Tag: humour

Late September

Willow the truffle smelling hound.

It has cooled off a bit, both temperature and tourist wise, thank God! 

It is the mature tourist season, older without children. Some of my young coworkers call it, ’the newlywed and almost dead’ season.

It has been another trying year. The arrogance, rudeness and entitlement of the tourists seems to be getting worse, if that is possible. Quite a few youngsters who came to work in tourism decided it wasn’t for them and I can’t blame them. My advice is to put on an extra thick layer of skin armour. Skin armour is something that my daughter Maddy invented. You put on to get you through the rudeness that accompanies many work places. July and August it needs to be bullet proof.

***

Another Provincial Election is upon us. The NDP against the new Conservative Party.

The old Conservatives caved in and formed the new Conservatives. Make no mistake they are the same bunch. What was once the Social Credit Party became the BC Liberal Party, then they became the BC United Party and finally they handed the keys to the BC Conservative Party.

Our MLA of Liberal/United persuasion heard the klang of a party in disarray, so took his new pension and added it to his other government pensions and called it a career.

Now we have a couple other opportunists lined up to take his place. 

I can’t even express how little these cagey, scheming, cunning two-bit politicians to be do for me. Whew, say that four times fast.

Regardless, in this riding we are going to have a new one to deal with. The only question, not that it makes a bit of difference, will it be a Conservative or NDP, both retired teachers by the way. Both ready to add another generous defined government pension to their portfolio. It is tough to keep pigs from the trough.

***

These are the way things are. You have to put up with tourists and politicians. Sometimes you need damn good skin armour. What the hell. Regardless of it all, it’s good to see the coming frost, the ripe tomatoes daily, the empty back roads, salted mountains and golden tamaracks. That’s plenty.

Breezy

A couple of uprooted fir trees at The Springs Golf Course in Radium Hot Springs.

Last Friday we had a severe wind storm. A nearby weather station clocked the winds at over 200km/hr, which is unheard of in this area. The mountains usually protect us from high winds. Not this time.

The storm was accompanied by rain and lightning. There were shingles flying off roofs, billboards knocked over, moored motor boats swamped and sunk (I guess it wasn’t all bad), trees uprooted, buildings damaged; basically shit scattered from asshole to tea kettle, everywhere, in every direction.

Luckily, as far as I know, no injuries were reported.

Power was knocked out throughout the valley. Most was restored within 12 hours, however BC Hydro is still working to get power to some areas.

We were lucky. Only a few branches to pick up around our place. Work was a different story, plenty to clean up there.

A funny story that reminded me of my Mom. Two young women, Bex and Molly, from the UK that I work with were surprised at how fast the storm hit.

Bex saw the lights flicker and said, ‘Molly get the kettle on!’ They didn’t want the power to go off in the middle of a bad storm without being able to make a cup of tea. The kettle boiled just in time before the power went off for the duration.

My Mother was the same way. No matter what was about to hit a cup of tea seemed to make things a little better.

I sure hope this kind of weather doesn’t become part of our new normal.

severing

This morning’s ever reliable moon going down after a long night over the District of Invermere.

Interesting article in last weeks local newspaper. The District of Invermere and its Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) have ‘departed’.

Departed is an interesting choice of words. There is only two ways to depart a job; the CAO either quit or was fired. So which is it? As usual when it comes to local politics, no one is talking.

Since the District’s CAO is generally considered the leader of the ship and often the highest paid employee of the District one could argue citizens have a right to know. That doesn’t mean they get to know every detail, but they are entitled to a few answers, certainly more than offered.

Not specified in the article, but I was able to find out, was that the former CAO was paid severance. How much and why is covered by a non-disclosure agreement. There goes the citizens right to know. 

I knew something was up when our Mayor was unable to be reached for comment for the newspaper article. Our Mayor revels in the sound of his own voice, and can be relied on, if for nothing else, to comment on all subjects whether he knows anything about them or not, which is more often the latter. The subject does have to be in his interest, however.  

The District has a history of hiring some turkeys over the years that have cost the taxpayers dearly. To rid themselves, a handsome severance packages is often part of the cost. 

I remember spending a trip to Cranbrook, an hour and a half drive away, with a former Director of Public Works for the District. By the time we were ten minutes out of town I knew the guy was full of shit and useless as tits on a bull. Yet somehow, he was apparently interviewed by numerous people and hired by the District, who then suffered through his employ for longer than they should have. He was finally given a generous severance package so they could ‘depart’ ways. Probably the best money the District spent on this employee.

Funny enough this man landed in another government position where he has been a thorn in their side ever since. Proof that government is a holding pen for many of the worst workers in Canada.  

