the truth about farmer von

I woke up this morning with my arms and back feeling like pulled taffy. I flashed back to my dream, somewhere on a winding trail deep in B.C. I'd fallen off over the edge of a cliff, but was holding on to one part of the boardwalked trail and some overhanging tree roots. In my company was a baby mountain lion, adding to my weight, the pull on my arms, and smart enough not to move. The dream went on and on, but eventually we were rescued. At the end, a huge mother mountain lion dropped down from the canopy, and just stood watching everyone. The baby ran to her, and then back to its rescuers- pausing to rub against me as if in thanks. Depressingly, I seem to be channelling Disney in my slumber. Always I am the hero.

Then I realized that my shoulders were tender since after storing my kayak in her parents' shed, Karen had somehow convinced me to go canoeing with her on Puslinch Lake. The skies were dark, it had just rained, and the wind was so strong it was very nearly stopping us in our tracks to the boathouse. "This'll be so FUN!!" she kept insisting. You can't argue with FUN when it's yelled at you over the gales. So I agreed to have some FUN, and off we went. (Karen is a bonafide canoe guide, so this wasn't a completely insane idea).

I couldn't even imagine getting into a boat in that wind, or imagine how a canoe could be steered through it, but Karen was amazing. I was the dumb muscle in the bow, and she was the brains, veering us at angles into and out of shore. Our backdrop was a tiny sea of tossing waves, and mad winds. Our escorts were Dallas and Otis, two determined dogs who somehow also didn't drown, and who accompanied us through every zig, zag and shore break. Dallas has rarely been filthier- she managed to get coated in mud toward the end, and the hose was only minimally effective. But Karen was right- big fun was had by all.




I got to part of the Guelph International Film Festival- The Real Dirt about Farmer Brown is humbly magnificent. Before that I went on a second long bike ride, getting caught an hour from home in an hour-long downpour. I'm liking this road-riding business. It is a more time-efficient lower-body workout, and after a long ride my back feels much better. If only I had two to three hours a day to devote to its maintenance!

Oh, and an amusing note to the earlier post about procrastinating with the license plate renewal- I finally got in to an MTO office only to learn that yes my plates needed renewed, but that my driver's license had expired a year ago. The bill went from $75 to $150 just like that, and I learned that had I waited a few more days (to my birthday), I would have had to take my driver's test again! Sheesh. On a related note, no I have not yet watered those plants.

I'm in London now- 2 weeks late for my birthday, and relaxing with the fam. Today we will buy fabric (!!) to make curtains for my apartment. There are those who feel that by the time you're in a place 3 years, it's time to cover the windows. I guess so. . . though I hate to be ruled by convention.