Good morning! It’s very nice to see you. I hope you had a great week.
This might be a truncated newsletter this morning, as I’ve got to head out the door fairly early. As I mentioned last week, I’m covering for the vacationing minister of Trinity-Clifton United Church, which means I’ve got services on both sides of the Hillsborough River this morning. I want to get in early to make sure everything is set up.
There’s still time for tea, however. Good gracious. We have to have our priorities straight.
Go grab us a couple mugs from the cupboard and meet me back here.
Let’s catch up.
Birdsong
As of this summer, we have lived in this house ten years. Over the course of ten years, I’ve come to recognize the call of the usual birds that frequent our adjacent skies. It’s because of that familiarity that when a new bit of birdsong fills the air, it catches my ear pretty quickly.
Erin and I were eating breakfast last Sunday when the prettiest chirp erupted from above our heads. It was so cute, I imagined it belonged to some new species of super adorable little bird.
“I… have no idea what that is,” I had to confess.
“Ask Merlin,” said Erin.
Merlin is the name of an extremely useful phone app which helps you identify birds. You can do a step-by-step visual ID by telling the app the size, colour, location, and activity of the bird, and it will give you list of suggested species. The real party trick is you can just let the app listen to the sound of the birds in your area, and it will let you know what’s likely nearby.
I know enough real birders to know I shouldn’t fully trust the technology. It’s the first step in identification and doesn’t replace the actual act of putting eyes upon the bird and recognizing its characteristics.
When Merlin told me I had an osprey flying overhead, I hopped up to confirm. I didn’t have a clear view of the sky from the deck, so I strolled into the yard. Sure enough, high above our house a giant bird of prey was soaring, moving back and forth, chirping the whole time.
Our osprey has been back a few times since, and I now recognize its chirp right away. It’s kind of exciting to have such a big bird of prey in the area this summer, though it does make me a little extra cautious around flying my pigeons.
Bread
On the hottest day of the summer so far, I made bread.
I’m always fascinated by how the weather impacts sourdough. Every step of the process was different. The ingredients mixed differently. The stretching and folding was a little stickier. The first fermentation went much quicker (I was half expecting to let this rise overnight, but it had doubled in size in about 4 hours). Even the texture of the risen dough was weird.
The end result was delicious, however. That dough kept rising in the oven, and it was an absolutely giant, light, airy loaf with lots of nice sour flavour.
Pick up every… spike?
The streets have been fruitful this week, in my efforts to pick up every spike from the ground that might end up in someone’s tire. I took a short walk with Erin this week, and over the course of a bout two blocks, I picked up three spikes.
I’m not sure the last item in this group counts as a spike. I found it lying in the middle of Upper Prince Street. I’m not confident about the task this particular thingy plays in the operation of a motor vehicle, but I’m hoping it’s non-essential.
Dunnock Bay
Saturday rolled around this week, and I still hadn’t written a word about the comings and goings in Dunnock Bay. I sat down with my laptop yesterday morning to check in with Grease, the deposed leader of the Renegades band.
My mind has been fairly preoccupied with the church services this morning, so this bit of writing was a welcome distraction. I learned some things about Derek as I sat down to write, which was kind of fun. Go read it. I hope you enjoy it.
Jack and Dan
One thing I hadn’t considered when I was growing up going to church was that the scripture reading follows a schedule through the year. I always thought the minister just pulled them out of a hat based on their personal preference, but it’s all connected the the liturgical calendar. For example, you might think it’s July 5, but really, it’s the 6th Sunday of Pentecost.
Now you know.
The gospel reading this morning is a famous one from Matthew where Jesus tells his followers “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Talk of yokes got me thinking about Jack and Dan, the team of horses on my family’s farm in the 30s and 40s. I’ll tell a story about them this morning.
Above is a photo from my Great Uncle Reid’s collection of stories he wrote as an older fellow. That’s him with my Great Aunt Wilda with Jack and Dan.
The service at Clifton in Stratford begins at 9. The service at Trinity starts at 10:30. Watch me dash across the Hillsborough Bridge around 10:15.
That’s all she wrote this morning. I’ve got to scarf a little breakfast and see if I can remember how to tie a four-in-hand knot.
Happy Anniversary, Mum and Dad!
Have a great week.