It sounds like officials for the City of White Rock have fallen off the deep end and into a pool of something that's making them talk funny. They sound as though they're spouting April Fool's Day pranks.

It's a plan to 'improve' the waterfront, to the tune of 30 million dollars. From blockades down there already, it looks as though they're serious about carrying out a plan that I can only look at and call insane.

Half of that 30 million would go towards dredging the seabed to 'reclaim' 6,500 square metres of land from the sea. That's 1.6 something acres, or a little bigger than the area of a CFL field.

Creating a new park sounds civic-minded, I suppose, but at a cost of $15 million for that 'reclaimed' land?

And how would such a plan affect the sealife offshore? After all, the bay still contains crabs, fish, and even the occasional visiting whale. And really, haven't these officials heard about rising sea levels?

I suspect all of this has less to do with improving life for the citizens of White Rock than with setting the stage for a pricey marina that will complement the all-too-likely casino on land that was once called Semiahmoo Park.

Today is World Oceans Day, a day when we should be thinking of ways to clean up the waters, to look after our oceanfront, not destroy it.

Season of the bribes

Well, it looks as though it's started. Even though the next provincial election isn't until May 9, 2017, the B.C. "Liberals" have already started with the handouts. Although Tuesday's wasn't so much a handout as a reinstatement of funds they were taking away, it does mean $25 million will go back into education.

Then came Wednesday's announcement of additional day care spaces. It's money that will provide just over 1800 spaces, so it's hard to see how this lives up to the government's brag by Minister Stephanie Cadieux that  "These new licensed spaces will help bring peace of mind to thousands of B.C. parents who can drop their kids off in the morning knowing they'll be well cared for in a rich learning environment," 

How exactly she's determined that under two thousand spaces will help 'thousands' of parents is beyond me. But oh yes, I'm forgetting -- this is all part of the ramp-up to full-blown election mode.

It's nearly a year until we'll vote -- longer than the gestation period for one of the many (over 40,000) babies who will be born in this province by next May 9th. So yes, there will likely be thousands of parents who will be hoping for peace of mind about reliable day care for their children, but I don't think this announcement will be the one that accomplishes that.

I wonder what the next bribe will be. It's sure to be soon. Stay tuned.

Too many books?

This was the scene at the Vancouver Public Library's Book Sale. Because I was already downtown, I dared to stop in -- but only to take a snapshot of the scene.

Considering the number of books that share space in this house, I knew I didn't dare go down the stairs, as surely I would have found a few more 'treasures' for my already-overcrowded shelves.

Because I was pretty sure there's some famous quote about not being able to have 'too many books', I googled the phrase. Sure enough, I came up with too many answers.

The most authoritative -- or at least earliest -- seems to be from Rudyard Kipling. But his adds more than books to the list, claiming both red wine and ammunition as must-have items. I can only hope he didn't mean an excess of those two in combination.

The most famous one, and likely the most hideous, is one I'd expected to be attributed to Dorothy Parker. But apparently, it's from someone named Carter Burden who -- as might be expected -- is a Vanderbilt descendant. Easy for her to say, that one can never be too rich, too thin or have too many books. Further searching led to Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, who's credited with the first two elements in that particular maxim -- the books seem to have been an add-on from Burden.

And then there's the one from Drew Barrymore, claiming one can never have too many books. I can only conclude she has a much bigger house than ours. And probably someone who dusts them now and then.

Probably the closest to my own sentiment is the homely little phrase from one of my all-time heroes, Frank Zappa : "So many books, so little time."

Back to the mountain again?

Last week's announcement about twinning of the Kinder Morgan pipeline through Burnaby seems to contradict almost all the election promises I thought I heard Justin Trudeau make. Is the National Energy Board still operating as if the previous government is in power? Or did I miss something?

The photo above was taken in November, 2014, during the protests on Burnaby Mountain.

Maybe it's time to go back up to the mountain and make our presence known again...

The mountain where my children named the seasons by their berries:salmonberries huckleberries, blackberries, salal. When to gather, which to eat, which to leavebehind, nourishing mercies for their brethren. 

