Old Ironmaker

That's what snow removal guys are for. My guy charges me 25 bucks a pop. Never used him once last year, twice the year before and not once this year. It's a no brainer for me to use him. 25 bucks wouldn't cover the price of fuel for me. Sometimes paying the guy is the better business move. We have a 6 car driveway and a 150 feet of walkways. No one out here clears driveways, farm lanes yes but not driveways. It used to drive my father nuts. I will shovel 4" or less of fluffy snow and that's max. It will melt. I sold the blower 12 years ago and bought a few pairs of good high, warm and waterproof Sorrells's and put $$ in my fishing account. Still have the boots but not the tackle. .

Peacock Point is about 10 to 15 mins in the boat from our place. We are the next point east of it. I didn't hear any helicopters Saturday as it was loud here with the winds blowing. Heard and saw them yesterday. The winds were out of the south west and they were looking in front of our place for a while. Close enough that if a member of a chopper had a loud speaker I might have heard them. Probably not they are loud. Who in Gods name lets kids play anywhere near the water at this time of the year is beyond me. Back in the 60's we were not supervised when swimming in this lake in the summer but everyone knew never to go near water in the winter. Even in cold winters where there is solid ice here winds blow the ice to shore and it creates huge 12' plus moguls with deep crevasses between each. Some years back I saw 2 little kids playing on these things a few KM's out and went to the parents in the cottage to tell them to get their kids back in now. I did call them idiots to their faces. In the mean time 2 snowmobilers risked their safety and picked them up and drove the long way around to get the kids in. They had a few choice words for the parents as well. We had a skim of ice on the shore Wed after it got colder. I threw an apple onto it to see how thick it was and it went straight through. Just slush on Thursday. Because of the irresponsibility of adults a child lost his life. I don't know all the facts but you don't need to be an expert investigator to know that those kids weren't being supervised. That's 2 drownings in the last year mere minutes from us, one at the Featherstone Point bay area last summer on a calm day when a guy fell out of basically a small blow up toy boat fishing a few hundred yards from their rental cottage. (It is owned by friends of ours) and Saturday at Peacock Point. Tragic and unnecessary in my opinion, on both drownings. Still many unanswered questions on the summer drowning here. He was last seen fishing in 5' of water and that's where his MT boat was found. His body was found not from from where the boat was found empty. Yet The Coast Guard and OPP had expended the search grid as far east as 15 miles from where the mans body was found. Big currents around here. Search and rescue is one difficult job, my hat goes off to them. edit: I can't believe there was any ice there to play on Saturday.

What I woefully tried to make the point that the pressure, anxiety and almost fear, I'll admit that, that I felt driving the 400's series highways in all weather conditions almost daily. Mostly poor conditions because of the weird fog in spring, summer and fall that would suddenly appear on the 401 west of London and the Lake Effect snow storms we had to drive through on the 402 to Sarnia I said enough is enough and I sold my share in our lucrative business to my 2 partners at a cut rate price. A 2 1/2 hours drive could turn into a 4 or 5 hour or longer drive as I had to pull over to wait out the fog or snow storm or wait on line for hours for the tow truck drivers to get a 52 foot rig on it's wheels. More than a few times I saw tarps draped over something in a crushed 53' rig or car. That was a dead person under those tarps. Something I should say is often I was driving a 15 ton truck with a load of glass in it and strapped to it, not a Toyota. Watch a few episodes of that series about the tow operators working on the 400 series highways and you will get what I mean. I made it through working in the Steel plant with most of my fingers and only few skin graphs and I will be dammed if I was going to be killed driving on a highway. 30 or less years earlier I would not have even blinked at driving in any conditions. Something one can not explain happens when you turn 50, and that was a long time ago.

If you get into the Green Belt along the Niagara escarpment or take the trail, of which the name escapes me, (late and 65 yrs old! Google time,) it goes from The Falls to Tobenmory ON. You would think you were hiking in The Blue Mountains of Kentucky or Georgia or on that trail from Tennessee or Kentucky to Maine. Another name that I have buried somewhere in my thick scull. Appellation Trail, who rah!!! That jaunt on that Ontario trail you will see anything from Bald Eagles to Wolf and Black Bear. Not far from the millions of people that live mere miles from it. It's not that we get forgetful as we age it's like any computer system, when the RAM is full you need to delete some to get more new stuff stored in it. Pretty simple really.

