Stuff From DENMAN ISLAND

Tomato Mystery

2010-10-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Strawbale House Update: Kitchen cabs are installed and awaiting hardware and counter-tops. The hole in the wall (in the kitchen) now makes sense, I hope, and can be seen in picture #1 as a flush pantry cabinet. Snow stops have been secured to the roof and today (in the rain) drainage trenching was done. Dusty and the mini-excavator also dug the greywater catch basin. This will keep me outside laying drainage pipe on nicer days and I can continue interior work, like painting, when the weather is bad. Most of the hard painting has been done... inside closets, under the stairs etc. Progress on the house is slowing slightly as I've taken on a new (part time) employment venture. I'm leaning how to install, service and repair dental equipment.... last week I helped set up a digital x-ray machine. Seems pretty basic so far, and everything comes with instructions. (I just have to learn how to follow instructions).

I'm loving horse ownership! But it sure takes up a lot of time. Lindero is settling in nicely and we're working on getting to really know each other. He is still young in horse years and has some maturing to do, but he's really intelligent, curious and willing to learn. (I just have to try to keep up) The two geldings are still trying to figure out where they stand with each other. Mikki is quite dominant and Lindero is willing to let that happen as long as it's respectful. However, he will not back down from a direct challenge, this creates some political imbalances in the horse realm. They can now share time in the same paddock for several hours amicably, but we're not sure if they can be trusted without supervision. Kari and I went on a more challenging trail ride during the week and Lindero did great. He also showed me a whole new over-drive gear that I didn't know he had. Wow! (Still has not broken gait, but maybe this was a sobreandando)

During our ride, there was a Fire Dept. call-out for a horse rescue. A horse had fallen down a steep embankment, (sans rider). All ended well, as a path was cut the rest of the way down the bank to the beach and the horse was led down.

Over the last couple of weeks, tomatoes left in our fruit bowl, (on the kitchen counter) have been gnawed by an unknown assailant... at first we suspected Ashley... then perhaps a voracious mouse. The mystery was finally solved when we offered a slice of tomato to each of our cats. Boo Radley readily accepted. The tomatoes have a new secret storage location.

Lord of the Flies may recall Virk scenario

2010-10-09T08:02:00.000-07:00

Victoria News - Updated Lord of the Flies may recall Virk scenario

Quote of the Day

2010-09-22T07:31:00.001-07:00

"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." -- Thomas Edison, 1931

Quote of the Day

2010-09-20T19:54:00.001-07:00

"So, Gordon (Pinocchio) Campbell is at 12 per cent "popularity." I'd like to know who the hell the 12 per cent are! They must have just been aroused after a lengthy coma". Rafe Mair

Lindero CR

2010-09-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

No time to blog in the last week as most of my spare time has been spent shoveling horse shit. Last weekend, Lindero CR arrived at his new home on Denman Island. From the moment he stepped off the trailer, he began stealing hearts. Once you get past his good looks, (a difficult task), his people friendly personality wins you over. I can tell he's going to be an amazing companion.
After a three day rest, it was time for a short ride and an introduction to some of the other island residents. He's met other horses, cows, dogs and horse eating pigs. His initial caution soon falters and curiosity gets the best of him and he just has to investigate.

Today, we went on our first trail ride with Kari and Mikolas. With (his older step-brother) Mikolas taking the lead, Lindero did very well on the narrow forest trail, (a very scary place for a young horse). Once out on the dirt road, it's gait,gait gait... he has an amazing amount of energy and never breaks gait.

The end of Summer nears

2010-09-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Ah, Labour Day weekend... after which, things can return to normal on a gulf island. On Hornby Island, there is an annual event called the "wave-off" in which the residents say goodbye to the last of the beloved tourists, who then can drive like mad across Denman Island (known as the "Hornby 500") only to line up yet again, for the Denman West Ferry. As the summer sun has inadvertently fried all brain activity, the tourist parade then lines up for the ferry in the middle of the road, effectively blocking anyone else that may endeavour to travel to or from the village. Apparently tourists have some natural aversion to pulling over to the shoulder of the road.

Labour day is also the traditional day for the Denman Island Blackberry Faire. The weather Gods were with us this year, sunny and in the high teens. My role was unofficial Parade Photographer and Burger flipper at the Fire fighters burger booth. More parade shots can be seen on the Island Equine site, or my Denman Island Picasa-web photo album. (Yes, that's Kari and Mikki in their first parade)

The Firefighters held their own during the annual slow-pitch game... squeaking out a narrow victory.

Blitzed down to Victoria to see #2 son perform during the Victoria Theatre Fringe Festival. The show was a Canadiana piece called "Thank you my Love, Goodbye". The cast was great! Some highlights from the Times Colonists 4-1/2 star review.... "If Thank-you were a Hollywood drama, it would be Academy Award-worthy.... the cast's acting abilities are brilliant. The chemistry between Robbie (Curt) and Mary is perfectly captured, their dialogue sharp and delivered with sentiment."

I Have to see a man about a horse!

2010-08-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

A Lot can happen in a couple of weeks. The highlight was a short trip to Bonanza, Oregon to see a man about a horse. Some old frequent flier points came in handy earlier this month.... as I made my way to Curry Ranch. I was the guest of the most gracious host, Dr. Henry Curry and was able to spend some time (although not nearly enough) talking Peruvian Paso Horse with Henry and his trainer, Jaimie. Best of all I was introduced to Lindero, a very handsome gelding with pleasant ground manners and a smooth, ground covering gait. In a couple of weeks Lindero will become a Canadian citizen and a resident of Denman Island. This means that Mikki will have a trail partner that can keep up with him.

This weekend, there was a horse camp-out, trail ride, and soccer game on Denman Island. Mikki, (with Kari) and several other horses and riders took part in a trail ride on Saturday, which was followed by "happy hour", a pot luck dinner and impromptu line dancing. The next day we introduced the horses to soccer balls. Most of the horses had never experienced the game, but soon got the hang of it. Mikki was a natural and within minutes could "dribble" the ball the entire length of the field. His high leg motion is a definate advantage. He's now ready for some serious competition. Pictures of the weekend can be seen on the Island Equine site.

Strawbale Houe Update: Continuing on with the fir flooring upstairs. The gutters went on last week. (only pictures of horses this week)

Poking the bear

2010-08-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Smok'n hot, quite literally sums up our weather for the last two weeks. Forest fires in the interior have made for some interesting sunsets and very smoky air quality. In one of the pictures below (looking out the living room window) you can see that the mountains are no longer visible though the smoke.

I spent five days at The Haven for their "Come Alive" program. I'd have to say it made a notable impact on my life, (to say the least). I highly recommend it for those that wish to get to know themselves a little better. Thanks to the inspiring people I met there.

Straw Bale house update: The fir floor is nailed down in the upstairs "bonus room" (I still have the upper bedroom to do). It now needs to be sanded, stained, and finished, (a project for a rainy day) This entire room is backed up by generator power. It will contain TV and wireless router coverage for the multiple laptops in the house. Door painting and prepping for kitchen cabinets is on the agenda for the coming week.

Pictures this post are: (1) fir floor in the bonus room, (2+3) living room window detail from two directions, showing bales "hung" above the windows on the gable end.

It was a sad day for direct democracy last week when the HST petition was set aside pending court actions. I'm all for a VAT tax of sorts, (although not this one) but I think the latest blunder is a case of "poking the bear". People are pissed.

Hot on the trail

2010-07-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the month, Kari and Mikki went camping on a back-country horseman trail-ride. It's not so much camping, as it is a good excuse to eat and drink well, have some fun and music and, oh ya, do some trail riding. Pictures of the outing can be seen on the Denman Horse Club's website by clicking HERE. (and then view slide-show.) There could be a second pony in our future, as this looks like way too much fun to miss out on. Mikki has never had to cross any water and since this was a minor issue on the trail ride, Kari thought it prudent to acclimate him to water via the ocean. This is one of those times that she offers to let me ride... (whenever there is potential for loss of life or debilitating injury). After much fuss (and some exciting rodeo action) He decided that the ocean was rather interesting and potentially tasty. Next time, we'll try to get his toes in.

The kitchen is all ready for cabinets. They are being built on the island and and should be ready to install mid August. Installation of the rustic fir floors (upstairs), is well underway. It has proven to be a challenge as local fir does pretty much what it wants with regard to straightness (or lack thereof). Pictures to follow.

Every other Friday afternoon, the "Mystery Beach Happy Hour" takes place on Denman Island, around four-ish. The beach where "happy hour" takes place is a mystery until just a few days in advance. Each time it is held at a different beach and has grown to about thirty people, all of whom show up with appetizers and beverage of their choice. There are many rules if one wants to participate, such as:

-You should only show up if you want to

-You can leave when you feel like it

-Invite someone along if the mood strikes you

-Swimming is optional

-You don't have to remember the rules.

Heat Wave

2010-07-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of a heat wave last week. I took a couple of days off and traveled with kari (business trip) to Port McNeill and Alert Bay. Alert Bay is quite an interesting place with lots of history. It's a very walkable town/island with a beautiful boardwalk that runs the entire length of the village. This picture is of the old "residential school".

What do you do when you're a fat, black cat on a scorching hot day? Boo Radley's solution: Find a nice cool, shady patch of daisies, expose as much surface area as possible, get the white side up and catch a few winks.

It's been a while since I took a picture of the view side of the house. This shot shows the shop on the right and the pumphouse on the left. There's a lot of roof lines on this house, but somehow it all works. Very attractive lines, in my opinion.

arbutuspliff

2010-07-13T14:16:00.000-07:00

While Curt's in the Okanagan working, he's making good use of his time off to do some recording..... using only a laptop.

Finding Balance by arbutuspliff

The Truth be Told

2010-07-05T18:02:00.000-07:00

The July 1st long weekend was kicked off Thursday with a (mini) parade of sorts held by the Denman-Hornby Equine Club, (of which we're members). Horses and people donned with Canadiana paraphernalia Walked from the Bistro down the ferry hill to welcome the 11:00 sailing of the Quinitsa. Only on Denman Island! Kari is not yet brave enough to ride Mikki in an event like this, but I'm sure next year she'll have worked up the courage. We bundled up in our polar fleece and carried the banner instead, which seemed like a good idea until it was time to walk back up the hill. note: horses prefer to walk quite quickly uphill and if in front of them.... you must move quicker still.

Saturday, I wandered over to Hornby Island to check out their home and garden show. It gave me a chance to see a couple of straw bale houses in different stages of construction. One where the leftover bales from our construction will be put to good use. The highlight for me was this amazing fireplace mantle that perfectly replicated the sandstone shoreline that can be seen on many of the gulf islands. I'd love to know how they did it.

The forecast was sketchy but the Fire Dept. pulled off yet another warm, (although overcast) Pancake Breakfast on Sunday. Prediction is that we set another record.... with final numbers to be tallied, it looks like more than half the island turned out.

I saw on the news that there's a super-tanker in the gulf trying to suck up huge amounts of oil. I wondered just how environmentally friendly that was. It turns out that just 15 of the worlds largest cargo ships spew as much pollution into our air as all the cars in the world put together. Hard to believe, but check it out here.

Strawbale house Update: The truth Window is in. Kari came across the perfect thing for a truth window in an antique store in Courtenay. It was part of something much bigger (I know not what) but I ripped it down to size and it's a great feature. FYI: It's traditional to have some sort of window that reveals the construction of the home. This one is in our dining room.

Finally, beach weather!

2010-06-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: I'm officially done with the exterior plaster. The living room window details were a little tricky, but I'm happy with the outcome. We'll have the best sunset views on the island through these windows. Depending on the weather over the next couple of weeks I'll be working on interior plastering and kitchen cabinet prep or finishing the staining of the shingles on the gable ends.

When we first moved here there were very few raccoons on the island. The rumour was that they had all died off from some disease. Last week, I found the first evidence that they have found the building site.

The better weather has allowed for more horsey riding. Mikki loves to get out and spend some of that hot-blooded energy. (he can really motor) We generally switch off half way through the ride with one of us riding a bike. Mikki loves the bike and will follow close enough to touch your back with his nose. Today was his first ride to the beach. He'd never seen the ocean before and seaweed was a whole new culinary experience. Notice the front leg action of the Peruvian Paso, known a termino, where the feet are thrown to the side. I've learned the hard way not to ride beside him as he can throw gravel a fair distance. Kari's riding confidence level has increased dramatically over the last month. Through my own ignorance and stupidity this hasn't been an issue for me.
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Kari planted the two small raised beds I built a couple of months ago. We're looking forward to the first real harvest. She also bought a few fruit trees including cherry, apple, nectarine and Asian pears. The last couple of weekends, we've attacked the thistles which have taken over on the southern exposure of the property. It's a thorny business.

It's a big table

2010-06-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

Straight Goods

2010-06-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hey Denman Island made the travel section of The Straight.... see it here

The short strokes of outside plastering

2010-06-06T16:36:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: The weather has been crappy on Denman Island this spring. Wetter and cooler than normal. (graph on right proves my point (white line is seasonal norm) Perfect weather for plastering! With the humidity high, the plaster takes longer to dry. This makes for a much stronger wall. Just a few slow details around the living room windows and the exterior will be finished (for now). Once that is done the walls can sit for a year and do what they will. Any small cracks that develop over the next three seasons will be repaired and covered with the colour coat, which will go on next spring. The colour coat is only 1/8" thick so the 2nd (brown) coat finishes 1/8" shy of window and door trims.
The first few mixes for the first coat were mixed in a mortar mixer, which the straw bale gurus highly recommend. The rental was expensive and it turned out that my trusty (and cheap) cement mixer does a great job, (it just takes a little longer). I run the mixer for about six hours a day, six days a week. Not what is it intended to do, but so far, so good, (knock on plaster).
I highly suggest buying one of these cheapie mixers if you are going to tackle plastering yourself.... (or without a large crew). I also suggest dedicated clothes and footwear, as it is even messier than you would imagine. (My "plaster shoes" used to be brown).

