, and get better sleep, https://flic.kr/p/2ovf9Hq

April 21, 2023. This is the PSAC picket line on Montreal Road outside Mona Fortier's office. I was out on the line again today - lunch hour only, because it is illegal for me to picket with them any other time (I'm in a different union). I'm *very* sympathetic with the PSAC workers - they're the lowest paid, they're being offered less than inflation, and they want to be able to work from home, where appropriate. And frankly, it's silly top require that employees sit in an office in Ottawa when they could be working anywhere else in Canada, helping support communities nationally, rather than just here in Ontario. https://flic.kr/p/2ovgbKT

April 20, 2023. A better shot of the goldfinch in our back yard enjoying the feeder. A quiet day, working from home, and recovering from the cold I got working in the office. https://flic.kr/p/2ovbjmW

April 19, 2023. This is a squirrel spotted just off Montreal Road as I was headed for lunch at Bobby's table (some delish smoked meat). The restaurant just happens to be across the road from where striking public service workers were picketing a government office. OK, the office of Treasury Board minister Mona Fortier, the person who ordered everyone back to the office for no good reason.So during my lunch hour (and not a minute later, because that would be illegal) I joined the picket. I also did some work in my office (despite my computers still not working) and had an online meeting later in the afternoon (no actual in-person meetings because people I work with are located across the country and around the world). p.s. animals know I'm their friend, which is why they stay and pose instead of running away and hiding. https://flic.kr/p/2ouDA46

April 18, 2023. And just like that, there was green grass. I'd swear it was brown yesterday. I'm always amazed at how suddenly the grass returns. I went to the office to work today, a but tricky since none of my office computers is working properly. Oh well, I guess Mona Fortier just wants me to sit in my office twiddling my thumbs, because culture, right? https://flic.kr/p/2ouFTRo

April 17, 2023. The bottom half of a goldfinch is visible below the rain shield over the feeder. This was a quiet day - also cool and rainy, so I wasn't tempted to go outdoors - a nice break after last week's frenzy. Still it included a long meeting in addition to the work on the newsletter. https://flic.kr/p/2ou6vbv

April 16, 2023. This is Joey Vinegar and guests performing at the Ottawa Farmers market. We drove into the city to check out the Tamal fesitval (and eat some delicious tamales from various countries) and on the way checked the market; both events were happening at Lansdowne Park. It was a brilliant warm and sunny day. I also put in some work on my website project. https://flic.kr/p/2ou1zCS

April 15, 2023. Spotted this horse just north of Avonmore on my first road bike ride of the season (the gravel bike is in the shop to be inspected, have the tires reseated, and the dropper post lifted an inch). It was a beautiful warm (but not too warm) sunny day, a little windy, but perfect for a bike ride. The snow is almost gone but there's no green yet. I also spent half the day working on a democracy project (which I'll write more about in the future). https://flic.kr/p/2otFrCY

April 14, 2023. This is a scene from La Bonita restaurant on Ogilvie Road where Andrea and I had lunch. Today everything came at once and everything went long - Andrea's appointment, three meetings, a trailer hitch installation, trip to the bike shop, two trips to the pharmacy, and a pickup downtown. Plus I put in work on a project and, of course, my newsletter. Everything got done, none of it without complications. But the Blue Jays beat the Rays, and so all's well that ends well. https://flic.kr/p/2otEoWu

April 13, 2023. I was only 1.7 km into my ride when the front tire of my bike blew off the rim. I wasn't really prepared, since I was just planning a short ride, so I also took a 1.7 km walk. It shouldn't have blown out; I only had 55 pounds in it (it's rated for 60). And I can't reinflate a tubeless tire on the road (normally, I'd just put a tube in it, but I didn't bring any. I had a meeting, took Andrea in for her next appointment, and worked on the newsletter. https://flic.kr/p/2otFd3r

April 12, 2023. This is Julia (left) and Emma on the cat shelf in the kitchen right behind my chair watching the birds at the feeders. This is the first of three medical appointments in three days for Andrea, hopefully nothing major, but they're doing a lot of looking. Otherwise, I worked on the newsletter and that's about it. https://flic.kr/p/2otBgm1