Hi Drifter, Off topic of course but I found an obscure local TV station from South Western ON. a few months ago, CFTV. what a great little station, old movies, classic TV shows. Just the other day they had an old My Favorite Martian on in B&W followed by I Dream of Genie. Zero commercials, nada, nieti, niema, zitch. With this Interweb thing I'm sure you can get it. The reason I tell you this is that an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western was on and guess what of all things he played? A DRIFTER that reluctantly saved the town from a band of Mexicana bandito's and desperado's. The Monkeys are on now. I did not know Peter Tork passed a few years ago. He had $$$. His Mom invented "White Out." So much for $$ when you are 6' down under, and that ain't a band from Australia. Ok back to real life. I thought there is or was a Toyota plant up Cambridge ON way. I know there was in fact as a pals wife commuted there from Hamilton in the 80's. Or was it Honda? Nope Toyota. Paul most all of the GM products I ever owned all had versions of the 350 CID engine. My Eldorado had a big block Caddy engine in it, 400 something. The thing wasn't close to 200 HP. My wife's little 4 banger in her light as a feather Kia Optima is something like 250 HP. Her 07' 3.5 LT Nissan Altima was close to 300HP. I don't think my 76' Corvette Stingray L-88 350 was close to 300 HP Google time. My 011' Silverado is a 5.7 LT/350 CID and I have no idea how many HP. I knew once, doesn't matter to me these days, not like 45 years ago. I'll tell you what though, when I push down on the right pedal you instantly know it's a V-8. A sound and something you will never hear or feel from a 4 or 6 banger no matter what the HP is. People ask me what mileage or how many liters I get per 100 KM's? I have no idea, it doesn't matter, when I need gas I put it in. That's the ride I chose. It's like the old saying if you had to worry about gas mileage in a Cadillac you can't afford one. If I was still commuting to my office in St. Kitts and I was summand to The Home Depot in London I got in the car and went. Then it mattered. Paul I did find a 64' Grand Prix on the internet that was close to your specs. It had a recent restoration numbers matching and they were asking $52,000.00. Only found 1 64' GP for sale. Johnny D/Selkirk ON.

Very good Popofish. It brings me back 40 years when I could walk back up those hills. The only thing I caught was Small mouth Bass.

And here I thought we lived in a wildlife refuge. Nothing compared to your zoo big guy. I have seen hundreds of black and white Deer out here. They say Moooo rather than grunt. I am a bit of a citiot expert concerning aminals. I once bought a new pair of Cowboy boots to go to the Binbrook fair many years ago, I asked Ticha "What's that stuff hanging off that humongous Lambs arse." In between all the guffaw's of others she told me "That's not a Lamb stupid it's a sheep and those are his balls." Then of course I had to ask what the difference is it between a Lamb and a Sheep. Ya don't know till ya know.

I have brought a few cars from the US across the border like my Benz from The Auto Toy Store in Lauderdale I think in 91'. Duty and taxes were not that bad. Engines and such from any of the big 3 do not have duty as long as similar parts are produced here. Toyota and Nissan as well. Ticha's Nissan was built in Kentucky. I found out my brand new then 011' Chevy Silverado was build in Mexico. I wasn't too happy when I found that out. Maybe why I paid over 10K less than my next door neighbour Jim paid for his brand new similar F-150. Things get complicated these days. I can't wait to see our new deal with Mexico and your POTUS looks like. USMCA??????

I realize that, same open season for them here in Haldimand-Norfolk. What does a hunter do with them after they are shot I wonder.? A farmer pal out here butchered one and boiled it to feed to his sled dogs. they hardly touched it. DNA to close perhaps.

A while back I saw an episode of " Restoration Garage" and Grainger, the owner of the shop north of Newmarket, had a Model A ot T set up for the snow and ice. I had never seen a single one in my 65 years of travel. Now I see a line up of them, cooler than the ice they drive on. Dan I don't want to see the road kill after you run something over under those tires. Nothing like fresh ground Ground Hog.

From MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) Watch. Art, move to other discussion page if necessary. NOTL is Niagara on the Lake. Thanks. JD. If always encourage outdoors persons to sign up. If any of you have not signed up for the MNR Watch newsletter I strongly suggest you do. They are not the MNR, they keep tabs on all MNR activities and send you an email. I am always interested in following the court trials of poachers and what penalties they are given once found guilty. There a few great Judges and Justices of the Peace in central Ontario that have big books and throw them at guilty poachers as hard as some relief pitchers in the big leagues. They are female if that matters.. ….........Maybe a coincidence? https://mnrwatch.com/ministry-investigating-coyote-carcasses-dumped-along-niagara-parkway/

Oh my goodness Paul. I would venture a guess if you had that car today the way it came out of the showroom you are conservatively looking at 40 to 50 grand. That's low balling it. I need to look on the Interweb for one for sale, if there is one in the World today. A few months ago we were listing the cars and trucks we once had. I am looking at about a million bananas if I had them today in new condition. Just my 72' TR-6 I bought new out of the showroom in grade 12 for $3600.00 is going for anywhere from 30 to 40K. An identical 69' 280SE Benz convertible I once had in 75' sold recently at Barrett Jackson for $75,000.00. There's over 130K CDN for 2 cars. I still have my 82' 560 SEC Mercedes with the AMG package stored in buddy's heated quancet hut, I think I still have it unless he sold it! He has around 75 classics and not so classic cars of all makes and models. He leases them to television and movie production companies for big bucks. Some do not have drive trains. My list is long, I had an eye for mostly European, not 1 American muscle car. Oops I'm wrong, had a 76' Stingray L-88, the last year Stingrays were offered. No regrets. Ooops again, sort of, 70' Camaro, had it for a week, threw a coat of paint on it (Mayco) and nearly doubled my $$$, but certainly not a muscle car with a silly 6 banger in it. It was pointed out to me the other day talking about car. vs truck towing and launching that the pre uni body frame cars we have now were preceeded with full steel framed bodies of basically the same frames as our trucks are today.

Make pals with the local Fire Dept. That's how the buys made their rink on the lake when lakes froze in Sunny Southern Ontario.

Pontiac's definitely had 350's in the 80's at least here they did. Mom and Dad had a 80's era Parisienne, complete with massive velour Barker loungers and Chesterfields doubling as interior seats. I think it was a Bonneville in the States. The Lawrencian was called something else down your way Paul. Barker loungers and Chesterfields, can you tell I have dual citizenship?

So it appears I don't have full blown Oldtimers disease. Thanks for clearing the clam thing up Big Cliff. You are getting abnormally warm weather down there for this time of year. For years we drove down with a few foursomes for Golf in mid April. I've seen a dusting of snow on Halloween. Yes there were warm days but more brisk days than Florida warm. You are going to start thinking in Fahrenheit again not Celsius. Beware Cliff Canadian Customs will not let you cross into Canada with any seafood, fish, meat, veggies or fruit cooked, cured, smoked, canned or raw. I've seen grown men cry when they realize they have to leave their catches or groceries behind. There was some leeway just a few years ago but there seems to be zero tolerance these days. Same goes for going into the USA. I cross the border about every 3 weeks or more.

Livin' the dream my friend. If anyone deserves it that would be you. Now I'm confused. I have to go back about 55 years ago. Every year the Family reunion on Mom's side was in Western NY just across the border from Niagara Falls. When they were affordable the organizers would buy huge burlap bags of clams. I remember us older kids, about 10 yrs old, would open clams for the adults for a nickel a dozen. They ate them raw with a dash of hot sauce and a squeeze of lemon. How could we open fresh clams when they have to be steamed 1st? I remember clams not oysters. I remember them being cold and slimy. I remember bags of ice. I dunno. I'll have to ask one of my Aunts or Uncles that are still with us they are all in their 80's now. Of course when I was old enough to develop a taste for clams they stopped buying them. When we were old enough to run a reunion I asked a cousin to check the prices. Wow we would have to charge everyone a hundred bucks a person to buy 50 pound bags of clams and that was 40 years ago. Maybe we got them off the huge charcoal BBQ's as soon as they opened and we separated the clam from the shell then put them on ice. It was almost 60 years ago for gosh sakes. I was in the Asian fish market in Hamilton yesterday. Little neck clams were so expensive I passed. I bet you have 50 bucks of clams on that table. Those shrimp look like 15-20's maybe less. 6 bucks might get you a small hand full, maybe. The 15-20's I bought for New Years Eve were over 2 bucks each, frozen even, if I can remember last month! I am so happy you are having a great time on The Grand Strand. I've never had a bad time there. I remember a place downtown that served crab legs, that was all they had on the menu. All you could eat, they asked Big Kevin who was a lineman in the CFL not to come back, he wasn't in game shape then and tipped the scales, if he could find a scale at a slaughter house, at close to 500 lbs. Done any Calabash Cliff?

