goat trail, now with 30% fewer trees!
March 5, 2010
Some people came and cut down a bunch of trees near the Monastery today. When I went over to take a few photos after work, there was a group of deer standing around the (now quiet) machinery, looking confounded. Of course they’re camera shy, so all you get is one tiny deer hiding in the shadows framed by the tree-ripper there. No, really, she’s there. Look harder.
Across the road the carnage was worse, and the steep, rocky little goat trail that the students walk (us middle aged old coots whose best years of cardiac health are behind us take the longer, more gently sloping path) is now a clearing big enough for a game day tailgate party. I can’t imagine what they might be building in such a spot, although there is a sewer at the top of the path. Where the path used to be, that is.
Phrases I need to work on saying less often, all of which show up here in my video narration, include:
1) adding “right now” onto the end of an otherwise perfectly finished sentence;
2) “. . . I tell you what” (picked up while living in Georgia, reinforced by a recent King of the Hill binge);
3) “Jesus Murphy”.
I’m clearly some kind of hayseed. At least I didn’t swear. Wait, is one of those a swear?
Posted by jodi on March 5, 2010 at 11.14pm
notes from a travel day
February 13, 2010
A Tims cup amongst other garbage left behind by hockey fans at Memorial Gardens in North Bay last night. Nipissing Lakers won 7 to 2. Better than that one game I watched a bit of on the local cable t.v., in which the Lakers got scored on in such quick succession that two goals went into the net in the time it took me to raise my teacup to my lips.
Peter and I have gotten so used to me living away in the States that we keep finding ourselves surprised at how easy our travel back and forth is now that I’m living away but still in the same province. At some point last week I was pondering where in North Bay I could go to change my money before coming home, and I’m embarrassed to admit how much time I spent worrying on that before remembering that I don’t have to change my Canadian money back to Canadian. Even this morning as we packed our last few things before hitting the road home, I felt that familiar apprehension in anticipation of crossing a border, and had to remind myself out loud that this time we have no border to cross, no questions to answer, and no worries about what’s in our car or how much money we spent while we were away.
But the best part of traveling home to Windsor from North Bay? WE DIDN’T HAVE TO DRIVE ACROSS OHIO TO GET THERE.
Peter’s happiest realization was that he could drive all the way up to get me and drive all the way back with me and never have to stop listening to CBC. You can’t believe how dismal the radio offerings are through Kentucky and Tennessee unless you’ve driven it yourself.
My years living in Georgia left me with an abiding love for the red iron oxide dirt colour, and seeing that same colour cropping up here and there in the jutting towers of rock that rise over Northern Ontario roads gave me that warm sense of home. Funny that my home province feels more like home when it reminds me of someplace away.
I think there must not be any teenagers living in South River, Ontario. Because there was an arrow sign there that read “BUCK YE HORSE FEED” and it had not been hacked. I mean, come ON.
In Huntsville, a Tim Hortons employee chastised us for not approaching the counter quickly enough. Not that remarkable, perhaps, but it was kind of funny how irritated he was. Last night at the hockey game in North Bay, hanging back for a moment before approaching the ticket booth totally paid off because a man saw us, came over and gave us a pair of free tickets (good seats, too!). Nobody at Huntsville Tims offered us free coffees, though. You can’t win ‘em all.
Next time I’ll call ahead to the Fluevog store before wasting a good three hours of our trip parking at Yorkdale Mall and taking the subway to downtown Toronto only to find that the boots on which I’ve now got my heart set MIGHT be available in my size again in August. Argh.
dans des nouvelles de tricotage
I finished up the last few cable repeats of this legwarmer at the hockey game last night; my crowning moment was crossing a four-over-four cable without a cable needle without once taking my eyes off the puck. That only happened once, mind you. But still, it only proves that I am AWESOME, right?
The ribbing and bindoff were finished in the car and #2 is started; I should have been able to knit most of the second legwarmer during our seven hours or so in the car today, if only Northern Ontario weren’t so damned pretty.
Posted by jodi on February 13, 2010 at 8.47pm
a giant frozen tentacle porn adventure!
February 12, 2010
Peter and I took a walk through the trails around Duchesnay Falls this afternoon. The only part of the river that wasn’t completely frozen over was this bit at the bottom, where water rushed up into a spectacular ice formation that resembled a gigantic frozen cephalopod, sucking and lapping at the water with its gross mouth tentacles. We were standing on frozen river to take these photos (I was unreasonably nervous about being on the water considering the ice was probably a metre thick in some places).