The point is, the District of Invermere and all government should be extra careful in their hiring practices as it is the taxpayer that shoulders the cost of enduring, and often ridding themselves of the ineptly acquired baggage.

Dream

After the rain.

Dug the garlic today. About 120 heads of purple hardneck. I laid it out to dry and damned if we didn’t have a hard rain. Granted it didn’t last long. It was marvellous to feel. It was like the earth lapped it up. The birds even came out and seemed to rejoice in the damp, warm air.

Deb’s bouquet.

The garden is doing what it can. Picked a bunch of peas. Not easy. The wind has blown most of the vines off the fences, making one pick through the tangle. I know I’m missing as many I’m picking. Willow helped out picking, but she ate the ones she picked not contributing to the bucket. Once and awhile I’d give her a pod I’d eaten the peas out of. She would nosh it around and spit it out, giving me a dirty look. She will eat the pea pods as long as they have peas in them, take the peas out and try to pawn them off and she will let you know you are a cheat.

The mosquitoes have been atrocious. The garden is almost unbearable. At night we usually have at least a few driving us crazy. The buggers having followed us through the door. Sometimes I hear Willows jaws clack as she tries biting them out of the air. They are tough to get in the pitch black.

The fire in the Palliser River area is getting bigger. It has burned a lot of country that Lisa and I love. It will be something to see when we can get out there.

It is a long weekend and the tourists are unrelenting. Hordes all trying to do everything at once. I am not sure if they even notice the smoke obscuring the mountains or the sun that rises and sets blood red, on fire through a thickening haze.

Humans are something. I dreamt that the town and hills surrounding the lake were on fire, like they will be one day, while the long grass, trees and homes burned, the tourists in their wake boats just kept jetting around the lake, pulling water skiers and surfers, kids on tubes, loud music from big thumping speakers, laughter, cocktails, bikinis and sunglasses, sunblock and beer bottle empties thrown overboard. Making sure they are draining their tanks, getting their kicks before the lake starts to boil.

Just a bad dream. Exacerbated by the heat, smoke and pesky mosquitoes.

Smoke

Lisa and I along with hounds Willow and Lola went for an early morning walk down the lake. It is a place we don’t go often.

The banks above the lake are dry. Plenty of dead grasses and broken branches. Many years ago people would go here to party, cutting down trees and lighting large fires, driving motorcycles and cars tearing up the earth. I was only there once when that was going on. I was young, but remember it well and I hated it. I still get the same feeling thinking about it all these years later.

These hills are now protected or they would be ruined like every other place around the lake other than the Akisqnuk Nation land.

This morning we watched sparrow hawks, swans, swallows and juncos fly above the fields. The dogs had a good swim once we reached the lake. The smoke cast a soft light, the mountains shrouded, out of reach, the lake almost calm.

It was a good morning walk. The dogs were slower going home.

A large wasp nest that one would be smart not to disturb.

Summer Hike

Payton, Kennedy, Mia, Jack, Josh and Nathan stopping at the first lake

In what has become a summer ritual a few of my young coworkers and I set off on a hike to see some rock, snow and blue water.

It was special to have Jack’s brother Josh, visiting from the UK, along for the walk.

The days have turned hot. We made an early start and missed most of the heat hiking up. The first lake was pristine surrounded by peaks spotted with snow and ice. Moraine swept from slides to shore. Twisted tamaracks shot skyward, some standing for centuries. A great honour to walk among them with these fine youngsters.

Kennedy leads the way along the trail.

We set off for the scramble to the second lake. It was decided a short section be named Payton’s Pass for her ability to manage it despite her reluctance or otherwise good sense.

The meadow leading to the second lake with wild flowers and trickling stream with short cascading waterfalls was welcome walking the rest of the way.

We stopped for lunch. Everyone had a swim. I wanted to but the thought of the sharp rocks on my feet stopped me. I’m getting a little old and tender I guess.

We followed our route backwards, descended into the heat of the valley bottom. A very fine day.

Brothers Josh and Jack.

May 11/12 Solar Storm

What a spectacular night. Lisa and I spent the entire night out. As soon as it got dark the auroras started and didn’t let up until dawn. We took lots of photos and are still going through them. Here are a few samples.

They were everywhere overhead and in every direction.
A butterfly or angel.
The mountains are illuminated by the shining auroras.
It is rare I point the camera directly overhead. For this night I made an exception.
The burnt snags reach towards the light.
Wondering the creek bottom by the light of a solar storm.