Unexpected

But then, I suppose, a fire is never something you plan for. While it's certainly nowhere near the scale of the Fort McMurray experience, this was more than enough to remind the many members of our community who'd gathered quietly, watching that yes, it can happen here -- or anywhere.

I took the photo about an hour ago, close to twelve hours after the fire was first noticed. It's hard to think that it still continues. I can only hope it will be under control and out soon -- and in time to salvage at least part of this apartment building. The one behind it, under construction, is gone.

Difficult to know what to say or think, beyond yet again being grateful for all being well here at our house.

What a wa$te!

As if the recent phone scam with fraudsters claiming to represent the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) hasn't been enough of a bother, I need to now add a new annoyance -- one that was actually sent out by CRA, though apparently in error.

To go back to the beginning of these woes, I (along with many other Canadian) received a series of quite nasty, threatening calls, telling me that there had been a problem with my recent tax return and that I'd better pay up -- pronto -- or get a lawyer to make contact on my behalf. Since the caller actually left a number for me to call, it seemed easy to report this as a nuisance call, one that no doubt was part of a fraud scheme.

When I reported the call to the police, I was somewhat surprised that I was immediately transferred to a staff member dedicated to this particular problem, as I hadn't known then how widespread this was. He took down the details, and when I offered that my caller had identified himself as "Officer Riley Smith" he chuckled a bit, stating that "Ryan Smith" was another of the pseudonyms used, suggesting they must be working their way through the R-names. He told me I could also report it to my phone provider to see if they might be able to help. Ha.

The phone company's solutions at first seemed reasonable: block the caller's number. Yet when I tried this, the message came back that I couldn't. Because this seemed weird, I contacted a service agent for help, as I figured I'd probably hit the wrong 'pound key' or 'star' combination in my efforts to block the number. But no, that wasn't the problem.

It turns out that even the phone company can't block this particular number from calling me again. The rep explained that their software isn't capable of dealing with the matter of blocking that caller. In other words, the fraudster's software is 'smarter' than the phone company's. Confidence-inspiring, isn't it.

But back to the 'legit' message from CRA, which arrived in yesterday's mail. This was a notice stating that I hadn't yet paid my income tax assessment, and that the amount owing (to be paid by May 25th) was thus-and-such, an amount that had clearly had interest added to my original amount.

When I went to my bank account, sure enough, the money was gone -- and as of the date when I'd paid it, April 29th, a whopping twenty-four hours in advance of the April 30th deadline.

Yet the delinquent payment notice I'd received from CRA was dated May 5th, six days after I had followed their recommendation and paid online.

So, I picked up the phone and called (luckily, they at least provide a 1-800 number), only to be told that my balance was zero, and that yes, their records show I paid in full on the 29th of April and all is well. Then, I asked, "What happened? Why did I get this notice?"

The poor guy replied that he couldn't even tell me how many of these notices had gone out -- and all in error -- and that he and his colleagues were just about crazy from trying to explain to people that it was a mistake, that they didn't owe anything and that all was well.

But really, I thought, all isn't well. The postage alone cost nearly a dollar (to say nothing of the paper, processing, etc.).

What I'd like to know now, in strictly, dollar-terms -- not even in counting the hours of phone calls the agents had to waste their time dealing with -- just how much tax-payer money was wasted by Canada Revenue this week?

And why is that I suspect that this, like the unblockable numbers the fraudsters can devise, is a problem where the 'blame' goes to the software and to the machine -- the machines we humans have supposedly been in charge of, the software programs we have written.

Yet, when the software is making such expensive and troublesome errors, isn't it perhaps time to take back some of the powers we've granted the machines -- or at least try, while perhaps we still can.

Fearsome contrasts

This is the beautiful rhododendron that grows in our front yard. If it looks a little fuzzy, that's because I took the photo last night at dusk when the light was beginning to fade. Still, I loved the glow that the blossoms seemed to emit.

In the twenty years we've lived here, these flowers have always opened for Mother's Day. The only year that proved to be an exception was last year, when just about everything seemed to be a bit late. As if to compensate, everything in this year's garden has been early.

