Perplexing questions from this week

A handful of things have popped up this week that have left me scratching my head puzzled ... perplexed ... baffled ... bemused ... certainly not irritated or upset, though. Topping the list with the greatest impact is the forecasted heat wave to hit Ontario this week, and it's impact on life as we know it. A close second would be the Ford government's proposed "Return to School" plan, what it contains, and what it is missing. In a tie for the list's caboose came about from a hot and humid stroll along the Speed River.

Curiousity #1

For those with decent recall, we collectively suffered our way through a pretty intense heat wave back in July, spawning Nature's fury in the form of the tornado that hit Barrie while also raising the alarm bells about potential power consumption, safety concerns for the vulnerable, and recommendations for how to beat the heat. Well, the latest warnings binging on my iPhone are of a more dire nature with 100km winds, violent thunderstorms with substantial hail, and humidex temperatures in the 40's. After seeing the devastation and destruction that happened in the blink of an eye in south Barrie, there's a heightened sense of worry and consternation. Hurricane Ana that formed on May 22 made this year the 7th consecutive hurricane season with a named storm in May dating all the way back to 2012, with the exception of 2014. Even though, by the time I post this, the fear mongering didn't com to fruition, it doesn't change the fact that things are most definitely changing.

My point is, it strikes me that all the naysayers about climate change need to pull their heads out of the sand and take a hard look around because heat-influenced weather events are certainly becoming more commonplace, and the damages that are being paid out by our insurance companies is adding up. You KNOW who'll be paying for those pay outs, right? I wouldn't refer to myself as a 'tree hugger" but I am worried about the state of things as we move further and further down this climate change continuum. 

Question: What kind of a world are we willing to leave to our children and descendants?

Curiosity #2

With help from CTV and Global News for information, I can tell you that Premiere Doug Ford and Minister Stephen Lecce sat squarely on the hot seat recently with their much anticipated announcement that all students will be able to return to the classroom full time this September under their highly controversial back-to-school plan. Originally promised for release in July, the recent announcement indicated that elementary and secondary students will attend school in-person five days per week, with remote learning remaining an option for parents who don’t feel comfortable returning to in-person learning. Masks will be mandatory for all students between Grade 1 and Grade 12, and will remain optional, but recommended, for children in kindergarten. Thankfully, they are not required outdoors. In the plan, the Lecce urged school boards to be prepared for a potential closures and have plans in place so all students can pivot to remote learning if the COVID-19 situation worsens, a perplexing statement given that Ontario Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kieran Moore went public that he doesn’t expect to have to shutter classrooms.

Hmmmm, says I, as I kiss my teeth.

While the plan addresses a necessary focus on enhancing and improving the many antiquated ventilation systems in Ontario's schools, complete with millions of budget dollars being thrown in that direction, the elephant in the room is whether the money would actually reach the hands of School Boards and contractors. The government's track record on unfulfilled announcements of cash is dismal. Being completely biased, what about schools that do not have up-to-date or upgradable ventilation systems? The high school I retired from has many areas where there is no air movement at all because it is heated and cooled using a boiler-type system. Combine this with Lecce's failure to deal with class sizes that put 25+ bodies in a secondary classroom that is not physically large enough to be safely distanced, and any one who cares to see can understand why teachers have been vocal with their concerns.

According to Global, Dr. Peter Juni, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Toronto and scientific director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, said the emphasis on masking and ventilation is a key part of the overall provincial plan, but the glaring omission in it centers around vaccinations, who needs one, who doesn't, and what happens when things fall apart. Critics say the provincial document doesn't address how schools can enforce different rules for vaccinated versus unvaccinated children, especially regarding isolation and return-to-school procedures in the event of an outbreak. Ford has been quoted that Ontario will never have vaccination passports, so how do schools know who has and who hasn't? 

What a wasp's nest that will become for teachers and administrators! 

Question: Acknowledging my obvious biases, at what point in the preparation to open schools will this glaring oversight be addressed? Considering my concern for my friends that are still on the front lines, sooner is better.

Curiousity #3

Joyce and I have consciously chosen to get off the rocker (no comments from the cheap seats) and get more active. In that vein, we were enjoying the incredible trail systems that Guelph offers, in particular the large one that follows the Speed River, and since the heat was oppressive, we stopped to sit on one of the many, many benches along the river's edge. Enjoying the respite, we quietly soaked in the cooling breeze, the wildlife busy scavenging, and the tranquility of the peaceful flow as it wound it's way slowly southward toward downtown and the connection with the Eramosa River.

Watching the ducks in particular, it struck us as curious to see them go about their task, odd little behaviours in full view. Bobbing along, they'd go bottoms up to feast on the submerged plant life, but when they resurfaced, there'd a a moments calm before a full body shiver-like wiggle. Puzzled by this, I mentioned it to Joyce, and the two of us could not really come up with a plausible explanation for the queer behaviour. 

Our peaceful contemplations were rudely interrupted by a small hoard of Canada Geese as they literally crash-landed on the river, sending water spraying everywhere, and startling the ducks into a frenzied gaggle of quacking, spasmodic convulsions. To top it off, the bedlam was accompanied by the annoyingly familiar honking as the bullies proceeded to chase the much smaller ducks away, claiming the feeding spot as their own. If I'm honest, I've never been a fan of Canada Geese, and I'd love to see something done about their numbers because whether it's Barrie, Guelph or any other place with water, they quickly mark their territory with piles of feces and over grazed patches of waterfront. My dear father introduced me to the term "Shit hawk" but he was referring to Seagulls ... he should have coined those dadgum geese with that gem of a moniker. 

In the fallout of the bedlam on the river, Joyce noticed a real eyebrow-raiser on the ground just off to the right. A steady stream of tiny red ants was making a visible trail to a wiggling, shivering mound of said ants piling up on each other, creating an ant mini-mountain. Watching for a few minutes, our wide-eyed astonishment increased as more and more ants joined the fray, lifting the peak of the mound to very noticeable heights. Neither of us had seen anything like that before. To add to our obvious astonishment, by the time we decided to pack it in, the mound had more or less dissipated. 

Question: Any budding entomologists why those wee ants would behave that way?

Our tranquility fully broken, the conversation drifted tangentially to the evening meal, and more appropriately, did we wish to cook something hot in this heat? We quickly agreed that we did not, and a cool Subway cold cut combo was the choice. Reaching for my iPhone to discover the closest one to us, I discovered that there are not that many Subway franchises in Guelph. Sure, there are a few, but not like Barrie, where they are only marginally outnumbered by Tim Hortons franchises. It begs the question, how can you have a university town that not only has a relatively low number of Subways, but there are not very many in the direct area of said university? A shrug of the shoulders and a short drive later, we claimed our "sammies", enjoying a delicious and quick dinner in the AC of the condo.

Annnnd, we didn't have to cook!

Life is Good ... perplexing, but good.