Spring

The garlic and daffodils are up. A bit of rain here and there, a few snowflakes, just winters way of trying to hang on. A few seeds could be poked into the ground. Carrots, radish, lettuce; maybe if I get ambitious this weekend.

Stars

An array of colours along the path of The Milky Way. This is ten photos stitched together in Adobe Lightroom. It spans from North to South looking East.

Tried again, this morning, to spot Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. This comet could be beyond Willow’s and my ability to track down. It is very close to the horizon beside the Andromeda Galaxy. By the time it rises above the mountains the sky is losing darkness. Also, we haven’t had super clear skies and the thickest haze is always closest to the horizon. That haze is in fact pollution. That’s why many cities have beautiful sunsets.

The moon as it appeared just after dark.

It is funny in a ridiculous way, our summers are filled with smoke from forest fires, now the spring and fall also has it’s share of smoke, as the provincial government and logging companies burn slash piles. Slash piles are all of the waste wood left over from clear cut logging. There is a lot of waste; branches, rotting wood, stumps, small trees, basically any mess the companies leave behind is pushed into piles and set ablaze.

The core of The Milky Way returns signalling spring and the coming summer. The green haze is a combination of haze, light pollution and maybe even some stardust. Lake Windermere still has its layer of winter ice.

It would be interesting to know if these C0 emissions are counted as industry emissions or if they get tabled under forest fire emissions. The latter not counted towards Canada’s yearly emission targets. Regardless, it is another case of the government saying one thing and doing another. The entire valley could drive around in Diesel Ford F350s for years and not emit the pollution that one of these massive slash piles produce.

I don’t think there is any big conspiracy involved, I just think government is incompetent in this regard.

This is how a panorama looks when I am stitching it together. This is ten individual photos taken left to right with overlap. This image is five frames wide and two frames high. The lens used was 20mm, which is wide, so a lot of the sky is captured. I did not do a very good job of keeping the bottom of the photo even. It can be difficult as it is dark and I can not see through the viewfinder, so it is done by feel. The bright lights in the distance is Invermere.

This and That

The local newspaper reported the current School District 6 (Rocky Mountain) Superintendent has left their position. In usual School District fashion the reason for leaving or if severance was paid was not disclosed.

The local School District has operated behind closed doors with very little public access to information for many years now. In the past, information on use of pesticides on school grounds, wage hikes for administration staff, staffing issues, school space inadequacies and allegations of abuse have always been restricted regardless of the public’s interest and right to know.

Of course it doesn’t help that local media has become bare-boned and unable to pursue and report on these issues. The days of strong local journalism is long gone. . . Replaced by Facebook. . . Lord help us!

***

CBC reported on a study done by the RCMP examining coming threats that could affect policing. They included world affairs such as wars, environmental issues, economy, political polarization and extremist movements. The report painted a bleak future to say the least.

It made me think how, in our small community, how unprepared we are for these coming obstacles.

I don’t believe we will be helped by local government. Unless it involves development or tourism they are uninterested. Environment, homelessness, climate change and health and welfare of common citizens are not exactly their strong suit.

It is difficult to forget during the height of the Covid pandemic, when federal and provincial medical officials were recommending not to travel, our small town officials went on Alberta media telling tourists the Columbia Valley was open for business and to come and visit.

It was that kind of thinking that resulted in many low paid service employees getting sick, including fifteen people who I knew personally. Some of them got sicker than others. Luckily everyone got through it, but the severity of Covid was not known at the time. It was dangerous for our politicians to ignore the best scientific advice at the time to assure cash registers kept ringing.

It makes me think that it will be up to the citizenship to band together in the future to fight coming threats mentioned in the RCMP report. It may not be possible to rely on government and certainly not local government.

I believe the larger the government the less effect it has on our lives. For instance, our Federal MLA is a man who has rarely, if ever, stepped foot in Invermere. He is a long time party back bencher, and for all intents and purposes ineffectual and all but invisible to his constituents. He certainly doesn’t dictate policy that influences lives in his riding.

Our Provincial MLA is much the same. However, we do see him more often and he can bring forward concerns in the Provincial House. Still, his ability to change anything is limited at best and nonexistent at worst.

But our local governments, Mayors and council members can make a big difference, good and bad, to the lives of the people they are said to serve. It is interesting to note these members, although paid well, are paid substantially less than their Federal and Provincial counterparts. Regardless, they are often awarded in other ways due to their control of local policy, thus you often see wealthy businessmen such as realtors, business owners and developers in these positions.

I think history has shown, one can’t depend on politicians, regardless of stripe or office, to do the right thing for the majority of people. The best we can hope is that what is good for them is also good for the majority. Most of the time it is.

Who knows what the future holds.