The company that supplied the hydraulic lime did the volume calculation for me when we ordered it. It's going to be very close! I think we'll end up within a single bag....(on the plus side, I hope).

It's Tax Freedom Day!

2010-06-04T21:37:00.001-07:00

Totally Bizarre

2010-05-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, Columbia will elect the first world leader from the "Green Party".

Australia has begun international court proceedings against Japan for it's whaling practises.

You can watch live video feed 24/7 of Gulf Oil spewing out of the ocean floor.

It's a bizarre time in history.

odds and ends

2010-05-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

It may finally be apparent that corporations are not the best stewards of the earth. Perhaps some of Obama's "land on the asteroid budget" could be diverted to some R&D to come up with a solution that would put BP in some other line of work. (It's got to be cheaper)

A couple of YT's that deserve a look-see.

from "why, that's delightful" So, why is she performing in her kitchen? Great loop-pedal action.

(from treehugger) The two best high-tech inventions morphed

iPad + Velcro from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo.

May Two-four

2010-05-24T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ah, the May two-four weekend. The first real drinking weekend of the summer and the first weekend with long ferry line-ups. Lulled into complacency over the winter Denmanites are jolted awake on the May two-four by ferry line-ups of weekending hornby-ites. Leaving the island, it's back to the 20 minute rule.... being that the Hornby traffic arrives at the terminal 10-15 minutes before the ferry .... the astute Denmaner arrives at 2o minutes before and smirks as the Hornby 500 arrives at the top of the hill, loaded with kayaks, bikes and anything else that will fill, or can be bungied to their vehicle. Getting on the island.... all advantages are lost and residents must line-up with the Hawaiian shirted beemer drivers. All that remains is the thought that, yup we live here and they wish they did.

Straw Bale Building: Yes, still more plastering... Taking advantage of low or no wage challenged participants, (relatives) there is progress being made, The interior is about 75% done (plaster 2nd coat) and the exterior just over half done. Pictures of window details and exterior finish are in order.

Brainstorm

2010-05-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Don't know where this idea came from, but what if a huge steel reinforced concrete box were lowered onto the the BC legislature in an attempt to stem the flow of corrupt egotistical drivel spewing out. It would be a challenging target as the legislature is constantly moving to the right and even if it were to be placed correctly it would undoubtedly be immediately plugged up with bullshit.

A Little Nest Egg

2010-04-23T15:17:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale Update: Plastering continues for the extended future. The second or "brown coat" is well under way for the interior. The window returns are looking great. Working my way counter-clockwise around the house, I'm now plastering in the living-room... the most visible room in the house..... so I'm hoping the plaster learning curve is complete.

The Humanure Compost has been sub-let to a master builder in her own right. This is a high-rise nest by any standard. She took advantage of the abundant hay resource directly below the nest. I can just squeeze the camera into the space between the roof and the nest.... and she has been a busy bird.

Mikki arrived, has made himself at home and is ruling the ranch, so to speak. He has turned out to be as friendly as the breeder claimed and is happy to follow you around the paddock whilst you scoop the poop. (he has also perfected the full barrow flip by grasping one handle and lifting) He has been ridden lightly so far and it's obvious that he loves to work. Kari has been kept very busy with the riding and feeding schedule... I think it's love.

You may notice that the rants are few and far between lately.... yes, I've been busy. I Checked the news today to see that Mr. Spock as endorsed Captain Kirk for the position of Canada's Governor General and Barack wants to land on an asteroid... I can't begin to compete with that.

On a sad note, our Auzzie Shepperd, Sienna died last week. She was a lovely dog and my work buddy for the last few years. The only dog I've known to have a sense of humour.... those that knew her, know what I'm talking about.

I'll Be Back..... Plastering

2010-03-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

Straw House Bale House Update:

The drywall boarding is all done including priming. We have the interior back and the plastering is one week in. Plastering is highly labour intensive. By the time it's all done I'll be sporting Arnold bicepts. I'm guessing that I'm plastering 1200-1500 lbs per day.

A new addition to our family arrives on Denman in a couple of weeks.... "Mikolas" (Mikki) is a Peruvian Paso Gelding.... (He's the one on the bottom).

sun-rain-snow... oh no

2010-03-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: The Humanure Hacienda is all done. We got a load of off-cuts of cedar to use as rot resistant walls. It worked out well and gave it a Daniel Boone log cabin look.
The drywall has taken a little longer than expected, but should be all primed and ready for paint next week. Quotes for doors and kitchen cabinets are in the works. The baseboards for the bale walls have been ripped and can be stained next week. The nice weather has dried things up enough to use the tractor for earth moving to establish the final grade. Our drainage is so good that traditional perimeter drainage around the house and garage are not necessary. We'll be directing water from the roof to either cistern water storage or into gravel trenches. Tyler was up for the week to give a hand setting up some perimeter deer fencing. Kari bought a few fruit trees, which have to be protected from the four-legged mooches that maraud the local gardens.
She bought Cherry (with five varietals grafted on a single root stock), apple, Asian apple and nectarine.
A small snow storm ended the week, but was washed away by the end of the day.
Curt and friends came up from Victoria to camp at Fillongley Park last week and lucked out with some great weather. They also got to experience the herring spawn and all the wild-life racket that comes with it. Between the sea lions, gulls and eagles it's beyond noisy.

Inflatable Beavers? Now that's Canadian!

2010-03-01T15:44:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: The construction stairs have been ripped out and replaced with the framework of the permanent stairs. The finish treads and risers will be built after all the construction traffic. Drywallers have taken over and forced anyone that does not want to breathe white powder outside. Luckily there are a few things that can be finished up under the three foot overhangs. The Humanure Hacienda project is underway. We're using up the rest of the posts that we had milled on-site two years ago. I'm using the same plan format outlined in the "Humanure Handbook" (free online).

After extensive research and Internet finagling, I ordered a new entry level digital SLR camera. Internet shopping is great for guys that have an aversion to mall shopping. I selected the Canon Xsi. The cats were handy and willing subjects for the first couple of shots.

Things that the Olympics can do without:

1- Two-man Luge. Who thought this up? Men don the tightest possible spray-on spandex, then lay atop one-another and careen down an icy half-pipe. (quick switch to sportsnet)

2- Giant inflatable beavers. Yikes, what was that? Flying moose and lumberjacks, I think I know where some cost-cutting could have been considered. I'll be watching eBay for one of them beavers... Or perhaps they could be used for a new Olympic event... the beaver luge.

Best Olympic moment: Jon Montgomery's Beer Sid who?

Finally some Oly action

2010-02-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well, the Ad-lympics are finally underway. The coca cola torch relay blew though Courtenay weeks ago leaving no school age child without a bottle of the real thing in hand. The same diabetic substance banned from the school vending machine. Steve was nice and dropped by the legislature.... a first I'm told. But hey, he had a good speech and nowhere to present it... either that or he just wanted to get a look at what a working government looked like. Personally, I think he was here to join Gordo for the little publicized semi-annual meeting of Egotistical Liars Anonymous. Mike Campbell, an economic analyst that I used to like, was on a rant the other day about people that are always critical. What the hell was he thinking and who knows anybody like that? Back to the couch to watch some biathlon, I say.

It's been awhile since the last big fire on the island... so we were due for a doosey. Lots of propane tanks and other unknown sources of explosions highlighted a garage fire that consumed several vehicles, (one a newer Lexus I'm told). Source of fire is unknown, but a few people had theories.

Straw Bale House Update: A few loose ends to tie up in the plumbing and electrical departments along with a major clean-up.... and we're officially (almost) ready for drywall for the interior-interior walls... as opposed the interior exterior walls, (which will be plastered). Drywall labour is expensive, but it's one of the few things that I don't have an inclination to attempt.

I bit the bullet and invested in a new digital SLR camera.... evidence that I've learned how to turn it on will be posted here at a later date.

Under Pressure

2010-01-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

I try not to listen to talk radio, but it can be addictive. So, I was listening to an interview with a federal politician the other day, (it could have easily been any politician I guess), and he made a comment that still makes me shake my head in bewilderment. "Canadians have higher expectations from their elected representatives than other countries". I think Canadians (and I could be wrong) want only three things from their elected representatives. Honesty, Integrity, and Common Sense. Apparently, three elusive characteristics. I really should stick to blasting the tunes from the Ipod while at work.

Straw Bale House Update:My camera is broken. No pictures to show, so will have to catch up on those another time.... I've been thinking though... of buying a digital SLR as a replacement. The House is nearly ready for interior wall finishing. We've been working on the balance of the plumbing rough-in. Pressure testing has been done with air and water... and with only a few small hick-ups I think we're almost ready to cover. The house has been left for the weekend under 40 lbs of water pressure.... we'll see Monday how she did.

Floored!

2010-01-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: The concrete staining is complete. I'm pleased with the results so far. The final look won't be known until the acrylic finish has been applied. That will be done after the walls have been plastered.

Stain being applied with a garden sprayer.

Some of the results.... starting to look like stone.

A small amount of clearing is being done to let in some additional light and allow some space for a future paddock (if required)

The sills, window trims and returns are done. Everyone loves the deep window returns in straw bale houses.

2010-01-03T12:30:00.000-08:00

Holidays have to come to an end at some point. We ended ours with a short foray into the Okanagan. We've come close on several occasions to choosing a horse (or two) to join our family. Mostly we've looked at and test driven Paints and Quarter horses. As we knew nothing of how to choose a horse.... we've taken a lot of time to educate ourselves. The trip to the interior satisfied our curiosity about the Peruvian Paso breed. Now lets be clear... I've never ridden. This may be a good thing as I have no fear of horses. The Peruvian is on the small side for a horse and has an attitude that goes with being short.... short horse syndrome, if you will. This spirit, is referred to as "BRIO" in the Peruvian horsey lingo. We looked at about 10 Peruvians during our time off (one day at each ranch). All the horses had one thing in common...sweet gentleness and very friendly. At one point we were in a field with several stallions, (which I'm told can be rather foolish), but they were a friendly bunch. The actual pasture we were in, can be seen on this youtube video.
Again, I stress, I've been on a horse very few times and do not know how to ride. I can only make the comparison between driving a car.... most horses are standard transmission with no extra options, A Peruvian horse is an automatic fully loaded. With a five minute lesson, I was riding the smoothest horse in the world. Check out the Peruvian gait on this video. The Peruvian horse owners that we met were just as great as the horses. All the Peruvian breeders know each other and often recommended each other. We've been invited back for trail rides and lessons before deciding on a horse. We'll be taking them up on that offer.
Thanks to:

Leslie at Silver Cloud Peruvians

Rick at Paradise Ranch

Judie and Ivan at North Okanagan Peruvians

Rob at Janice at Del Oeste Peruvians

Rick on Acuario... a champion stallion we got to ride.

A Prince Of A Guy

2009-12-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

No.2 son landed his first paid acting gig... Prince Owain is off to Ontario to star in a family production play.... local media interview coverage can be seen here and here and here Break a leg, Curt!

Concrete Actions

2009-11-25T18:12:00.001-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: The concrete scribing is going well. There is a learning curve and it's just as well we started in a closet. The acid stain has been ordered. Picture is of the master bedroom floor. Doesn't look like much yet, but just you wait!

Over-due house pics.

2009-11-23T18:43:00.001-08:00

Straw Bale House Update:

Picture taken from the kitchen into the living room.
The Mason Heater is fully functioning and heats the house, even after the fire has gone out. (about 15c) The house currently looses 2c over night, (16 hours) with the outside temp in the 2-3c range. This should be reduced once the interior plastering is done and the thermal mass is increased. The goal is to have the heater hold a 20c temp with 2 short burns a day.

Picture of the Kitchen. The horizontal boards are for cabinet mounting. Wired for electric stove and plumbed for propane. (wire coiled on floor coming out of the slab is for the island.) The square hole between the windows is a box built to carry a seven inch stove vent. Window returns and sills are in the near future.

The front door entry finishing has been a challenge. Any questionable angles are sorted out with a little extra plaster. All of the door hardware has been installed and we're officially at lock-up. we're still considering side-lights made with bottles, (more on that later.) The green tape around the posts is holding the plastic which will protect the posts from the concrete acid stain....the next big project.

Picture of the dining room french doors. These are actually double doors that swing out onto a patio/bbq area. we rounded the top return with straw to match the other view windows. The dining room will have a nice ocean/mountain view.

I was able to get my hands on some very nice quarter-sawn Douglas Fir (milled on the island) to frame out the seven view windows on the south and west sides of the house. There was just enough left over to top the wrap-around window bench (which will provide tons of extra living room seating and a great cat look-out).

This week the layout for the tile pattern in the concrete floor will be cut and the acid stain ordered. (the designer still working on the colour)

Getting Plastered

2009-10-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

The unbelievably warm weather prompted us to venture to the mainland to test drive a few horses. Tara and Clay at Hayburner Haven provided their expertise in how to pick out a horse. We learned that the most important attributes in a horse are: a) it must be able to go. and b) it must be able to stop. (We looked at a few horses that were challenged in one or more of these requirements.) In the end, it was agreed that we must continue our equine education before committing to horsey ownership.

The island is abuzz with firewood cutting chainsaw noises and the cats are growing a thick furry coat.... all signs point to a cold winter. Boo Radley is beginning to think twice before pulling those all-nighters as the night time cooling is now in the 5-6c degree range.

Strawbale House Update: This week we built bins out of bales and plastic to store the mixed lime plaster. It can (and should) be mixed ahead of time and will store indefinitely under the right conditions. Mixing day was Tuesday and we mixed all day. We began the "scratch coat" on Wednesday. It's going quite well. As the learning curve progresses we're getting better and faster.