Considering all that's been on the news this week -- the conflagration in Fort McMurray -- this bush with its glorious blossoms seems like a full-blown miracle. Here, the world comes in colours -- lush greens and vibrant flowers. There, it's become a world of ash -- stark tones of black and white, the aftermath of hell.

But back to those rhodos. Being the lazy gardener that I am, my slogan is pretty much, "If it comes up on its own, I am happy." Thus, my satisfaction at daffodils and tulips, those stalwarts whose bulbs do all the work in early spring. And now, the lupins and daisies are opening, with the lilies sure to follow them in turn.

If I can be called the lazy gardener, my friend Jane would be my polar opposite. She knew more than anyone I've ever met about flower gardening. Vagaries of weather, soil conditions, what to grow in shade or sun, rain or drought -- she knew it all. Today marks the day that she arrived on the planet and should have been a day when she would be here to glory in the blossoms of the season. Yet again, a candle is alight on my kitchen counter, though my greatest remembrances of her today are outdoors in the midst of all that life and colour. In addition, I am doing something I'm sure she'd approve: making a donation to the Red Cross and its relief fund to help the residents of Fort McMurray

__reakfast

That's kind of a weird word, I agree. But when I was eating my breakfast this morning, I started to think about what parts of it might not be there if it weren't for the bees -- in today's case, the 'bee' in breakfast.

The berries probably wouldn't have been there -- at least not in the proliferation I am spoiled by -- unless perhaps I had taken lessons from the Chinese who now hire people to act as pollinators in many of their orchards. I suppose peacock feathers could be useful for such a task.

And most certainly, the honey I used as sweetener wouldn't be there. The same is clearly true for the sprinkling of bee pollen I like to take in the morning.

But then I thought, wait a minute. What about my cereal? Ingredients on the box are simple enough: Wheat. Period.

Are bees required in the fertilization of wheat? As it turns out, this is one of the grasses that doesn't require bees, as wheat is one of the grasses that's wind-pollinated. Apparently, if you try growing it indoors (sounds ambitious and requiring a fairly huge home), you need to rustle it around now and then to accomplish this.

So then I considered the milk I'd poured on the cereal. If wheat doesn't require bees, do those other grasses consumed by cows need them? Again, if those cows are content with a diet of straight-up grass, I guess so. But if they rely on alfalfa or flax or several varieties of clover, they'd be out of luck without the bees.

After I ate, I went outside to say hello my berry canes -- not just the raspberry ones, even the less civilized-looking blackberries, which at the best of times, can only be called vines.

They've begun budding, so I'm keeping my eyes open, looking to their being visited (not by just the ladybugs, who were busy out there today), but by some hard-working bees.

A day for many celebrations

These flowers arrived yesterday, from an as-yet-undetermined person whom I can only think of as a 'secret pal' for now. Still, they look great on the table as I go forward in this day for so many celebrations.

The first, already starting to happen, is the annual observance of 4/20. This year Vancouver will see two such celebrations. One, the 'official' one at the always-beautiful Sunset Beach. The other, traditional but not sanctioned this year, outside the Vancouver Art Gallery.

It seems most appropriate (and yet another cause for celebration) that our Health Minister, Jane Philpott, spoke to the United Nations today, offering Canada's plans to legalize marijuana with legislation to be presented in spring of 2017. And yes, Philpott is her real name, as is Jane. And who knows, maybe her actual first name is Mary? Joking aside, the sound-bite they pulled for the news was powerful -- a promise that the law would keep "...marijuana out of the hands of children..." and even more importantly, "and profits out of the hands out criminals." Exactly. To which I can only say 'about time' and yes, time to rejoice.

A celebration that's going on locally tonight is the Finale event for the Double Exposure photography exhibit, a show that's been on all month. To complement the exhibition, there's been a poetry 'challenge' -- one where poets took inspiration from an image in the show and wrote something based on it. Winners will be announced tonight, with presentations (and a reading) by Surrey's Poet Laureate, Renee Sarojini Saklikar. This, a National Poetry Month event, is her first official event down here in Surrey's south end, so I am very much looking forward to it.

