A for Anahim Lake

ABC Wednesday
July 15th, 2015

Off on another wonderful jaunt through the Alphabet!

I decided I would like to introduce readers to the beautiful province of British Columbia by choosing towns and communities and territories to match the letters of the alphabet, - and so we start with:

A for Anahim Lake

The Anahim Lake area of the West Chilcotin has a rich and colourful history.

Home to the native Carrier/Chilcotin (or Tsilhgot'in) peoples the recorded history begins with the arrival of the famous explorer, Alexander Mackenzie, in 1793 when he became the first white man to reach the Pacific Ocean by land, a full twelve years before the better promoted Lewis and Clark expedition in the United States.

By the early part of the 20th century a few hardy pioneers, lured by stories of huge expanses of untouched ranch land, had made their way into the Anahim Lake area.  One of these men was Rich Hobson Jr, a former insurance broker in New York who had suffered financial ruin in the Crash of 1929.

He teamed up with a wily cowboy by the name of Panhandle Phillips and they headed north in pursuit of this new ranching frontier in the Chilcotin region of central British Columbia.

Their adventures eventually became a trilogy of books written by Hobson, filled with the colourful cast of characters who made the Anahim Lake area their home at that time.  They were such fascinating real life adventure stories that the CBC eventually made a series based upon the books.  It is a great many years since I have read these books, but I am thinking of investigating what the Library has to offer as they are no longer on my shelves.

"Grass Beyond the Mountains"  Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy"  and "Rancher Takes a Wife".

These books remind me of Thomas Firbank and his wonderful tales of the Welsh mountain farm he bought, especially as they pertain to the surroundings of the country(s) they describe and the life of the farmer(s).

Besides being a magnificent ranching country the Chilcotin area has become a tourist attraction to those who would take a tour into "God's Country".

Come early in the summer to enjoy the Anahim Lake Stampede

The Chilcotin is a varied country

Ice Fields in the High Chilcotin country

And below, in the meadows, lakes and ranchland

 Farwell Canyon and the Chilcotin River.

 Pelicans on Anahim Lake

and a country for Eagles

 Hanlon Falls, which plunge over 1000 feet down a perpendicular cliff
from Lake Turner into Lonesome Lake.

The Falls were named after a Chilcotin chief, Hana-lin, who used to fish at the foot
of the falls, and had a trap line nearby.

The south end of Lonesome Lake was the home of Ralph Edwards -
his life made famous by the book "Crusoe of Lonesome Lake"

Rainbow Mountains

How to get there!

Eagle's Nest Resort advertises that their main lodge is built around a log cabin that was at one time a  "watering hole" for many of the original Grass Beyond the Mountains characters.  Long before there was such a thing as a liquor store the men would gather at Eagle's nest to swap stories, barter goods with one another, and generally be sociable while enjoying the potent production of the local still.

I am in daily contact with the Chilcotin country and that part of my family who live

on a beautiful meadow on top of a plateau 

where they delight us with photos and tales of the wild critters

they share the countryside with, and the marvelous sunsets

that paint the sky!  Take a peek, here.

Another fame to glory for Anahim Lake!!

Carey Price, Olympic Gold goalie calls it his hometown!!!

More A stories here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Roger and Denise

and Able helpers....

post script......

a little bonus - found this marvelous picture from space

of the Rainbow Range in British Columbia's Chilcotin

while looking for Pluto pictures....

Hemming and Hawing

Friday, July 10th, 2015

A third of the way into July, - it seems only hours ago that I was saying White Rabbits!!

It has been a torturous time, heatwise, but we now have the prospects of a little rain and mid 20's temperatures (as opposed to high 30's).   This inspires me to put aside my reading and reminiscing and get on with life!!  And it is where the 'hemming' takes first priority.....

First of all I must find a place for the ironing board, where it can be comfortable for a few days and not in the way, and that of course raises the question of 'why do I have so much stuff around taking up space - and furthermore, when am I going to remedy this situation'.

Well, apparently it will not be an immediate task so I move the spinning wheel and squeeze the ironing board into a corner of my bedroom,  (all the while thinking of the one my mother had in the 1930's, built right ito the wall). and I plug in the iron.  It's a start!

My daughter is waiting for a pair of pants that required a little lengthening, but what appeals to me most is the linen towels that left the loom almost a week ago.  Washed and pressed, but not yet hemmed.

I remember the shortage of 'findable' straight pins to secure the hems before basting - this the result of having cleaned out the sewing machine drawers and moving the sheet of straight pins elsewhere -
some mysterious place elsewhere the location of which escapes me!!

