Merry Christmas
Bright sunshine. I watched the sun come up from the river bottom at 9:28, and watched the sun go down at 3:39 from the woodpile. Very fine day when you get to stop and watch both.
A Very Merry Christmas to everyone.
Tag: humour
Late November
It was good to put the skates on, doubley great to be joined by Cooper and Kelsie even if they didn’t have their skates. Kelsie still thinks it is unsafe. Considering there is still open water not far from shore she is probably right. Still I insist that Lake Windermere has to be skated in November.
It seems, every year, the skates are further down to lace up and don’t seem to go as fast as the year before, regardless the ice still feels good.
Rob
Rob Dunn, who published The Valley Peak passed away last week. He had been battling serious health issues for several years. It still came as a shock to many of his friends and acquaintances. It seemed he had been on the doorstep quite a few times and always battled back. This time, unfortunately, it was not to be.
Rob’s paper, The Valley Peak resembled a coffee newspaper that you often find in cafes. Like a coffee news The Valley Peak contained jokes and ads, however, The Peak was much more. It was usually 8 pages printed on coloured bond paper, published weekly and widely distributed up and down the valley. But what really differentiated it from any other publication was that it contained a lot of Rob.
He promoted many worthwhile causes over the years. He set up a free food bin on one of Invermere’s streets for people in need. He espoused the benefit of gardening, fishing, cannabis use and roaming the outdoors. He often expressed his love for his hounds and the joy of being a dog owner. He and I shared a love of stargazing and that is what we often talked about, as we did when we met in the grocery store about a week before his passing.
Rob was also a self described conspiracy theorist. Since the start of Covid he dedicated part of The Peak to his thoughts on the disease, vaccinations and alternative medicine. He also tackled other subjects such as global warming, woke culture and government interference. He had plenty of followers that agreed with his stance and also many people who did not. Regardless, he always seemed to know where to draw the line as not to piss off too many people, especially advertisers that he had many of. I was always in awe of this skill. Perhaps it was because he was always good natured.
An often theme of his short column Robservations was to treat each other with respect and compassion even when we don’t feel like it or have different views. It is a good message.
It seems the Valley is losing its character and special characters. Rob certainly was a character without replacement. Lisa and I extend our condolences to his family and friends.
Happy stargazing Rob, wishing you clear skies and good fishing.
The Evolution of the Bookstore
Lisa and I made a quick trip to Calgary on Friday. We didn’t have much time to look around. I was able to get to an Indigo bookstore for about 20 minutes. Always a treat for me.
This is what I have noticed about bookstores; it seems every time I go in them they have less books and more of everything else. The magazine section is all but nonexistent now as people now read on their phones or iPads where everything resembles a quick magazine read. Books, as well, are now consumed on line and read on a digital device. I am not there yet, and probably never will be, preferring instead to turn a paper page.
The extra space in the bookstore is taken up with giftware. high end crystal stemware, placemats, picture frames, plush towels, yoga mats, serving platters, art supplies, toys that only an adult would find interesting, games and health and beauty products, Including a little gadget called, The Firefighter Vibrator. It had a ‘Smile Maker’ extra 20% OFF sign beside it and promised ‘strong and focused stimulation of the clitoris’. THIS in the bookstore where they no longer carry newspapers! I guess it is for the women who wants more than to curl up with a good book.
Damn I’m getting old.
A Few Pictures
It’s a little foggy!
Fog, rain, snow. It’s a little bit of everything. I was hoping to get in one more hike into the mountains with the kids from work, but it doesn’t look good. Today brought soft wet snow in the high country. If the sun decides to shine and the temperature drops we still might get a chance. A few years ago I took out a young couple from Scotland in mid November. It was a brilliant clear cold day and they got to see some sites from the top of a snow blown ridge.
***
Willow and I were out on Sunday driving the backroads. We managed to bring back a load of pine firewood. The roads were muck and very slippery, Lisa would have hated it. My father used to call those roads ‘gumbo’. I switched the beast into four-wheel drive and managed to keep it between the ditches.
***
As I get older I wonder if I will succumb to the many conspiracy theories that are so prevalent and popular these days. I say this, because so many of my older friends have bought into the many out there.
I don’t spend much time on social media so I am not being bombarded with bullshit. Older people have more time with some of these platforms such as Facebook.
