I rode a quick lap of No Err the other morning. It was 10 days since the Nimby Fifty bike race had sent 230 riders that way, and I assume that four of those racers were responsible for the discarded energy gel packets I picked up along my ride. A few scraps of litter doesn’t … Continue reading It’s time to upgrade your Leave No Trace mindset
We had spent the day repairing bluebird nest boxes and were about sixty kilometres off highway 97 in ranch country west of Clinton. The freshly graded road allowed us to zip along at eighty if we chose to; we had averaged thirty; our eyes were too thirsty for colour and novelty after a winter of … Continue reading Saturday Night on the 1100 Road
I’ve been tidying up lately-getting rid of seldom used items and generally removing trash from as many places as I might find it. On daily walks, I carry a bag with me to collect whatever I can carry. I’m saddened by the garbage and the more I dwell on the disregard for the landscape, the … Continue reading What Will You Let Sink?
On the way to the Tsawwassen Ferry, as I inspect the trees at the base of the hill, I feel transported to a world where pterodactyls still fly in the skies: a colony of great blue herons live there. It’s hard to look at a heron without thinking of ancient times: their gangly legs, their … Continue reading A Siege of Herons: Connie Sobchak ponders the similarities between a heronry and a shopping mall
Surely most people can compile a humbling list of things they do not know. My inventory is mind numbing and often capable of deflating my motivation. For example, I might discover some tiny fact about a subject and offer it up as conversation fodder only to find that ten other people already knew ten times … Continue reading Things I Do Not Know
Paul Charron opened our 2017 WellnessAlmanac instagram project with a takeover that took us behind the scenes of the SASET Culinary Arts program which he helped get off the ground, and has been teaching, while on leave from his job as a support worker at Signal Hill. His personal story is an inspiring one, and … Continue reading Paul Charron’s Instagram takeover kicked off our year
Boxing Day we travelled to Lillooet to participate in the Christmas Bird Count. The travel checklist was varied: Bird books, binoculars, Christmas cookies for the social, pain killers in case the dog’s arthritis flared up, camera gear, hiking poles, laptops, a cheese tray (also for the social) and several layers of warm clothing. Snow swirled … Continue reading Bird Brain
Lisa Vertefeuille's Christmas pop-up shop has popped away now, but I still wanted to share this column, because I was so inspired by her grounded wisdom and the idea of always checking in with your feelings, even if it means doing a U-turn. Lisa Vertefeuille is a purveyor of happiness. It’s not her official job description, … Continue reading What pops up when you go with what feels right
No pressure. I asked Polek to provide our Christmas Day feature photo. Challenging, he said. And then it came to him. What better image than the last secret compartment of an advent calendar to suggest the arrival of this super-charged day? He shared: This year, Rya introduced the candy-filled advent calendar to Tae. Tae is … Continue reading In this moment, may you find joy. In this moment, may you find peace. In this moment, may you find a treasure in whatever is before you. Photo by Polek Rybczynski.
The recent cold spell caught me unprepared for the many photo opportunities it offered; the day after I noticed the shimmering sheath of frost on the branches along the path leading to One Mile, the snow commenced and fell until the branches bent and shed their glory. (Fortunately, the feathery frost world has captured my … Continue reading Ice
The Wellness Almanac 