Ah well, I will make do with what I have.  As I pin and press the mistakes that I made in my weaving immediately catch my eye.  I think this is where I start the HAWING, but there, I know they will be treasured, skipped dents and all.....

I find a fine needle with a decent sized eye, baste the hems, after some difficulty in making a little knot in the end of the thread.  Despite having passably mobile hands  I find it very hard to twirl the thread into a small knot between my thumb and forefinger - but persevere with patience....  Done!

I put on some music, settle myself into a comfortable chair and prepare to "get it done".

Hemming is so mindless, like plain knitting, but so comfortable as your mind wanders and your eye follows the length and depth of the stitches.  A nice way to spend an evening, and while I do it I think about the cotton that arrived in the mail yesterday for a new warp to dress the loom, and weave up all those bits and pieces and lengths of cotton that linger in drawers and plastc bins.  They will make colourful wefts for tea towels to distribute amongst family.

I have no picture of hemmed linen towels yet, but here are some of the garden which has been flourishing in the heat, mainly because I have been a slave to the need for water in the pots and beds;
night and day, night and day!!!

and the linen warp as it came off the loom

Zanzibar

ABC Wednesday
July 8th, 2015

The letter is Z  for Zanzibar

Zanzibar is an archipelago made up of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands located in the Indian Ocean about twenty-five miles from the Tanzanian coast.  Sixty miles long and twenty miles wide it is known for its beautiful sandy beaches with fringing coral reefs, and the magic of historic Stone Town, said to be the only functioning ancient town in East Africa.

There are no large wild aimals in Zanzibar, and forest areas are inhabited by monkeys, bush-pigs and small antelopes - and rumour has it the elusive Zanzibar leopard!  Various species of mongoose are also found on the island, and a wide variety of birds and butterflies..

The coral reefs surrounding the East Coast are rich in marine life and make them a great location for snorkelling and scuba diving.


Zanzibar's local people are an incredible mixture of ethnic backgrounds, indicative of her colourful history.  Islam is the dominant religion, and the 100,000 inhabitants speak Swahili.

People have lived in Zanzibar for 20,000 years.  History starts when the islands became a base for traders voyaging between the African Great Lakes, the Arabian peninsula and the Indian subcontient.  Although the archipelago had few products of value Stone City was a convenient point from which to trade with towns on the Swahili Coast.  Zanzibar has been inhabited, perhaps not continuously, since the Paleolithic.  A 2005 excavation at Kuumbi Cave foud heavy duty stone tools that showed occupation of the site at least 22,000 years ago.

A certain magic is attached to Zanzibar, with its aura of spices and ivory, blue waters and beaches,

and in recent years its great attraction as a tourist destination.

Cinnamon bark and nutmeg

In my own personal history I remember Saturday afternoon movies

and the "Road" series, starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour

and in particular "The Road to Zanzibar"

Don't ask me for any details, - it was a long, long time ago!

The last letter in the alphabet, and many thanks to Roger and Denise 

and all their zippy de-do-dah helpers!

For more Zzzzs zip over here to ABC Wednesday.

Summer Days

July 2nd, 2015

When my knees started whining this morning, after a couple of hours at the loom, I chided them for letting down the side, but did admit that it might be time to see what the kitchen had to offer for lunch, and them maybe find a shady spot and a new book.

I try to keep in mind the way Grandpa Sid (Charles' father) managed when he was with us in his late eighties,  and emulate his way of life;  busy during the day, but at a leisurely pace.  Never hurried or distraught, and always aware of the energy short rest periods generated, he taught us all
the advantages of pacing oneself through life....

So I made myself a toasted chicken and cheese sandwich, had a very small nap, and then gathered a book and the camera and my phone in a basket, and went out into the back garden to find a cool corner.

I finished reading Julia Blackburn's 'biography' yesterday - "The Three of Us", astounded at the lack of stability in her childhood and surprised by the maturity, and the love and forgiveness that she achieves by the time the book ends.   It kept me reading all afternoon until I closed it with a sigh, and laid it aside for Happy Hour, and a little musing about life and how different it is for all us.

Today I started to read "Habits of the House" by  Fay Weldon - a Downton Abbey kind of book that doesn't require a great deal of concentration but so far is entertaining.

This morning I was back at the loom again, and so pleased with the way the left-over linen is weaving up into small guest towels, although I have to admit that there are a few lines running through the length of the warp that could be construed as decorative, but are, in reality, mistakes in threading....  I have probably another twenty inches of warp left to weave and then the happy experience of cutting off the warp, wet finishing the material and watching it morph from a stiff linen netting type of weave to a lovely soft huck pattern, the threads all relaxed and cosying up to one another.

