The Gift of Music

The other day I celebrated my 59th birthday with friends in Revelstoke. Alan organized a BBQ/bonfire and 3 families joined us for the occasion. The best gifts imaginable came as our friends decided to perform for us and we were the lucky recipients of their incredible talent. Tashi and Logan sang and played their guitars in a beautiful harmony of voice and instruments. They blew us away with their collaboration. John sang us some of his favorites... and we always enjoy hearing his music. So refreshing to have someone who composes his own ballads. Soleil sang, unaccompanied, the most heavenly songs, and never missed a note. She was sweetness personified. I felt so incredibly fortunate to have these young people share their gifts with us....

My son, Alex, has started a new business venture, Wulfwork. He's decided to step out of the corporate world at KPMG where he was working as an auditor, and into the life of a full-time artisan. Big step to say the least, and one which I think has taken an amazing amount of courage. I am confident he will succeed in realizing this venture, and proud that he has decided to follow his passion for leatherwork, ceramics and woodwork in a bid for his own well-being.

The following is his website for this new enterprise:

http://wulfwork.com/wulfwords

The whole cabin weekend was, well, Yum, Yum!

This past weekend Gord, Dave and I spent 3 heavenly days at the cabin. It was a designated work week-end (crisis at the cabin: no fire wood!) and we all pitched together to get as much done as possible for the short time we were there. We just purchased a chain saw (for this trip!!) and the boys wanted to put it to work. This particular saw proved too limited for the our wood needs, but David and Gord managed to buck, split and stack an admirable load of fir for the cabin regardless. I spent the entire weekend heating up buckets of water in an attempt to gain back territory from the relentless warfare with our resident pack-rats. They are winning, but we made some interesting tactical moves that should set them back a bit. David cooked up a roast that Gord brought for Sunday nights dinner - and he roasted it to perfection. Heavenly!

Jo's Trail Drawing

Well, the Wood Spirits have their ways, and this morning proved to be evidence of how they work.  Having recorded in my blog yesterday that we had never met the kindly gnomes of Mt. Revelstoke Forest, one appeared this morning on the trail not 30' above our property. Chester and I were beginning our morning hike,  heading up the little path connecting our property to the larger network of trails above.  There she was, planted firmly on the 'terra',  rake in hand and a good 500' yards of trail already swept leaf-free behind her.  I introduced myself, and the irony of this first encounter.  She introduced herself as follows in the e-mail she sent shortly after our rendezvous: 

"Hi Rebecca, it was nice to meet you too. I rake the leaves off the trails because I love to look at the contrast of trail and forest. It is a very personal thing for me. I travel the trails daily seeing the little changes and becoming connected with every hump and bump along the way. I used to run the trails off the eastern access road but there is indications that it will soon become lawns and three car garages so I am transferring my heart to the area where we met and am so glad to hear it is somewhat protected. Have inserted one of my pencil drawings of a bridge. Would be nice to meet you again sometime."

Here is one of the drawings:

The Bridges of Mt. Revelstoke Forest

Behind our home in Revelstoke there are miles and miles of bike trails through the woods. This in itself is not unusual, but there is a bit of magic that seems to take place that has kept us puzzled for many years now.  Each morning and often again in the afternoon, we walk on the trails with Chester and notice repairs on  rickety crossings,  the addition of a new bridge where a trail seem to be turning to mud,  a new tressel where the steep bank of a gulch has become too difficult to negotiate.  Each new bridge is uniquely designed, usually consisting of two stripped logs placed length-wise, joined by planks making up the bridge platform itself. Yet, in all these years we have never seen anyone at work.  These shy creatures of the woods seem to work in  'time out of time',  the evidence of their handiwork appearing only after they themselves are long gone.   Not only do these wood gnomes  build bridges, but they also clear the trails of debris, clean up deadfall after storms, add guide rails to sections of trail that are treacherous, and grade the trail in places where the slope is steep.  If anyone ever sees them, be sure to tell them how much we appreciate their hard work.

End of Season

Late October afternoon light at Vancouver Rowing Club