April 11, 2023. This is what I'm seeing sitting at my desk in the office. Dead plants, blank walls, my own computer (because NRC computers aren't working properly). I'm posting this as evidence that I actually worked at the office today. Why? Because (as is usually the case) I didn't actually see anyone while I was there, save a couple nodding hellos in the hallway. That's the 'culture' I am being required to return to, and that is deemed more important than anything I might want. Don't worry, though. It won't be for long. https://flic.kr/p/2ot6cTs

April 10, 2023. This is my bike[packing bike, out on it's first real run, a 45km loop on gravel roads south of town. Here's my recording on RideWithGPS.. ridewithgps.com/trips/117593465 I like the way it pits in the locations of the pictures. But it's weird how it has me finishing at a much higher elevation that I started, though they're the same place. 45 km is a good distance because it's roughly my projected daily distance on my long summer bikepacking trip, and this is the bike I'm doing it on (slow, but carries a lot of weight). https://flic.kr/p/2osrybe

April 8, 2023. Scene from the qualifying rounds at the world men's curling championships. We won free tickets from CAA and it was better than I thought it would be. We were seated in a 'loge', which is basically a private box with nice chairs, a table, and free food and coffee. The view was excellent, the game was great, and I was as happy as a clam (assuming clams are very happy) throughout. Canada won the game we watched, and also the next game (which we watched on TV in the evening) and are in the finals Sunday. https://flic.kr/p/2osak8P

April 7, 2023. Yes, I had a chocolate Easter bunny for lunch. No, not one of these - a kilogram of chocolate is too much even for me. I made too with a 200 gram bunny. It was a stay-at-home and try to recover day today. I watched a couple of ball games and played some No Man's Sky (new Interceptor update). https://flic.kr/p/2os2NU3

April 6, 2023. This is a red-winged blackbird departing the feeding area mid-afternoon near the end of the ice storm. Today was mostly the aftermath, with half an inch of ice covering everything and the power being out all day. Andrea and I spent the day successfully preventing the basement from flooding by manually bailing and carrying out the water from the basement sump pump area. Also, in the middle of that, we had to round up the cats and take them to the vet for their annual checkup (you try rounding up cats in the dark!). Also, I scattered seeds for the birds. I also spent time at Timmies charging stuff (I guess they have their own generator) and buying hot food. And oh yeah... it was my 64th birthday. "Will you still need me, will you still feed me When I'm sixty-four..." https://flic.kr/p/2orQr6j

April 5, 2023. This is a view of the ice building up in the back before my window was covered with a layer of ice. We had thunder, lightning and freezing rain, the first instance of thunder-ice since 1985. It got worse and worse and then around 9 the power went out and never came on. https://flic.kr/p/2orPtzV

April 4, 2023. CSECV building as seen on my walk to the office for my first day back in the office after the pandemic. I dropped my car off to have the tires changed (and to argue with them about the trailer hook they never delivered, and then about the vastly inflated price of the trailer hook) and then walked about 4.5 km to work. They called us all back to the office, then never bothered to open the cafeteria, so Iw as without food and coffee (but had quite a nice lunch with Bruno, so it's OK for today). I am not happy about being ordered to return; there will be much more about that in the nearish future. https://flic.kr/p/2orQdFf

April 3, 2023. This is some carrot-giner soup with added veggies, chili flakes and salmon. Delicious! We picked it up yesterday at the Farm Boy in Cornwall. Today was an indoor day - I finally finished my report and sent it in (no doubt changes and corrections will be needed, but it's a relief to have the bulk of it behind me). https://flic.kr/p/2orNajA

April 2, 2023. We went for an 11 km walk along the St. Lawrence River waterfront today. It was far colder than I expected, with a brisk wind that cut through my jacket. Still, it was a good walk and quite scenic. https://flic.kr/p/2oqNVXn

April 1, 2023. It actually got pretty warm today, especially in the bright sunshine, and I was able to get out for an actual bicycle ride. It was pretty slow since I'm warming up the new bike on gravel, and the shoulders were soft from all the rain and snow. No complaints, though. https://flic.kr/p/2oqMsXE

March 31, 2023. March ended with a snowstorm, visible behind the palm tree in my office. I'm ready for winter to be finished now. Spent the full day on my tech barriers report. Not quite done but it will be off my desk by Monday. https://flic.kr/p/2oqwaJy