And so the summer days go by, - I go to town when I absolutely have to, but my days begin and end in the garden in the cool of the morning and the quiet of the late evening.  Often, if there is a particularly lovely sunset in the Chilcotin, our youngest son scans the sky with his Ipod and sends by Skype these beautiful Monet colours, - mauves and purples and roses and cream and lilac, bright golds and blue.

In the morning I can expect to see on Facebook the same sunset, beautifully photographed by our second son,  and accompanied by wonderful tales of the Meadow where they live.

Warm summery days, and life is good....

Enchantment

ABC Wednesday
July 1, 2015

The letter is Y - for Enchantment

Are you prepared to be enchanted???

Here is Yo Yo Ma with his magical rendition of The Swan by Saint Saens

Bound to enchant you....

And furthermore - the addition of Charles Riley (aka Lil' Buck) and his
dance interpretation is quite magical

For more interesting takes on the letter Y - over yonder, here, at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Roger and Denise 

We're having a heat wave...

In the late afternoon I leave the coolness of the house and go out into the garden to check pots and open the side gate to peer at the air conditioner to see if any ice has formed around its entrance into the house as happened yesterday.  Luckily not.......

We are in the midst of an unusual heat wave.  No blazing sun or brilliant sky, but rather a grey and rather ominous cloud cover much resembling the lid of a pressure cooker - and there is distinct impression of being steamed in it as one ventures forth.

I have seen worse!  Picked peaches and apricots in the orchard when the temperature was well over 100 degrees F. (With constant  re-telling over the years the actual temperature has grown to117F but I hesitate to intrude on credibility).

We had no air conditioning in our home at that time but a large Rainbow sprinkler turned lazily all day on our flat roofed house, and as the water fell over the eaves it gave the illusion of coolness at least.

I found some of the potted plants gasping for water, even though I had been out in the garden early in the morning with the hose.  These are the days of morning refreshment -  happy hour about five, and perhaps a little sparkling water at noon.

What relief and delight to step back into a cool kitchen  - even Callie left her little damp spot in the raspberries to scoot between my feet.

She had spoonful of her soft tinned cat food that she has a passion for, and I had the remains of last night's refreshing fruit salad for supper  -  with ice cream!

Last night as I got ready for bed the eastern sky and clouds were bright with a show of sheet lightening.  I can't wish the same for tonight because of the very real danger of igniting wild fires, but it was pretty spectacular.

Tomorrow promises to be a little cooler than the 40C that was recorded on Charles' old thermometer!

X is for kisses

ABC Wednesday
June 24, 2015

The letter is X - a symbol for kisses

so sweet.....

'Tis when the lark goes soaring

And the bee is at the bud,

When lightly dancing zephyrs

Sing over field and flood;

When all sweet things in nature

Seen joyfully achime -

'Tis then I wake my darling,

For it is kissing time!

Go, pretty lark a-soaring

And suck your sweets, O bee;

Sing, O ye winds of summer,

Your songs to mine and me;

For with your song and rapture

Cometh the moment when

It's half past kissing time

And time to kiss again!

So-so the days go fleeting

Like golden fancies free,

And every day that cometh

Is full of sweets for me;

And sweetest are those moments

My darling comes to climb

Into my lap to mind me

That it is kissing time.

Sometimes, maybe, he wanders

A heedless, aimless way -

Sometimes, maybe, he loiters

In pretty, prattling play;

But presently bethinks him

And hastens to me then,

For it's half-past kissing time

And time to kiss again!

Kissing Time, by Eugene Field, who also worte "Wynken, Blynken and Nod"
and 'The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat"

The last two lines stir fond childhood memories of my Grandmother....

More Xs here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Denise and Roger
and all their kissing cousins who visit on their behalf....

A Saturday Morning Concert

I am going to a concert!

Would you like to come along with me?

I squeeze the last cup of morning coffee from the pot and gather together my knitting, my glasses, a library book in case I should want to read a few pages in the intermission, and I am off to my PC where the  Berlin Philharmonik orchestra has begun to gather and the seats are filling up.....

The first violinist arrives to applause, and the instruments tune up under his direction.

Ah, - here is the guest soloist, Chistian Tetzlaff.  And the conductor, Sir Simon with his white dandelion hair and baton.

First on the program is Brahms Violin Concerto in D, which has been a great favourite of mine for many years since I first deepened my acquaintance with it to a familiarity, via a CD with Nigel Kennedy and the London Philharmonic.

The orchestra begins, - and now the soloist joins in with great enthusiam, and then great delicacy; fierce in his passion and then tender in the quiet interlude that overtakes the music.  The first movement ends with a sweet solo sentence, sometimes almost a whisper until the orchestra joins in with great vigor, and we are into the Adagio.

