For the past few weeks I have been trying an interesting experiment in civic dialogue. Here on Bowen Island we are in the midst of local elections. We are a small community of 3500 living on a liece of land about the same size as Vancouver, with fairly limited resources in terms of being able to fund local services. It is a beautiful and inspiring place to live, a place that almost wills one to dream about it. It inspires people to move here, to build, to steward, to preserve, to write. Folks run for election because deep down they …
Yesterday in our five day residential we invited the participants out on the land for a solo retreat. Bowen Island, where I live, is an incredible place. To get here, you have to take a boat across the Queen Charlotte Channel, a deep body of water at the entrance to Howe Sound. Howe Sounda was formed by glaciers and mountain making processes, and now is a fjord surround by walls of 1200 meters or more. Entry to Bowen is through Snug Cove, a small and protected harbour that s part of of a bigger bay called Mannion Bay. it …
Another beautiful SUP Sunday afternoon out from Tunstall Bay, into a small headwind and down to Cape Roger Curtis. We are having the most amazing summer, as evidenced by the water restrictions in place and the fire ban. It’s dry and hot – most days the temperature reaches 25 and the ocean is in the low 20s. I like that I practice a water sport that requires me to take a stand. It’s a hell of a way to think about things. There is a lot happening at the Cape. Monster houses are going in there – the biggest is …
It was a beautiful day to SUP today. Checked the wind forecasts and it looked like the west side was a good bet, so I chucked my board on the car and headed for Tunstall Bay. Out on the bay the water was a little windy but I powered into it and headed for the first point, the one I call swimmer’s rock because Sue Schloegl and Sharon Slugget always rest there when they are out swimming. Rounded the point and SHOCK! Right beside the lighthouse at Cape Roger Curtis was a 50 foot barge with a crane …