The sedge has wither’d from the lake, And no birds sing. -- John Keats, "La Belle Dame sans Merci"
Above the morning chorus of finches, towhees, and red-wing blackbirds, one bird was making an emphatic statement, screeching out the same pattern over and over again.
It was bread day last Friday morning, and I was preparing the last loaves for Mildrith, the wood-fired oven.… Continue reading
Stanley Park is a jewel in Vancouver, but I’ve never felt at ease walking deep inside the park’s forest trails.
There is something awry here. Nothing I can put a finger on, just a feeling I get when I venture too far. Once, when cycling alone on the trails, I came upon a small area with a firepit, clothes strewn about and figures in the distant woods and underbrush.… Continue reading
It’s time to honour Mildrith, the wood-fired oven of the Happy Monk Baking Company. I haven’t spoken of her much in recent months, but she has been at my side every bake day and more, going on six years. Mildrith is my constant companion, steady, true, the holder of bread-heat and embracing warmth. She is silent except when she roars.… Continue reading
Nels Leader: “There goes 800 pounds of sourdough!”
When Jennifer and I started the Happy Monk Baking Company, the world seemed larger — too big, it seemed, for a small fish like me. I set my sights on selling bread to anyone who wanted it up or down Gowlland Point Road, South Pender. There was a neighbourhood email list, and that was my market.… Continue reading
Ringed in light: the Living Rock Island on Bake Day, Feb. 23, 2024, 1:04 a.m.
A group of neighbours and their houses sit atop the rock cliffs above Craddock Beach, South Pender Island. Generous land spaces separate them, each looking out across Boundary Pass to the northern San Juans. A few more down the road get glimpses of the beach, but none get the panorama of the bent bay the way we do.… Continue reading
