In 1998, Jennifer and I spent time in Scotland, home to relatives and ancestors on both sides of our families. It was a journey into the old world, perhaps more for me than Jen.
My ancestors hailed from Perthshire, generations of them. My father’s parents left their old homes in Perth in 1919, made a new life in New Westminster and raised a family there.… Continue reading
I realize the recent “atmospheric river” event caused much damage to property and lives. I saw YouTube video footage of rivers of brown water gushing down driveways in West Vancouver, where I grew up. An earthbound river surged through carefully manicured gardens, pounding homes, flooding basements. The frightening power of nature.
Jennifer and I sustained no harm to our property here on South Pender, though we had that sense of endless rain.… Continue reading
The last Happy Monk bake day, September 20, was two days after the Harvest Moon, the last full moon before the Autumn equinox. I missed it! I was oblivious! Instead, shaping loaves, mixing the next day’s sourdough, cleaning out the dough bins.
But when I looked up at the moon at 4 a.m. that morning, it sure looked like something special.… Continue reading
In Boundary Pass, 300 yards offshore from our prow on South Pender, there is a pleasure craft that appears to be adrift. Its engine is off, its bow is pointed west, but it drifts slowly east. Backwards. Have the occupants inside fallen asleep?
Does anyone care?
It’s mid-afternoon. It’s warm, the air is still.… Continue reading
Driving through “The Dip” brings back vivid memories of my first job out of high school. I set chokers for a small logging contract company outside Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. I was a “wet-behind-the-ears” homesick 17-year-old.
The scene at the Dip reminds me of that time: the amputated trees, the twisted stumps, the loose, disrupted earth ravaged by logs hauled over the ground, large rocks tipped over, and exposed cliff faces that were once obscured by proud standing trees.… Continue reading