West Side Story

2009-09-20T15:51:00.001-07:00

Last week our local medical clinic was moved to it's new location. It will be renovated and upgraded. The land for the clinic was donated, as was much of the labour and other efforts including the fund-raising.

Watched a great video (sorry, could not embed) but check out this LINK to watch "Home"... available in HD (fullscreen) if you have a good connection

Straw bale house update: More straw baling, screening, sewing, flashing, plaster stops and electrical. The shingling is about two-thirds complete and that in itself deserves a picture of the "west side". There's plans to plaster on the horizon. (Maybe those feature windows could use some framing and glass... materials on site for frames).

Can you spot the upstairs bath fan vent disguised as a shingle?

A Martha Stewart moment. It's fruit fly season, don't ya know. The little buggers drive me nuts. Lee Valley has fruit fly traps... really expensive. So with a little Google assistance I found this helpful hint... A small glass jar with a little apple cider vinegar and a couple of drops of dish soap. Cover with some stretch wrap and poke a couple of holes in it with a pencil. By the next morning your flies are gone.... totally guaranteed or twice your flies back!

Everyone Loves A Parade

2009-09-06T15:41:00.000-07:00

It was a gorgeous weekend (last week). We planned a "play-date" with some friends and went to our local golf course. The girls had never golfed before.... it worked out perfectly as we had the course to ourselves. As with all golf courses, there is a certain golf etiquette that must be observed; on the Denman Island course, it is as follows...

- No dress code is in effect. (in fact clothes are optional)
- Tee shots must not intentionally be aimed at sheep.

- Free drop with every shot
- Club rentals are free.
- Drinking on the course is encouraged.
- Green fees are covered by your empties.

We also went to a "Gymkhana" on the island, which is a sort of sports-day for horses. Ash and Kari have been bitten by the horse bug. We've talked for years about buying or leasing a horse... it has reared it's head again, (pun intended). So we're on the lookout for a good all-round trail horse (or two).

Straw Bale House Update: Yay, I got my electrical inspection done last week and it passed with flying colours. We've hired a guy to do the shingle work on the gable ends. He'll start next week. It's work that I like doing, but time is important now that the rains are here. (besides I saved a whack by doing my own electrical). Our goal is to have the house completely buttoned up before it gets too cold to plaster.

This weekend (labour Day) was a different story. The annual Blackberry Festival was eventually rained out, but not before the parade. People showed up by the tens and there was the usual food and games for all to enjoy. Here's some shots of the parade.

What Bugs You?

2009-08-23T09:09:00.001-07:00

"What pisses me off, is that more people aren't pissed off" Bill Maher.

Speaking of Bill Maher, If you haven't seen "religulous", I found it online. Check it out with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy.

We've had these bugs on the construction site for two years in a row. I can't say I've seen them anywhere else.... by my standards, this is a huge bug. It sounds somewhat like a helicopter when it fies by.

Honeymoon Sales Tax

2009-08-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

I really think the HST could be a good thing. I'm on record saying that the GST was a bone-headed tax to begin with. Why have another separate bureaucratic money grabbing entity when we already had one? I call the HST, the Honeymoon Sales Tax cause once in place you'll never get screwed as often in your whole life. If Gordo had said... "times are tough and this tax will be used to prop up our social system until better times come around", I'd have a whole lot more respect for the man... and I'd shut up and pay up.

A two billion tax shift to give his corporate cronies a break?... I don't think so Gordo.

I signed Bill Tieleman's Facebook HST protest page.... but what I really want, is to rid our government of liars.... Here's my thought process. As a public employee, we're all Gordo's boss. As a boss I don't want my employees to be liars. What I don't get is, he'd proven himself a liar during his last two terms and yet some 46% of BC voters "hired him" in May. Now (some of) those voters are outraged at the current set of lies. They seem somehow surprised. They must be the same voters that canned electoral reform. I'll be asking my MLA, Don McRae if he has the balls to stand up for his constituents, or must he bow to the emperor Gordo... stay tuned.

(Cheesy Travolta video explains the hst)

Hello Mr. Mcrae,My wife and I moved to the Comox Valley three years ago. We are currently building a new home and intend to retire here. Like a lot of other BC'ers, who to vote for in the last Provincial election was a conundrum indeed. I think it's common knowledge that a large number of voters held their nose and voted for "the devil you know". It certainly appears now that some voters would vote otherwise if given the opportunity today. Much of the dissatisfaction (as I'm sure you're aware), stems from the blatant disingenuousness of Mr Campbell. Each BC resident, is in a way, an employer of public servants. Most employers would not put up with employees that habitually lied to them. I fear the writing is on the pink slip for Employee Gordon Campbell. As a constituent of yours, I would like to know your thoughts on the leadership of your party and the direction in which you leader is taking it. If you'll excuse my bluntness I shall ask, will you represent the wishes of your constituents by standing up in the legislature and demanding honesty from everyone there, including the leader of your party? Thanks for your public service.
Regards, Dave.
(I hope this email is not answered "auto responder")

See the following answer....I guess the answer is "No" he won't have the balls to hold Gordo to any kind of ethics.... should we expect any different? As his assistant says: he will "make decisions that he feels will be the best", not what his constituents feel is best, hmmmm. Regardless of your political beliefs, please email your MLA and demand honesty in government. It's the least we can expect.

On behalf of MLA Don McRae, thank you for taking the time to email our office. Don is aware of your email and has asked that I reply on his behalf, as he is in Victoria preparing for the opening of the legislature on August 25, 2009.
When Don made the decision to run for MLA for the Comox Valley he made a commitment to be the best MLA he could be. He is prepared to listen to all of the issues and make decisions that he feels will be the best, not only for the citizens of the Comox Valley, but also for the Province of BC. Don appreciates hearing from constituents such as yourself.
Thank you once again for emailing our office.
Dianne Lineker
Constituency Assistant to
Don McRae, MLA
Comox Valley Constituency
Phone: 250 703 2422
Fax: 250 703 2425

Out on Bale

2009-08-08T14:01:00.000-07:00

We've had a great stretch of weather... It brings out Island living at it's best. Sienna won't come to work with me while it's this hot, but she loves the beach outings. The ocean is the place to be, as the lakes are just too warm for swimming.

Saturday evening we went to see Los Rastrillos at the hall. An all ages show.... and as usual no Denman dance complete without Kids and a Border Collie. We were a slightly smaller crowd than the one in the video.

Straw Bale House Update: About half of the exterior walls are now "baled". We've started at the back of the house.... the idea being that we'll make all of the learning curve mistakes on the least visible side. We'll do one complete wall, then move on to the more visible areas. Once the bales are stacked and the cracks between them "stuffed", the walls are given a final plumb (fine tuning) using a sledge hammer. Then it comes time to shave the walls (to make them less hairy of course) and knock down any unsightly straw bulges. It was challenging to find a tool capable of shaving the flax straw. We tried weed-whackers, hedge shears and even the electric chainsaw with dismal results. The flax straw is just so fibrous that nothing seems to be able to shear it. During a visit to a hemp bale house a few years ago, that builder said that he'd had a difficult time with the same sort of problem. The problem has been solved by mounting an undercut saw carbide tooth blade onto my angle grinder. The result is a very dangerous, (but effective) tool.

Once the wall was sheared we attached 2" square stucco wire, (which I'm told is not "code") anchored to the plaster stops and window bucks. Cedar window trims are then screwed into the bucks. Pretty much the same procedure will be done to the inside of the same wall, then the wire mesh on either side of the wall can be "sewn" together. This is accomplished using a customized baling needle which is capable of either pushing or pulling baling twine through the 18" walls. See design detail from http://www.strawbale.com/ I used a 3/8" aluminum rod (cost- $6) and a cutting wheel on my angle grinder to make the 45 degree grooves into which the twine fits.

Straw Bale Construction

2009-07-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: The back of the house (which served as the learning curve) has been "baled". What we've been calling the "catwalk", (a box-beam built above the living room windows made to suspend the bales) is being filled in. Below the living room windows another box beam will form a very long window seat. The picture of the window seat also shows the electrical box detail. The wiring runs within a chase at ground level with the bales on a "toe-up" seven inches above floor level.
Working with the Flax Straw has been challenging. It is extremely fibrous and hard on the saw blades (not to mention the skin on arms and legs) The big advantage to flax is the oil content, which makes it extremely rot resistant.

Kari is off on vacation for a few weeks and is being indoctrinated into the strawbale brother/sisterhood. Not exactly a relaxing vacation.

Port McNeill - bean there

2009-07-04T08:53:00.000-07:00

straw bale house update:

I've pretty much finished the wiring rough-in except for the kitchen. The kitchen design will have to be finalized before it can be wired. Jesse, ( the electrician in the family) has given it an inspection and has given his approval.

At long last it's time to bale. With my small trailer I can "shuttle" 20 bales of straw at a time from the barn (where it's stored) to the building site. I'll bring the bales to site as needed, as storage is at a premium. The garage is currently filled with 2x12 cedar which will act as plaster stops (top and bottom of the first floor). The wiring in the bale walls has proven challenging. With several attempts to remedy, I think I've come up with something the inspector will approve of.

Let's say that I'm a farmer... maybe a bean farmer. I'm a very experienced a bean farmer with a triple "A" credit rating. One day the government says that I can't grow my beans anymore. I must buy them from other farmers in the area and re-sell them. The other farmers in the area have no fields in which to grow beans. The Government allows the farmers to clear some publicly owned Old Growth Boreal Forests in which to grow their beans. The new farmers have poor credit and they have to pass these costs on. At harvest time, I'm forced to buy the beans at a much higher price than I can grow them myself. Further, I am not allowed to store, freeze or can the beans to sell in the off-season. I must sell all my beans at harvest time, which creates a glut in the market and drastically reduces the market value. I am forced to sell the beans at half of what I paid for them. How long do you think I can stay in business? Would you vote for the government that mandated this practice? 45% of BC residents did just that.

It's only a matter of time before BC Hyrdo is sold off because it will no longer be profitable. (or you'll be paying double to stay on the grid)

Took a quickie trip to Port McNeill on Friday. The highlight was the world famous Burl. The largest burl in the world. Hey, I've saved you the trip.

say what?

2009-06-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Kari & I have what's called a "blended family" with 6 kids between us. At some point in time, each and every one of them asks the dreaded question. "Have you smoked pot?" What flashes through your mind over the milliseconds that follow, ranges from complete stone face denial... to a bad impression of Elmer Fudd... abbada-abbada umm.

I can't remember the last time I smoked pot. That may be because I smoked enough to

destroy any semblance of a long term memory. Does admission of the deed condone the use to your children? And if so, is it any more (or less) of an event as their first drink?

My wife has never smoked anything.... ever. To her, my voiced opinion that underage drinking is the same as underage pot smoking is met with furrowed brow. I think both should be avoided until there's some evidence present within a brain that they can make an intelligent decision. Teenagers in general fall into the category of questionable decision making... along with most adults (+ something I'm still struggling with).

The one straggler still at home recently insisted on asking some pointed questions on this matter. "It'll effect your long term memory", I say. "You don't want to turn out like me do ya...?" By the time I get downstairs, I've forgotten what I went for.... surely it was the (effects of) pot.

Where else to turn for unbiased information, but the Internet? OK, so google "marijuana memory loss"..... this looks interesting " Could Marijuana Substance Help Prevent Or Delay Memory Impairment In The Aging Brain? ".Huh? Not what I expected. What's my excuse now?

"Why isn't it legal like beer and wine?" she asks. "I heard that California is going to pay off all their debt by legalizing pot and taxing it."

"I dunno" I say. A little investigation turns up a home grown (no pun intended) documentary, The Union. It proved to be informative viewing for the whole family and answers all the questions, like why isn't it legal.

Oh Deer!

2009-06-16T16:54:00.000-07:00

I met up with this little guy on the road to the (new) house. As soon as I drove close, the mother made a dash for the bushes and this guy quickly lay down, spread-eagle on the road. After a few moments, he timidly got up and gained his wobbly balance. A few days old at best, he didn't have the ability or instinct to run away and posed nicely for the camera. (yes, mom came back for him)

straw bale house update: The weather has been spectacular to say the least. Often reaching the mid 30's by early afternoon. We've switched to an earlier start to the day in an attempt to escape the late afternoon heat. There's just a few final touches in preparation to baling. The soffits are nearly completed, with just the dormer portion to go. I devised a continuous venting system....(mostly stolen from a design I saw on the Denman Island Home & Garden Tour... see video below) The electrical is about 1/2 done. All the switch and receptacle boxes in the straw walls must be placed as the courses go up. The electrical inspector seems to OK with the wires being buried prior to inspection.... I did get busted for having the wrong speaker wire though.... who knew speaker wire is covered in the electrical code?

The good weather along with some smoke (from a forest fire on the mainland) has made for some nice sunsets. We're looking forward to sitting on the deck with this view.... minus the scraggly trees (which I shall call "standing firewood"for now).

Ants and Uncles

2009-05-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

On a short hike last weekend we came across this skyscraper of an anthill. (Uncle) Bill was kind enough to give the picture some scale (but not for too long).

straw bale house update: T&G soffits for most of the week, with some electrical work thrown in. I decided to take out the electrical permit myself as electricians are an expensive lot. For a mere $300 permit fee you can wire the house yourself. One thing the wiring book doesn't cover is speaker wire.... and that's the first thing that had to be replaced after the first visit from the inspector. (the only inspector that we have to please here on Denman) Who woulda thunk.... busted for speaker wire "not to code".

I don't watch a lot of TV, but I've watched the last few seasons of American (and Canadian) Idol. It's becoming more than obvious that the results are fixed. It seemed that even the judges were aware that there had to be some surprise ending (to the show) to keep the viewers coming back for another season. The New York Daily News survey concluded that 61% of people polled also believe the results were bogus.... even the winner thought the results were wrong. I don't have a problem with the whole charade.... just don't call it reality TV.

