It’s Canada Day next Wednesday, a day we like to stop and think about how fortunate we are to be living and working where we do.
Warmer than it looks
For almost everyone, the year so far – are we only six months in?! – has been challenging, so it’s good to pause and be positive.
A different sense of time
Canada is very far from perfect, but I choose to believe that it’s a nation trying to progress towards greater inclusivity, aiming to ensure what comes next for all Canadians is an improvement on the past. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, in good times or tougher times, and I’m looking forward to Wednesday. Peering ahead, I’d like to think every day is Canada Day for all who live here.
Taken from Mount Ozzard. Hitacu near side, Ucluelet far side
So if you’re Canadian, know a Canadian, will become a Canadian, have visited Canada, would like to visit Canada, or you’re a big fan of maple syrup, then happy Canada Day to you!
A good idea from Nelson Brewing, BC
Thanks for reading, and enjoy your weekend!
All accompanying photographs were taken this week when I was at work – what a spot to work in! (Not the beer photo – that was after work!)
Last week’s post was firmly rooted in unreality, so I thought I’d better demonstrate I haven’t completely lost the plot by writing a more grounded piece. A brief item on benches and beaches, since that’s where we’ve mostly been in between bouts of online work.
What bear? Where?
Scout has enjoyed sniffing out and rediscovering her old haunts, and many of these happen to be in front of convenient benches with a view.
Last Sunday morning, we spent quite some time lost in thought, sitting on a bench and watching bald eagles spiral and sing in lazy loops above the water. Our eyes are a bit out of focus, and at first we couldn’t be absolutely certain if we’d spotted a bear over the bay, or a rock pretending to be a bear. It was a bear. Or the rock was walking…
Could be a moving rock…
Later, we ventured out to Long Beach, uncertain about how busy it might be. We needn’t have worried. The parking lot was about half full, and most folks were surfers judging by numbers in the water. Once we’d walked down the beach for a few minutes, we were fully physically distanced by many hundreds of metres from the very few souls we saw.
Long bench or long beach?
Back on a beach, on a sunny day, it was a relief to sit on a log, watch the surf, and forget the world wide woes for a while. We smiled and smiled, and Scout decided to dig and dig. I believe the trench she created is the only dog-made construction – or deconstruction – that can be seen from space. She sure put in some effort for her beach return.
Hitacu to Ucluelet – you can almost see “our” bench from here!
Speaking of grounded (were we?) I’m delighted to say, all being well, I’m breaking out of self-isolating/work-from-home exile next week. Coronavirus grounded me – and sent me to my room young man – for over twelve weeks. Young rebel that I am, I’ll be taking the car keys, climbing down the drainpipe, and driving off into a summer of misadventures. Or going back to real work. Real work? Yes, if a summer of chainsaw courses, trail building, wilderness survival training, search and rescue skills, beach-keeping and other related learning/mentoring is allowed to be called work. It’ll be a proper grounding, working and learning alongside a group of motivated youth and young adults. We met earlier this week, and it’s going to be an effort for me to keep pace! I predict weekends full of benches, beaches and long snoozes…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We had a pretty good road trip back to the coast last week. It was strange to be traveling in these socially distant times, with caution and uncertainty over new protocols very evident. What was lovely was how considerate people were – at gas stations, the hotel, and on the ferry. Kind, friendly, creating space, and aware of each other, maybe this can continue post-pandemic?
Coquihalla Highway High
Anyway, rather than write a heavy-on-boring-details account of our Trans Canada Highway drive, I thought I’d describe it through a set of song titles from the playlist. All tracks are by my new favourite band you won’t have heard of, Gays in the Military. They hail from the PNW and here are the songs, most found on the album “Your Devoted Son, Ned”:
1. Coquihalla Highway High
2. Runaway Lane
3. Drooping Hemlock Tip (huh?)
4. ManBaby in Orange/Unmoored
5. Taking A Knee
2m/6ft
6. 2m/6ft
7. Queen of Alberni
8. Duke of Duke Point
9. Cargo Pants Capacity
10. Sovereignty/Taking Back Control (How do you like me now?) feat. Oops, I’m A Unicorn
11. French Roast Alarm
12. Green and Blue feat. West Coast Pale
13. Bonus track, Chicken Kibble Again? feat. Sad Mutt
So there you have it, a new band, some new songs, and they all seemed to fit with being on the road last week. I don’t know, does this seem likely?
Chicken Kibble Again? OK!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
All the right notes, wrong coast
PS Alright, I’ll come clean. When the ferry unmoored from the Tsawassen dock, my own mind untethered from reality as I sat in the sun watching the mainland recede. An unhinged mind, free from the shackles of whatever was shackling it, came up with a make believe band and their first album. If they were real, they’d be huge, in an understated indie scene way. I’m thinking a modern day sound influenced by Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan, with a hint of plaid commentary and I’ll play the drums. Sounds good, eh? How modest of me. If you’d like further liner/sleeve notes, feel free to ask in the comments below. Every song title has a story…
Green and Blue
PPS I think it’s clear I should return to some proper employment. I start back next week, and my only regret is I won’t have time to focus on the often difficult second album. I agree, a musical loss. Perhaps a future project…
PPPS Imagine my surprise when I checked to see if there is/was a band called Gays in the Military. Well, confirming there is rarely anything new under the sun, they already exist, with an album released in 2005. Having played a couple of tracks, you’ll be happy to know I think my future project is still a go.
As much as I can, on this blog I try to dip no more than a toe in the political waters. This is a safe, friendly and inclusive space. I’ll be very brief. The images on our screens from the past few days have said so much, and I honestly don’t have many words this week. Maybe just a few. What are you feeling? Anger? Frustration? Sadness? Hope? Eventual optimism we’ve reached a tipping point at such a terrible cost?
I’ll simply say please be safe if you’re protesting peacefully. Here’s hoping a positive change is underway. Protest now, vote in November, break the logjam…
OldPlaidCamper 