Month: March 2009

Jim Beam Distillery, Kentucky
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I was in Kentucky last year and took a tour of the Jim Beam Distillery, not too far outside of Louisville. Located in the rolling hills, it’s a fascinating operation. They still make their Kentucky Bourbon just the way they have for the last 200 years or so. This is a shot of one of the restored buildings.

Oregon Afternoon
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

Just over a year ago, we travelled down the west coast of Washington and Oregon. I took a lot of photos but I haven’t spent much time looking through them. (Click on the photo to see a larger version on my Flickr site)

Morning light
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I took this photo earlier this week in the park near our house. (Click on the photo for a larger view at my Flickr site.) I like the way the light spills into the forest in the morning. You can’t tell from this photo, but this area has become a nesting site for Great Blue Herons. They have a very distinctive call, to say the least.

If you want to find out more about the Great Blue Heron, (or any other bird) including listening to their call, check out the amazing Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. If you’re a birder, you’ll go nuts. And if you’re not, it’s still a pretty cool example of the potential of all this technology. They’ve been able to put their collection of virtually every bird call in the world online for the benefit of us all.

Brentwood Bay Ferry Terminal
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

Today was a grey day, as you can see from this photo. I was struck by the monochromatic lighting except for the splashes of colours on the boats and a slight green cast over the rocks on the beach. (Click on the photo to see a larger version on my Flickr site.)

I was at Brentwood Bay to pick up a friend who had been visiting his mother in Mill Bay, a short ferry ride across the water. He lives in Halifax now but we grew up together in Regina, where our parents were very close friends. Over the years, Rick and I have fluctuated between being really close and hardly seeing each other. But the best thing about old friends from our childhood is how comfortable we are together. It’s like the years just fall away when we sit down at Smitty’s for a meal before I drop him off at the airport.

We talk about our kids, our parents, our jobs and all the things that are going on in our lives. It’s a good break from our routines. When we’re done, he’s back on a plane, looking at a long, overnight trip back to the snowy, cold East Coast. It may be grey here today but I’m happy to be here.

A taste of heaven
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

Sure, these may look like oranges.

But they’re much, much more. These are Buck brand organic oranges and in these parts, they are legendary. For people who might be sitting on the fence, not sure whether there really is a God, these little babies tilt the scales. One bite and you know there is a heaven and you’ve just entered it.

If that sounds a little strong, well…you haven’t tried them yet, have you? Some people in our household – not necessarily me – insist on bulk buying when the Buck brand is in the local Thrifty’s Foods. So today, I picked up a few bushels of the things. And it turns out that even Heaven can have the occasional problem with the weather.

Here’s what a little orange card that I found inside one of the bags said (in very small type):

ORGANIC NAVEL ORANGES
The original navel orange was discovered in Brazil at the turn of the century. One tree was started in Riverside, California. From this one tree came the California navel orange known through out the world as the best eating orange available. We grow several varieties of navels at Deer Creek Heights Ranch including the original Washington navel. These oranges are grown and custom packed at our own ranch. We never pick our fruit until it is ripe and full of flavor. We do not artificially color our fruit, use artificial wax or post-harvest fungicides. Unfortunately the temperatures in first week in the spring of 2008 were in excess of 100 F. This caused over 60% of the immature fruit to drop that resulted in the lowest average fruit count per tree in over 25 years. As a result you may find some fruit in this bag with some scarring. We apologize for this, but it is necessary if we are going to have enough fruit to sell. We still unconditionally guarantee our fruit to you as the sweetest available and offer a return of $4 back if you are not completely satified when returned with a sticker and/or receipt. Your comments are appreciated.

Deer Creek Heights Ranch, Route 4 Box 130 – Porterville California

So there you have it. There was some bad weather in Heaven last spring and we’ve got the scarred oranges to prove it. But regardless of what they look like, they still taste good.

A dream come true
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

‘ve always wanted one of these. No, not the car, although that’s nice too. And not the brush, although it’s also nice.

No, what I’ve really been lusting for all these years is the big long driveway that we’ve got at our new house in Victoria. It’s paved and everything. And I’m doing what you’re supposed to be doing in a driveway on the weekend – I’m washing the car. That’s after I spent about 90 minutes trying to vacuum out the dog hair that’s built up in it.

Our house in Hamilton had a gravel driveway and I always wanted to pave it. I don’t know why but that’s what I wanted. So now I’ve got it. It’s not the main reason we bought the house, but it’s a nice bonus.

If you’re wondering about the car, it’s a 1994 VW Jetta and it’s very rare. No, really. You find another one that’s fitted out like this one. It’s got power windows that don’t work. And the back windows don’t roll down. The sunroof leaks (that may not be so unique.) It’s got an inch of dog hair in the back seat and an odour that if you bottled it would ensure that you’d always be attractive to animals on your local walks. It’s got a fuel filter that works intermittently and a radio with a single speaker. You just can’t buy stuff like this anymore. But if you’d like to, call me. I could be persuaded.

Making something special
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I don’t know who “Fred” is or why he’s coming to Mrs. Eckardt’s class, but I know that if I were Fred, I’d feel pretty good about the welcome I was going to get.

Did you ever have one of those special teachers in your primary school years that had a knack for making the things you did feel special? My memory being what it is these day, I don’t recall a lot about my early school years, but the times I do remember involved a teacher being excited about what they were doing and I picked up on that.

I remember Mr. Zuck, one of my science teachers, coming into class in full Mad Scientist mode, hair wildly uncombed, tie askew, grinning madly. He proceeded to pull out some dry ice from beneath his cloak (that’s right) and dropped it into a cauldron of water on the desk. The melting ice formed a layer of fog that flowed out of the bowl, over the desk and onto the floor. The whole time Mr. Zuck was laughing maniacally, rubbing his hands together and explaining what was going on. It seems silly now, but I still remember how much fun we had that day.

Take away from all this — making events special for the people involved makes them memorable. I’m pretty sure that this extra effort that Mrs. Eckardt put into this visit from Fred made it work for the kids – and for Fred. I know I’d like to go.