Not sure how, but I missed the ZEITGEIST: ADDENDUM Likely the most thought provoking movie you'll ever see. (every bit as good as the original) It makes one want to fast forward time a few thousand years.

I'm Baaaaack

2009-05-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

A sabbatical was in order. What can I say?

Two bloggers that I read faithfully have have called it quits.... or not....James (UK) who has proven that we can change the way we live... and Paddy K (Sweden) a very talented writer that just plain "burned out" then had second thoughts.

straw Bale House update: Lots of building since I last posted...

Front entry is near completion... (waiting on some custom flashings)

Mason heater has been faced.

Doors and windows have been set.

Trenches for the power and greywater have been dug.

The "toe-ups" that anchor the straw bales are in place.

The pine T&G ceilings are about 1/2 complete

2009-03-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Went to Demxx on the weekend to pick-up a door for our pantry... it's part of the old door from the Fanny Bay Inn. It seemed only fitting to stop there on the way back and have a pint. Kind of a reunion of sorts. Afterwards, we stopped to see the sea lions, (which we can hear from our house). They arrive well before the herring spawn and leave well after.... and make their presence known to everyone within several miles.

The new kitten, Taz, has fit in exceptionally well. He and Boo are now fast friends. Boo has shown him all the best places to hide and hunt. Here in this picture Taz gives Boo a "high five", or however many fingers cats have.

Strawbale House Update: The trench is in, the meter box has been mounted, the panel is installed.... now we wait for BC Hydro to come and hook us up. After a year and a half of construction, we shall soon have construction power. Most of the wiring for the house will run either in a wiring chase or within the bale walls, like where a switch box would be. The other wiring, for overhead lights, is beginning to be pulled. Permits for the construction power and workshop will be done by the local electrician. I'll be attempting the house wiring myself.... with as much advice as I can scrounge.

We've been back to a three-man crew for the last couple of weeks. All the interior beamwork is complete! A huge undertaking. Now the rest of the back-framing can continue. The only beamwork left is the front entrance, (exterior). All of the cedar components were stained last fall and are ready to go. Now to find a way to cut the ten inch square posts... Nice to have friends with big construction tools.

It's a Boy

2009-02-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

Wow, we've had such a run of good weather.... nothing but sun and dry days for the last couple of weeks. Now that all changes, as rain is in the forecast for the next week. Led by Kari (closet pyromaniac) we did some brush clearing and burning on the lot over the last two weekends. This could be never-ending.... except I think we've resolved to claim the first 30 feet or so around the house and driveway and leave the balance of the acreage to the wildlife.

Saturday, there was a community "farewell" event for the retiring fire chief. It was extremely well attended. John had been chief for 21 years and there were many humorous stories to be told by members of the community.

Strawbale house update: We worked all week on the interior beam-work. I'm somewhat bias, but I think it's going to look spectacular. I'm determined not to post pictures until it's done. (another couple of weeks, as my post and beam expert has taken a brief vacation).

Our oldest cat, Tig, died a couple of months ago. Boo, who had a love-hate relationship with Tig has been very demanding of us ever since. So we began "talking" about getting another kitten. On her way home from work last week, Kari dropped into the local animal rescue center and of course was chosen by a little grey kitten. "Taz" fits his name. he's four months old and weighs about a pound. (About 1/6th of the sumo, Boo). That has not stopped Taz from letting everyone know who's in charge. This includes Sienna (our Auzzie Shepard) who gives Taz a wide berth.

Am I the only one that thinks the "bailouts" on both sides of the border are simply a bolstering of a system that is flawed? As we quickly deplete our world's resources, our government(s) spend billions (or trillions) to prop up our bad spending habits.... My apologies to my future grandchildren.
I thought I knew where money came from.... I was wrong!

"V" Day

2009-02-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

Those that frequent this blog are likely waiting for a rant. No, I haven't gone soft....As soon as I can word things civilly, the rants shall continue.... there's not shortage of stupidity, is there?

I read recently that Valentines day is THE most stressful day of the year for men. Followed closely by anniversaries and her birthday. Yes, men are romantically challenged by nature.... it's not our fault. I say, an evening at the Fanny Bay Inn (our local biker bar) can be romantic! Anyway, I dodged a bullet, mostly (I think) because of the low expectations.

Straw Bale House Update: The shop is ankle deep in sawdust and shavings. My friend Charlie, (post + beam builder extraordinaire) has been helping me for the past few weeks to get the last of the beam-work ready to go up. The entry hall is framed by two beams that run most of the length of the house... about 34 feet. Between those two beams are 10 cross beams.... all which have to fit like rungs in a ladder. The cross beams have been shaped with a slight upward curve on the bottom, giving the effect of ships ribs as you enter the house. (beam sawing thanks to another friend with a well equipped shop) The pictures show the "rails" into which the curved crossbeams will be fitted. If it sounds complicated.... it is. Although the weather has remained rather chilly, I can get the shop warm enough to stain the beams before they go up. The support posts that have been installed lately have been stained in place during the warmest part of the day.... with fingers crossed that the stain will not fail.
I found a great buy on some pine T+G for the ceiling, so I bought, and had delivered 6500 lineal feet.... enough to do the house ceiling, the soffits and the loft ceiling in the garage. (can be seen in the picture stacked in the garage with curved beams on top).

Middle of Foguary

2009-01-19T18:10:00.000-08:00

Returning home from Akumal (temps in the mid 30's) to Denman in the month of Foguary and near freezing temperatures is shock enough to forget to blog. A prearranged webcam snap (at the Lol Ha, Akumal Bay) did not go exactly as planned however here's the result (that's me front and center) and no, I wasn't looking at the girl in the bikini.... Honest !!

The highlight was diving with the turtles in Akumal Bay.
More pictures of our Yucatan adventures can be seen here.

It's been so foggy here..... how foggy is it? It's foggy enough that the ferry must blow it's horn every few minutes while crossing from 6:40 a.m. til 11:10 p.m. Coincidentally this has also been my exact sleeping time in reverse. The temperature in my woodshed on Sunday morning was -2c. At the same time it was +13c at Raven Lodge on Mt. Washington.... a major inversion.

The first structure fire since I joined the fire dept. was last week. Thankfully nobody was injured. The home however was likely a write-off. The response time of the department was second to none with the first equipment on the scene in nine minutes. I was on the pumper truck which arrived in fourteen minutes. (the drive from the house site to the hall is seven minutes, but seemed much longer at the time.)

Straw Bale House Update: After 3 weeks off, it's been a butt dragging time at work. The interior wall framing is almost complete and it's time to get back to the beam work. It's been a little hazardous as the fog condenses on the concrete slab of the house and then freezes creating an unwanted skating rink. This week I'll insulate the garage so that there will be a nice warm place to work (and the stain on the beams will actually dry). There's still about 16 posts and beams to plane and sand before help arrives next week to begin the assembly.

I was just saying the other day.... Obama should have a quiet lunch with spam and cheese whiz sandwiches to celebrate his inauguration. It would have sent quite a different message than the $125 million (projected) expenses planned. ($75 million for crowd control and security alone). But we can top that with our estimated one billion for Olympic security. I'm hoping the whole thing (Oh-My lympics)can be paid off by tolling the Sea to Sky Highway.... you know, that whole "user pay" thing.

snow day(s)

2008-12-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Well, the snow has had a significant impact on the house progress. I've decided that it's time for winter holidays. We've been hit repeatedly by snowstorms and there is well over 70cm on the building site. The highways have been treacherous at times and even the Denman Island back-roads have been a little tricky, to say the least.... (a photo of my truck in the ditch will not be accompanying this blog). However everyone here seems to know how to hunker down and wait for the rain to wash it all away.
As the "ticker" to right would indicate, it's time for some sun. We'll be negating our low carbon lifestyle with a trip to the Caribbean. Ahhhh.

So some snow pictures are in order.... and last but not least... a view from the webcam at the beach where my butt will be parked next week. (yes, it says 84F at 5:30 in the afternoon). Cheers and Happy New Year to you.

a most excellent letter

2008-12-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

The Annual Firefighter's Christmas Party was held Saturday evening. A good time was had
by all.We had a good dump of snow overnight which meant chaining up the trucks first thing in
the morning. (hangover or not)
A First Responder call around 9:00 a.m.resulted in a good turnout to ready the trucks. By Sunday,
mid-day we had about 25 centimeters on the side roads (with more in the forecast).

Straw Bale House Update: About half of the interior walls have been back-framed, (including
shear walls). This is the time when the room sizes take shape.... so far I'm liking what I see.

This most excellent letter speaks for itself. (I hope the writer will not mind republication)

The Daily News (Nanaimo)

Wealth of wild salmon needs to be reconsidered

By Alexandra Morton
Dec. 10, 2008

During financial instability who is going to feed you? A corporation
or a 10,000-year-old system that delivers to your door?

Norwegian corporate fish farmers in B.C. are riding out the global
financial storm. They require enormous expenditure to feed their B.C.
farms on fish from the South Pacific and they are suffering huge
losses to disease in Chile.

They are a luxury item in a world tightening its belt. Salmon farms
kill wild salmon through lethal disease amplification.

Wild salmon, however, are an independent wealth. They fertilize the
forests we need to pull carbon out of the atmosphere. They transport
the vast energy of sunlight hitting open ocean waters to our door on
a schedule. They are clean food manufactured without greenhouse
gases. They fuel a $1.6-billion tourism industry in B.C. and swim
right into Vancouver by the millions, perhaps the greenest badge of
honour possible. And they belong to you.

You might think yourself so civilized that wild salmon are not
important to you, but your forefathers would disagree.

When times get tough, we all turn to the supply lines right outside the door.

Wild salmon have survived our rapacious greed, but they are not
surviving violation of their foundation natural laws.

Atlantic and Pacific salmon cannot meet, nomadic fish cannot be held
stationary in pens, disease runs rampant without predators and young
salmon are not surviving swarms of farm lice. Ocean productivity is
running high on this coast and wild salmon would thrive if given the
chance.

However, with unfathomable lack of vision Gordon Campbell just
allowed Norwegian fish farms to expand on one of earths' most
valuable wild salmon runs, (Fraser River) and so our salmon will
continue feeding farm lice, not us.

Now is not the time to gamble. This not a test. Keep B.C.
independently wealthy remove salmon farms from wild salmon migration
routes.

Alexandra Morton
Echo Bay

Fair Ferry Fares Boost Faire

2008-12-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

Who says Canadian politics are boring? OK, maybe it was me, (not so long ago) but I take it all back. As it stands, Stevie has sent himself to the the "time out chair" until mid January, (with the blessing of his mommy) for being a bully to the other children. Now both sides of the argument are spending hundreds of thousand to tell us that they've been done wrong. Recent polls say that many Canadians believe all three federal party leaders should resign and I tend to agree. Should a federal election spring from this mess, somebody is going to get spanked.

The Denman Island Christmas Craft Faire is one of the biggest days of the year for local Artisans and entrepreneurs. The last two years have blessed the Faire with some of the worst weather of the season. This year, the winds and snow were absent and from first appearance the attendance looked pretty good. The ferry fare has been reduced by a third until the end of January and the last of the "fuel surcharges" have been eliminated making it somewhat more appealing for shoppers to come here from Vancouver Island.

Straw Bale House Update: The garage stairs to the loft are operational and efforts switched to back-framing in the house. There is still a considerable amount of beam-work to be done which leads to a bit of a catch-22. The beams (some 14 pieces) are yet to be planed, sanded and stained. As the weather will no longer permit staining outside, the garage will have to be insulated and heated to act as a drying facility.

Close Calculation

2008-11-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

The (stressful) pour day is over. Fingers were crossed when the second truck began to sound....well, empty(ish). It seems the concrete guess, (I mean calculation), was very accurate and we had just enough, with only a wheelbarrow extra. The finishers did a great job. For the first time this season, freezing temperatures were forecast overnight. Some of the water was drained from the heating system and all valves left open to allow for freeze expansion. The water drained was very warm from the concrete (as it heats via a chemical reaction) and should prevent freezing until I can mock up something to purge the whole system.

Now that the slab has been poured, it rekindled our interest in acid staining the concrete (to be used) as our finished floor. We've been able to visit a few homes on the island to see the different finishing techniques that people have used. It's a very cool, low maintenance and inexpensive finished floor.

Lloyd Khan, an author that has an interest in "unique" homes is coming to Denman Island to present a slide show tomorrow. His new book, "Builders of the Pacific Coast" features a few homes from Denman and Hornby islands. Check out Lloyd's blog HERE.

It's been a year now! Our nuke-free zone in still intact.

quick update

2008-11-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: The slab will be poured middle of next week. In the meantime, the finishing touches have been put on the garage exterior including hanging the carriage doors.

I-tube & Youtube

2008-11-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: most of the week was spent laying in the heating tube. I used the Uponor Wirsbo HePex plus product. The 1000 foot rolls were a handful to maneuver for one person. But once I got the hang of it, it went quite smoothly. The picture shows just how precise the map layout was. Next week, I'll pressure test the system and we'll be ready for concrete.... another concrete pour.... they're never good days for me. Much too stressful. With the downturn in the building market, I'm hoping, just maybe, that the labour prices are creeping down.
Some of the good weather hours were taken up with some lot cleanup. Kari, the resident pyromaniac had a nice fire going late in the week.

The weekend was spent at an air brake course that the fire dept. was putting on. I was one of the few that still cannot operate the new tanker because of lack of air brake license. Next week, I'll have to find some time to do the written ICBC test to complete the process.
On Saturday the province had it's municipal elections and Denman Island had it's own version with an election for our Island's Trust, trustees. When the smoke cleared, nothing had changed. The incumbents were victorious. There was quite an under-current of tension during the pre-election, different candidates seemed to have different versions of what is means to "preserve and protect" the island, (a trustee's mandate).

