Sunshine, Executions...and a Contest

We have been spoiled here on The Rock. That's now two glorious, sun shining mornings in a row. It's 10 deg. C at the moment (50F) but going up to a balmy 16 (62F) [provocative music plays as Al flops to floor and wriggles out of sweaty snowsuit]. I just won't talk about all the rain that will fall with the warmer temps. All of the sun and rain is causing the grass to grow at an alarming rate and it will soon need cutting. The boy will have to scoop up the land mines (dog poo) ahead of time. Such an enjoyable way for the lad to spend this Victoria Day weekend...

I notice that my neighbour across the street has birds nesting in an opening in the gable of his house where he removed the chimney last fall. Nothing like communing with the wildlife up here in Canada. We once had squirrels nesting in the rafters above our deck in our last house back in London. I came home after work one day to discover my wife up on a stepladder, wearing a set of rubber gloves, trying to extricate the babies from their nest with a set of BBQ tongs.

Last years dead clematis vine, its skeletal remains woven throughout and hanging from a wrought iron frame on the side of the shed, is showing signs of new life and will flower soon. That was a blatant segue to a blog posting at the Toronto Sun website the other day by journalist Alan Parker. Here is a link to the story where Mr. Parker presents a few facts and figures about crime and punishment in Canada...and just in case you don't want to read the story, I'll present the accompanying photo below at the scene of the last public hanging in Canada in 1902.

The whole public hanging business is, or course, another skillful segue to remind you all of my upcoming contest to be announced here Saturday morning. One of the prizes to be offered up is a copy of the novel Catherine Snow, a story about the last woman to be hanged in Newfoundland (what did you expect, I write horror stories...).

The contest is to celebrate the first anniversary of this humble blog. There was some discussion after my last post about the availability of cake at this celebration. In my experience I have discovered that both cake and fish products do not fare well in the Canadian or US postal systems. My solution will be to purchase one of those nasty Christmas fruit cakes. You know the kind...the big heavy ones that folks mail back and forth to one another for decades. Each time one of you visits me here in Newfoundland I will break out the Sawzall and carve you off a hunk (to be washed down with a glass of rum, of course). So sharpen you pencils, or whatever your writing implement of choice, and check back on Saturday for details.