Mixing Shopping with Camping

Needing a break from digging, rock hauling, trim sanding and all such joys of house-building and rural living, we decided to take a couple of days off last week. This time, that meant a quick trip into Northern Idaho, some camping in their very nice National Forest and some shopping in Sandpoint and Ponderay, only an hour south of Creston.

We had fine weather, one night of camping was a bit noisy because of yahoos who obviously didn't realize that not everyone wanted to listen to their music and conversation all night, and one night of camping that was very quiet and peaceful. It also helped that the Moyie River was making enough noise to blot out any other possible noise.

The shopping was good, especially with the increased value of the C$$, much better than during our USA trip last winter. And, added bonus, bless Steven Harper's cotton socks, the increased value of stuff you can bring back from the USA after only 48 hours. A good time was had by all shopping, trying out a new restaurant or two, wandering around, reading, resting....

All things must end, and with a quick stop at Customs en route, we were back home Friday afternoon and back at the business of hacking an estate out of the wilderness.

More Wildlife

I took some time off this afternoon from deck work, rock walls, tree chopping and other rural pursuits and tried to get a few good pictures of some butterflies that have been flitting around here. Gave me a chance to experiment with the digital zoom and spot metering, neither of which I'd really used too much until now. The object of my attentions was really quite cooperative, hanging around on some nearby lilies and letting me get quite close.

My next goal is to get some photos of those hummingbirds. That could be more of a challenge!

I'm also taking recent news seriously about the need for more Vitamin D so I stretched out on the newly completed deck (sans railing for now) and allowed my body to soak up some rays. That and the 2-beer lunch put me in quite a mellow frame of mind. Didn't take too much time off, though, and once Catherine got back home from town, it was back to work for me. Our new rock walls and flower beds are starting to take shape. More on those later.

A Bit of History

I've had quite a fascination with the history of nuclear physics, especially as it relates to the development of the first atomic weapons. I guess this comes from years of teaching Grade 10 Science where one of the topics was Uranium --> mining --> uses --> science of --> history...etc. For many years I always showed an excellent video called Race for the Bomb which did a great job of explaining the physics and of introducing the main characters in the Manhattan Project. Sadly, as one CBC musicologist used to say, that video is now in "cutout limbo". I don't have a copy any longer and I wish I had. It's one of the best shows I've seen.

A long introduction to my main comments about a book I just finished reading: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Unlike many books I read, this one took almost 4 weeks to finish, but was very interesting, giving more insights into the life of the Father of the Atomic Bomb. I was especially struck, once again, by the paranoia that existed in the USA in the decades following WWII, characterized especially by the McCarthy witch-hunts. Oppenheimer was swept up in all of that. The idea that someone is a traitor if they don't agree with their country's policies; whether scientists must avoid comment on sensitive issues if they want to continue working, and especially how one can be tarred with the communist or "liberal" brush unless one is clearly seen as a reactionary knuckle-dragging Neanderthal. Where illegal wiretaps and surveillance can use the power of the state to silence independent thought. I always thought that Americans (and Canadians) lived in a democracy where we had freedom of association, thought, speech, and so on. This book might make you think about that more than you've been accustomed to.

Exploring the Koots 0613

I've mentioned that we can hear these falls across the lake - must be at least a mile or more away. We had a pleasant canoe for a couple of hours last week when it was so hot. Half an hour gets you across the lake where Powder Creek enters Kootenay Lake. It's a short walk up to the falls from the beach. At this time of the year, with all the snowmelt coming down, they're really thundering. As an added bonus, there's a pleasant place to camp near the lake and a small gravel/sandy beach.

This time, we continued up past the falls and found an old logging road. Given that this is BC, I guess I shouldn't have been very surprised (old and new logging roads seem to be everywhere). We hiked up that for awhile (only a few minutes, really) and came to the active logging road that runs along much of the east side of Kootenay Lake. I was interested to find that road because it's the main access to any peaks on the east side of the lake such as Mt Loki that I want to explore. Maybe in a couple of weeks.

Cascadia

I'd sort of forgotten about Cascadia. I think Scott told me about it awhile back, so my ears perked up today when I heard the term used in a CBC Vancouver news story. Something about BC residents having the longest life span in Cascadia, or something like that.

What I find interesting is the concept of Cascadia, or, as it's sometimes known, the Republic of Cascadia. The concept makes more sense once you actually live out here, west of the Rockies. We do hear news about the rest of the country, the world, even, but there is something about crossing the Rockies that seems to move one into a different mental space. The term has been used to refer to different things, of course, but I like the idea of living in a republic out here in our little corner of North America. Vivre la Republic. Vivre la Republic libre! Thanks for the idea Charles.

Our Only Home

I find it amusing that on a day when I start questioning the "task" of posting to a blog every day or so that I finally get around to writing 3 entries....it must be one of those days.

I've been wandering around YouTube these past few days. There was the Paris Hilton goes back to Jail video which I eventually realized was a parody of a video/song that she was featured in awhile back. Seemed to fit in quite well with the fascination we've all been having with the lives of the rich and famous (er... notorious?). I also found something called the Carl Sagan Pale Blue Dot video which was nice as well. Not anything new - that message has been around for quite awhile, but still an important message all the same and the video was well done.

This after reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. If you can find the time, it's a good book to read, especially since Canada has soldiers in Afghanistan. If you're decidedly against that mission, the book might not change your mind, but it should give everyone something to think about. I was kind of subdued and mildly depressed all morning - so unlike my normal demeanor.

Wood for Winter

One of the rural tasks we have here is to collect enough wood to run our two stoves during the admittedly mild winters that we normally have here. This year, there have been several large trees that had to come down because they were either dying (Pine Bark Beetle) or because they were shading the developing garden area. I think I've taken down 7 large trees over the past 2 months. Plus they had to be chainsawed up into chunks and split so they can dry. Catherine does the wedge and maul splitting and I finish up with the axe. We now have several piles of partially split wood down below the house. It's one reason why we have 2 chain saws and why I seem to be always mixing oil and gas to run them, plus sharpening them...and so on. That said, it's kind of fun, good exercise and results in the satisfaction of not having to use any additional heat (electrical around here) for months at a time.

Last winter we had to protect our wood by covering it with unsightly tarps and plastic. This spring I've been building woodsheds. Here's one example, just waiting to be filled with wood to dry over the summer.

I'm still wondering if this is a net environmental gain or not. However, we're not using any fossil fuels to heat the house, so I suppose that's a plus.

View from the Lake

Despite all sorts of things to write about on this blog, I've been sort of distracted by other things: building another (and final?) part of the deck, working on a cold-storage room in the basement, gardening, and so on....

Enough excuses. A few days ago when it was very hot, we took an hour or so for a canoe down on Kootenay Lake. This is the view looking north from the lake just south of our location. We're probably two-thirds up along a 60-mile long lake which runs from Creston in the south (only miles from the USA border) north to Meadow Creek. This is the lake in one of its placid moods. Today, by way of contrast, is exceptionally windy with whitecaps on the lake. Not a good day for canoeing today.