Yes, I'm well aware that my "ten latest visitors" tool on the right column is not working..... It will be given one last chance and then will be toasted.

Cheap Wine Corner: This is beginning to be a habit..... I came across another review of one of my first cheap wine reviews.... good ol' Cono Viognier..... (one of my all-time favs)...this time done with much more class than I could possibly muster and still a great buy for under ten clams. (no, I wasn't Googling "naked wine drinking"), but come to think of it.....

In Heat

2008-11-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Record setting warm temperatures hit Denman Island today.... 14c in my woodshed. As always the pineapple express is accompanied by strong winds. This time of year the wind makes short work of the leaves, but the old orchards will loose their apples more slowly, to the delight of the deer population.

Straw Bale House Update: The Hydronic heat SBK manifold has been assembled and mounted (temporarily) in the mudroom. It's quite a unique system that is comprised of modules. The number of modules can be adjusted to meet the needs of the size of install. We will have four heating zones and eight (loops) modules. Each loop (module) can be throttled within the zone. In other words, different areas of the same zone can be controlled (heat controlled) individually. (Sort of zones within a zone) Zones are: Great Room (consisting of kitchen, dining, living room and den) , Bedroom, Entry Hall and Ensuite. The heating tube layout drawing was done (thanks Clay) and tubes are being installed this week.

I have to say, I have an increased respect for the American public and congratulate them on electing a president that says he'll talk before he shoots. It seems he's won over all the demographics except white males... not sure what that means. The more I watched the pre-election posturing, the more I think publishing polls should be abolished.... along with the public endorsements of the media. Shouldn't the media be impartial?

Time Well Wasted

2008-11-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

All in all, it was a pretty good Hallowe'en weekend on Denman Island. The monsoon took a short break to allow the trick-treaters to do some productive foraging. Looking rather professional, the fire dept pulled off the fireworks this year with no casualties or even near misses. The dance this year featured Time Well Wasted, a local Comox Valley Band. The 12 piece band with full horn and rhythm sections played Chicago, Tower of Power, Some Gloria Gainer Disco and some Stevie Wonder. Although not my favourite era for music, the all ages venue had the usual house party atmosphere. It makes me wish I'd grown up here. Ashley and her pals had a great time and at one point were up on stage showing off their disco moves. Lessons learned: (1)- It gets very hot in the hall and bulky costumes are a disadvantage. (2)- five foot span angel wings, scythes, daggers, spears and pitchforks should all be banned from the dance floor.

Good Will Hunting

2008-10-31T16:10:00.001-07:00

It's hunting season. There's little good will toward hunters on the island. Daily I can hear the discharge of shotguns coming from across the street..... where there's private property and conservancy land. Nothing like hunting in the park.

What's happening with our police forces? If they're not mowing down fleeing criminals or tasering whoever, they're driving gooned. Hey, I know it's a high stress job but it's time to get this in check. Maybe there should be one of those devices (that won't let you start you car until you blow within the limit) in all the squad cars..... and maybe it's a good thing we don't have a police force on Denman Island.

Can't wait for Tuesday.... popcorn and the remote control and the U.S. election results. It's kinda like the last night of Idol. After that the conversation will have to go back to "what's for dinner hon?".

Cheap Wine Corner. Hey, it's been a while since I did one of these. The special occasion is the publication of the International Value Wine Awards. The IVWA is in it's third year and usually has a few surprises for great buys under $25..... or for cheapies like me, under $15. The not so surprising (killer value) 1st place finish in the Malbec category is Finca Los Primos, (ten bucks), available anywhere, even the Denman Island General Store. Anyway, you can download a very nice pdf file (link above) with all the winners and then run out to your fav wine outlet and buy up the best cheapies.
Estampa Syrah/Cabernet 2006 (Chile). We did recently discover a nice syrah / cab blend from Chile. We bought a case from a local wine merchant.... but if you check with your LCB outlet they may be able to get it for you (although not listed online). I did find this wine a little high in tannins, (maybe cellar-able) and had some nice earth tones and a medium-long finish.

Straw Bale House Update: It's the waiting game... building garage carriage doors until I can pick up the tube and manifold for the hydronic heating system.... (should have a door pic next blog.)

taxation frustration

2008-10-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

What could I possibly have in common with Jaclyn Smith, Hilary Clinton, and Keith Urban? Two years ago on October 26th, I started this blog on their birthday, (and mine). What better way to spend a b-day morning, than to go for a walk on a deserted beach? The storms this time of year make for productive beach-combing. Moon snail shells are in particular abundance. The weather lately, although coolish in the mornings, has been extraordinary.

About a month ago (when oil began it's plunge) BC Ferries announced that they would not be reducing the "fuel charge" because they had based their budget on $78 dollar / barrel oil. Now that oil is in the mid 60's, they've announced that the fuel charge will be cut in half on November 4th.. Our Provincial Government, (the one that has nothing to do with our ferry system) has announced that they be cutting our ferry fares by 30% for the "holiday season", (December & January). Too bad they didn't think of this maneuver while Hornby vacation rentals were sitting empty during the summer. Most people are assuming this is an attempt to buy votes and make us forget about the Olympic Shortfall Tax, I mean Carbon Gas Tax.

Saturday, there was an "all candidates" meeting at the hall. Three potential Island Trustees vied for two positions. All three (it appeared) tried not to differentiate themselves from the others while they fielded questions from the audience. Some questions were more in the form of venting some historical, personal grievance, (which I personally consider the entertainment portion of the program)

Strawbale House Update: Whilst I wait for the heat loss calculation (before installing the heating tubes), I've been puttering on the garage. Some cedar shingle accents have been stained to enhance the cute factor.

Post Election Pause

2008-10-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

We had a busy weekend, (last weekend), as Tyler and Jill came to visit. We also celebrated Ashley's 14th birthday. In an attempt to keep the 12 party goers busy, we devised a Denman Island scavenger hunt. Groups of girls had to hunt for things such as... the name of the event taking place at the hall that night, a piece of driftwood shaped like an animal, and the signature of a ferry worker etc. (I'm sure those deckhands had never experienced teen groupies looking for autographs before.) The girls all seemed to have had a good time. The next day, we ventured off-island for a walk at Nymph Falls on the Puntledge River. The salmon are just beginning to spawn and could be seen at the bottom of the "fish stairs".

I'm still more than a little puzzled by the outcome of our federal election. Maybe my memory is better than most? I couldn't bring mself to vote for a party that would have had us fighting in Iraq... that broke it's own law on set election dates... or that embarressed it's country last December at the Bali climate talks. I somehow believed that Canadians were going to give Mr.Harper a message that the environment is an important issue... Now I realize that it is an important issue as long as it doesn't cost us anything. Now that the "world financial market" has gone for a big dump we can put the environment on the back burner and concentrate on "economic growth". I'm still waiting for some political party to have the nards to say it out loud .... that economic growth is the reason, not only for the world's economic problems, but also the sorry state of our environment. Economic growth is not sustainable.
"Economic growth, the root cause of our unsustainable ways, is creating a serious conflict with the ecosystems of the Earth. Because of this fundamental conflict, biodiversity loss is likely to become a problem of far greater importance, even than that of climate change, unless we stop our perennial drive for more and more growth and move to a sustainable economy." Qualicum Institute.
On the news today Harper was suggesting that the world must have more financial ties...... The Bilderbergers must be rubbing their hands together in delight. They couldn't have planned it better themselves.... or did they? (Bilderberg has now endorsed Obama???.... but does he want it?))

Strawbale House Update: This week the re-screen went down. Next will be the heating tubes for the radiant (in-floor) heat. There will be a learning curve for this, but the cost savings of doing it ourselves is huge. Garage entry doors are in and I'll buy the materials for the carriage door next week.

All Aboard The Hand-Cart

2008-10-11T13:04:00.000-07:00

I can't even talk about it right now. The world is a very strange place. We voted in the advanced polls, before the neo-cons had even released their platform. The elections north and south have taken on a flavour that doesn't deserve attention or comment.... I think I'll wait for the movie.... How can a few individuals screw up the world's economy? It's unfitting, that the players at the core of the problem, will do very well, thank you. Here's my investment advice.
Investment Advice
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Delta Air Lines one year ago, you will have $49.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in AIG one year ago, you will have $33.00 today.
If you had purchased $1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers one year ago, you will have $0.00 today.
But, if you had purchased $1,000 worth of beer one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the bottles for recycling refund, you will have $60.00 today.

The first storm of the year blew in to Denman Island last week, with torrential rains and howling winds. Same time, different year. The winds have blown all the clouds away leaving cool, crisp, beautiful mornings. From here it looks like Mt. Washington got a pretty good dump of snow. I'm not sure where it came from.... maybe a passing bird dropped a seed? We now have a 7 foot sunflower blooming on the building lot in near zero nightly temperatures. The deer seem to only like the lower leaves.

Straw Bale House Update: The (below slab) vapour barrier and insulation are down. Next will be the welded mesh (that reinforces the concrete slab) and then the tubing for the hydronic in-floor heating system will be fastened to the mesh.

Vote Environment

2008-10-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.voteforenvironment.ca/

A Quickie

2008-09-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

As the Canadian federal election nears it's neck & neck between the Lying Thieves and the Thieving Liars. The Pot-Smoking Skinny-Dippers are running a distant third. Same old, same old for Canadian politics. (Judging by lawn signs, Denman Island seems to be heavily leaning toward the Pot-smoking Skinny-dippers... there's no shortage of support for both activities here.) Meanwhile south of the border there's more action than one can resist. I'll predict that the US pres debates get better ratings in Canada than the Canadian leadership debates. I can only say from this little island.... what the...?
It's hard to believe the magnitude of the financial situation there and the ripple effect it will have world wide. Is this what happens to all self-policing industries? The prediction of American debt was underestimated in my December 2007 Blog... can I add another trillion?

Strawbale Update: Masonry Heater core has been assembled. The brickwork can be done after the slab is poured. There's lots riding on that slab pour!

gotta go and watch the debate.....

Electoral Dysfunction

2008-09-18T11:36:00.000-07:00

"Elections are no time to discuss serious issues", Kim Campbell.
I think everything has been promised except "bigger elephants in all our zoos!" Whether we want it or not we're going to get decreases in income tax jammed down our throats. It's a fact. As more "boomers" retire and have less income, there will be less income tax revenue collected. What (they) are not saying is that the lost revenue, can and will be made up elsewhere. Can you say user fees? Be it on beer, bridges, or bowling (or ferries)... you're going to pay on a different source to the same bank account. So please bend over as your income taxes are reduced. If I'm sober on election day and have had my fill of cold-cuts and puffin dodging, I'll be voting for.... maybe I'll wait until after one of those enthralling TV debates. Hey, here's an idea... We should let the American citizens elect our new government and we'll elect theirs. That way we'll have some one else to blame for voting in the same old bafoons. (neither of us could do any worse)
Strawbale house update: Work continues on the sub-slab preparation. The water lines are aligned to fit inside a (2X4) partition wall inside a closet, where they will be attached to the (hot or cold) manifolds. Electrical conduit from the house to the garage and pump house also has to be buried and cable pulled through. I'll run an extra conduit just in case we decide to experiment with solar or wind power in the future. I'm happy to report that it's raining heavily and the skylight does not leak, (nor the roof(s) for that matter).
The garage exterior is almost finished except for some detail and door setting. There's also the interior framing and stairs to build, but that can wait until winter.

On the weekend we went to a strawbale party on the island. The other bale house on the island was ready for bale stacking and plastering. About 15 people showed up and work went quicker than expected. It was a pretty good learning experience for us, especially the plastering technique.

.... some homework needs to be done on in-slab heating. Kari isn't crazy about "forced air" heat as illustrated in the following video. (she should know better than to go to sleep before me.)

Don't put all your eggs in one....election

2008-09-07T19:33:00.000-07:00

The federal election was announced today and we'll go to the polls on October the 14th. We bought a dozen eggs today... the best before date is Oct 14th. It could be an omen. Maybe all elections should be held within the shelf-life of a dozen eggs. Now for all that Canadian election excitement.... (yawn)

Straw Bale House Update: The roof(s) are now all buttoned up, including the skylight. These two pics show the drainage track that will transfer any water leaks to the gutters. Not that I think the skylight will ever leak... but it's a good safeguard. The final flashing details were worked out on the roof and the ridge caps are installed.

By special request, I'll post a picture of our cats. (Boo insists on sleeping on his back.)

A Canadian's Point of View

2008-08-31T17:39:00.000-07:00

A Canadian's Point of View.
You've just gotta love American politics. Isn't it just the great stuff that soap operas are made of? I'm just fascinated by the strangeness of it all. I've been trying to figure their system out for a year or so and I've been wondering..... Can they possibly make their electoral system more complicated or confusing? I highly doubt it, but it's sure entertaining, isn't it? So, I'm thinking to myself, if this McCain gets elected and a little way down the road has a jammer...(he's seventy something, and not looking so good, so not a long shot.) This makes the self proclaimed "hockey mom" president of the United States. How weird is that? OK, she's been in the PTA, a councilor and mayor of a town of nine thousand, and Governor of Alaska or something for two more years.... why do I still find that a little scary?
One thing I've noticed, is that if you're non-religious in the States, don't bother running for political office. Ms. Palin seems to fit the mold of right wing evangelical bible thumping, pro lifer and that should get (them) lots of votes. And let's face it, she's kinda cute, so how bad could it really be,... and could she do any worse than George W.? Isn't it also so strange that they've been campaigning for a year and a half for an election in November....spending hundreds of millions of dollars meanwhile we'll have a six week federal campaign blitz, don our touques, head to the polls (on the way to Tim Hortons) and have a new government in October. Now that's efficiency!

