Ma Nature's Mafia and simulated Beatles

Hi Carolyn,



First repeatable thought that came into my head after reading your last blog about those nefarious bunnies and coons was ...

soooo.... dey  got ta you too, did dey ??

 

 

 

  Rabbits, raccoons and maybe some chipmunks and squirrels in there to round out the list of usual suspects . All card carrying members of Ma Nature's mafia.  We are, up here, pretty well at their mercy this summer, it seems. It's a continental crime spree, I just know it. 








You are clearly more humane and maybe even, dare I say it,  disproportionately manipulated by your heartstrings on this one. I certainly can't condone indiscriminate  poisoning or actually shooting the little mobsters, but I'm all for using other of Mother Nature's henchmen to deal with them  in a poetically just and balance-of-nature-friendly manner .


For most of the first two decades we've been up here we had a great, no, make that fabulous,  cat in charge of security in the immediate outside world - and inside on occasion when a mouse or snake had the temerity to invite themselves in.

I've sung his praises herein before. His formal moniker was " Dickens " after Charles, of course. We just called him " Dick " He was a barn cat and proud of it, even though he wore spats and a tux.  Dick ran an uber-tight ship around here vis-a-vis intruders. I surely miss him now!

My LSBH and I are on opposite ends of the seesaw on this one. I'd be quite happy to secure another barn cat to share our humble home and keep the gangsters at bay.  She figures that since we are going to be traveling more it would just be an added inconvenience ~  alas, she has a point ! 





One thing, however, that even a ruthlessly efficient feral feline can't alter is starting to make its appearance hereabouts. The ash-borer beetle has begun showing up here in mid-Ontario. We have about thirty-five mature ash trees about our property that would be sorely missed for all the reasons you referred to in your last blog about the benefits of trees. A natural treatment is being touted by some arborists and landscapers in the area but it would be about 200 dollars per tree and isn't convincingly guaranteed. This isn't the kind of thing that happens quickly but it still seems to be set to transpire whether we like it or not.  




This is one of those situations where I start to get the feeling that nature's blueprint  will  be followed whether we like it or not. We can remodel and reconfigure  whatever we like inside our homes but once we get outside she is the decorator of record.

Regarding your observations about Dr. Who.  I'm wondering if he could become my next epiphany type situation, just like The Hobbit was last year. I've never been able to get into him but maybe, inspired by your ardour, I should give him a go and see what I've been missing. I'll keep ya posted on that one.




Speaking of arduous scenarios, I had one just a couple of nights ago.



The "Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular" fishing derby started a few years before we moved here and has grown into a major summer event for fishermen in this part of the Great Lakes. It's grown into a monstrous event that had over 15 thousand entrants this year and  adds many millions to the local economy in the ten days that it takes place.  It's also become an entertainment extravaganza. This year, one of the evening performances under the 14,000 square foot tent was by " The Caverners " a Beatles Tribute Band , that I have heard a lot about but haven't been able to see. So, my LSBH and I went down to see them, along with a whole bunch of other folks.



This isn't a band that just plays mostly Beatles tunes and some other stuff. It's a full-tilt, theatrically outfitted Beatles Tribute Band. There's not just the music but the onstage cheeky interchanges in convincing  Liverpudlian accents and the whole illusion. I was very lousy company, I'm sure, during their almost three hour show, just because I was glued to the stage and quite swept away. People around me could have burst into flames and I would not have noticed.   There were very few electronically filled in parts. These guys sang it and played it like it was played from the git go back in 1962. 

 Now, I'm  a textbook Beatle " fanatic" but,  I can still, like most folks,  recognize lousy talent and that's simply not what I saw that night.  They were in-crucking-fedible.

Pretty sure that my heart-rate maxed-out for most of the time I was there. 

 

\

Still, I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be one of the guys in this band, or any of the other bands that do this around the world - and there are lots of them, surprisingly enough! The Caverners have been doing this across Canada and beyond for close to a decade. Do they have identity issues because people think of them more as John, Paul, George and Ringo than what ever their names are or what? A future documentary in the making, perhaps.


I'm leaving the riddle out there for another go round, Carolyn. It's a busy time and all. Hopefully your educational endeavours are unfolding as they should.


We do find ourselves starting to grasp, almost desperately, at the last straws of summer now. Where the frick did the time go?


Catch ya later,

Don.

All Images downloaded from Google Images

Fig. 1 - cutefunnyanimal.blogspot.com

Fig. 2 - www. minnesotawildanimalmanagemnt.com

Fig. 3 - funny-pictures.picphotos.net

Fig. 4 - publicworkshop.us

Fig. 5 - www.ars.usda.gov

Fig. 6 - www. wallcore.net

Fig. 7 - www.ckdo.ca

Fig. 8 - www. beatlemaniaalumnia.com

Fig. 9 - couponrabbits.com