Trespassers will be shot!

Driving down a back-country road the same day that I visited the tree camp (seen in previous post), I came across this picturesque old vehicle mouldering away in an otherwise empty field.

By "empty field" I mean just that...no houses, sheds, shacks, teepees, barns, dog houses, outhouses, sheep pens, hovels...nothing, zip, nada.  Just the old truck.

Of course I had to stop and get some pictures to cart back to my blog, but just as I was happily snapping away, a loud angry voice started shouting at me.

My heart dropped into my rubber boots as I turned and saw a large bearded man in a black tee-shirt and jeans, accompanied by a big black dog heading my way.

All the colour seeped out of my world when he hollered,

"Whaddya think yer doin'?!"

"Well, I'm just getting some pictures of this old car, if you don't mind.  I mean, if you don't want me to, I won't," I squeaked in reply.

His surly retort? "Well, I don't have my shotgun with me...

 I guess you look okay. 

But really...you shoulda asked!"

I hurriedly grabbed a few more shots 

and then motored on out of there.

Before I left, the guy informed me that the vehicle 

was a 1948 or '49 Willys Jeep.

I guess that meant he'd forgiven me.

Can't say I felt the same towards him.

On the Street Where I Live

One of the reasons I appreciate being able to walk to and from my (very) occasional job is the chance to admire the view...whenever I remember to stop and do so.

Actually, this is pretty much the view from the front of our house, zoomed in on.  That's the Peticodiac River, also known as the Chocolate River because of the fine silt that gets stirred up in it as the tides wash it in and out from the Bay of Fundy.

On the opposite side of the previous view we have the always fascinating car lot of Snider's Garage which is an endless source of photo ops for a rust & oddities-lover such as myself...but more on that another time.

Well, okay, here's a taste just to whet your appetite.

Goin' Nowhere Fast

Ever feel like you're stuck in a rut, or getting nowhere in life?  Spinning your wheels, if you've even got wheels.

These cars are fixtures on the main street of the village where I live.  Their owner has a newer model that he still drives.  I guess his old cars just have too many fond memories to let them go.  Maybe his wife collects salt shakers or china poodles and this is his own sort of collection.  As the man in question is the proprietor of Snider's Garage, he has the place to proudly display them.  Main Street is his own version of the curio cabinet or kitchen shelf.

They also make excellent planters.

For some reason, there are a lot of these cars still on the road in the village.  Maybe Mr. Snider had an Oldsmobile dealership at one time. There's one older fellow that I see every evening parked in the empty lot in front of the hardware store, sitting in his Olds with his window rolled down, wearing his baseball cap, watching the comings and goings on Main Street and waiting for friends and acquaintances to drive up and have a chat with him.  Kind of like drive-through visits, I guess.  Maybe his house is such a mess he doesn't want anyone to come over. 

Or maybe he's embarrassed by how much his wife's salt & pepper shakers collection has gotten out of hand.

It's a big mystery to me.  But I can certainly relate to the feeling of getting nowhere in a hurry, stuck inside an Oldsmobile with the Memphis blues again.





Convertible Memories

I'm looking through you,

where did you go

I thought I knew you,

what did I know

You don't look different,

but you have changed

I'm looking through you,

you're not the same.

Yellow is the Colour

Yellow is commonly associated with such things as: sunshine, happiness, warmth, lemons, bananas, taxis, caution, cowardice, aging, jaundice, biliousness, urine, and the 3rd chakra (stomach: power centre). But who cares? Today it merely serves as a vehicle for some images I recently acquired. So fill up your travel cup with some freshly squeezed lemonade, put on your yellow-tinted sunglasses (good for hunting, apparently), and let's see if we can hail a cab.

This Vancouver cabbie's pink turban goes very nicely with the big yellow taxi, I think.

This unusual dwelling in Seattle really caught my fancy with its minimalist approach to architecture.  The red tile roof and bright green grass show off the yellow to its best (?) advantage.  I might do a little something different with the interior window-treatment, though.

Another example of red and green against a bright (not to say acid) yellow background.  Seems to be a trend in that particular Seattle neighbourhood.

Further along the wall down this Seattle alley was an interesting configuration of wire, crowned with a magic ball that was good at capturing images for its own nefarious purposes. 

These flowers look similar to the ones in the Seattle alley but were found growing along a ditch in my little Maritmes village back in Canada.  Hands up those who see the bug!  No, it's not to the left of the picture, it's on the right.  And it's pink.  Again with the pink and yellow.  Even nature thinks they go well together.

And who could ignore the brilliant yellow dandelions that run rampant in the countryside.  They are colourfully termed "pisse-en-lit" in French (at least in Quebec), translating to "peepee in the bed" in polite Englislh.  They are the bane of my mother's existence.  If they dare to litter her lawn she extricates them with a vengeance, along with other sharp, pointy tools.

She particularly hates them if they happen to progess to this state when she's not looking, thus preparing to spread their yellow glory ever wider in years to come.  Anyone have a good dandelion wine recipe?  Or is "good dandelion wine" an oxymoron?

After a few jars of that dandelion wine, you should all be ready to get your tie-dye out and sing along: 
 Quite rightly!

Let's Get Outta Here Awhile

Whaddya say we just hop in the truck and take a ride back a couple of summers ago, over to the island...

Prince Edward Island, that is.

This looks like a good route, lined with post-modern windmills...

