Changing light, shifting gears

So, could this really be the end of 'true summer'?

There's something about the last day of August that makes me feel that way. 

Maybe it's just because I worked in schools for years, and the very word 'September' carried a weight not borne by other months. 

I can't help but notice the way the angle of light is different in late August -- how even its hue is more golden. 

With luck, there's maybe even the scent of coming rain, or is that too only a matter of my imagination?

As if readying for the 'true autumn' that's no doubt coming soon, I not only picked more blackberries today, but I gave the bushes a hard prune -- mainly cleaning up the spent vines, the ones where only the stubs remained where berries had once been. 

With a long weekend ahead, I am grateful knowing that we'll be spending it at home, and not out racing down highways or lining up for ferries with others hoping for a final kick at the holiday can. 

Blackberries, tomatoes, and fresh green beans sound like plenty to me. 

S L O W leak

The street in front of our house has had a slow but steady stream of water trickling down to the nearby sewer for months. The photo above is from March when the problem was reported to the city and they drilled a hole (before that, it had been seeping out of a crack in the asphalt) so they could test the water as they tried to determine the source. 

After a few reports were registered, a man from the water department came out, assured us that it was NOT the beginning of a sinkhole (which some of us in the neighbourhood had feared), but then, aside from placing an orange cone on the curb, pretty much nothing happened. 

Last week they came out again and finally deemed it worthy of further inspection. This had a lot to do with the fact it hasn't rained in over a month, but the water on the road hadn't abated. In other words, it wasn't some kind of drainage problem which they'd been offering previously as an explanation.

In truth, what they discovered today gave us all a few exciting moments -- it looked a lot like water I'd seen at Yellowstone, though fortunately, this water wasn't hot and steamy. 

The excavation took a while, but when they got down far enough below the roadway, they discovered that one of the city pipes was leaking and they replaced the corroded 'saddle' that was allowing water to constantly seep out. 

Five months of wasted water, and this in the midst of drought conditions. Less than remarkable, but at least it's now repaired. And not too surprisingly, we've discovered the water pressure here in our house has improved. So, better than any sinkhole would have been -- a story with a nicely happy ending. 

Thrift store treasure

It's something that goes back to being about ten years old -- my love of wooden jigsaw puzzles. They're never easy to find anymore, but now and then, one comes my way. 

I was lucky enough to have a girlfriend whose family had a drawer filled with amazing wooden puzzles. Often, the scenes they depicted were battles aboard old-time ships, sails filled with smoke and flame. 

This one, a much calmer scene, a mega-bargain from one of my best-loved thrift shops, may be my all-time favourite. Not only were all the pieces there, the precision of the cuts and the marvel of their varied shapes sets this puzzle apart from any other I've ever done. 

There were a number of pieces that had very specific shapes. The two resting outside the image looked like a little house and a derby hat. There was also a complicated curving bishop's staff, as well as two plumb bells a surveyor might use. 

I'm not sure exactly how the jigsawing might have been done -- with a laser maybe?? That would almost have to be the case, as the pieces are mostly quite tiny. 

And yes, I've already taken it apart. Sadly the photo below is a bit fuzzy, but if you look carefully, you can probably see the cutest of the pieces, the bunny waiting his turn to join his friends in puzzle-land. 

Lights, Camera, Conversation!

Already just about halfway through August and this is finally my first post. As the photo suggests, there's been so much going on, life sometimes feels a little blurry. 

That was just one of the days from this past week, being part of a film shoot in Vancouver. 

Because long ago I'd had work published in a magazine called Branching Out, I was contacted by a woman from Toronto and invited to participate as an interviewee for a film that's being made by Marusya Boicurkiw. It's a documentary, Before#MeToo which explores the second wave of feminism (though I suppose I must have missed the first, who knows). 

It was a busy morning with takes and retakes, but was mostly a matter of good chat among friends, old and new. 

And I'll admit I'm looking forward to seeing the results, though I doubt I'll be there for more than a glance or perhaps, a 20-second comment.