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Following on from my last post – which featured some beautiful photographs of this beautiful part of the world by a most welcome guest contributor – here is the promised second batch. For many of these images photos of natural sources have been used as the basis for further creative expression. It is easy to see why this part of the planet draws to it artists of all persuasions from far and wide.
Many thanks once again to The Chanteuse.
Tags: British Columbia, nature, Photo
This online journal has once before featured a guest poster (none other than the Kickass Canada Girl herself) but now – in another first – it offers a collection of images of this west coast paradise kindly donated to the cause by one who shall (temporarily at least) go by the soubriquet – The Chanteuse! In the perhaps unlikely event that gentle readers have not yet been persuaded of the many beauties of this part of the world – contemplate this two part series and become so!
As ever, double-click for the full effect:
Tags: British Columbia, nature, Photo
Paddy and Mick are out walking on a logging road in the depths of British Columbia. They see a sign nailed to a big Douglas Fir. It reads:
‘Tree Fellers Wanted’
“Ah!”, says Mick – “‘Tis a pity that Seamus isn’t with us. We could have gone for that job!”
I’ll probably get into trouble for that! Oh well…!
We have had the tree fellers in and they have been felling a tree (and lopping some branches). The tree was a little cherry tree at the back of our (croquet) lawn. It didn’t fruit but it did blossom gloriously each spring for all of a couple of days. The main problem can be seen in this photo of the view from our new deck:
That picture was taken at about this time of year two years ago. The tree had grown considerably in the interim and was seriously impacting our view toward Mount Baker.
As can be seen from this comparable shot – taken just this morning – we also had the experts nip out a few of the lower branches from one of those big Doug Firs:
The next step is to persuade our neighbours down the hill to trim back the cedars at the back of their garden, to give our lovely vista another couple of years of unimpeded viewing pleasure.
Since virtually every house in our neighbourhood has views that are not dissimilar to ours this sort of negotiation is quite common. One usually offers to pay the costs and since it makes little difference to the residence further down the slope, those concerned tend to be co-operative.
Let’s hope we also get lucky!
The transitory nature of human existence is a familiar enough concept in all of its many guises (as a metaphysical notion – as a motivation to live a better life – as an unwanted burden – as a drive to spirituality) that we are all – in one way or another – already well versed in its contemplation and consideration.
Though we may tend in later years to an unexpected and (for some) unwelcome conservatism we more or less accept that all things must change – that decay and decline are inevitable – that entropy is the norm and that the steady churn of the seasons inevitably involves death and loss, if only so that things might be reborn once again come springtime.
Most of us wish, to be sure, to be able to get through our lives with the bare minimum of grieving (certainly of the kind that should just never happen, such as parents burying their children) whilst at the same time rather admiring the fact that we have acquired such an effective mechanism for ensuring survival and sustainability. If we were dishonest enough with ourselves to take any credit for this evolutionary strategy we might even feel rather smug about it. Though the shocks that accompany such major life events are always unwelcome (even should such a loss be anticipated) we, are at the end of the day, quite accomplished at dealing therewith.
There are – however – some occurrences of destruction, disaster and loss that render us speechless; a shock to the system that is felt almost viscerally. Such was the feeling I had the other day at the spectacle of the Notre Dame burning in Paris; watching the steeple come cascading down in a torrent of fire. Was this – the destruction of something that we had all unthinkingly believed to be eternal, permanent – not shock enough to shake our firmly held convictions to the core. I found myself unable to think clearly for some time.
A day later we can finally stop holding our breath with the news that it looks as though the structure of the cathedral itself is largely intact, protected in the greater part by the vault itself and, of course, by the heroic efforts of the Parisian Sapeurs/Pompiers. Had the wooden structures in the west towers – those that carry the enormous bells – caught light the story might have ended differently.
We know – not just from the pronouncements of Monsieur Macron – but also from past experiences at York Minster, Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace that the Notre Dame will be rebuilt. One might question the dedication of the requisite vast sums of money to such a cause; I for one would make the case in favour thereof…
…but that should in any case wait until another day.
Tags: France, Loss, Notre Dame, Paris
It is my habit, at this time of year, to post to this journal selected images of verdurous nature – in particular in that form which it takes in our garden. I do this, of course, to show off just how splendid is life in this balmy coastal paradise at the time of year at which spring bursts forth in all its glory.
The absence of such images this year is telling… telling mostly of the near six weeks for which parts of our estate were buried under a foot or two of snow.
Now, nature is no mug – having been around this loop any number of times in the past – and simply slammed on the brakes, burying its head (in a hideous clashing of metaphors) until such time as things warmed up again on the climate front.
Well – that time is now and all is thus once again kicking off as per usual – but it is, of course, now late, late, late…
…and not only late: there is the distinct air of all of our growing things having taken a bit of a battering during that icy sojourn. No doubt all will recover in time but we really do need some nice sunshine to help things on their way, in place of the current cloudy/rainy/chilly weather that seems to have become a fixture here in recent days.