Not to be forgotten is my dear little Honda Fit, who got her first car wash for the spring. She was soooo covered in pollen (and likely will be again by later this afternoon), parts of her were starting to turn green. While this may have been just in time for Earth Day, green is not a particularly good colour for a car to wear, unless that's the colour of its original paint -- and in my car's case, that's a not. Happy car, one that's at least for now, shiny.

Happy Buddha day!

Today is one of the dates observed as the birthday of Siddhartha Gautama whom we now know as the Buddha, or the 'Awakened One'.

What I have always understood about Buddhism is that it seems based in compassion. That's clearly not all there is to it, but that's the part I try to be mindful of, as a guide on my own crooked path.

Followers in Japan celebrate his birth today, while those in other countries observe it on other dates, depending for the most part on which calendar they follow.

With the bluebells in bloom, this looks like a very good day to celebrate -- and really, I think this Buddha looks pretty darn happy. His messages were ones that, if people actually followed them, everyone on the planet would likely be happy too.

For starters, a small (paraphrased) birthday gift from the Buddha for today: "a generous heart and kind speech will go a long way towards making the world a better place."

Namaste.

Time to celebrate!

Today is the first day of National Poetry Month. And as far as I'm concerned, that's reason to celebrate. It isn't all that often that people sit up and pay attention to poetry, so having it get its very own month seems special.

There's plenty going on in our area, with a few highlights posted in the events on the right. If you check the League of Canadian Poets' website, you'll find lists of events taking place all across the country. Since nearly all of them are free, who knows, you might find it worthwhile to stop in at one or two in your area.

It's also National Poetry Month for our neighbours to the South. Lots going on there too, as click on their posting reveals -- plenty of links to books, poems, and readings.

Poetry contests abound -- the 2-Day Poem Contest, which is for everyone -- to the Double Exposure Poetry Challenge for poets who live in and around Surrey and White Rock. The reason for this local focus isn't about being exclusive. It's just that poems need to be inspired by a photograph in the current exhibit at the nearby Turnbull Gallery.

And if you'd like to join in the celebration without having to go anywhere at all, click here to find yourself at a site where you'll find new poems every day of the month.

Silent Spring?

Not meaning to reference Rachel Carson's prescient book, Silent Spring, just offering a comment on how 'silent' this blog has been. No particular reason (other than 'life' getting in the way), though I am a bit sad over all the days for special events/observances that I've missed.

There was World Poetry Day on March 21st, International Water Day on the 22nd, and of course, one of our earliest ever dates for the Vernal Equinox, March 19th. Oddly, spring's arrival in this part of the world coincided with the end of this year's Earth Hour observance -- an observance that I managed to miss doing properly this year. I turned down a few lights, but didn't do it right. Just another of many observances I haven't properly heeded this spring.

But today is Easter. As you'll see from the green pot above, I accidentally 'pre-dyed' this year's dozen eggs. I like to use cloth in the pot, as I've found it keeps the eggs from bumping into each other (and cracking). Only this year's tea towel seems to have still had too much of its own colouring in it, as the eggs (which were brown, farm ones to start with) came out bearing a lovely green tinge.

As a result, the ones from the 'Bunny' all turned out in their own new muted shades for the celebration.

If you observe Easter, I hope it is happy. If you're more into celebrating the season with its many changes, enjoy that. By the way, I understand that any sweet treats you happen to eat today are calorie-free -- or so my pal the Bunny told me.

Life on the coast

Coasting. Sometimes that's how it feels, especially on days when the rain seems to be winning. Days like today, when it's on and off blustery-wet and the most you want to do is read and think.

We've been away, visiting places with lots of fresh fish and seafood -- even conch.
Yet although we had a wonderfully relaxing time on holiday, it's hard to beat being home. Especially when one of first nights back found us sharing a scrumptious meal with friends. The first course felt especially like a welcome home: fresh Dungeness crab from nearby Saturna Island.

I usually don't serve fresh crab unless we can eat outside (hint: it gets messy). But my smarty-pants girlfriend just covered the kitchen table in newspaper and we tossed shells helter-skelter, then wrapped it all up and off it went to the 'green' garbage bin. Not only delectable, but tidy.

