Mick Oscroft – the way I see it

REST IN PEACE DALLAS…YOU WERE A GREAT PAL

Thirteen years ago my daughter Jessica appeared with 2 large bundles of fluff which turned out to be two beautiful German Shepherd pups.

She kept the female named Kana and gave us the male which was subsequently given the name DALLAS by Jessica’s twin sister Natalie  who worshipped the Dallas Cowboys football team.

We lived on an acreage of 1o acres and were breeding Arabian horses We had no dog so Dallas was a welcome addition to the family.

 In many phases of puppy behavior especially Noooo don’t pee on the floor. It became apparent that this pup was intelligent and with a need to please his new admirers. As he grew he quickly learned the surrounding white board horse fences to be his limits of responsibility. His mother came directly from Germany from a noted and long line of guard dogs.

His training began immediately.

As he grew he became a huge and handsome animal of some 120 pounds and policed his duties of protecting the foals that were born each year from the many coyotes which were looking for vulnerable sources of food.

Many times Dallas was lured to the fight when the female coyotes would lead him to ambush by the pack. Often the result was torn ears and numerous bloody bites but it didn’t change his nature of gentleness to less vulnerable people and yes even young coyotes. I watched one day as 2 young coyotes came running up to greet him and he charged them and hit them with his shoulder like a linebacker from the Cowboys.  The dazed cubs rose and Dallas allowed them to retreat with lesson learned.

Over the years he sorted out the good guys from the bad guys, His friends were the garbage pickup men who always brought a treat to deliver me and census  workers. etc. He instinctively knew who the bad guys were. He always slept inside but patrolled the house and warned us with his keen senses if an unwelcome visitor was on the property. Once we had a teenage girl to look after our property when we were away for a few days. She had 3 sisters who thought it would be funny to come around after dark and knock on the windows and scare the older girl, who reacted by yelling out the door she was releasing the dog. Those 3 took off running and Dallas hit the biggest one square in the back and knocked her down and then stood over her till our sitter came and called him off, which she did immediately. 

One of his favourite things was jumping in the back of my FJ Cruiser and going for a ride no matter how short or long.

As he grew older his back end started to fail him and the jumping in became more painful each time he attempted it until soon he could no longer do so. Then slowly the strength in his back quarters became an issue for many small tasks. He still managed the stairs indoors up to the second level of the house where he slept at the top of the stairs and stood guard for us all through the night.

He especially loved my grandson Jesse who was his playmate in all activities and stayed with us most weekends.

And then it happened.

He was laying outside and could not do the steps on the deck. With a mighty effort he forced his way up the stairs and into the dining room where he collapsed and could not control his bowels.

He was breathing and gasping for air and it was clear he would not live long.

I lay down beside him and stroked his head for 2 hours and it settled him somewhat until Lynn, my partner, came home . Then a beam of sunlight came through the windows and settled in a large strip in the living room where Dallas could see it. Miraculously he rose one more time and dragged himself to the sunlight and he settled in the beam of light.

Twenty minutes later he could breathe no more.

I wrapped him in the heaviest horse blanket we had and took him with no small effort to the pasture he guarded so his coyote enemies could not enjoy his fate.

Two nights later I was needing a bathroom break in the middle of the night which is a curse of age.

As I shambled to the bathroom where I have to pass the landing at the top of the stairs I looked sideways and there lying in his normal guard spot, his legs tucked and his head looking down the stairs, was Dallas. I took a step towards him and stopped and thought I could not spoil this moment and walked on to the bathroom.

When I returned he was no longer there.

Till the day I die I will believe that Dallas came back to guard us and let us know he was there for us.

Play in heaven Dallas

Rest in Peace Dallas

Jason Kenney needs to have some one skilled in cost benefit analysis and will do so without politics as the driving factor.

Kenney’s latest decision to enforce that diabetics on insulin must use the cheapest brand of insulin as prescribed by Jason Kenney or they will be required to pay for the insulin themselves even though their Doctor had prescribed it.

What Jason should be aware of is that diabetics who have taken their disease seriously and have treated it accordingly are actually saving the government money by not requiring hospital care or surgeries. He should be putting money into educating people with diabetes about proper diets . exercise and high quality drugs which will keep their A1C levels under seven and their costs to health care at a minimum.

I personally have treated myself in this manner for 40 years  with no interventions that are costly.

By the way I should also mention that 10% of Albertans are diabetics .

Hmmm that’s a huge voting block and I know that’s one thing you  Jason understand.  May be some of your health experts who are not even Doctors could benefit by talking to people like me.

 It should be simple as its just common sense. 

Mick Oscroft

For the BIRDS
I have observed a rather odd phenomena in respect to the bird life in my small world on my acreage which I probably wouldn’t have taken note of under non restrictive conditions prior to corona virus..

 I have several bird feeders which at this time of year are generally limited to visits by chickadees and woodpeckers.

The past couple days I have observed firstly a raven perched on top of the largest feeder close to the house. He began by pecking at the roof covering  and support beams, trying to understand why or what the smaller birds have been feeding on. Eventually he discovered the black sunflower seeds and tested their value as a food source.

Ravens are a very cunning species and when one has found something worthwhile as a food source they are soon accompanied by others coming in one by one. Soon it was a gathering and many were taking advantage of the seed offering.
I puzzled over this. After feeding birds of up to a few dozen species this was a new phenomena. I have hypothesized a connection between this  occurrence and the corona virus. 
As a result of the more in-climate weather at the advent of spring,  pickings for these birds have gotten leaner and the stay at home provisions of the coronavirus have made an impact on nature.

