bigugli

Haven't been back there in over 20 years. Have no idea what it looks like any more.

We need a smiley swinging a dinner bell, or holding a knife and fork

There is nothing that takes the chill out of yer bones on a cold day than a pot of stew. Standard winterfuel for most families in northern Europe. On the topic of surviving, there is more to it than hunting and gathering. I have been fortunate to have been taught many old world skill sets like making bread. How do you make bread if you have no yeast, or if it's too cold for yeast to work? You make unleavened/flat bread. It can be baked in the oven, fried, laid out on a flat rock beside the fire, made thicker and wrapped on a stick over the open fire Recipes are about as old as the Bible, itself. Great for soaking up all that rich gravy from the stew This recipe: 1 cup whole flour 2tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar 2 eggs or sub with 1/4 cup oil 1/2 cup milk or water ( I prefer milk but in the bush water will do) 1 tbsp melted margerine/butter/shortening/lard/etc.... Mix dry ingredients first, then mix in wet ingredients in order. You should have a thick batter. If not add more small amounts of flour til thick. Then cook by your preferred method (oven is 400F for 15 minutes) Enjoy

Even in the late 80's it could be a zoo with people shoulder to shoulder. Nothing has changed; almost. Fewer CO's these days

Out in Niagara there are always friendly little one day derbies or fish offs going on. There is one Saturday on the ice at Martindale pond for heart and stroke. The Peter Lee Memorial next month in Port Dalhousie. There's the Gals and Pals events I usually try to put on at least one "Brag & Batter" day with a potluck and fry to end off. Etc, etc...........

I think it would sour the spot. Especially when lots of junk has been dumped down the hole. As stuff rots and decomposes it is going to produce a higher CO2 level in that location

It takes love. A whole bunch of it. Each and every day.

NHL hockey was, and always will be a business. No profits no team. IF you don't like their prices or business practices, take your money elsewhere. In Canada folks like to complain about prices but still do nothing about it. Hoping some one will listen and do something. Businesses listen to the jingle of coins. I grew up watching the Leafs religiously every Weds and Sat. Watched every Black Label, RedCap and Molden Golsen ad. Sat in the nosebleed seats every chance I could get at the Gardens. Finally gave up on the circus. They aren't worth the money. Spend your money on some good hockey and watch the juniors play. These boys still have to play their heart out every game. They don't have fat cushy contracts yet.

Nothing a tablespoon a day of cod liver oil won't cure.

As always, nice looking pike.

I doubt that things will deteriorate to chaos. However, the history of the homesteaders still has great lessons for everyday people in tougher times. Those skill sets can still be valuable. So is the mind set. As someone else wisely pointed out. Survival is about meeting real need and putting aside, or ignoring, the less important wants and desires. Few farmers, here, hire local folks to work for them. They bring in Latinos and West Indians instead. They are paid less, subsidized and fewer strings attached; and locals today are unwilling to work for farm wages.

In today's economics one is either born into farming, or one has real capital ( read rich) to put into buying and operating a viable farm. What's the current market price for a working farm in your area? What are the first year operating costs? Equipment costs, permits, quotas, etc... The FCC is not so easy to get money from any more. How many families have lost their farms in Ontario since 2005. I can name 6 that I know personally.

If I recall correctly, some 240 years back you yanks got all upset about a stamp tax. tarred and feathered tax collectors, dumped tea into Boston harbour, etc... Ironic, eh?

Sobey's often carries frozen pike filets in the freezer section.

If you are providing info to the tips hotline, the more reports and complaints, the more they are forced to react. One complaint a week doesn't do as much as numerous complaints every week about a particular spot. Keeping taking pics, writing down plate #s , etc.... and send them in repeatedly. Remember, there aren't that many Co's around and they have a lot of ground to cover.They aren't in a position to respond to every complaint that comes in. They won't come running with sirens wailing and guns drawn. They don't have the manpower! Over time they will respond and act.

I'm gonna get the son to run down tomorrow to check the ice and let you know. Smelts will be there all winter.

This is what heats my home. No oil or gas. Baseboard heaters as a back up. In Niagara I can heat the house with 12 faces over a year with the back up. As stated earlier, I am not so healthy any more. If you rely on wood alone here it would be 16 face cords and 2 for cooking. = 6 bush cords. If you fall behind you freeze. You need to be cutting 2 years ahead of use to ensure the wood is dry enough. In other words you are cutting all the time. Because I am not well, I am behind and running short. The son has not understood the importance of staying ahead of the need. Now we are scrounging to get through to spring. Thank God for the back up heat. By the way, wood heat is not free. It costs $250 per year to upkeep the saw and gas for cutting and hauling. It is cheap, but it can be hazardous. You will only make one mistake. Odds are it will be the last. Roughing it over a year is a lot of work, and if you get it wrong you're dead.

Just a little teaser Cliff. Tonight's supper

That is a nice mess of fish you've got there.

Sugar is almost as important as salt for the preserving of food. Of course, in the right areas one can go sugaring off in late winter (there's another set of skills few still posess. I still own a small evaporator.), or over time one can set up hives. It is needed for canning, pickling, the production of bread, fermentation, etc.... I agree about the shovel. 100 years ago child mortality was around 10% and pushed to 30% or more during epidemics. Go into some of the back country areas in Ontario and seek out old settlement graves. See one family plot with 7 or more tombstones put up over the course of three years. Yes life then was a whole lot simpler, but it was also a whole lot more brutal and cruel.

Farmed fish are no different than farmed "wild game", or beef, pork and poultry for that matter. They are raised for human consumption.

I always wanted to own me a Cape Islander like you would find in Fundy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26AwLnSxHkA...feature=related.

An old story

In this part of the country Nauti, there was zero possibility of surviving a nuclear war. Every nuclear plant was a strategic civil target. So was the Falls. So was 'gasoline alley' All we could ever do was kiss our keesters goodbye if it had happened. So why worry?

There are a lot of forgotten skills that need to be relearnt, and fewer people left who can pass them on. Many don't want to listen and learn. We quickly forget that survival is based on self- reliance. It never hurts to keep a veggie patch, learn food preserving. Reduce the unnecessary extras we like to surround ourselves with. Berry picking and digging up roots are just as important as fishing and hunting.