Grey Whales are back early

Happy New Year

Ok, OK, I know I do a lot of sunsets (and sunrises) - but they are so beautiful
Sunset over Vancouver Island (iPhone)

Well, as feared in the last blog, it turns out that coming from a new joint email address our festive messages ended up in a lot of folks junk folders. We sent e-Christmas cards as Canada Post were on strike for several months before Christmas.  So if you were thinking "we didn't get a card from the Cronks this year", check your junk email.  If it isn't there, then our email list was clearly in error (or you have changed your email address)!  

It seems e-Xmas messages are starting to replace snail-mail (not surprising if you go on strike before Christmas) and probably arrive nanoseconds after they were sent. We had several.  Our first batch of the more tactile traditional cards arrived from the UK Fri Jan 10th, apart from a couple that must have been posted last summer, or maybe even Christmas 2023!

Winter seems to have bypassed this corner of BC, while the UK, Canadian interior and central/eastern USA are 'enjoying' snow and freezing temperatures.  In fact Edmonton (Alberta - the next Province over), has been circa 4c the last few days, it's normally -20c this time of year.  

I am pretty disappointed. I have not yet had a chance to test my snow blower.  We have a long and steep drive down to the road which takes several hours to clear by hand and shovel.  The business case was justified on the basis I'm not getting any younger.  

We have had plenty of rain, which is good news for Whistler where it falls as snow.  It has provided a great start to the season.  Good news for the No1 ski resort in North America.

Quiet Slopes

The snow was good when we were up there for Christmas. The only difficulty was thick cloud and strong winds which closed all the alpine (high level) lifts.  I got a day in with some local friends on Christmas Eve, but they didn't ski the rest of the week. I decided not to ski on my own in those conditions.  Christmas Eve, Christmas and Boxing day are usually quiet on the slopes, and we left before the busy period that follows. 

Inevitably the day we pointed the car in the direction of the ferry home, the sun came out and the winds dropped off!  Still, we're back there again at the end of the month (and end of Feb) when Fred will be able to ski.  Unless of course she goes A over T again playing tennis.

Jack was in his element, bouncing around in the snow, in much the same way he did in a field of wheat.    

The iced over Nita Lake attracted the usual clutch of 'dippers' (not skinny), where the women outnumbered the men by about 10:1.  Us fellas are such wimps.  I resisted the temptation, and whilst most brave souls wandered down from the hotel in dressing gowns or winter gear, one fella walked out in trunks and bare feet, went straight in and under, wiping the icy water from his hair as he walked back to the hotel.  Very macho.

Back from Whistler Fred jetted off to the UK and has been reacquainting herself with driving on the left side of the road. As well as catching up with friends she attended a family funeral.  She's back in BC on Monday Jan 13th.  Sounds like a bit of a whirlwind tour and inevitably was all rather short notice, so she didn't get to see all the friends she would have liked to have caught up with.

The highlight of the last few days has been a visit from a Grey Whale off Bonniebrook Beach.  It stuck around for a couple of days feeding, which suggests there is plenty of food around.  It was subsequently sighted heading in to the Howe Sound with a calf (which I didn't spot), though there have been no more sightings since Wednesday, until today Sunday Jan 12th, when it reappeared off the beach.

The sun wasn't quite up so a bit grainy - the hum in the background

is a tug pulling a log boom

The Greys don't usually arrive until late February, so this one was early.  Speculation has been that they are coming to the northern waters earlier to rid themselves of parasites, which are killed off in colder water.  Global warming?  They are distinguished from the Humpback by the absence of a dorsal fin (and hump) and the 'V' shaped water jet from their blowhole.   

The New Year's Day sailing race in cool conditions, was a bit of a challenge, as the course had to be shortened when the wind died. We were 2nd.  Grrrrr.

There is, as you might expect, a lot of discussion in Canada about not becoming the 51st state of the USA, or would it be 52nd after Greenland?  I suspect economically it's going to be rather challenging this side of the border. Interesting times as they say.

Former Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien, wrote and Opinion piece in Saturday's Globe & Mail.  At 91 he's probably a bit too old to take over from Trudeau.  Shame.  A copy of the article is at the bottom of the blog. 

My Chief Sub-editor is away so any typos, spelling mistakes, syntax issues etc. etc. are all mine!

Beach art

Bonniebrook sunrise (yep another one!).

One one of our local trails!  Why???

Marina looking towards the North Shore

Double rainbow - if you look closely

Sea to Sky Highway - looking towards Whistler 

OPINION
Jean Chrétien

Canadians will never give up the best country in the world to join the U.S.
    


JEAN CHRÉTIEN
Contributed to The Globe and Mail
Published Saturday Jan 11th  





Former prime minister Jean Chrétien writes:

Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing – he has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before! Mr. Chrétien greets people anxious to shake his hand following Canada Day ceremonies in Ottawa on July 1, 1996.

TOM HANSON/THE CANADIAN PRESS
 Jean Chrétien served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.


Today is my 91st birthday.


