Alan & Chester 2004 - 2013

In about 2006 Alan and I found Chester in the B.C. Border Collie Rescue on-line site.  I relinquished Chester to Alan's care when he decided to train him for Search & Rescue work. That way, Alan could have Chester live on site with him at the various camps he worked at in the winter as an Avalanche Technician and Consultant.  As a result, Chester became a back-country powder snow dog.

That's Chester curled up in a ball inside an old down ski jacket of mine. This pic was at the top of a ridge above a mine Alan was working at north of Revelstoke and south of Blue River.  Access by helicopter only, so Chester became a frequent flyer.

Chester following Alan's lead.. his descent was usually a full-blown powder run,  often disappearing from sight under a cloud of snow.  Chester is a powder hound!

Chester with Alan and my middle son, Alex.

Chester & Alan en route to a summit.

Chester was also my sole companion on many of of my single-handed sailing adventures.  This pic was taken on a trip to Hornby Island in about 2008.

Alan was also my companion on many sailing adventures, some more successful than others.  But I always loved having him on board, and I think we worked very well together as sailing partners on Spring Moon.  I could count on Alan to do the right thing.  And he knows his knots!  

This is Alan with the Townley Family at their cabin on Cortes Island.  We spent about 5 days with them in August, and enjoyed Jackie, John, Tashi and Shey's wonderful spirit of living life to it's fullest. This was my last voyage with Alan on Spring Moon.

Getting Familiar With Impermenance

A new friend recently reminded me that I am a writer.  She read the G & M article I published so very long ago, and asked if I was still writing.  No, I told her, I'm painting now.  Which is true.  I am painting now, but I also realized that if  I can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, I can probably write and paint.  The idea of getting back into my writing also seems like a good idea considering the constant state of flux in my life, vast changes over the last two years, so I'm going to chronicle those changes.   I want to give continuity to what otherwise might be a life of episodes, defined by one relationship after another, each one disappearing into obscurity (and that part of my life with it) unless I give it form and substance, and count each relationship as part of my life story.  An important life story, and one that continues on, with or without those seminal relationships in my current life.  I guess the kicker is that I don't want to go through the rest of my life with these gaping holes, empty places where there was once a life-partner.  Do we just put these relationships behind us, as though they never happened, and loose the continuity of a rich and intimate past?  I don't want to do that.  I want to preserve the events and people that formed such a core part of my life experience.  It is part of respecting the decisions I have made in the past, and giving my past value.

So I'm going to begin with the end.  The end of my relationship with Alan in Revelstoke.  The end of our Spring Moon adventures together, and the end of my life with Alan and Chester.

This is Alan on our return trip to Vancouver, and our last voyage together.  This is what I loved about Alan.  His quirky, beautiful, eccentric, sensible, unpredictable self.  

Caleb: April 1, 2012 - February 9th, 2014 Good-bye to our good friend.

Sadly, John Zehnder and I had to say good-bye to our good friend, Caleb after a 4 day search on the Zehnder Ranch, above Invermere.  John & I found his remains  deep in the woods and realized he had been killed (quickly and efficiently) by a cougar.  

As anyone who was fortunate enough to befriend Caleb knew he carried a huge spirit within, and that, combined with his keen intelligence, outrageous character and love of life itself won him many, many friends over the last 2 years.  Caleb was also pretty whacky.  He had terrible fear-aggression neurosis with people, and was never far from harm's way.  I had him for 17 months, and during that time I was on 24/7 alert for his safety, and the safety of anyone who came into contact with him.  

At the end of last summer, John quietly, gently and assuredly assumed Caleb's care on their ranch.  John was a devoted owner and companion to Caleb, and Caleb adored him. John taught him more than I ever imagined possible, on sheep, doing search and rescue work, but most importantly, not to be afraid of people anymore.  For three months Caleb was aggression free with strangers.  Caleb lived a full and love-filled life in the time he spent, first with me (5 months at the cabin!) and then with John (2,800 acres of paradise!).  I let him go knowing that we couldn't have done anything more for him.  Caleb was Special Needs (a term my sons coined for him) rescue dog, and god only knows what happened to him in that first year of his life that made him so vicious with strangers.   But he brought so much to my life, and to John's that he won our hearts over in equal measure. 

Life feeds on life, and Caleb is now part of that stunningly beautiful and powerful animal, the cougar, and for me there is comfort in that.  A fitting transition on one life into another, I think.

John & Caleb training on sheep at the Zehnder Ranch above Invermere.