While tonight's meal isn't anywhere near as exotic, it was fun to be able to dash outside between squalls to pick some fresh chives and parsley for the pot of chicken soup simmering on the stove, as well as fresh oregano and rosemary for the slices of eggplant cozying in the oven.

All in all, it's good to be home.

A special person

I know, I can be a bit silly when it comes to remembering all these birthdays. But this one is for one of the most special people in my life -- the one I believe actually loved me unconditionally.

That would be my gramma, the one I called Mayme.

In truth, I don't think she would want to be around, considering she'd be turning 117.

Still, it might be time for me to light that candle and make a toast to her.

Leap Day Rant -- Too late to stop Site C?

The government of British Columbia keeps nudging us closer to making its Site C Dam project a reality. Even before the last hearings were held, shovels were in the ground, chainsaws were chewing up the forest.

While our neighbours to the south are de-constructing dams, we’re trying to build bigger ones. The prime example of dam removal in Washington state is on the Elwha River. That dam started providing power to industry in 1914. The last of its 100-year-old concrete walls were blasted away in 2014. Already the upstream movement of fish, birds and other wildlife has been dramatic. But the Elwha River isn’t the only place where this kind of de-construction has occurred. According to the organization American Rivers, over 1,200 dams across the U.S. have been removed. So, with that being the case, why is B.C. so committed to forging ahead with this plan – and not just for any old dam, but for one this massive?

The main component, the actual dam will rise 60 metres above the riverbed. That’s about the same height as a 19-storey building. Next, consider how long such a ‘building’ would be – 1,050 metres – just over a kilometre.

The reservoir created by the dam will have a surface area of 9310 hectares. Some of the area to be covered is forest, some of it other river systems, some of it agricultural land.

To put the size into more understandable terms, consider some conversions. The metric measure, 9310 hectares converts to just over 23,000 acres. An acre is a little bit smaller than a football field, but that’s way too many football fields to visualize.

Converting to square miles produces a more understandable figure: 36 square miles. The area of the city of Vancouver is 44 square miles. If you chopped off Stanley Park and Pacific Spirit Regional Park, what remained of Vancouver would be 39 square miles, a little bit bigger than the surface area of the proposed reservoir, yet comparable, a figure that’s graspable.

But that’s surface area, so it doesn’t represent how long the new body of water would be. This mega-reservoir would extend for 83 kilometres, greater than the distance from West Vancouver to Abbotsford (78 km).

The amount of agricultural land in the ALR that would be flooded (3433 hectares, 8483 acres) is equivalent to more than 8 Stanley Parks. Such an abundance of farmland is impossible to replace. When one considers the projected rise in population – or weather fluctuations from climate change – complicated by the paving/development of agricultural land in the Lower Mainland, we should probably not be so quick to toss aside this much farmland.

In addition to flooding land that may well be needed for growing food, there is a cultural concern. Many First Nations’ heritage sites will disappear beneath the waters. Owing to beliefs that location of graves is sacred and intended for family only, many such sites have not been reported to Hydro’s teams. As a result, it is possible that thousands of graves will be flooded. Lands that have been held sacred for generations, places of important rituals, will be gone. Archaeological artifacts – stone tools and implements, some over 10,000 years old – lie where the waters will cover them forever.

We point fingers at ISIL/ISIS for its horrendous destruction of temples and statues. Yet, how is this planned destruction so different?

BC Hydro’s website states that the promise of the Site C project is to provide “enough energy to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes per year in B.C.” I try to imagine how many transmission towers will be required to bring all that energy south – and I question just how much more money from taxpayers this will require.

Hydro’s website further claims that power generated by the dam will be available “…for more than 100 years.” When the Elwha River dam system was opened in 1914, that same sort of optimism was touted. But really, how ‘forward-thinking’ is planning for a mere hundred years? At the end of this dam’s life, there will only be massive amounts of concrete, along with acres of irretrievably flooded farm and heritage lands. 
And there doesn’t appear to be any budget for de-construction or restoring the area when the dam’s lifespan ends. The province may still be paying interest on the money required to construct it. And with a number even they admit is close to ten billion, can’t they think of any better ways to spend it?

