When I first started running, I definitely did not classify myself as a runner. In my narrow mind, the only narrow thing about me, a runner was lean and mean and somewhat obsessive. My friend Kathy fit that image, and she felt that I should reap the benefits of running too, so she asked me … Continue reading How I learned to call myself a Runner
It’s almost like we belong to some mysterious (and some would say, delirious) club, but Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at 5:40 in the morning, vehicles converge in the parking lot beside Mountain Glass and Mirror and a committed crew of clients line trundle into the side bay of the shop to gather a collection of … Continue reading What Happens at Early Risers…
Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. William Morris When my dad turned twenty-one, his younger sisters gave him a ceramic horse as a birthday present. They had work horses on the farm and dad liked to ride and work with them but it still seems … Continue reading Clutter
Most of my experiences with bushwhacking (struggling through deep undergrowth) have been unpleasant at best, forays into the darkest side of my personality at worst. They were desperate attempts to navigate from one location to another brought on by a lack of knowledge of the terrain or lack of desire to take the long way … Continue reading Bushwhack
I’m not a big traveller and I’ve often wondered why. I know what I’m missing - opportunities to explore other cultures, chances to experience new climates, occasions to marvel at the creations of this world, and openings into new ways of thinking. Yet, I stay home more often than not. Saint Augustine said, “The world … Continue reading Travel Widely
Folks in the Pemberton Meadows compare notes about what’s blooming and what birds are migrating through and what creatures they might have seen. Regularly last fall, we would talk about the latest elk sighting and whose field it was in. Then I saw a porcupine -a first for me in this valley - and … Continue reading Seasonal Observations: The Lupins
Most people are aware that there are a lot of babies and young kids in Pemberton. There are also many activities for these youngsters; just check out the parking lot at the bike park on a Wednesday night, or peek in the great hall at the rec centre to see the little bodies tumbling around … Continue reading Out on The Town
When we first moved to our property, we named one of the outbuildings, Chateau Bearshack, in recognition of the bear viewing opportunities it provided from its foundation next to a field of dandelions. We did not name the garden, Jardin de Blacktail Deer, though we certainly should have when we realized how frequently everything would … Continue reading The Squirrel and Other Visitors
For the last three months, a group of volunteers has been going out at sunset to search for Western Screech Owls. Our task was to play a recording of a Screech Owl for about a minute, then listen intently for four minutes, then repeat the sequence three times. If we heard an owl, any owl, … Continue reading Night Music
Some people look for interesting rocks and others are intrigued by odd shapes in wood. I like them both. Others do not always see what I find so fascinating in the gnarls, burls and striations that I inevitably drag home to a spot in my garden. When I was teaching French, I would often open … Continue reading Things of Stone and Wood
The Wellness Almanac 