Playing in the dirt, not living in it or Fiddleheads: Where the song of the woods is tuned

Hey-o, Kids. Things have been wet and quiet in my corner. Between, job and apartment hunting and a little riding I've bee through the gamut of mental states. Resigned to nauseated to enlightened. Trails are in great shape around here and affordable apartments the exact opposite; muddy, slimy, and definitely hazardous to health. I've encountered a mycologist's wet dream of domestic (and perchance exotic) miasma. Freddy Beach being a university town rents are skewed, at best. Here's what I've learned:

-Lower half of duplex means basement apartment below single mother of three.

Cons: Children above seldom run, as there asthma is just too severe due to their mother's chain smoking.

Pros: Lack of natural light prevents many forms of moss from establishing roots on the walls.

-Waterfront location means walkway to entrance is one dried up ink pad away from a Ducks Unlimited protected wetland designation stamp.

Pros: Delicious fiddleheads are plentiful and those are some tasty little buggers.

Cons: Rubber boots pose hazard to safety on the wet linoleum in the bathroom during spring flood season.

Heritage building means all windows have been seal shut by several coats of oil base paint, but will still be just as drafty as an open door come heating season.

Pros: Dropping a marble and having it roll from sloped room to room infinitely (or until it hits the charming grey indoor/outdoor carpet in the spare room) makes for great party games.

Cons: The sound of the antique furnace kicking in every 20 minutes, all night, to force the aroma of your neighbors fish cakes through you home, though, it will provide much needed respite from the screaming of the ghost baby that haunts the attic.

Don't even get me started on the job market. I just applied at Addition Elle 14+. I lie to skinny people all the time about how they look in their fashions. What the hell.

On a lighter note, I use wooden matches.

MMMMMM

I've been going to town picking fiddleheads on the bank of the old St. John River. Pulp waste musty be the magic ingredient, because they much easier to find when they glow a little. For those of you not familiar with fiddleheads, see the video above. What they don't mention is that the unit of measurement for fiddleheads is a "feed" i.e. "Tell mother to warsh a feed o' fiddleheads for ar supper" and that suckers will pay up to $6/pounds for them despite the fact they grow on roadsides and if you find some you'll run out of picking time before you run out of fiddleheads to pick. I'm all about free food in the woods and already thinking about mushroom season.

Cantharellus cibarius

Monkeytownians are stirring up some fervor for cycling infrastructure. From a personal perspective, this fervor is needed. For a city that seems so gung-ho for for the trendy urban sprawl pandemic they could, at least, try to give a little back. If only people who travel by bike had money to spend as well. There just aren't enough cargo bikes to convince the powers that be that cyclist will be dropping their dimes at box stores. Interested in getting the fervor (it's contagious!). Here's the email I got from Michel. Copy, paste and pass it on.

If you are wondering when the City of Moncton will start doing anything so cyclists can commute safely in and around the city, you could each send an email to the people in charge of active transport at the City of Moncton.

Just ask them what their agenda is. When will we start seeing some bike lanes on our main roads? When will they start educating motorists and cyclists? When will we see more real trails that link the parks together?

We need to get together and start putting pressure on our City Council so that they see a need for action. As far as I know, these are some of the people you could e-mail:

Rod.Higgins@moncton.ca

george.leblanc@moncton.ca

Ian.Fowler@moncton.ca

jennifer.dallaire@moncton.ca

Kathryn.Barnes@moncton.ca

Thank you,

These are all public servants and there email should be available to everyone they serve.

I got this email from Afrow Craig. Evidently, fixed gear bike aren't even safe to clean.

So I was talking with a local fixed rider today and he was explaining to me how he got his thumb caught in his drivetrain! Yup, he went to go clean his chain and oops, his thumb was crushed between the chain and rear cog. He was home alone, no car and certainly not walking distance to the hospital and riding his bike was not gonna happen so he calls 911. So there he was on the phone with the 911 operator trying to explain that he got his thumb caught in the chain on his track bike. They ask him if is a motorcycle and he tells them no, it's a bicycle but you have to always keep pedaling it. "you know, like the bikes they use at the velodrome", to which the operator replies in a unsure voice " aahh ok". So he now has a broken thumb, no thumb nail and stitches.

And check out the attachment, it's a screen shot of my hotmail. Gain 3 inches! Sign me up!

Craig

The screen shot didn't work, so, you'll just have to look at your own ion box. I guess, Afrow has heard that a variance of just few inches in one's form during workouts can greatly increase the development of fast twitch muscle.

I'm gonna hit up Odell park. Your gonna hit up some Tim and Eric, C.O.R.B.S style.


Tim And Eric - C.o.r.b.s. Cops on Recumbent Bikes - The best free videos are right here