The Denman Island Blackberry Festival was held on Sunday. It's a quasi traditional fall fair with a Gulf Island twist. The Fire Dept. Took part with their burger BBQ and annual slow-pitch softball game... (in which we didn't get our butts kicked this year)... in fact even held a lead at times.... end result was a tie and several promises (or threats) about next years' game.

Gone South

2008-08-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: It's been busy! Friday the 15th, the garage slab was poured. We ended up hiring the finishing out, mostly because of my fear of concrete (pour days are stressful) and also the lack of labour. The slab became a priority as we need the storage space. Clay arrived the same day to take charge of the plumbing operation. The in-slab portion of the plumbing is a bit tricky. If you make a mistake, it's jackhammer time! (thanks Clay) The skylight is still waiting for installation and the daring feat will be attempted as soon as I can drum up enough bodies.
The following Friday, (after a brief holiday) we arrived home (from vacation?) with something in excess of 5 tonnes of St Astier hydraulic lime, which we picked up in Seattle. Trans Mineral out of California had shipped it to Seattle for us... we then rented a (35 foot) truck and picked it up on our return from Portland. (an adventure in itself) Canada Customs wasn't too interested in 5 tons of white powder coming across the border, but were more than happy to collect the GST.

Kari + Ash left for Portland on Friday the 15th for Kari's conference. Ashley tagged on and power shopped in the mall next to the hotel for a few days. Tuesday, I flew down to meet them at McMenamin's just outside Portland. I had never heard of the place before. It's an old "Poor House" converted into a .... hotel/hostel/brewery/distillery/winery/golf course/poolhall/spa/theater. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. The rooms are the old wards and cost about $80/night. There's no TV or phone in the room and the biffy is down the hall (on the left). They have concerts on the lawn every weekend, with the likes of Ringo Star, Sheryl Crow, Billy Idol, Black Crowes, John Butler Trio, and BB King performing concerts at very reasonable prices. There's a theater, several pubs, (8, I think) restaurants and a pitch n' put golf course, where they encourage you to drink on the course.
The next night we ended up in Olympia and again Kari found us some unusual acommidations at the Swantown B+B, which looked like something out of the Munsters.

* I made it through the Olympics with my boycott intact (if you don't include 5 minutes of the closing ceremonies.) yawn.

What is a Canadian? A Canadian is a fellow wearing English tweeds, a Hong Kong shirt and Spanish shoes, who sips Brazilian coffee sweetened with Philippine sugar from a Bavarian cup while nibbling Swiss cheese, sitting at a Danish desk over a Persian rug, after coming home in a German car from an Italian movie... and then writes his Member of Parliament with a Japanese ballpoint pen on French paper, demanding that he do something about foreigners taking away our Canadian jobs.

$44 Billion Well Spent?

2008-08-13T18:47:00.000-07:00

One can only do, what one can do. I'm still boycotting watching the Olympics on TV. It's a great sacrifice, because I love to watch. What am I proving and what are the consequences of not watching? First off, I have to say that I do support the concept of the Olympics, just not the policies of the host country or the money spent on impressing the world. In the case Beijing, some 42-44 billion dollars. So, I guess the only message I send, is to the advertisers selling their wares to the viewing TV public.... sigh.

Kari & I went for a short hike along the east shore of Chickadee Lake on the weekend. So, this next rant is about the beer cans left by (young adult) partiers along the lake shore. Other that enjoying the great outdoors, there is very little for the youth of Denman Island to do, except party and indulge in a few wobbly pops. (and that's all good) As the Island is extremely clean and litter-free.... I guess I just expect more from the people who grow up here. Another disillusionment. (another sigh)

Straw Bale House Update: The garage/guesthouse has been the focus over the last week or so. The concrete slab pour is scheduled for Friday morning. Once that's done, we can lock it up and have storage for our straw and lime plaster. (and a workshop if there's any room left) There's a good chance my over-buying in the straw department may (in fact) fill it to the brim. The gaping hole in the house roof (on the east side) is for the twenty foot skylight. The track is now in place and the glass is on site, (in three pieces). We'll be working on that as soon as the labour is available. The biggest sheet of glass is about 150 pounds.

Dear Mr. Falcon

2008-08-03T17:04:00.001-07:00

Kevin Falcon, British Columbia Minister of Transport
Dear Mr. Falcon,
I say... "good on ya". I'm a resident of a gulf island that has been sponging off the rest of the province by taking full advantage of the subsidization for ferry travel provided by my fellow BC taxpayers. It was high time you put an end to that! I'm more than willing to pay my way to and from my home to buy food (and take part in other such frivolous activities). My fellow taxpayers shouldn't have to pay so that I can enjoy my life on a beautiful gulf island. Damn it, I should have to pay my own way to live where I do. I'm proud to live in Province that promotes a "user pay" philosophy. As the Provincial Government has taken on this policy, I can hardly wait until my tax dollars no longer subsidize snow removal on provincial highways in northern B.C. Please also count me out on participating on the upgrading and maintenance of the most expensive piece of highway in BC., the Sea to Sky Highway. I'm sure residents of Whistler will feel the same as I do and look forward to paying their way. I'm sure you'll want to toll those Olympic patrons also, hell if they can afford $1000 for an event ticket, what's another hundred for a highway toll? The current $700 million upgrading of that highway will be a drop in the bucket for those guys. Please reduce my taxes accordingly as I don't think I'll be traveling on the Sea to Sky Highway, but feel free to charge me accordingly if I do. Oh, and Kevin, While you're at it, count me out on the subsidization of the current BC transit and Skytrain Line and any future expansion(s). I promise not to use it! Can you also tell the Minister in charge that I won't be using the convention centre, so don't count on me for a contribution to that $200 million. Last but not least, please send a rebate cheque for my portion of tax dollars used to run all the freshwater ferries, which are free. (Please Google "longest free ferry ride in the world") Wha-hoo!, I love this user pay stuff. Living on a little gulf island has never been so affordable.

"I have opinions of my own --strong opinions-- but I don't always agree with them."
-George Bush

Field Trip

2008-07-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

After a short blogging hiatus...
Several years ago, my son Curtis went on a youth outdoor wilderness adventure in Strathcona Park. Ever since he has threatened me with revisiting (via canoe trip) Buttle Lake. We made a commitment this spring for a late July trip... (seemed like a good idea at the time). The plan was, that he'd come up early in the week to help with (building) the house. Friday,
we left early for the park and had the canoe in the water by 10:30 (a.m.) Even though he'd told me that the lake could be rough and windy, it was dead flat and calm when we arrived. This turned out to be a good thing, as once we'd loaded the canoe with all the "necessities" (which weigh a lot when unconsumed) we had only a few inches of free-board. The lake is long and narrow. Our destination was a marine campground about a third of the way down the lake = 1.5 hours of paddling. We paddled up Wolf River for a few hundred yards and set up camp in the deserted 5 spot campsite. We spent our time hiking (uphill both ways) and exploring the area. Saturday we let the breeze push us down the lake for an hour or so.... then a very strong wind came up and we had to fight the wind and waves all the way back. (Curt had several waves land in his lap) Lesson learned= take the back seat of the canoe when paddling through big waves! Not much to report on the wildlife side... No sign of bears, only an angry beaver and lots of mice. We arrived home sore and exhausted on Sunday afternoon, and decided this should be a bi-annual event. Several pictures of our off-island adventures can be found here.

Straw Bale House Update: Depending on manpower, our time is split between garage and house. We have all the flashing materials on hand and have figured out how things go together, (for the most part.) The Garage fascias, soffits and windows installations have all been started.

Mad Money?

2008-07-15T18:02:00.000-07:00

If you grew up in the 50's or early 60's like me.... and came from a small town anywhere, you'll laugh out loud when you read this book.

By now BC'ers have received their $100 carbon tax cheque in the mail. Firstly, I have to wonder what the administration costs were to generate all those cheques. Next, I wonder why the credit wasn't just added to a tax system already in place, (eg: income tax). Next I wonder if it was required at all, since it will be quickly taken back by the new Provincial carbon gas tax. So, what to do with my $100... it's intended to go toward some eco-friendly merchandise you know.... I can't buy cfl's because we've already converted... bicycle, shoes, low flush toilet, low flow shower head....all good options, but have those too. In the end, I decided to open a KIVA account and loan the money to those who could use it most whilst I think of the perfect purchase. After all, I don't get $100 every day you know. I trust most people will use it for a single tank of gas.

Wildlife update: (When does 2-1=3) Shooting one cougar doesn't necessarily mean that there are no others... The latest cougar siting was of a mom and two cubs... which means she was either pregnant when she arrived or hooked up with the big Tom that was shot here back in May.

Rockin' the boat

2008-07-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Friday was the "Rock the Boat" ferry fare demonstration... this is the Chek TV coverage at Buckley Bay. There were also protests all along the coast by island dwellers getting the ferry fare shaft, (propeller attached).

Sienna is currently sporting a new summer hair-do, (compliments of Kari). She looks so much slimmer that I'm considering the same for myself. The Island lakes are now very warm and have been popular during the hot weather over the last couple of weeks. I've also heard that the ocean swimming has been great, but personally, I haven't indulged yet.

Straw Bale House Update: Friday, the torchers arrived, (a few days late) to cover the curved dormer portion of the roof. Now we can complete the metal portion and begin the ridge cap and drip flashing. The chimney still hasn't been addressed, but I'll get to that next week.

NO WAFFLING

2008-06-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

The 30th Annual Firefighters' Pancake Breakfast was held on Sunday. The weather was hot and the turnout was great..... although according to the syrup meter, there may have been slightly less pancake eaters than last year. The pictures include two pan shots (before and during) the breakfast, the graffiti fence, Sparky the Fire-dog, and Ashley in my bunker gear.

Straw Bale House Update: Work has been progressing on the roof. It's about half done and the torch on portion is scheduled for Wednesday. The weather is supposed to cool down mid week. This should help, as thirty degree weather is considerably higher on the roof-top.

Oh, Deer

2008-06-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Annual Firefighter's Pancake Breakfast is next Sunday and traditionally a sign is painted on the "graffiti fence" to advertise significant upcoming events on the island. Sometimes these signs are real works of art. This year's sign for the breakfast will tap the talents of Ashley and a friend or two. Saturday, we prepared the canvas.... I'll try to remember to include a picture of the finished product next week.We have little graffiti vandalism on the island.... and when there is, it always seems to be after a music event where tickets have been sold off-island. (subject for a future rant).

Straw Bale House Update: The weather half cooperated this week and we got most of the garage roof completed. There's lots of metal bending involved, (some unintentional while handling the longer sheets.) The 8-12 roof pitch is a challange to walk on and the knots I've learned on the fire dept. have come in handy for tying off a harness. Charlie is by far the most confident roofer and has taken on most of the roof-top work. (The house should be easier with a 6-12 pitch.) Now that we've worked out a system of installation with a crew of three, we'll continue on to the house before going back to install the roof cap and flashings. We can only install the east side of the house as far as the chimney opening as I've been neglectful of having the chimney built beforehand.... but, we did take the time (while it was raining) to "dry fit" the masonry oven core.

While driving by the works yard Friday evening Kari & I noticed a young buck locked behind the fence. I think he thought the situation was reversed as he was quite at ease and feeling quite safe. Monday morning at eight, the gate will be opened, until then he has lots to eat. The young mother deer began to bring their fawns out into the open last week. They are very cute but totally oblivious to people and vehicles. They tend to disobey mom and dart out onto the road. A fatal mistake given the increased tourist traffic that we endure this time of year.

Renewable Energy Denman Island (REDI) has launched their new "Island ride share" website for those looking for a lift to or from the island. Take note those of you who visit us from Victoria and region. I've added a link for future reference on the side bar: Denman Island Links.

There's a protest being organized because of the exorbitant ferry fare increases.... Rock the Boat will take part on July 4th at ferry terminals all over BC's Gulf Islands. I think all Islanders believe that there is a cost to live in paradise, but what's fair?..... The best example I can give is this scenario.... A couple that wants to visit me on Denman and bring their two kids is looking at a $40 bill for an eight minute crossing. The same couple crossing Kootenay Lake to Nelson or Creston, a 35 minute crossing (on a much larger vessel) will cost them $0.00 Also bear in mind that these inland communities are not ferry dependent. they have a road that they can use instead of the ferry crossing. So why the difference? Perhaps it has something to do with the number of voters that live on gulf islands. If the Gulf Islands were a single electoral district.... I beleive things would be quite different. Worth protesting? I think so.

heavy metal

2008-06-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: The metal-roof bending machine that we'd expected to be here on Tuesday had broken down and arrived Thursday morning. The house and garage were measured and all the panel sizes programmed into the bending machine. A one ton spool of metal was loaded onto the the machine and everything was
ready to go... The bending machine promptly jammed and was finally repaired by the time we'd finished lunch. Once it got going, it worked fairly well and spit out sheet after sheet of standing seam roofing material. The next morning the garage roof papering was completed, (whilst dangling from a rope) and the first sections of garage roofing were prepared for installation..... the top of each panel must be bent to block water at the top, (in case of high winds) and the bottom of the panel needs to be bent into a hook to anchor it. We've decided to roof the back side of the garage first, so that the results of the "learning curve" take place there instead of on the house. The weather is expected to cooperate.... so full scale roofing begins Monday morning.

Getting Tanked

2008-06-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

Straw-bale House Update: With the house ready for a roof, most of the effort this week was dedicated to prepping the garage for it's roof. The metal roof bending (for both house and garage) is scheduled for next week. The gable ends on the house have been sheeted (on the uninsulated portions). The open portions (living area) of the end walls will be straw-bale (notched to fit around studs) and plastered to finish flush with the sheeted portions. Then the entire gable end will be strapped and covered with cedar shingles, creating an effective rain-screen for the upper floor. The house picture also shows concrete pillars, upon which will sit cedar posts, which will support the roof over the entry.