The violins are quiet as the clarinets and flutes and oboe carry one gently along into this lovely movement.  And here are the violins again - light and meditative.

I have still not picked up my knitting; this is too beautiful to be distracted with keeping track of a lacy pattern.

After the Adagio the Allegro - joyful, lively, melodic and rythmic.  The camera catches a lady in the audience who is listening intently, but not smiling.  How can one listen and not smile and tap one's foot, I wonder.

The conductor is smiling - all is going well!  There is great applause as the performance comes to an end, and after a number of recalls an encore to an audience and spellbound orchestra (well, they looked spellbound - certainly very appreciative of this fine talent), So moving and beautiful....

In the intermission the artist speaks of his year of residency with the Philharmonic, and interjects wonderful musical examples that don't allow me to tear myself away to think about lunch.  I eventually content myself with a boiled egg and a bit of yogurt!

The intermission over the musicians return and the first violinist does his bit again to make sure all is in harmongy.

The second part of the program is a delight.  The orchestra is expanded with added instruments, - two harps, a tambourine and I think I even caught sight of a Ukulele!  A lovely program of Claude DeBussy's Images for Orchestra - a Gigue, a Ronde of Springtime, Iberia, and Les Parfums of the Night.

It ended with George Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody, introduced by the trombones.  A little wild and wonderful, inviting visions of twirling gypsies in long skirts and flowing hair.  Everybody busy and caught up in this passionate music - nobody sitting idly awaiting a cue to play.....

Before the audience dispersed and the orchestra left the stage Sir Simon Rattle made a short farewell speech in German, and I could only guess at what he was saying, but concluded that the Flautist, who I have admired since I first became aware of the Digital Concert Hall, was retiring.

There was more great applause, beautiful flowers and he replied most graciously, I presume, 

and with humour.  I shall miss him...

A lovely way to spend a Saturday morning 

and here are just a few moments of this wonderful music

for your pleasure.

Why???

ABC Wednesday
June 17, 2015
The letter is W

for Who, What, When, Where and Why

Who, What, When, and Where provide the facts,  

but Why is always up for conjecture

If your curiosity is piqued and you want to know more about W

wander over here to ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Roger and Denise and all wise helpers.....

A trip to the library....

Popped into the library today to pick up some DVDs for a friend who has been secluded in the local Senior's home as a result of breaking her leg, and is beginning to get 'cabin fever'!

While there I found three books awaiting me - books that I had just ordered a few days ago, inspired by a little roving through literary type blogs one evening last week.

I was astounded at the size of 'Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell' (Susanna Clarke) but encouraged by the Sunday Times' blurb that claimed this large tome to be 'a fabulous book....dazzlimg....highly original and compelling'.

And so I am prepared to take it on!  It may take me all summer but the library lady checked and said it was probably good for two renewals (nine weeks).  One thousand and six pages!!! 

I am going to have to stem this Protestant Ethic I harbour that (even at ninety) every day must be productive if I am going to sleep self-satisfied and with a clear concscience. I shall ignore the ethics and put aside more time for reading.....

 I am still intriqued by Jack Miles' Biography of God as the 'protagonist of the greatest book'.  

 And his introductory essay to his latest work as editor of the Norton Anthology of World Religions - 'Why God will not Die' and I gather the answer to that  lies in the belief that 

"our ignorance still exceeds our knowledge, 

and we still have eminently good reason to fear the unknown"  

....and how we reasonably cope with the "impossibility of our ever living a perfectly rational life"..

Towards the end of the essay Miles quotes Mary Oliver - "what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"  and continues....

"We never truly know how to reply to that challenge, do we, since more knowledge - the knowledge we do not have - could always justify holding current plans in abeyance just a little longer.  But when life refuses to wait any longer and the great game  begins whether you have suited up or not, than a demand arises that religion - or some expedient no more fully rational than religion - must meet.  You're going to go with something.........science keeps revealing how much we don't know.  Yet humans seek closure."   

And I guess that's why I was at the Church doing Bulletins for tomorrow's service, changing the hangings back to Green after the Red of Pentecost, checking the candles 

and putting flowers on the altar..............

I also brought home Arthur Ransome's 'We didn't mean to Go to Sea', which should provide a little light hearted diversion from great tomes and heavy philosphical thinking!!!!!!!

Yesterday, a real treat, - Simon Rattle and Barbara Hannigan (a Nova Scotia Canadian) in a cabaret type late night performance with six instruments from the Berlin Philharmoniker....

Wonderful!

Advertised as being very British and a little naughty....