First crocus of 2026

Cool and rainy so they weren't open

 

Made a little heart

I made a little hanger in memory of Krystal at an arts gathering at Carrots n Dates hosted by Yafa Gowily.

 

Not the Easter Bunny digs a burrow in a lake

 

Peter Edwards' excellent book on Banks that corrected some errors in the NFB's documentary, Canada's Sweetheart. (1985) 

Hal C. Banks lived near my family's home in Pointe-Claire, a suburb of Montreal. He was an American mobster and labour organizer who came to Canada with the approval of Prime Minister Louis St-Laurent and Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis to bust the Canadian Seamen's Union, which their governments thought were controlled by Communists, and replace it with the Seafarers International Union . My mother told me that Banks was a nice guy when he wasn't beating up members of the CSU, loved giving out candy on Hallowe'en, and every few weeks there was a new Mrs. Banks at his place. He lived on Lake St. Louis and had a big boat that was too deep to dock by his house, so, without asking permission, he brought in a dredge on Good Friday and started digging a channel through the lake to his dock, finishing up on Easter Monday. Of course, no civil servant was working on the long weekend, so he got away with it. He ultimately fled Canada after being charged after one beating, and stayed in the USA after his extradition was refused by Dean Rusk, US Secretary of State.

First robin of spring. In crabapple tree.

 

First robin of spring. In crabapple tree, near Akwesasne, Ontario. Merle d'Amérique (Turdus migratorius) Some robins do overwinter here.

Ravens roost for the night, January 11, 2026. Next to Winners store, Cornwall, Ontario

 

1947 Emerson model 553A

I learned a new word from this 1947 AC/DC 1947 Emerson model 553A portable radio - 'hanked' - coiling rope so it's neat.

It was portable, and could run on AC power as well as batteries. The batteries were  large 'A' and 'B' cells batteries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_tube_battery

 

Jenny Woo Oi!

In order of appearance: Stagger Lee, Down Here from Hill, Duck Tape Band, Jenny Woo Oi! Project. Knights of Columbus Hall basement, Cornwall, Ontario 22 March 2026, 15  dollar all ages show

Woo and me, babe!

Yes, definitely an all ages show! Duck Tape gave them rubber ducks and they started squeaking for the rest of the show. Most of the kids were wearing ear protectors.

I wish the Knights of Columbus would change their name. Columbus was horrible. But it was a nice venue, $15 dollars, four bands, bartender was great and had worked with his dad as a child at La Maison, a more than 100 year old bar in Cornwall that has closed forever because the high rise apartment being built next to it accidently dug into its foundations and made it unsafe. There was a crucifix on the wall, but you can see the Duck Tape  bass player wore a Satanic Surfers T-Shirt and someone in the crowd was sporting a Bad Religion T with a cross with a circle-backslash symbol over it. 

Punk on a smoke break - roadkill skunk purse!

With skinny suspenders ('braces' in the UK)

Jenny Woo - songs from 45:

Athena, all women project with Woo. I thought it was a CD, and was about to put it into my car's player. It's a 45!

Oi! can be associated with white supremacist groups, but Woo herself is part Asian, and is a feminist who speaks out against racism.