Denman Island became a safer place last week.... Thursday our brand, spankin' new tanker arrived. Built to our specs and (just) able to fit through the bay door, she can carry about 40% more water than our existing tankers and provide a formidable fire attack all by itself if required. Because very few homes have access to water from hydrants, tanker size and turnaround time from the water source becomes critical. This tanker will fill, load and dump (more water) faster than our existing tankers. Loaded tankers are extremely dangerous when loaded. They have limited maneuverability and (literally) tons of forward momentum. This doesn't seem to be common knowledge to other traffic on the road, as catching the next ferry is much more important than giving way to a loaded tanker with lights flashing and sirens blaring. Therefore, the most life-saving feature on the new tanker may well be the earth shaking air-horns, which will be impossible to ignore.

Hitting the Roof

2008-05-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to wonder about the state of our policing (or police state). If tasering people as they back away in a nonthreatening manor is acceptable police action, then mowing down a fleeing criminal with an SUV could only be the next logical step. Is this standard police action? Is on-the-spot police punishment a way to assure some justice is carried out before the courts release criminals unscathed? I'm sure that police are frustrated by the lack of penalties that criminals receive, but running them over as they flee the scene.... why not just shoot them, the results will often be the same.

Straw Bale House Update: Next week, the building crew will be back to two. This week the roofing felt was nailed on to the front of the house (roof). There are three major threats to straw bale building.... water, water and water. To that end we are using Feltex roofing underlayment... an extremely durable water-proof membrane that will be under a "standing seam" Galvalume roof. The standing seam roof has no exposed screws... therefore no water gets in. The Galvalume material is somewhat commercial looking, but has superior heat reflective properties. This will help keep the house cool in summer. Our mantra when picking products has been ... function over fashion. The metal roof can now be bent on site and installation will begin shortly after.

The hummingbird chicks are fledging... This week, while I was standing on a ladder and holding a red spray-can, a chick flew up and landed on my hand to check out the red can..... these little guys are a little slow in more ways than one. When young, they seem to have no fear of anything.

100TH BLOG

2008-05-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last evening, we went to a free stress relieving acupuncture session. About a dozen students were here training on a new technique and "volunteers" were needed to be the guinea pigs. Now that my chi is centered, (thanks to thirteen needles in my ears and forehead), I can get on with the 100TH BLOG"

Straw Bale House Update:
Things to research:

1- Humanure Hacienda location. I can start on building the humanure bins anytime, but the perfect location must be found.... sun or shade... near or away from the house.

2- Lime Plaster: Sounds simple, but there are multiple options for lime plastering.

3- Greywater System: Drain grades must be determined and basic layout mapped.

4- Rainwater Collection: Collection pond and/or cisterns locations have to be planned.

5- Hot water Heating: System planning for domestic hot water and radiant in-floor heating.

6- Generator feed system for power outages.

7- Mason Heater facing material: Rock, brick or plaster? We like this one.....

Here's a short YouTube of a Humanure Hacienda.

Building Bedlam

2008-05-17T18:22:00.000-07:00

building bedlam
Denman Island Wildlife: Well, the mason bees are doing their thing and making use of the mason bee condo. We've also noticed at our house, that the mason bees are making use of the tubular rubber bumper on our patio door. One busy bee has completely sealed off the hole in the bumper, (which, I estimate to be about 8 baby bees worth).
The Denman Island cougar has finally met his demise. After minding his own bisiness for the better part of a year, the venison-loving cat had a craving for lamb chops. Thursday afternoon, the tracking hounds, (followed by the tracker) passed by the building site. A few minutes later and a few hundred yards away, the hounds had him treed. I'm not sure that one slip-up was worthy of ending his life.....

Straw Bale Building: Monday, the construction class arrived, eight strong, plus the teacher. Tents were set up and the crew went to work for the next three days. By the time they left, the garage was beginning to look like.... well, a garage. Aside from a few "mishaps" it was a positive experience. For three days, there were twelve people on site, (including 3 working on the house). The eave supports, (on the house) by the living room are now complete and the roof (over the living room) has been sheathed. The track material for the twenty foot skylight, (that runs down the north-east side of the house) has been ordered and should be in next week. The beam-work that will be constructed over the front entry is being planed, sanded and stained. I'll loose my crew soon, as Charlie has his own house to finish. Hopefully, I can squeeze out another week or two of expertise before he leaves. Basically the house is now ready for the roof. For logistical reasons, we may wait and roof both the garage and the house at the same time.

Much of the land adjacent to our property is crown land or land held for the community by the local conservancy group. On Saturday there was an organized walk through part of these lands led by local experts. It was a great way to spend a beautiful, warm, sunny morning.

Oil & Money

2008-05-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

It's all about oil and money. The Alberta tar sands expansion is destroying a Boreal forest the size of Vancouver Island. Wildlife is displaced with no place to go, or just simply killed like the ducks that try to land in the tailings ponds. Canada's biggest polluter is a legacy for it's richest Province. Soon Albertans will no longer have to pay health insurance premiums, courtesy of the tar sands. I guess that's a fair trade.
Have you noticed that our government isn't doing anything about gas prices? You can argue that they don't have anything to do with the increase in price, but then again they collect gas tax based on a percentage of the price.... the higher the price, the more tax you pay.
PetroCanada just announced their first quarter profits are up 82%.... something just over a billion dollars. Hmmmm.

Straw Bale House Update: The garage foundation has been poured and the forms were stripped today. The base for the masonry heater has been poured. The venting system turned out great. Fresh air will be drawn in from outside directly into the firebox. Another 8 inch pour will bring the shadow of the fireplace core up to slab height and the core can be assembled.

Garage Band

2008-05-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: It's been a busy week! Late last week, we had the the materials delivered for our (single) car garage.... wait a sec, I'd better start at the beginning.... Kari had the inside scoop on a local trade school program where training carpenters take on projects (like a garage) as part of their training. Two students were interested in working here and the wage scale is appropriately low. The course teacher is also on site for one day a week... and there are tentative plans for the current class (of eight) to work on the garage week after next. They will camp out on the property and and learn how to build during the day. Monday and Tuesday, the footings (for the garage) were formed and poured on Wednesday. At the same time, we were also able to pour the foundation for the mason heater. The base for the heater will be about 20 inches of concrete once complete. On the house itself, we've finished the living room beam rafters and the pine decking, (which will be the ceiling). Now we can finish the last part of the rafter work. Eave supports and a roof can follow. At the house, 4 truckloads of sand have been delivered and compacted. (Thank goodness for little tractors.) Last fall the first two truckloads went in shovel by shovel... a tractor with a front end loader does the work in a fraction of the time. The crew on site is higher (in numbers) than it's ever been. Often only one, it's currently at five. Although maybe only coincidence, I've noticed the amount of work accomplished is directly proportionate to the amount paid in extra labour. I ran into the farmer, (who's storing my straw) at the fireman's auction.... He has graciously extended my (free) barn storage, as the first cut of hay is delayed this year because of cold weather. The extra few weeks will take some of the pressure off!

The semi-annual Fireman's auction was on Sunday. What can I say.... weed-wackers went for more that automobiles and couches sold for a dollar. There was everything up for auction including a few kitchen sinks. Every two years, islanders donate their unwanted stuff to the fire department, who then auction it off as a fund raiser (to buy new equipment). This years auction netted about eleven thousand dollars. I managed to resist spending a lot of money, but was high bidder on a truckload of sand., (which I needed anyway) as fill for the garage.

Friday night, I headed over to the "Backhall" to see the "Randy Duncan Band". When not on stage, Randy is a builder on the island that builds unique and beautiful homes.

Well, anyone watching the news has seen the forecasts of $2.50/ liter gas and $10 loaf 0f bread. Rice has tripled in price in the last 6 months and a trip to the pump now costs me about $100 (for a truck tank and generator fuel). I believe more than ever, our efforts to be self-sufficient are more important than ever. As soon as the house is complete, the gardens and greenhouse will be a priority.

Crack'n the Vault

2008-04-21T17:45:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: The crew has expanded to three for the time being. An extra set of hands is very useful when hoisting the 4X9 fir rafters into place. Most of the rafters for the vaulted living room ceiling are now placed and the balance will follow early in the week. Two more truck loads of sand have been delivered, and Friday the compacting of the existing sand infill began. The tractor was very handy loading sand between the window bucks. It was a steep learning curve maneuvering the bucket with only inches to spare on either side. Kari worked on the weekend burning the remnants of the stump pile, (while I played on the tractor.) A new tent location was leveled so the staining tent can be moved. This will allow for easier access when it comes time to put the roof on. I've also begun to open up an old logging road access which will act to service the greenhouse and humanure hacienda.

The Mason Bees have emerged! The little buzzers have hatched for the most part. The males seem to be hatching first and jumping the females as they emerge. No wasting any time there. I can't tell yet if the females are laying eggs in the condo, but will be sure to report any such activity.

After the Sunday Vegan Potluck, we went over to Gord Hutchens' kiln firing. It's one of only a few in North America of it's type. The kiln is so hot that flames shoot out the chimney about 20 feet from the kiln. The wood firing produces a finish that no other type of kiln can replicate.

Donald, say it isn't so...

2008-04-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

I don't watch Oprah, for that matter, I don't watch much TV. The rumour here last summer, was that while Oprah was borrowing Jimmy Pattison's yacht, she stopped just off Denman Island for some time. In a recent interview with Donald Trump (on the Oprah show), Donald named the Comox Valley as one of the best real estate investments in the world. I hope very few people believe him.

Saturday, we went to the Guest House (our local hostel) for dinner. Twice a month they serve up a great multi course meal for a very reasonable price. We had the salmon on risotto and a bottle of '03 Bin-999. Yum.

We took the plunge into tractor-hood and bought this 2003 Kubota with 147 hours on it. Basically, it's a new machine and these get snapped up very quickly at the dealership. We bought it privately (no tax) and it comes with a front end loader and a grading blade. We'll see how much damage can be done with those before considering a backhoe attachment. No, I've never driven a tractor, but I'm a quick learner.

Straw Bale House Update: Last week the layout for the vaulted beam-work was done. It's a rather slow process, as a mistake would be very costly in both time and materials. Now that I have a machine on site, infill and perimeter drainage work can also begin. Lots to do this week.

The Hummers are back. We put up the feeder on the weekend and it's already quite busy. We'd heard they've been around for about a week, and that makes them about 10 days later than last year.

Farewell Brico

2008-04-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

Years ago, I traveled Vancouver Island from Victoria to Campbell River about every 6 weeks, for work. The Brico was one of the landmarks I loved to see. Once an ocean going cable ship, she was beached at Fanny Bay and became a restaurant for many years. We were heading to the FBI, (Fanny Bay Inn) for some pub fare on the weekend... and she's being unceremoniously dismantled by a couple of excavators. It's sort of sad to see, but she's being headed for the dump... farewell Brico!

Straw Bale House Update: The geriatric construction crew of two, took a long weekend to mend some sore muscles and bad backs.. I hate missing work days when it's sunny, but the back was not cooperating.
It's hard not to notice the building boom in the Comox Valley. There are OSB, (Oriented strand board) houses and condos going up everywhere. We're trying to keep these types of materials out of our home building process. Although the use of borate compounds and formaldehyde levels are relatively low compared to those old kitchen MDF cupboards or that coffee table that you may have, it is possible to use more environmental options.
I got the roofing quote last week. The round dormer roof will be a "torched-on membrane" and the balance will be metal. The quote including labour was $18,000 more than the material-only supply price. Not a typo, three zeros... $18,000 in labour for a relatively small, simple roof. The trickier torch-on portion, Ill pay the pros to do, the savings of over $16000 will stay in my pocket for our tractor fund.
We're in the market for a small tractor to help with the construction and landscaping etc. There is some big time sticker shock involved in tractor shopping... but the roof savings will pretty much cover it. These things don't seem to depreciate, so we're hoping that we can get most of our money back when we're done, either by reselling or renting it out... operator included.

Saturday...we headed for the Old School for a Mason Bee educational talk, put on by the Denman Island Conservancy. There was a good turn-out to hear about the little buzzers from resident experts. We were offered a Mason Bee Condo and a few of the bees in pupa form. The condo has been affixed to the pump-house with a container of pupa lodged on top. The experts predict, that when the temperature reaches 13c, the prolific pollinators will emerge. Given our coolish spring, it may be some time yet.

Kari & I went on a short hike on Sunday and came across some rather large scat. A rustle in the bushes prompted Kari to find a rather large stick, (to be used as a walking stick, she insisted). The usual Denman Island critters wouldn't be responsible for the volume of the scat, so I presume our cougar is still about and minding his own business.

Forgot to Blog

2008-04-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Late Blog.... I've had that feeling a lot lately. I go downstairs, only to realize when I get there, I've forgotten why I went. Thought I'd take the opportunity to empty the camera. (whilst I remember)

A very strange stretch of weather we've been having.... even though it may me hard to believe, all the shots on the post were taken over the last week.

Straw Bale House Update: A snow delay shut down the site for a day. Today, the weather man said: sunny and 13c. Humidity 45%. Label on the stain says: Must be at least 10c and humidity under 75%. So, staining it is then.... stained like mad all morning. Maximum temperature achieved: 7c. Stain congealed into a messy goo. The staining tent is pretty much at capacity. It's currently loaded up with 4X9 fir rafters that (I hope) can start going in next week.
As it's priority one to protect your SB walls, three foot overhangs were built (left). As the house also requires solar gain for heat, the ceiling height was also raised to just over nine feet. This will maximize solar gain in winter months and maximize shade (cooling) in the summer. Two pictures (right) are from the second floor loft. One shows the bedroom and bath, the other if of the view from the family room dormer window.