Ah well – ‘tis only April and these things often don’t pick up properly until May, the which they will doubtless do just in time for us to head for Europe. Ah well…
The dogwood and magnolia trees at least are in bloom and looking good!
“The hardest thing to do is dig deep and be patient about the things you’re going to learn month to month and quarter to quarter.”
Christina Tosi
It seems perhaps a little superfluous to link back to my last post – the first part of this quick catch up of where we are a quarter of the way through 2019 – but I am ever one for completeness.
My original ‘things to come in 2019‘ post back in January made reference to two other items on the agenda for this busy year.
The first of these is my intention to mount a dramatic production at the Intrepid Theatre Club in October. It is – of course – still early day in this regard but progress is being made. My script has again been rewritten (I have lost track of the number of rewrites now, but it is at least five or six) and a website established. I have also started looking for interest from potential actors. Given that I am to be out of the country soon for nearly a month I thought it best to get ahead of the curve. Initial details of the piece concerned can be found here and of course more will be added as we proceed.
The other exciting new development for me personally concerns the wonderful world of music. My January post included the following observation:
“There will surely also be more music to be made this year. 2018 was particularly creative in this regard so I have high hopes.”
This somewhat cryptic allusion (barely) conceals a most interesting development on the music-making front. I had decided last summer that I was not going to be able to progress further in my endeavours unless I had could find a co-conspirator with whom to collaborate. Specifically – I had pushed my humble voice as far as it would go and needed to find a proper vocalist with whom to work.
The process of so doing involved asking certain well placed friends and acquaintances for recommendations and then undergoing a period of testing the waters through trial projects in the hope of meeting a like mind. I said and wrote nothing of this at the time for fear of jinxing the whole project.
Well – the good news is that I seem to have found someone and we are busy writing and recording music. The lady concerned has the voice of an angel and we seem to have found musical common ground. Not only are we both most impressed with the results of our initial efforts, but the whole thing has spurred me on to write new songs at a previously unheard of rate.
The next step is to establish an online presence so that others can access the results. More on this in due course.
All most exciting!
“The hardest thing to do is dig deep and be patient about the things you’re going to learn month to month and quarter to quarter.”
Christina Tosi
Holy Moley! A quarter of the year gone already! It seems no time at all since I was writing this post looking forward to all the things that we are aiming to get done in 2019. I thought I should take advantage of the fact that we have just slipped with relatively little fuss into April to review progress thus far.
So – how’s it going?
Well – The Girl went to Mexico (though that seems like an awfully long time ago now) and I am just entering into the last week of a fourteen week teaching term. I know that I only do two days a week (though I have also been doing a bit of project supervision work on the side) but it still feels to have been pretty full on. I guess that is in part because it has been winter, which always feels like harder work.
Planning for our Grand Tour of the UK and the Greek Islands in May and June proceeds apace. Having not been in Europe for four years – and having little likelihood of returning in the short term – we are naturally determined to see everyone and do everything. Fortunately all are being most kind and most accommodating but creating a workable schedule is – as Oldest Friend remarked – a bit like juggling cats! Still – we now have a seriously intense – and fun – looking itinerary and there is no question that we will have had our money’s worth by the time that we return.
This very weekend has seen The Girl finish the course about which I wrote in the above post. She has already been seeing clients for some months now – enough to prove to herself beyond all doubt that she has made the right choice of direction – and once we are back from beyond she will start ramping things up in a serious manner. She already has a splendid new logo for her business – courtesy of a very talented designer friend – and I will next need to step up to help create a website for her.
This venture is all very exciting for us both and I am as proud of and for her as can be – and also as pleased as Punch about this new direction!
Oh – and there is more to say… so another post will be in order in a day or so.
Can’t wait!
“The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining”
John F. Kennedy
I don’t recall ever having had to think much about roofing. Now – I know that those in the UK (and elsewhere) who own older homes – particularly those with complex roofs – may find such things to be a constant source of anguish, but apart from a few relatively minor incidents my six decades in the British Isles were largely free of roof related concerns.
This was doubtless greatly helped by living in the sort of houses that were furnished with tile or slate roofs – the which have a life expectancy of anywhere between sixty and two hundred years, depending on climate and construction.
It was thus a bit of a shock on coming to the west coast of Canada to discover that the shingle roofs common here have a very much shorter expectancy, and that our roof would probably not live much beyond twenty five years – if well looked after. Ours was already about ten years old when we acquired it!
The problem on the west coast is that the moisture-laden climate rapidly leads to roofs that once looked like this:
…looking instead like this:
Naturally there are companies in BC who will strip back all of the moss and detritus and spray the shingles with an inhibitor to discourage further growth. Such services are not cheap but help to extend the life of the roof and thus ultimately to save money.
It need hardly be said – given the very fact of this post – that this we have just had done. Our roof now looks like this:
Spiffing!
Tags: Home, House, Renovation
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