Expedition Canada

Now Fred Not content with having to manage Jack's broken leg, Fred comes out in sympathy, goes A over T at tennis and fractured the radial bone (top/neck end) of her left elbow.  I always thought tennis was a rough game.   No plaster-cast or brace, just a sling for a few weeks and no driving for four weeks. More importantly, no skiing at Christmas.  Still on the positive side we now have a built-in dogsitter while I go skiing! Jack on the other hand is now walking and playing normally, no limp, which disappeared a couple of weeks after he hit the car.  If we had not seen the x-ray we would have him labelled as a complete fraud. Fred managed to arrange the 'incident' a week before we hosted Sebby for five days while Nick and Lizzie jetted off to NYC to celebrate her birthday.  The same weekend (Dec 8 & 9) that I had two concerts with the A Cappella Strait choir I belong to.  It was, to say the least, a full-on weekend.  After dropping him back ...

Two Years in Canada  Monday April 17th T087 Harbeson  A stroll down to the beach on Wednesday evening was rewarded with the sighting of a pod of Orca, about 4-6 of them, splashing around about 200-400m off the beach.  It is the first time in nearly two years on the Coast that we have seen Orca from this beach.  A year ago Fred had spotted a pod just 50m off-shore at Hopkin's Landing beach when we lived in Langdale, we have spotted them from afar on one of our ferry rides a year or two back and I've seen them from a distance when out sailing, but never this close and this active!   You can just see the water spout from the smaller whale They had been seen earlier during the day further up the Coast and two were identified as T087 Harbeson and  T06A5  Indy, but what species of Orca? According to a website that covers Salish Sea Orcas  there are only about 73 Southern Orca remaining in the Salish Sea in three distinct pods, JPod, KPod and LPod a...

Plus a Bison Banquet Thu Nov 24th  After putting my pre-order deposit down in Nov 2021 for the all electric Rivian R1S (SUV), I finally heard last week that delivery will between October and December ........ 2023.  That's the good news and bad news in one!   I have finally been able to see one in the flesh at a customer event last Saturday in Vancouver.  Nick and I had a boys day in town checking out the vehicles, which continue to get amazing reviews.  Top Gear reviewed the R1T pickup .  They are impressive vehicles and the larger battery pack has a range of circa 320m (514k), though if I test the 0-60mph in 3 seconds regularly I suspect that may be a tad optimistic .    The event was busy, suggesting there are quite a few pre-order customers in BC, the launch province for Canada, the only country outside the USA where Rivian vehicles are being sold at the outset.  It's not surprising as BC has the highest proportion of EV sales in Nor...

Remembrance Day in Canada Mon Nov 14th  Remembrance Day is a Federal holiday in Canada , which means schools and other public services are closed.  Some businesses shut for the day as well.  The ceremony around the two minute silence is very similar to the UK with one exception, young people appear much more involved in the day's activities.   In Vancouver , a youth choir was part of the act of Remembrance.  The winner of a school Remembrance Day poem competition read their poem as part of the service.  I can't think of a better way of engaging tomorrow's beneficiaries in the sacrifice of those who went before us and who brought about the freedom we enjoy today, than by involving them in these events.   Despite recent rainfall, our drought continues and the Emergency Order has been extended.  Businesses that use water as part of their activities had a reprieve after the deluge and were allowed to restart water use, but have now had the b...

Jazz by the beach Wed Aug 31st Fierce guard dog keeps watch from deck There is a definite autumnal air first thing in the morning and at my normal waking time of 0530 - 0600, it is dark.  The autumn equinox is only 21 days away, and it feels like it.  Daytime it is still warm, in fact this week we have a mini heat-wave (29 degrees yesterday) returning to normal over the long weekend.  It’s Labor Day on Monday - a public holiday, but no rain is forecast!  The long range forecast is for a wet autumn, though not as bad as last year when roads and rail lines were washed out, cutting BC off from the rest of Canada.   Warning of Black Bears going into their hyperphagia phase - eating as much as they can before going into hibernation in Oct/Nov, means they are more likely to be around potential household food sources.  There have been reports of bears entering houses and unlocked cars in search of food.  The cars haven’t fared too well (you should see the siz...