June, The struggle continues

Hey Inverted cow friends!

The last couple of weeks have seen some fun, and a few new changes and have had a few sad stories. The garden if FINALLY planted. If it survives is another story, I had some late frost that may have killed off any starter plants I had grasping at life. So we will see what comes up from all the hard work.

Something that MUST be said (again)

When I first started this Blog I had one intention in mind. I wanted to chronicle the culture shock of a person from a city with a population of almost 2 million people, moving to a area with a total population of under 5 thousand people. I have a house that was a year or so from being totally condemned. The yard has not seen a day of TLC since I was here five years previously. I was planning on becoming Semi retired. That is I would work occasional jobs, play with my blog, and tinker with my MLM business, and perhaps start my own coffee shop. The views I express on this blog are my own. If I offend you, tough! I wanted this blog so I could look back on how it all started and say "wow I did have some fun and adventures getting it all done" I post and share the blog publicly because I want people to have a laugh or two with me. I want people to see what culture shock is all about. I advise you that if I have hurt your feeling by having you read my personal journals then tough sht! You are always free to not read them! It will not hurt my feelings at all! It doesn't affect the pocket book because in the last two years of Blogging I have yet to make a single thin dime off of the advertisements placed by Google on the blog. So grow up, loosen up, laugh a bit or piss off!

That is all.

Almost,

People have commented to me about me calling the people out here "inbred hillbillies". This needs explanation. Here in Manitoba there are several family lines that go back to great grandma and grandpa and the twenty some odd kids they had, and then each of the kids having twenty some odd kids and those kids  having big families. The issue is there are only half a dozen such families in this area. They are ALL related in someway to each other. I am in no way related to any one here in the area. My ex wife's folks live closer to the city, and they are only related by being my EX IN LAWS. Yet, I am still judged by being related, by marriage, to them!

Back to the hillbilly thing, So first we have people marrying cousins, the same people basing their opinions of me, on the actions of my EX in laws, most of them are 'cow guys' that is they work a farm where they raise cattle. I get these yahoos driving almost every conceivable vehicle. I had a tractor pull into the store yesterday for a load of materials! Most of them spend the days talking about livestock, fishing, hunting, tractors, and who are you related to, in that order! People do not think anything of handing a loaded shotgun and the keys to a truck to a minor, and telling him to go have some fun, and bring home dinner. I get local yolkals out here cruising around with a shotgun in hand on the quad, without care of where they are going, or on whose land they are shooting, or at what they are shooting.

Sorry, but to put it bluntly, take every dumb hillbilly redneck joke, picture, or dumb idea you have ever encountered in your life. WE HAVE IT HERE!
Ok NOW I am done.

Bad News First

One of the old rules I remember was always end on good news. So here is the really bad stuff first.

As many of you will remember, last post, we had acquired two new baby geese. Two days after the last post I had them eating and apparently starting to get stronger. On the morning of the third day the weaker of the two was dead in the cage. I spent a couple of hours building a pen outside that the remaining one could not escape from. I gave him a old washbasin full of water Some good shade, the kennel they were living in, fresh straw, fresh food and nice tender fresh grass to nibble on.

I set about my day of working on hauling manure from next door to place in the garden. a few hours later I checked on my guest and he was just poking about the pen. I moved him into a shade section and then placed him in his pool to swim as that was also in shade. He seemed to be somewhat lethargic and whatnot. I figured he was overheating as he was sitting in the direct sunlight when I found him. The water was cool but not cold. I left him to swim as he was not making any effort to swim out but would paddle along as long as I was coaxing him.

About an hour or so later I cam back to check on him and he had drowned. He was just floating on the water with his head in the water. It looked as if he just was too heartbroken to continue. I was crushed. Kyle and I took them and placed them in the woods where we had moved their mother too.



Canoe Fun

Kyle and I took the canoe out for another trip on one of the "lakes" out here. We were scouting our potential trapping locations for next winter, and next spring for the muskrats and beavers. While on the trip we came across a couple of floating islands. They are literally islands that have formed from moss and plants growing on beaver garbage piles. These garbage piles are where beavers cast off the leftover sticks and wood after they have eaten all the bark and twigs off of it. We found one where a couple of cranes were nesting, and a couple more that had nests from other unknown birds. There is some of that in the summery video as well.



Job Fun

Last blog I mentioned that I was still looking for another job. Well the truth of it is I was waiting for a contact back from a job where the employer was waiting for paper to clear. After I got hired on full time, my old boss, sent me an Email. He asked me to get in contact as he felt the need to have a "meeting before he would let me do any more driving". I got the distinct pleasure in telling him:

"As you do not have consistent work for me that I can use, I am now working for Mcmunn and Yates.

I may be able to take an occasional charter but would need clear notice before hand."

He appeared to be somewhat heartbroken as he now had no further authority over me (not that I gave him any beforehand). The problem was the pay rate varied about $200 from one week to the next while doing the same work. Any extra expenses were not paid with any degree of certainty.

He was, to my knowledge, telling the schools to not give me any work, even though they are shorthanded. He broke several labor laws. Unfortunately, I am unable to get any documentation from anyone to back it up. Although I have talked to several people and this has happened before. Hearsay will not make a good solid case.

 If anyone was to look back before I was hired, I did say that I do not think this man is qualified to hold the position he does. The good thing is when I was being interviewed for my current job my boss gave me a package of information with some history and some 'about us' policies and procedures information. (normal stuff for a person from the city) Here in hicksville Manitoba, people hire you based on "who your related to". Not what you know, not your skill-set or your abilities or any other factor except that you are related. What my current employer's policy and procedure booklet had in it was:

"Equal opportunity Employment. All applicants and employees are treated equally regardless of race, religious denomination, national origin, color, gender, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy/childbirth, political convictions, marital status. We subscribe to and support the law and the spirit of the Human Rights Act."

I could not find this commitment at my former employer. The good news is if he keeps attempting to rule the school division with an incompetent iron hand one day he will have no employees to drive his buses, and the school division will have to terminate him.  

If you are a person who knows about who I am talking, please feel free to send me an email, and I will be glad to start working on putting together a case against the school board and demand that this person be removed from his position.

Final Thoughts.

Last post I mentioned that I was able to get the part for Ol red. Well the parts worked, red lived again. For a brief moment or two at least. I was able to cut most of the lawn, the bolts holding one of the blades on came off. I replaced them and went at it again. I was able to get red to work for two days. after that I started it again for about ten minutes, the bolts on the deck broke off and I had to replace them again. Red will not go anymore. No mater what I try Red refuses to get started. The good news is I may have a replacement for red lined up. If that goes through then I may go back to looking into making Red a steam powered lawn mower. More to come. 

Hope you enjoy the summery video, Thanks for reading. 
Cheers C[_]