A frozen bridge of ice tentacles:
Peter is standing on the river here, about halfway down the falls. Because he cares about SAFETY, he did not attempt to swim. Because I care about hypothermia (and, specifically, avoiding it) I didn’t try to swim either. I was tempted, though.
It’s perhaps not apparent here, but Peter is standing near the top of a pretty much vertical drop about 15 metres down to the river. This was right after we crossed the river ice and CLIMBED up. I’d just like to point out here that my boots, while warm and shiny and sturdy, are made for walking around all winter on nice, safe, snow-covered city sidewalks. They’re a tad slippy on the climbing straight up snowy cliff faces with practically zero footholds. I would have been scared to climb that if it hadn’t been covered in snow. Oh, and also I walked face first right into a huge branch that hung out over the trail and just about knocked myself out. Just like in the cartoons!
Peter, on the other hand, has the perfect boots for living up here. He rarely gets a chance to use them down in balmy Windsor.
Posted by jodi on February 12, 2010 at 5.19pm
where the bear and the bison blow
February 7, 2010
Today Peter and I took a walk along the road that leads uphill to the university in order to photograph the ubiquitous Canadian Shield graffiti. We ended up climbing to the top and taking a hike along some of the trails that wind through the area. I wish I’d taken a photo of the frozen stream that I was totally freaked out about standing on, but I was far too busy not falling on my arse.
What a coincidence: I love trucks too!
The view back down to the road from up on top of the painted wall:
Posted by jodi on February 7, 2010 at 3.42pm
deer at the monastery
February 3, 2010
I was beginning to wonder if the elusive deer I’d heard tell of around the monastery were in fact my Polkaroo, and whether every time a student came inside and told me they’d just seen a deer out in the yard it was in fact just me in a deer suit that they’d seen. I’m sure my students are all way too young to get that reference, as evidenced by the look one of then shot me when I said “Polkaroo was here? And I missed him again!” as we walked outside to check out the deer.
Turns out all you have to do is throw a bag of carrots out next to the parking lot and wait. Huh.
Posted by jodi on February 3, 2010 at 10.31pm
blue skies
January 21, 2010
It was an insanely fine day here in this little corner of the Great White North. Here, have a look:
Yup, that’s the same old path up the same damned hill AGAIN. One of these days I’ll walk somewhere else, I promise. And when I do, I’ll be sure to photograph the snow over there for y’all. I’m quite certain it will look TOTALLY DIFFERENT and Not At All Boring.
I don’t teach again until Monday afternoon, and as we’ll be critiquing a drawing assignment and then having another session with the live model, I don’t really need to do any planning for it. I’ll still be heading in to the school over the weekend, however; there are a couple of shiny new woodblocks waiting in my office and I’m looking forward to getting started cutting on them. I’m also planning to poke around the print shop a bit and get a better look at what letterpress equipment is in there, and think about what sorts of projects I might be able to do while I’m here. Then there’s that whole lithography shop worth of equipment and supplies that’s been recently donated to the school and hasn’t even been fully set up for use yet, and it’s pretty damned tempting to try and start working on a stone, since I wouldn’t have to worry about getting in the way of students with it. If I don’t get too caught up in all of that, I’m going to try and spend a bit of time working up a drawing for my next tattoo (which I’m planning to get while I’m here in North Bay) featuring one of these cute little fellers:
Posted by jodi on January 21, 2010 at 9.21pm
up hill, down hill
January 18, 2010
Morning walk to the Monastery: deer tracks.
Evening walk home down the same path: street lights.
Posted by jodi on January 18, 2010 at 7.46pm
pattern
January 14, 2010
Posted by jodi on January 14, 2010 at 9.57pm
powerlines, winter sky
January 10, 2010
People in North Bay keep telling me how lovely it is here in fall, in a tone that suggests they’re apologizing a little for the winter and for the fact that pretty much my whole time here, from now until sometime in April, will be winter. When, in fact, I’m walking around the place grinning like a goon and taking pictures of the snow and the bare trees and the cold sky like someone who’s in that giddy first phase of a brand new love. And then posting them online like they’re something special and not totally boring in that special way that someone else’s new-love-giddiness is: crushingly, eye-rollingly boring. Sorry, y’all. The novelty will wear off eventually, once I realize that North Bay farts in the bed or cuts its toenails in the kitchen or something like that. Once I get tired of being cold.
Posted by jodi on January 10, 2010 at 9.54pm
it doesn’t matter where in Canada you go
January 9, 2010
There’s always something familiar looking about the scenery.
Posted by jodi on January 9, 2010 at 4.35pm