Many dam-building projects across the planet are being questioned and re-thought. We need to do the same in B.C. – quickly, while there’s still time.

What's wrong with this picture?

Or, for that matter, what's wrong with this house?

Aside from the boarded-up windows, it appears to be sturdy and well looked-after, right down to the up-to-date chimney fixture for a gas fireplace.

The only problem seems to be that its measurable footprint is probably only about 2,000 square feet. And it doesn't seem that anyone wants such a tiny, little house any more.

So yes, it's coming down -- not even being relocated (the way the Queenslanders seem to do). And considering that it was gone the day after I took this photo, I suppose there wasn't even any salvage of materials done.

This level of waste embarrasses me. And the most frustrating part is that I don't have a clue about what I can do about it.

Looking back

It seems almost unbelievable, but it was ten years ago today that I started this little blog. That very first post didn't even include a photograph, but that was so long ago, I may not have even known how to insert one back then.

The whole reason I even started one was guidance from a talented tech and science writer, Derek K. Miller, whose blog Pen Machine served as my inspiration. Sadly, his blog is now defunct, though his final chilling entry remains.

But I'm not wanting this post to be a reason for looking back. In fact, the image today is one of looking upward. The flower is a shade-loving plant that was blooming this morning in among the trees and ferns outside our home. Its flower hangs down, like a bell, so I had to position the camera beneath the blossom and shoot upward.

Upward, not back -- that seems like a good direction for the next decade -- onward.

Hearts and frills

To celebrate Valentine's Day we took a tramp through the woods at a nearby park. The paths were 'mud-luscious' and everything smelled as though it was coming back to life.

I couldn't help but seeing valentines from nature just about everywhere. Besides the 'heart fungus' above, there were pussy willows fuzzy and ready to purr, even a bunch of frilly bracket fungi. All I had to do was the snap the photos, as there seemed to be lacy decorations everywhere.

And when we got home, I sliced the 'damaged' apple I'd bought the other day. I'd selected it because it was slightly misshapen, with one side grown 'dented' which made it look somebody's little bum. As I suspected, it sliced up into lovely little hearts. A perfect treat for after an after-walk snack.

Observations gleaned while pruning a blackberry thicket

On a beautiful day, it is important to find meaningful work to accomplish outdoors. A winter-tangled blackberry hedge provides such diversion. Such a job is perfect, as it requires just enough concentration and judgement to allow the mind to focus on other matters and takes up enough time to generate a number of observations.

Notice how the brackets where last year’s berries grew look remarkably like gnarled hands. Express gratitude to them for last September’s bounty.

Consider following the lead of golfer Tommy Gainey by wearing two gloves, not just one on the ‘pulling hand’. Add one for the ‘pruning’ hand too. It may be more difficult wielding the secateurs, but there is little doubt that there will be fewer scratches on the exposed hand and, as a result, less blood.

Note the differences between dead and living branches. Colour is the obvious marker: green as opposed to brown. But living branches also have much bigger thorns, though the thorns on the dead ones seem sharper, pointier as if they have withdrawn into a harder, tougher form of themselves. The biggest difference though is their weight. The dead ones, some of which are completely dehydrated, are oh so much lighter than the nourished (wet) living ones.

Next time, wear a baseball hat. The thorny branches seemed to enjoy grabbing me by the hair. At one stage, I considered using the pruners to chop my way out. Fortunately, with patience as my guide, my messy braid emerged intact.

Think about writing a letter to the City, requesting a larger ‘green bin’ container, as this one is now full to its 360-litre capacity brim. Luckily, pickup is every week.

Stand back and admire the important task of the season’s first prune.

Meditate on the sour-sweet flavour of blackberries on the tongue. Think of all those jars of jam that will result from autumn's crop. 

No groundhogs in sight

Just this robin and a few of his friends, digging around for worms today. They looked like a more reliable sign of spring than any rodenty shadowplay.

But hearing that 'the Donald' didn't win in Iowa also feels like a sign of better things ahead.

Oddly, there are two bi-elections taking place today right here in B.C. and there's hardly been a peep about either of those.

Maybe I'll be happy with just the happy-sounding peeps of the birds.