dogs and thunder

she is all wet and muddy underneath, nose stuffed into the side of my leg, snoring loudly. the sky was talking storm talk at us tonight as we watched a small skunk swagger down the alley and the lone street lamp over the fenced in parking lot make the rain look like wedding confetti.
this vancouver thing is wet and shiny and newborn.

*dogs and thunder is the title of a really great track from sarah harmer when she was recording as weeping tile.

Hometown Film Society

its sunny and crisp, perfect weather for walking dogs but i got something else in mind, a film festival. the price for a 5 movie pass is just 25 dollars and on the opening night there was free homemade goodies and drinks! weehaw.

my folks have been involved with the film society for a few years now, and i was weened on foreign films. i think that is were my love affair with imagery began. once i even aspired to be a camera person on film and tv sets but a year at the victoria motion picture school and all the bullshit lies and corrupt money making over actual teaching turned me off anything to do with photography and film for years.

i loved being back in film festival mode, there is something that brings out the critical watcher in me when i am seeing international and domestic films side by side. that part of my artist expectation that must get shut off to enjoy the mainstream movie experience can get reactivated. i get to see movies with my entire intellect and aesthetics in place.

the best film in the festival so far for me has been the documentary of the ongoing dolphin slaughter in japan - quick paced, smart, well shot, well crafted narrative, heart wrenching... please watch The Cove.

curses

how great was it to have a connect card (rocket stick) wireless internet firetower - fucking awesome. how shit was it when i put my wireless on 'seasonal disconnect' for 6 months and my computer started giving me blue screens of death - fucking ridiculous.
an hour on the phone with the tech line at telus was useless. i resorted to an old stand by. i clicked on my C: and used the disc scan in the properties menu to scan and fix bad sectors on the hard drive and wahlaserria wireless connect card 567 and telus are a dangerous mix once you break up they pour sugar in your gas tank, slice your tires and leave you stranded.
at the no blue screen. not sure yet if i can use my wireless modem yet as i haven't tried that but seriously

within walking distance

i found this website and frankly it rocks. you put in your address and wa-la it tells you whats in walking distance - libraries, groceries, cafes/restaurants, book shops, galleries, etc. and it gets even better you can click on the small link in the right hand corner which says "go to street view" and then you are teleported into a photo 360 interactive world.

so for all of you who didn't get to visit us when we lived in manc, please feel free to go for an explore in our old neighbourhood.

*it opens up and you are looking at the church go to your right and you'll see a 2 story brick building we were the upper right corner suite*

reunited

the surrounding forest was quieted in a thick blanket of star shaped moss. as deep as the ball rooms of your childhood were you swam in globes of red, yellow and blue. sunlight found small hollows to lazy about in and the air stilled, the way it does when you are in a pine forest. so many animal trails weaving around that we could and did walk aimlessly everyday.

most importantly for me lisa and chimney connected, chim was responsive and affectionate with lisa right away. it was hard for goat not to rev up the dog before bed time as chimney likes to bring out her toys after you eat and wants to play. it was a big relief for me to see lisa's confidence when interacting with a boundary testing dominate dog and see chimney relax and be actively ready to follow commands. phew.

crammed

i got the poor little pick-up truck loaded down, i so need to stop in GP and send some boxes home via greyhound. i heard that greyhound is closing shop in ontario and manitoba!! what the fuck, it is the only rural service in so many small farming towns and the way to send your self and your goods across the country if you can't afford the train and are opposed to flying. i am soo saddened by the news.

i might have to dodge down from the tower and toss the laundry into the truck and drive it around the hill to the bottom of the old tower road, as the new road goes to goose shit as soon as it even thinks about raining. and we've got severe thunderstorm warnings and 100% chance of precip today. oh dear.

i think i got it under control though. just have the massive amount of cleaning to do and the last few things like taking down the scope and radios, locking up the cupola, taking the last weather readings and putting the stevenson screen away, etc.

should keep me well busy tomorrow as i wait for the boys to come and give me the nod and my final report card.

the season has been a good one. so glad i had a wee diggy-dog to interact with and get to know, it made the time fly by.

what to blog about

you know when folks ask the same question every time they hear that you do the job you do, you start to wonder what is it i do everyday for 5 to 6 months. it got me thinking about blogging a typical day at the tower, and frankly that was boring to even me so i decided to spice it up a wee bit. i am gonna try and draw a day at the firetower. depending on how it goes you might see another cartoon blog series up here in the next while. or i might be answering the same question with the old stand by answers: i read a lot, i look for forest fires, i walk my dog, i do 'tower' stuff...

visitor

can you spot the hummingbird?