Moncton TreeGO, arbre en arbre (tree to tree) is an aerial obstacle course in Centennial Park, in Moncton, New Brunswick. Participants climb up into the trees and maneuver across rope bridges, dangling logs, zip lines and tarzan ropes, reliving their youth and prehistoric urges.

If you were to ask me if my wife would ever do something like this, I’d say “no frikkin’ way, eh.” But I’d have been wrong. My darling wife, nervous about heights, strapped on her safety harness and ventured aloft, swinging like a monkey in the trees. I must say… I’m quite impressed.

From their site:

You begin TreeGO on the green course where you get comfortable with the equipment and the rhythm of moving through each activity. Balance is required, and we know you can do it! Now on to the blue course where suddenly childhood memories of rope swings and climbing trees comes back to you. Up further into the trees you head on to the red course. You’re feeling confident now and can’t help laughing out loud as you zip through the forest or watch your friend try to walk gracefully across a moving obstacle. Now it’s time for the ultimate in focus and fitness - the black course. You climb up even further into the tree canopy discovering that your movements are even more fluid than before.

Way to go, Donna! You GO girl! Or rather, you TreeGO, girl!

I learned…

• that putting a piece of cheap rubber hose on a hot copper pipe in a bonfire makes the fire turn all kinds of freaky colours.
• that I need to keep my eyes peeled for wildlife when driving on Route 126, north of Moncton. (We saw a deer, a porcupine, and a moose on a 20 minute drive.)
• that a porcupine doesn’t run very fast.
• that the rear axle of a 2008 Hyundai Sante Fe does not clear the noggin of a porcupine galloping in full stride.
• that just when I think my pool game is stabilizing and consistent, it isn’t.
• that I don’t always know when to keep my trap shut.
• that a 37-inch flat screen Sharp Aquos TV does not fit into the same stand that a 36-inch tube Panasonic does.
• that my wife doesn’t like it when I cut holes in TV stands. (Actually, I learned that the last time I cut pieces out of our TV stand.)
• that landscaping bricks are 16 pounds each and I’ve been really overloading my utility trailer since I bought it.
• that the phrase “give him an inch and he’ll take a mile” applies to 17-year-old teenage boys and 41-year-old adolescent men. (Ask my wife… I think she’ll agree!)

What have you learned this week?

In the Moncton area, there are 17 different varieties of mosquitoes breeding over an area of about 800 thousand hectares of marshland.

They say… and by “they”, I mean the chairperson of the pest control board in southern New Brunswick so there could be some tendency to draw a more dismal picture for personal benefit… ahem, but I digress. They say that due to the long winter and the wet spring we are in for a worse mosquito season than we’ve had in decades. I’ve only been living in Moncton for 8 years, but that sounds pretty bad. They continue on to say that without a pest control program (spraying) Monctonians will be subject to up to 29 bites per minute from these rascally little nuisances. With the pest control program in place, we will only suffer 6 nips per minute.

The mosquitos are pretty bad around here. I’ve always said that if they were smart and organized, there are enough of them to single out a human from the herd, carry him away and devour him like piranhas on a wild boar or whatever kind of animal crosses rivers in South America.

I had actually build screened panels to enclose my front deck to find some relief from the relentlessness of these little suckers a few years back. However, since there’s been a lot of development in my area and fewer trees as a result, I didn’t have to put the panels up last year. Perhaps it’s time to dust them off…

“If it weren’t for flies, snakes alive, we’d be living in paradise.” Buddy Wasisname

Ahhh spring. I’ve made it no secret here that spring is by far my favourite season. I love it when the last of the snow melts away, the tulips start sprouting, and the buds start budding. This past winter was a particularly hard one and winter damage is plentiful across the province.

My place was no exception. While the damage around my house wasn’t major, it was still a little more intense than it usually is. Check out the slideshow below for a taste of my springtime woes.

That’s what’s in store for me to repair, aside from all the normal maintenance, spring cleaning and creative projects in the queue for this year.

Is it the same thing all around? What did winter do to your home this year?

We spent our Christmas in Newfoundland this year and a good time was had by all. However, when we were ready to make the 30-hour drive/boat trip back, the weather forecasts for Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and all the Maritimes was such that we were forced to delay our return. We were enjoying ourselves enough, that this inconvenience was anything but that.

However, that weather that prevented us from making our trek took its toll on our Moncton hometown. In our absence, they were hit by storm after storm… four in a week, with Moncton being the hardest hit in each. Check out the photo on the left. (Click for larger view.) This pic was taken by one of my neighbours while we were gone. Believe it or not, there’s a 1992 Camry under there! That drift is about 9 feet high. Here’s another view from a different angle.

You gotta love it when folks care enough to take care of your interests without being asked or expected to. While we were one vacation, enjoying our Christmas with our families, three of our neighbours took care of our driveway after each of the four storms that hit Moncton. They shovelled, snowblowed, and even paid a professional to keep a parking space open and our walkways clear. We arrived in Moncton and were able to pull directly into our driveway, and unload our gear. There was still about 4 hours of shoveling and snowblowing out there, but this inconvenience was far outweighed by the convenience of being able to pull directly in when we arrived.

“Ben, you are manure”

“Cross-cut saw?”

“Sausage bun.”

I’ve been living in New Brunswick for 10 years. One would say that I might have had plenty opportunity to learn the French language better than I have. I wish I had spent more energy over the years learning the language. I’ve taken a couple of courses, and I’ve purchased DVDs yet, I’m no closer than I was when I graduated high school. I’m hoping that someday when I see two Frenchmen meet, I don’t think that they are talking about fertilizer, woodworking tools and breakfast sandwiches.

“Bonjour Messieur”

“Comment ca va?”

“Ca, c’est bien.”