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c2 tribune april 6 1988 no more good intentions the road to hell my father once told me is paved with good intentions while it wouldnt hurt any of us to take some time after the easter weekend to reflect upon matters pertaining to our own individual eternity i personally am waging what seems to be a losing battle against the endless distractions which are forever sabotaging my best intentions for it would appear in my case anyway that this life offers far too may simple pleasures i just dont recall having had so much difficulty prioritizing in day s gone i by when dollars were a little more plentiful but ever since i took my oath of poverty and started freelance writing i have discovered that you dont necessarily have to spend a bunch of dough to have a great time and at the same time ive come to realize that play time doesnt need to be confined to the weekend working at home as i do im fair game for friends relatives from jpj w where i live v2 bruce stapley hucksters or people knocking on doors to push political or religious causes its not hard for me to kill an hour on a tuesday morning when im supposed to be busy pounding out stories pine furniture or both its very easy to justify such ex tended coffee breaks at the time by reminding yourself that as a selfemployed individual you simply keep working until the work is done in many cases interviews for newspaper articles must be done at night when the 9 to fivers are comfortably watching the leafs on eleven or whatever other comedies they prefer many are the evenings i find myself worrying that the clack- clack of my electric typewriter might be serving as a less than soothing accompaniment to sleep for the others in the house but deadlines are deadlines and blank space just doesnt excite editors all that much consequently my week con sists of a 168hour package out of which i must somehow manage to steal 4555 hours a week for the purposes of my gainful employ ment so while i greet each morning with the most sincere intention to apply nose to grindstone with un swerving zeal there will inevit ably appear an irresistible dis traction by way of a meaningful encounter with a person or people i just cant turn away now if like the late paul rim- stead i could use each and every social encounter for a column idea then it would become a fruit ful way of passing a good part of each day- but by now my friends have warned me of the dangers of ex posing their well concealed wrinkles and quirks via the print medium when i protest that they are too sensitive paranoid or whatever they just mention how unfortun ate it is when lawyers are re quired to come between friendships it would appear then that hav ing run out of suitable excuses the time has come for a more dis ciplined approach to the daily routine this may require the installa tion of a time clock beside my desk with the same rigid require ments that are imposed upon salaried employees it wouldnt hurt for me to ha ve a sign made for the front door stat ing that ill no longer be allowing callers to come in without an appointment between the hours of 8 am and 6 pm a timer could be installed on my phone limiting nonessential calls to 5 minutes after which time the line will go dead geta 1 wo rebate i during the i lennox spring i cashback a upgrade to lennox and you can lower your heating and cooling bills substantially a so see your participating lennox dealer and tell him you want to j start saving on your fuel bills and you want him to help you pay for it up to 500 worth if you dont have lennox you must have money to burn homeshow your independent lennox dealer is special on free air cleaner heating air conditioning lft m m mt wvjrs li mfav iflftk 1 pyln irjksap m jr fl mn r dr b43jjvkt i i 1 j tm v 1 4 hxl 1 ob 1 b miifeoe newmarket i 7732034 north york 4995090 markham rexdale 4794440 7439701 9 71 spring show 88 april 824 oils and watercolours by the keirstead family of artists the menger gallery slouffville rd between highway 404 woodbine ave gormley properly placed bluebird nesting boxes have saved the birds from extinction in many parts of ontario art briggs june blue birds return in early spring tuesfri 1 pm9 pm closed monday 8875795 sal 10am5 pm sun 1 pm5 pm by art briggsjude though icy winds and blustery snows persist through much of march it is the month when the bluebirds return to our part of ontario traditionally one of our earliest spring migrants their arrival can be expected any time after the third week in this unsettled month actually while its nice to see them arrive on st patricks day it is to the birds own benefit if they linger a little further south till the weather adjusts to a more springlike trend ironically it was this impati ence to head north that over the years has caused some notice able periodic declines in bluebird numbers before the introduction of the rawmysavmjs f yccpt fcchxyonc rfomi fan cryw j w r iwuoj fan iwrttsiowouf vjovivwotrromiocoroctryxjoccoi vxn uho joocaxi erm do not mckx oattrwaokorxoa ftadse haek check the white pages forth radio shack store or dealer nearest you cavitynesting house sparrow and starling and the widespread use of toxic sprays the bluebirds were always able to recover in numbers from these intermittent spring disasters these factors however when coupled with the loss of habitat due to an escalating urban spread caused the permanent disappearance of the bird the set tlers called the blue robin the socalled clean farmirig practices that removed any dead limbs and standing stubs and the replacing of wooden posts with those of steel also effectively eli minated many potential bluebird nesting sites fortunately there is a way to help bring this symbol of happi ness back to many of its former haunts taking the cue from a quincy illinois doctor who in 1923 built the first known bluebird nestbox and started the bluebird trail con cept many people across canada and the united states have done the same roy ivor the dean of ontario naturalists placed 22 of these nesting units on rural property north of port credit in 1949 and a few years later this writer began a similar project in the niagara penninsula over 30 years arid thousands of boxes later bluebirds can still be found nest ing in the fruit belt by 1961 brandons john larie had organized the manitoba junior birders a teenage group that eventually extended over 11 townships near the hockley val ley hazel bird 1986 fon award winner for her bluebird trail work begun in 1968 near rice lake still maintains her 200 plus bluebird trail today dennis barry got going in 1973 with 600 units north and east of oshawa while fred watts began a 400 box trail north of markham in 1975 coral young of harring ton quebec also hit the bluebird trail in 1978 in later years many other have started helping bluebirds in this area namely carson thompson of the rideau valley conserva tion authority and bob braley from perth with his pike lake trail while today our personal in volvement with this skybacked thrush is a mere 100 nest boxes on our bluebird acres farm near westport our promotion of this highly beneficial bird through seminars lectures and work shops has taken us all across ontario and in fact canada the blue bells program wherein nestboxes are placed is the ideal habitat of country chur chyards has been a resounding success over 1200 information kits have gone out coast to coast and to many places in the us theres no doubt that the bluebirds are responding well to the hand of man that initially turned against it yet as i travel and read about the various pro jects and the instructions given on nestbox design and erection i feel many are not learning from the experience of those who have gone before why for example would anyone still build a top opening nestbox when clcanouts and lethal para site control are so much easier with a front opening why arc many nestboxes placed at the low five- foot level where house cats can spring with one leap and pin the hapless birds inside why do people continue to face the boxes into the roadways in stead of towards the fields where few flying fatalities would occur think about it the bluebirds need help but lets not kill them with misguided kindness a bluebird information kit in cluding plans plantings and cor rect placement of nestboxes will be sent free on request address bluebird acres westport ontar io k0g 1x0 please include a self addressed envelope