MY HOUSE – It’s 8:00 o’clock and my house is almost back to normal. I think I’m obsessive-compulsive about my house and how it’s kept. (Or maybe it’s more like “anal retentive”.) My brother Junior and his partner Katherine have been keeping my Boyz here at the house. Also, the dust from the construction outside on the road has made its way indoors. Where I dusted on Saturday, a thick new film of dust has appeared everywhere. I figure this is the way the summer will be for everyone in Garden Village.
WATER CONSTRUCTION – Construction has been on-going since the fall on upgrades to the water distribution system, a brand new wastewater treatment plant and services for a large new subdivision somewhere in the bush. It is certainly time for this kind of work. I’m sure that most of the weeping beds and septic systems have been maxed out years ago. The blasting, especially when it’s right in front of my house, is really cool!
MORE WATER – Yesterday, Minister of Indian Affairs Chuck Strahl announced the Conservative plan to improve First Nations drinking water. The $330 million that was announced in the 2008 Budget will go towards (among other things) doubling the number of operator trainers for the Circuit Rider Training Program, new legislative standards for drinking water that will be developed in consultation with First Nations, and assessment and planning toward long-term investment in water and wastewater infrastructure. By focussing on training, standards, and long-term investment strategies – this Government is taking a positive step forward in addressing the real need in First Nations infrastructure. But will this government ever invest in what is truly needed? Highly unlikely.
ROBINS, GLORIOUS ROBINS – It’s so beautiful to see the birds again, flying about gathering grass and sod for their new nests around the neighbourhood. There seems to be a boom in the local robin population and they all have seem to take an interest in my front yard. They all seem to be strangers however. A certain mother bird I’ve been watching for years now hasn’t arrived to claim her regular nesting spot in my backyard. I know her from the black teardrop speck under her left eye. Maybe it was the heart attack I almost gave her a few years back. I attempted to attach both a mirror and a webcam above her nest one spring to document her nesting. She didn’t mind the webcam, but that birdie reflection that was always watching her from above really freaked her out. The boy-robin, who shares the nesting duties, didn’t appreciate the intrusion at all. Lesson learned.
