Random Access

Must apologize for the sporadic nature of these entries but learning a new job is proving much more time-consuming than anticipated. Hope to be with you much more often as things slow down (please, please) in the summer.
Some catch-up notes would seem to be a good idea. Here goes:

You might have noticed it's been very quiet on the Rambo front. Assistant defence attorney Carolyn Parrish says that's a good thing because the alleged pit bull's chance of gaining acquittal grows — along with his body — with each passing day.
"He's getting really elongated and he's way too big to be a pit bull," the Ward 6 councillor says.
The pressure to get the case to court has largely been mitigated since owner Gabriela Nowakowska can now make weekly visits to see her dog as a result of a City council ruling. There's also the looming court date on the main court battle against the pit bull ban. That case will be heard in mid-September when Clayton Ruby takes the appeal to the upper courts.
The rambunctious Rambo, meantime, is about to be neutered. That should make him a more presentable witness if he ever has to make a court appearance. An anonymous donor who is fond of pit bulls and plaid jackets and high collars in equal has come forward to fund the procedure.
Nowakowska is once again appealing to the public for funding to continue her case.
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On the bird front, it looks like Mississauga's permanent peregrine nesting sites have officially been reduced to two.
The birds who used to nest at the Lakeview Generating station, which mimicked their natural nesting sites on cliffs, have departed the scene to take up residence at a condo on Mill Rd. in Etobicoke.
Since no other falcon couples were interested in moving into the lovely lakeside condo that Ontario Power Generation and the Canadian Peregrine Foundation (CPF) fashioned for them, the artificial tower with the nest atop has been disassembled. It will be relocated to the Nanticoke Generating Station site according to Mark Nash, the executive director of CPF.
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Geography Professor Emeritus Thomas McIlwraith of UTM began his fascinating lecture about the physical history of the campus a couple of months ago by referring to a mailbox just north of the North Entrance Road on the original property of the O'Neil family. Their farm is one of four that originally formed the foundations of the campus. The good professor wondered how many people these days recognize the historic significance of the wagon wheel that adorned a mail box in front of the abandoned home.
Well, not many will recognize that symbol now that it lies on its side on the ground after the house was knocked down and the property cleared. Wonder what happened to all that lovely Credit Valley stone that formed the foundation of the old barn?
Maybe someone should grab the mailbox and hold it as one of the first holdings of the campus archives that McIlwraith espoused at the end of his speech.
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This just in — Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen are just as good now as they were last April when they made their first appearance at Hugh's Room in Toronto.
Their sold-out show last night was a feast of high harmony, mutual respect and irrepressible passion for the music. Hillman (Byrds, Burrito Brothers, Manassas, Souther Hillman Furay, Desert Rose Band) couldn't help but break into a big smile and extol the virtues of Pedersen's harmony singing after the opening number, Bury Me Under the Weepin’ Willow.
Pedersen, like Emmylou Harris with whom he recorded many times, is a master at setting off his singing partner's voice to the optimum degree.
Highlight of the night was their version of the Burrito classic called Wheels. You could almost hear the ghost of Gram Parsons adding a third part in the background.