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tobogganning in winter
I didn't realise I hadn't put these pics on yet ...
getting some air I've been a total slacker with the blog for ages. At the moment I'm working 10 hour days, six days a week and trying to fit in some kayaking and so forth, so there are few hours in the day left that I'd like to be inside on the computer. The weather has finally warmed up a bit, most days now around 15-20C, but the water is still ice cold (as I found out tonight kayaking), so swimming is still out for another month or so.
More wildlife has been spotted of late - I saw my first racoon the other night in front of the house on the other side of the road, and at the bus stop near work there's a groundhog that sits on the roadside nibbling grass. There are also muskrats swimming around the harbour (I just squint my eyes a little and pretend they're otters - they're a little too ratty for my liking), and there are also bunnies out eating plants in the nursery (tiny little things that you could cup in one hand). Still to see a moose, and it's not too likely that I'll run into one in Kingston.
My
like wow, wipeout
at least I didn't hit the trees .... new job is in a small nursery called Riley's Garden Centre, and it's right on the water at Collins Bay (an inlet of Lake Ontario) about 10km west of Kingston. It's got a lot of plants I already know (i.e. EUPHORBIAS) which is handy, but there's a lot of new plants to learn, and because of the obvious differences in climate, everything has to be treated differently. The best part is NO AGAPANTHUS! Work will be flat-out until mid-June, as the growing/gardening season is so much shorter here than at home (where it's practically 12 months of the year), but I have booked my birthday weekend off to go camping out at Algonquin Park, where I hope to get my first glimpse of beavers (and not just their dams and lodges).
My tan is already in existence, including the ubiquitous tan-lines (today's include the singlet mark, a step up from the previous days' t-shirt mark and last weeks' glove mark. Unfortunately a singlet is the least I can wear at work (without scaring people anyway), so it looks like the permanent tan will be the current one. It's not quite warm enough to break out the shorts yet, so
my legs look Canadian at least (minus the bug bites).
I had heard the jokes about the two Canadian seasons (i.e. snow and bugs), but had not experienced the bugs until the last week or so. Luckily this first batch are non-biting, but are easily swallowed whilst running/biking/kayaking as they tend to congregate in large swarms. These guys are just starting to peter out now, but will no doubt be replaced by something more vicious in the near future.
For those not in the know as yet, the end-of-year plan (give or take) is to fly down to Venezuela around Christmas and fly back to Oz from Colombia via Miami, so I should be back in the homeland shortly after the New Year. So yes kiddies, tha's one more year without Christmas presents but souvenirs later on. I just have to figure out how to get all my stuff from Kingston to Melbourne so I don't have to lug it all around South America with me (any ideas?).
I've put on a selection of pics from the winter, but will have to get out there soon to get some good spring pics before all of the flowers
go. So hopefully you will all hear from me again some time in the next few months! (I'm not promising anything...)
Hope everyone's doing well and enjoying the weather, wherever you may be. Ciao for now!
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The Aussies
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Nice!
Nice giggle twat!!! I didn't realise how much I missed you til I heard you giggle on the vid. Nice one!