Or we could stick to the more traditional telephone poles route...

So many choices...Sesame Street ... 

 

or Stompin'Tom Road?  Well, being as how Stompin Tom's an island character, let's stick with the theme...

 

My intuition paid off:  Look at this charming dream house just waiting for us here!

While I try to locate the owner of that dreamy property, why don't you  take a little walk down to the shore for a good look at the ocean.

If you look really hard, you might see the Confederation Bridge that we took to get to the Island.  It's free to come over here, but you have to pay to leave.  Maybe we should just stay?

Here's a fine piece of Canadiana by the incomparable Stompin' Tom.  Sing along on the chorus, why dontcha?  Be sure to stay all the way to the surprise ending!

On the Road Again

I wish I could have bought this little number when I was out in Vancouver.  It would have made a swell present for Pierre.  And it would have been such fun to ride off to Quebec in it tomorrow morning.  Yup, we're on the road again.  Going to visit the in-laws in Quebec City and then our daughter in Montreal.  But the Prime Motivation of the trek, at least according to Pierre, is for him to take our daughter and myself to a football game at the Big O (Olympic Stadium) this Sunday.  Now, I hate almost all team sports (who am I kidding--pretty much all sports.  Go ahead and boo!) and maybe especially football.  But the opportunity to observe my partner making an absolute fool of himself (okay, not that unusual)  and having a ball (pardon the pun), as well as hanging out en famille, eating hot dogs and drinking beer, was just too much for me to refuse.  I had thought I might bring my knitting along to keep myself amused in the stands but my daughter has advised against it.  Too much risk of getting mustard in the yarn, and it would also interfere with my drinking arm.  Such a wise girl (she has a master's degree from Oxford, you know.  Proud Mum.)

I hope we won't see too many of these little bandits' corpses littering the highway en route.  I also hope we won't need our snow tires because Pierre steadfastly refuses to have them installed as he claims they're too noisy for such a long ride (10 hours to Quebec City from here) and he swears it's not going to snow on our trip.  Heard that one before!

BTW--the teams playing on Sunday will be the BC Lions and the Montreal Alouettes.  I'm from BC and Pierre's from Quebec, so things could get interesting in the stands.

Go Team!  Go Me!  See you soon!
I've left you a kiss goodbye here

Get Your Motor Running

Out walking the backroads of the village I came across this interesting specimen of vehicular phantasmagoria.

(phatasmagoria: Rare.  a shifting scene composed of different elements)

 "Shifting"--get it?

It was being off-loaded into this ginormous garage that had recently been built beside a mini-home (ie. non-mobile mobile home).  The garage is twice as big and at least twice as high as the home.  Good to get one's priorities straight.

I know pretty much diddly-squat about engines, but I'm pretty sceptical that this windmill affair can actually make the car go.  Maybe it's a new wind-powered auto?

Couldn't resist doing a little colour job on her.

Movin' On

And now a word from our sponsor.

I'm not much into cars but I was quite taken with this little number.  It reminds me of one of my all-time favourite automobiles, the Nash Rambler.  "Beep beep!  Beep beep!  It's horn went beep beep beep!"  Anyone other than me remember that golden oldie?  My family used to go for burgers at the then drive-in A&W, as opposed to the now drive-thru.  It seemed so exotic to have a waitress roller skate out to the car bearing small trays laden with fat-loaded foods.  The little trays were hooked to the edge of the side windows, outside the car.  The windows had to be rolled to just the right height. 

At another burger place, the White Spot, long metallic trays were inserted across the whole interior width of the car, from driver's window to passenger's, and hooked into the sill.  It was a bit like eating from a trough, though. 

After this fine dining experience, we would often "go for a spin" in the car, usually with me standing up in the back, leaning over the front seat for a better view, while my dad twiddled the radio dial and my mum smoked a Black Cat cigarette. 

Those were the days!

Fancy-Ticklers

I've seen a few things this week that have tickled my fancy in one way or another.

Eight different flavours of BC Cider. That's 7% alcohol per bottle, by the way! I'm working on peach these days. This isn't fruit juice, people! But I'm positive they're good for one's health.

A funny face from Nepal grinning at me from an outdoor display of hats on the perennially cool 4th Ave. For some reason, my mother was absolutely affronted by this wooly wonder so I refrained from buying him and wearing him home. But if I knit my own version...hmmm...

Isn't this the most adorable little mini-van! Don't you just love its visor? I think I could keep it in a bread box instead of a garage.

And then there was this little sweetheart who was out doing her shopping at the pharmacy today. She has a visor, too, and is apparently quite used to having her picture taken. The canine cutie rides around in her servant's walker.

*

I wonder what other delights might be in store for me in the weeks to come. I'll be sure to let you know!

On A Roll

Let's go explore another little New Brunswick town...

All aboard for Sussex! Here we are at the train station.

Sussexians like to paint their buildings with colourful murals.

Mural gazing at itself in a puddle.



Leafy trees contemplating crystals and prayer flags.



An inviting café but I have it on good authority that there is free food to be had elsewhere.



It's true! This gallery is serving up cheese, pizza squares, sweets & beverages. Wearing clothing to match the walls is optional.



There is art as well. It's delectable but not edible.



If you've seen and eaten enough now, it's really time to be heading out.



Why don't you let me give you a ride home in Bette la Bête. Cocktails are being served in the rear.