The First Signs of Spring

Finally, there's some evidence of Spring. I'm not sure how anything grows in the front yard, but it does. The efforts of a resident long since departed.... not dead, just moved away.

Last Saturday Evening ( I posted Friday), we went to a neighbours for dinner and a few glasses of wine. A very enjoyable time. (Wine review[s] below).

Sunday, while the sun was shining, we went on a short hike to Eagle Rock and the view point to Chrome Island. It was the first time we'd been there since the windstorm in December. The damage was extensive as several of the eagle perch trees were snapped in half, mid-height. The old Arbutus tree at the look-out has literally been blown apart. For those of you that have been there... this is the tree where many people have carved their initials over the years. The trail itself is (mostly) passable, as a chainsaw crew has cut a path through the windfall.

Thursday was the first meeting that I've attended at the Fire Hall. They wasted no time fitting the newbie with the full gear. OK, so the size 13 boots will have to go... but we'll deal with that later. The crew there made me feel very welcome and wasted no time including me on the pumper truck operation training. The "old" pumper is coming up on it's 30th birthday and must be replaced, (it has all of 17k clicks on it) and some scouting has been done on a pretty new truck. There was lots of drooling when pictures were shown of the truck after practice. The Chief told me he was very happy that someone "younger" was joining. I like him a lot. I now have two fire-fighting manuals for night time reading. (ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz) There is a 6 month probation and new recruits must take first aid and attain a class 3 Driver's license.

On Saturday, Kari & I attended the morning session of a community meeting relating to the expected budget shortfall of our Community school, (thanks to the new Provincial Budget cuts). The community school is the hub of the majority of community education, sports, cultural events and much, much more. I was quite impressed with the insight and creative input by the local residents.

This is your last chance to take part in the POLL (right column) on Rural vs. Urban. The 3 votes cast so far are a good representaion of the world population, with each vote representing appoximately 2 billion people. A new poll will be posted in March.

The wild turkeys have been extremely vocal over the last week. Although they are out of our sight line, (on the corner of the block), they can be heard gobbling, starting around 6:30 am. Could this be another sign that spring is on it's way? We've also noticed that the herring are beginning to arrive in the sound and can be seen jumping out of the water.

Dave's (Cheap) Wine Corner

Last Weekend, we took a bottle of Funky Llama, Shiraz to our neighbours, who had invited us to dinner. I was mildly disappointed with the lack of fruit and a fairly short finish. This is likely what you get, on average, for a $10 wine, but I have done much better for the same dough. The package is selling this wine, not the contents. Cheap Dave says: Passss.

The Stump Jump 2005 From Australia, touted to be a great Pizza wine was put to the test on Friday, (pizza night on Denman). I opened this wine while doing all the slicing and chopping for the pizzas and was pleasantly surprised by the fruit bomb that it is. Light in texture but heavy in Jammy notes. By the end of the evening it had evolved into a smooth, smokey, cigar finish. It really was like tasting two different wines and both were enjoyable. The next time I have this wine, I will definitely decant for 2-3 hours. $14.99 @ LCB and at the top of Cheap Dave's budget.

QOTD Here's what the Wine Diva had to say about The Stump Jump... "Classic upfront Oz fruit, jammy and bright, oozing crushed blackberries, fruitcake, eucalyptus and a liberal sprinkle of spice. Rich, smooth and creamy on the tongue with a warm and smoky spiced finale".