There is scant traffic on all our routes of travel.

As a result of that there is very little roadkill which these birds feed on as a major food source. The rules of nature which include survival of the fittest have definitely kicked in on my small world.

My desired species of birds which are unable to feed due to the invasion of large birds have vanished at least for the past few days. Most notably for the chickadees which are now nesting . Even the loud and sassy blue jays have become more cautious in their visits. Scientific analysis I do not claim. Practical analysis I do. Or maybe I just need to get out more. 

Mick

Life Lessons I Learned From A Real Quack

Three decades ago when I thought I already knew everything  I was fly fishing a lovely stretch on the Clearwater River  several miles up stream of Rocky Mountain House. I was concentrating my efforts on the distinct eddy line created by the swift flow of the river as it l clashes with the slower flow as it nears the bank about 2 feet away. The eddy on the bank side is where the trout like to hover by finning  in place against the current with less energy loss in the slower current while watching for insects that have been windblown into the river and provide lunch for the ever hungry fish.

  On spotting a struggling insect they  explode out of the eddy line to the faster water and gulp the morsel before cruising back to their holding spot in the calmer flow. 

As I was fishing I was surprised to see a female mallard swimming upstream in the slower flow of the eddy line, and further still following in her wake were four downy balls of fluff frantically trying to keep pace. As she got closer she led them to shore where there was a lovely isolated pool left from the spring melt. The last of her brood ventured too close to the eddy line and got caught in the faster current and was swept past me . I watched as he struggled and finally got back in the slower current and swam frantically up stream to where the hen was anxiously waiting for him while at the same time eyeing me.

Alas he once more got caught in the fast current and swept again down past me. The hen was obviously torn by my presence as she considered going to the duckling but she could not leave the other three ducklings with myself between them and the duckling. The little duckling was struggling again and finally got to slower water once again but the effort was obviously taxing now even in the slower current. As he got closer he was erratic and befell the same fate and was swept downstream. The mother duck went back to her remaining brood and led them to the clear pool. I decided to intervene in natures ways and pursued him quickly and manage to get close enough to scoop him up with my fishing net. I took him in the net back to where the hen had taken the brood ashore and could see her and the others swimming in the clear pool. I approached slowly as she watched with suspicion of me again .

I took the duckling in my hand and lowered him gently to the water and the hen with much squawking and  head stretched out she came at me to reclaim her youngster and rewarded me with a nip on the finger and then turned abruptly and shooed her duckling back to his peers her following in his small wake grumbling all the way.

Later as I sat riverside eating my lunch I contemplated on the whole episode and could not help but see the analogy to our own selves  as we go through the journey of our lives for the time we are granted on this earth. Usually we choose the quieter water and build our lives in the slower manner. But sometimes by accident or design we journey to the faster lane of our existence.  But often after the ride we seek the peace again of the slower satisfied pace. And some of us attain greatness by accepting the challenges of the faster lane . And some of us cross over with ease of either side time after time. And sometimes nature plays out her game of survival of the fittest to our dismay. 

This experience also was such an example of how our mothers dedication is dispensed in guiding our lives and defending our mistakes.
Ans lastly this episode reminded me of the truth of the old axiom …..no good deed goes unpunished .   

Mick

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I am a native Albertan.

I was born in the 40’s, lived here all my life,  raised a family , and served Albertans for 35 years with various positions in the Alberta Government. It was my job to protect their rights under the labour laws of the Employment Standards Code.

Through all the ups and downs of our economy which was energy dependent I still never lost faith in Alberta as an integral part of Canada.

I always identified as a Canadian first and foremost and an Albertan as an important part of the Canadian mosaic.  I have seen earlier movements of small groups who wished to take Alberta out of the Canadian identity including  a couple of separatist parties which participated in Alberta and Canadian elections. This latest edition of the separatist movement is demanding a vote in Alberta as to taking this magnificent province out of our   alliance with the Canadian identity.

I refuse to debate the pros and cons of the situation as the pros are nonexistent . HOWEVER I do in fact agree with a vote on separation as they are demanding . This current group of radicals are loud and raucous with their agenda and garner far more attention than they deserve.  BUT they do not represent anywhere close to the majority of Albertans . That is why I believe a  referendum is a great idea,

It would  indeed reveal them to be 5% of the voting public and their movement would fold like the cheap tent in the wind  of credibility it deserves. And it would on analysis and identify most of them to not be native Albertans but newcomers welcomed to Alberta as people seeking work in a period of prosperity  in Alberta.  Let us stop this foolishness and recognize that Alberta needs to take advantage of the prosperous periods to diversify our province so it can sustain itself when the economic lows of energy financials repeat them selves as they always have.      

——–The Way I feel it

I am tired of politics. I am tired of  people who are not tired of politics.

I am tired of despising people whose views and beliefs don’t coincide with my own. I bought into this new environment of ridicule and disparagement which we use without hesitation on differing opinions which are not even individual to those subscribing to them. Its easy to not really think of how we got to this condition of herd mentality. That is what bothers me the most, that I quit rational thinking . That I couldn’t consider what and why and how.

I became mentally lazy. 
So I shall move on to what is healthy for me, and I won’t be responsible for how you think . But please whatever you espouse as truth, make sure it is what conclusion you came to by yourself and THAT YOU OWN IT.