Come From Away

We are still getting very spring-like weather out here this year. The low for tonight is 1C. Every time the furnace kicks on, I curse to myself. This has surely been a very long heating season!

I took some pictures of the completed swing set today. Everyone is very pleased with how it turned out. I had the big lens on the camera and had to back far away from it to get it all in. I ended up peeking around the garage to take one of these pictures and I felt a bit like a nature photographer. <start fake English accent> “Here we see the illustrious and often elusive back yard play set. The telltale green and yellow canopy denotes this one as being of the Heavy Duty-Glacier Peak variety. One should also note the rock wall and ’stone’ wall for climbing access. The tube slide is found only in option C, which can be very rare indeed. A spectacular find this and something rarely seen in its natural habitat.” <end accent>

While still in wild life mode, I took a few more pictures. The quince bush is in flower, but, judging by the amount of blossoms, it does not look like we will be getting a bumper crop this year. I should probably look into what it requires. Perhaps it needs to be trimmed back in the fall to get it to produce lots of flowers. It’s still pretty though.

Of course, every time I am outside with the camera, the horses are an easy target. At 7 PM, they are always eating their dinner. Today was no exception. I tried to get a good picture where we could see all their faces, but gave up after a few minutes.

Pride wandered over to see what I was doing. He came about five feet away. Although he’s not displaying his fancy tail, he is still a striking fellow. He does not usually come this close, but today he seemed interested (perhaps due to the beeping of the camera).

Three full days of work later, I am almost finished building a swing/playset for the kids in the back yard.

Here it is in its initial stages:

This is me attaching some supports for the Turbo slide and Henry (our friend and neighbour) assembling the slide:

We put the slide together and took it apart approximately three times. It is now known as the “#$%^@# Turbo Slide” as far as I am concerned. I am sure that Henry feels the same way about it! It was so frustrating that we started on it at the end of day two, got so frustrated that we gave up on it, and then came back to it on day three to get it finished.

It’s a nasty rainy day today, so I can’t put up the remaining swings and attach a couple of handles (or at least I am not willing to do so). It can wait until tomorrow…

K also took some pictures of the Sophie. She looks like she’s dead in the pictures, but she is just enjoying the warm day and trusts K so much that she is not willing to stop napping.

Pride was also having a good day.

We are sick… Out of the six of us, only “B” has managed to not catch this flu.

Big “D” missed some school because he was too sick to go.

Little “D” got sick and bounced back in the way that only 5 year olds can.

I brought K to the Emergency Room last Saturday as she was not getting better. The walk in clinic was full, but it may have been better that she ended up at the hospital as her asthma was going crazy and she was hardly able to draw breath. They filled her full of steroids and prescribed lots of puffers, etc.

By Sunday evening, I was congested and exhausted.

I brought “L” to the doctor on Monday morning and he was prescribed anti-biotics. He continues the fight.

It’s been a fun week. . .

It was nice and warm last week and “B” and I went down to the beach to check it out.

This week, the weather looks crummy. Snow on Thursday. WTF?!

I installed a webcards/ecards program a short time ago. If you would like to send an eCard, then use the link in the top of the menu on the right… It looks like this:

We went to see the movie Sharkwater yesterday. Here is a trailer

It’s scary. The world is coming to an end.

Education – Shark Finning FACTS

What is Shark Finning?

• Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of shark fins and the discard at sea of the carcass. The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark slowly sinks toward the bottom where it is eaten alive by other fish.
  Shark finning takes place at sea so the fishers have only the fins to transport. Shark meat is considered low value and therefore not worth the cost of transporting the bulky shark bodies to market.
  Any shark is taken—regardless of age, size, or species.
  Longlines, used in shark finning operations, are the most significant cause of losses in shark populations worldwide.
  Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored.
  Shark finning has increased over the past decade due to the increasing demand for shark fins (for shark fin soup and traditional cures), improved fishing technology, and improved market economics.
  Shark specialists estimate that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins, annually.
  One pound of dried shark fin can retail for $300 or more. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry.

Impacts of Shark Finning

• Loss and devastation of shark populations around the world. Experts estimate that within a decade, most species of sharks will be lost because of longlining.
  Unsustainable fishery. The massive quantity of sharks harvested and lack of selection deplete shark populations faster than their reproductive abilities can replenish populations.
  Threatens the stability of marine ecosystems.
  Loss of sharks as a food staple for many developing countries.
  Local waters are invaded by large industrial, foreign fishing vessels that threaten traditional sustainable fisheries.
  Threatens socio-economically important recreational fisheries.
  Obstructs the collection of species-specific data that are essential for monitoring catches and implementing sustainable fisheries management.
  Wasteful of protein and other shark-based products. Up to 99 per cent of the shark is thrown away.

Are there laws against shark finning?

• Each country with a coastline is responsible for laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in their waters.
  A number of countries have shark-finning legislation. Many stipulate that fins must arrive in a 5 per cent weight ratio of the shark carcasses onboard. Only a few countries demand that sharks arrive in port with fins attached.
  According to the IUCN Shark Specialist group, the easiest way to implement a ban is to require that shark carcasses be landed with fins attached. The possession of fins alone on vessels would thus be illegal.
  Shark finning violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
  Shark finning is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.
  The United Nations Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES) lists the whale shark, basking shark, and great white shark as species that could become threatened if trade is not controlled. To date, 169 countries have agreed to be legally bound by CITES.

Sharkwater
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Wildaid
Shark Trust
Shark Project
The Florida Museum of Natural History/ American Elasmobranch Society/ International Shark Attack File
ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research

When you look at horses standing in a field, you will notice that they often take the time to look up and watch you back… Have you have ever wondered what it is that they are thinking? Based on these recent photos, we believe that we may have figured it out.

I believe that Hill is thinking, “Na Nee Na Nee Poo poo!” and Oopsie is thinking, “Thrweeerp!”

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