It’s possible that a good conspiracy is easier to believe than the truth. Conspiracy wraps things up nicely and also puts blame or vilifies an organization or government. God knows some are not trustworthy. However, let us not forget, they are mostly incompetent thus making them trustworthy in what they can and can’t actually pull off.
It is upsetting to see people who were once able and healthy skeptics believe nonsense. I think it is human nature to want to understand events. Unfortunately, many events, illnesses, etc are random.
I will use the moon for an example of randomness. From earth we only see one side of the moon, because it takes the same amount of time to orbit the earth as it does for it to spin on its axis. That is quite a coincidence. It also appears about the same size as the sun in the sky. It almost completely blocks the sun in a solar eclipse except for a thin outline. Yet the sun is massive and much further away. What a coincidence that just the right distance and size allows for this coupling. Are we to believe such random serendipity? The mathematical possibilities of these facts are, well, astronomical.
Or would it make more sense that the moon is projected onto the roof of the sky? And we are just living in a giant dome? And? And?
Although I am making fun here, it does bother me to see people who were once so sharp not able to see when they are being fed bullshit.
I will no doubt be there one day. One thing for sure, there is no shortage of bullshit in this world and people peddling it.
Fall gardening
Planted 120 cloves of garlic and 64 daffodils. We had a good crop of garlic this summer and I saved the big heads to be used for seed. We have our fingers crossed for another good crop next year.
The garden is getting big for Lisa and I. Sometimes it’s tough to find homes for all the veggies it produces.
A few weeks ago I picked all of the green tomatoes and put them in the dark basement to ripen and ripen they did – all at once. We have made and canned sauce, salsa and tomato soup. Lisa has also dried plenty and has them stored for use.
We decided to put the remaining ones (7 beer flats worth) out on a table by the road with a FREE sign. Lisa also put a notice on Facebook group advertising free stuff.
Fifteen minutes later the tomatoes were gone. That Facebook is something else! We had people coming for hours after and turning around when they saw they were all gone. Lisa put up an updated notice on the Facebook post saying they were gone to save any others the trip.
We were glad to see them go. The garden took a beating from the grasshoppers but the tomatoes strived.
Other than kale and beats the garden is just about done for the year. Next week is calling for snow. We shall see.
Crazy
Been keeping up with long walks after work. It is easing my mind in a crazy world. Good dorg Willow has also been enjoying it.
***
District of Invermere, Councillor Gerry Taft has taken a leave of absence due to a recent mental health issue. He has been very forthcoming with his recent struggle, posting on Facebook, possibly to the detriment of his reputation, and granting an interview with The Columbia Valley Pioneer Newspaper. The article can be found here.
Gerry has been steady as a rock in local politics and as a businessman for many years. He served three terms as mayor. I have never asked him a question that he hasn’t answered, unlike many of the small town politicians that inhabit the local council chamber.
He has been a successful businessman running several businesses. He has had to give up his real estate licence, which I find funny, as a real estate licence is a licence to lie, cheat and steal, but apparently you must be sane to do so.
Gerry is however continuing to work on his latest project, transforming a downtown, historic, but dilapidated building into a small modern mini mall to house several unique businesses. I was impressed when he gave me a tour a few days ago.
I haven’t always agreed with his position on local political issues, but have always respected his opinion and the way he puts his ideas forward. He will be missed on Council by the citizens of Invermere for the stability he brought to the young inexperienced Councillors and the current ineffectual Mayor.
Hopefully, this is a bump on the road for Gerry and he will be back to full strength quickly. Knowing Gerry he will use this ‘break’ to reach greater heights and share his knowledge to benefit his community.
***
It is surprising to me that even more people don’t experience mental health issues considering the state of the world, country and community, exacerbated by social and news media that fosters incertitude in what should be the best time of human history.
Early October
It’s been a very fine few days off. Got plenty done, the garden is pretty much put to bed, got out in the bush looking at the ground, sky and everything in-between. It will be tough going back tomorrow, but it has to be done.
Falling
The dorgs, Willow, Lola, and I headed behind the mountains where the creek runs dry this time of year.
The snow started low and fell heavy further up, big juicy flakes. We met a couple of mushroom pickers. They were discouraged. I told them I saw plenty of shaggy manes down below. They were after portabella and chicken mushrooms. Once the snow melts they will be out.
Good to be out, running the muddy roads before they are frozen, facing skyward catching snow and spitting it out, watching dogs twist, chasing their tails, while the mountain pulses in silence.
Palliser Pass 