Brian, I also had that van, a late 60's painted orange. Made it to Florida and back in 76'. 4 of us left Hamilton and I came back solo. That story is in the screenplay. My girlfriends Father didn't like it much, or me. Never got cold as the engine was about 10" from your arse. Caught fire once waiting in line to cross the border to the US at the Queenston Lewiston bridge. The US Customs guy put it out with his fire extinguisher. I could have taken anything across the border that day. Brushed the girlfriends seat off and away we went to the Family Reunion. Stopping at K Mart and buying a fire extinguisher might have been an idea, or checking why it started fire in the 1st place, ya think? No way. The thing was unbreakable. There must have been a few ramp follies with folks launching and retrieving boats with family cars. Sounds like a few here have experience doing it. Man that must have been a fun day besides killing the car the bait was wasted.

Those guys have aged well. I recognize them. Rick Vaive was on CHCH TV the other morning, other than the white hair, and plenty of it, he looks like he can still play today and not just Oldtimer games. I was once a NHL fan believe it or not. I have no idea when and why I stopped watching. Maybe when a buddy took me to see his son play for Carolina. The game seemed lack luster and I asked him if he was seeing it too. He said it was a week before the All Star break and teams weren't putting it all out. I couldn't believe it. Those duckets weren't exactly cheap either at over 175 bucks a pop. And that was around 15 years ago. That must have been a great time for you guys up there. I'm glad to see the entire town come out, all 100 of you!!! Some great pics, thanks for sharing.

I was waiting for a comment for you Irishfield. PIC is the acronym for what Sir? As more facts come out in the intense investigation the pilot did not follow procedure. Was he pressured to fly his high profile client? I don't know if there is a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) on choppers. A recorded conversation on the CVR may show if there was pressure on the pilot to fly. I have been told that Phycologists can actually make a determination of a pilots state of mind based on voice. As far as getting from point A to point B by car rather than a helicopter as a safer choice as Cisco tries to make he obviously has not driven in L.A. traffic. It makes the 401 around T.O. seem like a leisurely Sunday drive in the country compared to Los Angeles's 404. I can't quantify the numbers but can safely say that several thousands have died in automobile accidents since that fatal flight and have not read or heard of another fatal Helicopter crash since. It has been deemed that air travel is far safer than driving an automobile based on pro rated data. After seeing the aftermaths of 100 car pile ups on the 400 series highways on slick ice winter days and summer fogs that pop up without notice on the 401 and 402 west of London I sure would rather be flying than driving in a vehicle those days. Before I retired I had to travel to Michigan regularly on the 401 and 402 during all 4 seasons. Running into a wall of fog doing 120 KPH on a beautiful sunny day with 1000 cars in front and behind you is something I can not explain. Driving the 400 series was the main reason I left the lucrative business.

Best of luck to you. Haven't fished that area so I can't help you Dan; I just want to wish you guys the best of luck and tell ya I'm jealous. It's funny that when I 1st read your topic heading I thought you guys were going out in boats!!! We live on the shore of Erie and we have more ice in the freezer than I have seen on the lake this winter. I'm OK with that as long as we don't get another hurricane here this year. When the lake is frozen I know we won't lose anymore of the breakwall. Best of luck guys, stay safe and have fun, you deserve a break.

My Uncle that still lives in North Tonawanda NY next to the Erie Barge Canal towed, launched and retrieved his big heavy 18' cedar strip with a huge 80HP Johnson strapped to it on The Niagara River, The Great Lakes and the canal in the 60's and early 70's with an AMC Rambler, rear wheel drive. If I can remember that long ago I think he had rear snow tires on all year. I remember those huge bolt on side view mirrors he put on every time he hit the water. Those cars and station wagons (anyone remember station wagons?) must have taken a beating though even with big V8's that did not have huge HP. That was before it was mandatory in North America to tow anything heavier than a Tinny with a full size 4X4 and I see 1/2 ton 4X4's towing them as well. Have ramps changed that much? I'm seriously asking how they did it then without 1/2 ton 4X4's?

No talk on the Super Bowl or NFL football ever here on OFC. I know I've tried to spark discussion for the CFL as well. Might as well guys, you can't talk NHL any longer. San Fran 20-17 final. Oh they are playing the Kansas City Chiefs.

!st I wonder if everything I see on the interweb is true? If true how many barrels of oil to the mile? Another case of far too much $$$.

I would never get close enough to weigh one that's for sure. The 3 I found routing through my garbage that night scared the begeezus out of me. I should say startled, I have never been scared!! Ya right.

There is a time one shouldn't throw good money after bad. The Q is past it's best before date. Time for a new unit. Thanks for the advise regardless.