It’s an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. To look back on the life I’ve had the privilege to lead. And to reflect on how much this country we all love so much has grown and changed over the course of the nine decades I’ve been on this Earth.


This year, I’ve also decided to give myself a birthday present. I’m going to do something in this article that I don’t do very often anymore, and sound off on a big issue affecting the state of the nation and profoundly bothering me  and so many other Canadians: The totally unacceptable insults and unprecedented threats to our very sovereignty from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.


I have two very clear and simple messages.
To Donald Trump, from one old guy to another: Give your head a shake! What could make you think that Canadians would ever give up the best country in the world – and make no mistake, that is what we are – to join the United States?




I can tell you Canadians prize our independence. We love our country. We have built something here that is the envy of the world – when it comes to compassion, understanding, tolerance and finding a way for people of different backgrounds and faiths to live together in harmony.


We’ve also built a strong social safety net – especially with public health care – that we are very proud of. It’s not perfect, but it’s based on the principle that the most vulnerable among us should be protected.


This may not be the “American Way” or “the Trump Way.” But it is the reality I have witnessed and lived my whole long life.
If you think that threatening and insulting us is going to win us over, you really don’t know a thing about us. You don’t know that when it came to fighting in two world wars for freedom, we signed up – both times – years before your country did. We fought and we sacrificed well beyond our numbers.




We also had the guts to say no to your country when it tried to drag us into a completely unjustified and destabilizing war in Iraq.


We built a nation across the most rugged, challenging geography imaginable. And we did it against the odds.


We may look easy-going. Mild-mannered. But make no mistake, we have spine and toughness.


And that leads me to my second message, to all our leaders, federal and provincial, as well as those who are aspiring to lead our country: Start showing that spine and toughness. That’s what Canadians want to see – what they need to see. It’s called leadership. You need to lead. Canadians are ready to follow.


I know the spirit is there. Ever since Mr. Trump’s attacks, every political party is speaking out in favour of Canada. In fact, it is to my great satisfaction that even the Bloc Québécois is defending Canada.


But you don’t win a hockey game by only playing defence. We all know that even when we satisfy one demand, Mr. Trump will come back with another, bigger demand. That’s not diplomacy; it’s blackmail.




We need another approach – one that will break this cycle.


Mr. Trump has accomplished one thing: He has unified Canadians more than we have been ever before! All leaders across our country have united in resolve to defend Canadian interests.


When I came into office as prime minister, [PM 1993/11/04 - 2003/12/11] Canada faced a national unity crisis. The threat of Quebec separation was very real. We took action to deal with this existential threat in a manner that made Canadians, including Quebeckers, stronger, more united and even prouder of Canadian values.


Now there is another existential threat. And we once again need to reduce our vulnerability. That is the challenge for this generation of political leaders.


And you won’t accomplish it by using the same old approaches. Just like we did 30 years ago, we need a Plan B for 2025.




Yes, telling the Americans we are their best friends and closest trading partner is good. So is lobbying hard in Washington and the state capitals, pointing out that tariffs will hurt the American economy too. So are retaliatory tariffs – when you are attacked, you have to defend yourself.


But we also have to play offence. Let’s tell Mr. Trump that we too have border issues with the United States. Canada has tough gun control legislation, but illegal guns are pouring in from the U.S. We need to tell him that we expect the United States to act to reduce the number of guns crossing into Canada.


We also want to protect the Arctic. But the United States refuses to recognize the Northwest Passage, insisting that it is an international waterway, even though it flows through the Canadian Arctic as Canadian waters. We need the United States to recognize the Northwest Passage as being Canadian waters.


We also need to reduce Canada’s vulnerability in the first place. We need to be stronger. There are more trade barriers between provinces than between Canada and the United States. Let’s launch a national project to get rid of those barriers! And let’s strengthen the ties that bind this vast nation together through projects such as real national energy grid.


We also have to understand that Mr. Trump isn’t just threatening us; he’s also targeting a growing list of other countries, as well as the European Union itself, and he is just getting started. Canada should quickly convene a meeting of the leaders of Denmark, Panama, Mexico, as well as with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to formulate a plan for fighting back these threats.




Every time that Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he creates new allies for all of us. So let’s get organized! To fight back against a big, powerful bully, you need strength in numbers.


The whole point is not to wait in dread for Donald Trump’s next blow. It’s to build a country and an international community that can withstand those blows.


Canadians know me. They know I am an optimist. That I am practical. And that I always speak my mind. I made my share of mistakes over a long career, but I never for a moment doubted the decency of my fellow Canadians – or of my political opponents.


The current and future generations of political leaders should remember they are not each other’s enemies – they are opponents. Nobody ever loved the cut-and-thrust of politics more than me, but I always understood that each of us was trying to make a positive contribution to make our community or country a better place.


That spirit is more important now than ever, as we address this new challenge. Our leaders should keep that in mind.


I am 91 today and blessed with good health. I am ready at the ramparts to help defend the independence of our country as I have done all my life.


Vive le Canada!