A flock of birders descended on Grimm’s Deli, Tuesday, December seventeenth to participate in Pemberton’s nineteenth Christmas Bird Count. This tally of all species seen for the day provides valuable information for conservation biologists and citizen scientists; population distribution and trends for various species can be tracked over the years. The participants in these counts … Continue reading Pemberton Christmas Bird Count
As Christmas neared, I thought about ways to make the season a little more special for my dad, who is in residential care in Squamish. Home baking is always a treat for him but I knew one item in particular would be most welcome: lefse. A Norwegian flatbread made with several variations, lefse was something Mom used … Continue reading L is for Lefse
When my mother asked me why I was limping, of course I blamed my brothers. We had been practicing karate kicks after watching Bruce Lee movies at Grandma Campbell’s and I surely was on the receiving end of those inexpert but earnestly aimed whacks. But there was more to it than my limp - I had taken … Continue reading What the Smoke Revealed
The Canada Day Spud Run is ten kilometres long but in my mind I covered several hundred. Our course marshal led us across the highway to the start and already my thoughts began roaming as they took me back to a few early mornings running various trails behind this same woman. As we rounded the corner at … Continue reading Spud Run Rambles
Eventually, ultimately, sooner or later, I can be quite specific. Usually, customarily, more often than not, this seldom occurs when I am speaking. I’m not fast on the draw, on the uptake or on my feet for that matter. Also, if there’s a way to interpret a phrase figuratively, that’s the way my mind will construe it. So, when my … Continue reading Opening Doors
Location, location, location: In running, as in real estate, it’s all about location -- well, that and a few other details but as I started my most recent trail race, I thought, “If I go far enough, long enough and big enough, I just might win my age category.” This idea occurred to me when I … Continue reading Choose Your Trophies
What if your nose was blue? Whenever I look at a ruddy duck, so named for its body colour, of all things, and not its bright blue nose, this is the phrase that comes to mind. Takes me back to my classroom days when it was popular to call out randomly, “you’re a ________” when … Continue reading Blue Nosed Twitchers
I’ve considered before how things tend to assume the shape I anticipate: expect a bear and one will appear, if only for a fleeting second as I gaze at a fire blackened stump; hope for a great horned owl and the shreds of cedar bark caught on a limb will flap into my consciousness; prepare … Continue reading Moose Shaped Space
I’ve been meeting quite a few new folk around town lately, since joining a couple of clubs that have me socializing somewhat more than usual. My running group affords me up to an hour and a half, sometimes more of visiting time and one of the questions many newcomers have for me is “so, how … Continue reading Changes
In a contemplative mood after my workout this morning, I ambled along the sidewalk enjoying the rain on my face and the hint of cottonwood sap in the air and then I looked down to discover that I was squashing worms with every step. This was not the first time I’d unwittingly destroyed the already … Continue reading Worms etc.
The Wellness Almanac 