I came across an article relating to the organic vs locally grown Dilemma. I buy organic when I can, but I'm reluctant to fall for the "organic ripoff". Sorry, but a carrot just isn't worth that kind of cabbage...

Don't buy "Made In China". I was in the market for a thickness planer. (A great perk to building your own house is the justification for buying new tools) The Chinese made model was $100 cheaper and could do everything I need it to do. The replacement blades are also considerably cheaper. I paid the extra $100, (tough for a cheap guy).

Smoke and Mirrors

2008-03-22T11:09:00.000-07:00

Friday, we headed to The Thatch pub on Hornby Island for dinner. Friday is the only day that we can go because the ferries run later. Although they have some great jazz on Fridays, we hurried back to Denman Island for the Ian Tamblyn concert at the Hall. I remember listening to him in the late 70's. I came across this you-tube of one of his songs about saving the BC "raincoast". It made me realize how lucky I've been to have experienced the close encounters I've had with whales, dolphins, and bears. The BC coast is a truly unique place that deserves to be free of development forever.

On April first, all British Columbia pubs, restaurants etc., will be truly smoke free. That means no more of those "smoking rooms" that really didn't work. Stores in B.C. will no longer be able to display cigs or cigars. The next step may be to start surcharging our public health insurance system for those that wish to continue the habit. After all, life insurance premiums are considerably higher for smokers, why not health insurance?

I like the Olympics. While the Olympics are taking place, my TV is usually tuned in. But I'm not so sure I'll be watching this summer when the events take place in Beijing. I no longer buy any Chinese made products, if at all possible. The message that the world should be sending China is blurred by corporations clambering to capitalize on the huge consumer base and brutally low paid labour force. Basic human rights are overlooked if you can pay your bills. It turns out that china also has a virtually unknown export to Canada.... and it lands right in my backyard! Look at the label... if it says: "Made in China", see if there's an alternative, and pay the difference.

For Spring Break, we've mostly been childless. Tyler came to visit for a few days on the weekend and we tapped into the labour source on Friday with a "site clean up". Thanks Tyler. We ended the weekend with a Salt Spring Island, mussel feast. For the most part, we eat as vegetarians. Red meat is now a once-a-month affair and seafood, perhaps once a week, (and for the most part locally caught). The biggest hurdle for me to become a vegetarian is my love of seafood..... OK, and cheese.

While we're told that the atmosphere now contains more carbon dioxide that it has in the last 600 thousand years or so, we assume it's man's increased carbon emissions. One has to wonder if there would be a problem had we not eliminated 54% of the world's forests in the last 65 years.. While writing this blog, we coincidentally received this link from Fireweed relating to the subject. Check it out.

As our ferry rates are about to increase, yet again, I wonder what BC ferries does with all that revenue. This picture pretty much sums up the mismanagement of funds.

Happy spring equinox

2008-03-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

We managed to get to the beach for a walk this week... something we should do more of. The herring spawn has finished, but the gulls don't seem to have noticed. The gull population explodes during herring season and one must be lucky or carry an umbrella if venturing to the beach... (we were lucky.) (Picture quality is poor, as I forgot camera and phone acted as backup.)

Straw Bale House Update: Now that I'm mostly over my flu-bug, things have picked up a bit. The main roof is strapped and ready for the metal roofing material. The beam vaulted roof in the living room, obviously is not ready. Next week, the dormer roof can be sheeted and a decision made whether or not to begin the beam work or roof the portion that's ready for it. I'm estimating that I'm about two months away from beginning the baling process. Work to be done prior to baling.... Completion of roof, plumbing stacks and chimney. Plumbing, electrical, in-floor heat, gas line rough-in and slab pouring. It'll be a busy spring.

Last weekend we had a few friends over for an informal wine-tasting. No rules, just bring your favorite red or white. In both categories the most expensive wine did not win on the score sheets.
Winner in the white category: Undurraga Sauvignon Blanc (Chile) $12.87
Winner in the red category: Southernmost Red (Argentina) $12.95

Hillary and Barack both are promising to re-visit NAFTA. When NAFTA was introduced, I was in the textile industry. There were about 20 mills in Canada at that time and most of the manufacturing component was unionized, paid decent wages and provided employee benefits. Within 5 years all but three mills were closed and to my knowledge two of the three remaining in Canada are now American owned. NAFTA was a great deal for the huge corporations that lobbied for it. But no one I know has ever told me that they've personally benefited by NAFTA. It was a great deal for the U.S.A. that could buy Canadian resources at bargain prices (against a weak currency). Now that the Loonie is flying..... maybe not such a good deal for the U.S., so it's time to change the rules. It'll be interesting to see the outcome of the election down south. Obama is definitely the "wild card". It's strongly rumored that both Clinton and McCain have attended "Bilderberg" which would indicate that they are the chosen ones. Should Obama come through without the blessing of Bilderberg.....? Let's just say, I hope he beefs up his security. (Yes, Steven Harper attended Bilderberg.)

Shell Games

2008-03-10T15:35:00.000-07:00

Straw Bale House Update: My youngest son, Curtis, made the train trip from Victoria to give me a hand on the house last week. Tax time, lack of help and a dose of the flu had slowed progress. But, we were able to strap most of the existing roof and hang the upper floor collars while the weather cooperated. Roofing material quotes are in the works.

I'm not much for meetings, but I dragged Curt to a public hearing regarding the expansion of a shellfish tenure on Baynes Sound, (the western shore of the island). Most of our western shoreline is shellfish tenure and I personally don't have a problem with the farms themselves. Two things do concern me... First is the amount of garbage that washes up on the beaches from the farms. To me this makes them bad neighbours. If every time the wind blew someone dumped their garbage in your back yard, that would make them bad neighbours, even if they offered to pick up the big chunks. Every year, hundreds of pounds of plastic debris is collected from our beaches, mostly by the residents themselves. Secondly, I have this really strong adversity toward modified or foreign species of life being test-driven in our forests, lakes or oceans. (The hybrid species of scallop to be farmed is outlawed in U.S. waters). The high point at the meeting, was when a representative of Edgewater Foods, (a Nevada based company) stated that their product was helping with the 100 mile diet concept and that "they were just trying to grow some food". This cracked me up, (I guess you had to be there.) I had another chuckle when I later checked out their website to find their biggest customer is in France.

The weekend was spent at an intensive fire-fighting course in Comox. I have a whole new respect for my protective gear, as there was no lack of heat in the "burn house". It peaked on a basement fire scenario on Sunday afternoon, where no less than 5 visors were melted off their respective helmets on the way down the stairs, (mine included). Tough on the gear, but a great confidence builder.

March 15th is " Zeitgeist " day, where millions of people will be watching this thought provoking movie.

Full of hot air

2008-02-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

I've been watching some of the Democratic (Presidential hopeful) debates and I wonder about the comments made, regarding "getting serious about bio fuels". Think that bio fuels are the answer to peak oil? Perhaps one day, we'll be using corn or soybeans to fuel the world's need to go zoom.... Recently it was proven that a passenger jet airliner can run on bio fuel and certainly the family car can... but what will it take and what are the consequences?
At first glance palm oil looks like a quick growing crop. Almost 25% of Borneo's rain forest has been cut to develop this crop source.... to the dismay of the endangered orangutan. The problem is, a single tonne of refined palm oil generates 33 tonnes of carbon emissions. (ten times more than petroleum) How about soy? The biggest soy producer is in South America...200,000 square miles, (once rain forest), in southern Brazil, northern Argentina, parts of Paraguay and Bolivia have been dedicated for the task. This area is known locally as "the Republic of Soy".
In reality, it would take twice the total existing farmland on earth just to supply 10% of the worlds current fuel needs using soy! Rapeseed, canola, or corn.... not much better. Dedicating farmland to fuel crops, (now producing food), may not be a wise decision based on the world's population growth rate... perhaps 10 billion in 40 years (or less).
So, back the the drawing board.... could it be that the answer is so simple that it's right under our nose... or maybe in it? Maybe it's our own polluted air that can run our cars. Are air powered cars right around the corner?
You can bet, not if Exxon or BP have their way!

A Collection Of Totally Random Stuff

2008-02-21T21:19:00.001-08:00

Some totally random stuff that I've been meaning to post.... starting with Demetri Martin. A very funny young man.

Denman Island Trivia
I came across this archived newspaper clipping of a ship that wrecked near our house in 1903. The article ran in the New York Times.

Boo Radley (our cat) mastered the art of bird capture a few weeks ago. Picture a scene as Sylvester catches Tweedy Bird, only to be smacked on the back of the head until said bird has been spit out. This is pretty much what happened and indeed the bird did fly away. A few days later, birds of another feather flocked to our back yard and even climbed the stairs, where the now "belled" kitten decided: maybe wild turkeys could have a free pass.

That American Presidential Primary is something to behold, isn't it? After campaigning for two years and spending tens of millions of dollars, it comes down to a popularity contest. While watching American Idol I was thinking, why not just phone in a vote for your favorite candidate. Chances are, that long before November rolls around and a new American President is elected, we'll have a new Canadian government, (perhaps by June). (We like surprises.)
I've been labelled (at times) as anti-American on this blog, I deny it and I do post the comments that are clean and worthy of a response. What I see on TV, are Americans that are exited about change and candidates that give them a real choice and above all, hope. "Fear is easier to instill than love and hope" Richard Nixon. Good luck with that down there. (can I still come visit?)

We went to see Alex Cuba at the hall on Friday night. This two time Juno winner kept the house rockin' with those infectious Latin rhythms. check out his music video...

Straw Bale House Update: The weekend's sunny weather was perfect for cleaning up the building site. As with most of my projects, the cleaning up is the hard part. The last of the beams have been milled and delivered, including the two cedar lunkers that will adorn the front entry. Now, all we need is some staining weather. A hydro transformer has miraculously appeared on the lot! This is incentive to get my act together and apply for a temporary power permit.

Our "ferry hill" is a construction zone. As the road to the ferry is only two lanes wide and ferry traffic must line up on the road, it has not allowed for easy access to the ferry if dropping off foot passengers. Traditionally this has lead to a form of ferry hill frogger where one must drive on the wrong side of the road before or between oncoming traffic. Islanders have become very adept at it over the years, but perhaps the ferry corporation has realised there could be a liability factor. Soon there will be a third lane to remedy the situation. Soon we will have a second ferry to help out until we get our regular ferry back. The "Klitsa" (an unfortunate name for a ship says Kari), shall arrive mid March.

Where's the straw?

2008-02-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

So, a trip to the city has delayed the blog... I must say, I don't miss the city. I dislike the smells and the traffic and the bombardment of the senses. I did indulge in shopping at one of my fav stores: Princess Auto. A great store for tools, saw-blades etc... not too much to do with princesses or autos, so can't explain the name. We returned home to foggy weather and temperatures cooler than predicted. At times it was nice and sunny at the site, but much cooler and foggy just below.

The weekend before we left, we lucked into one sunny day and took advantage of it. I wanted to explore a trail I hadn't been on before. It was a beautiful mossy trail, (that I expected to lead to Grandma's house). No bad wolves were spotted, but we did keep an eye out for our resident cougar that was seen in the trail area recently.

StrawBale House Update: Hmm... where's the straw? I know readers wonder about a bale house with no bales.... There are two basic methods of building with straw. A weight bearing or "Nebraska" style house uses the straw bales as the house structure and roof support. The other method is to build a skeletal balloon frame or a post & beam frame and "infill" with straw bales. The second method is preferable in rainy climates where a sunny building period can't be depended upon. I'm building a modified post & beam home that will have a roof on it to protect the baling process from the elements. As soon as the roof is on, I can pour the finished slab. The dry interior then becomes storage for the bales.
The round dormer trusses were cut out last week, thanks to another generous islander with a warm shop and band-saw. The pieces were assembled and then raised into place.
The odd sunny day has allowed for some beam staining. I'm not sure what's in the stain that attracts the flies, but even near freezing, the little kamikazes can't resist dive bombing the wet stain.

Carbon Tax? Our provincial Government has announced a new carbon tax. This means it's time to pay the piper. The offset is a reduction in income tax in all categories. It'll be interesting to see what the reaction will be..... and even more interesting to see what will be done with the (I suspect increased) revenue flow. Each BC'er will also get $100 this summer to start our green initiatives. This seems a little hokey to me and smells like an election ploy. The biggest polluters like concrete manufacturing are off the hook for now. I do think this is a positive move, although shallowly thought out. A much more effective way to entice consumers to buy green products is to eliminate tax on them entirely... (as is what's currently done with bicycles)

Just keeping it clean

2008-02-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: This week, work began on the dormer. The 26 foot LVL (laminated veneer lumber) beams that will support the dormer roof were (painfully) hoisted into place. (I'm still suffering a little from that) The window wall was framed and the side walls which are built on top of the beams have been started. Once complete, the rounded trusses which will make up the roof framework will be built. As you can see in the pictures we had another dump of snow. While the east side of the island had no snow, the west side (5 km away) recieved about 5 inches (on site). The rarely used road to the house, which is a full kilometer from the first intersection and 2 kilometers from our nearest neighbour was plowed the next day. (maybe it's who you know, if you know what I mean).

Thanks to Keith Walker for the new Denman weather spot on the sidebar. Keith records weather information for Denman Island. I can't help thinking that if he lived on the east side of the island, no snowfall would have been reported last week.

More on Masonry heaters. When researching for the straw blog last week , I came across this article on Masonry heaters:
Mark Twain, travelling through Europe in the late 1800's, discovered the virtues of masonry heat. Here's a little of what he wrote about it.
"To the ininstructed stranger it promises nothing. It has a little bit of a door...which seems foolishly out of proportion to the rest of the edifice. Small-sized fuel is used, and marvelously little of that. The process of firing is quick and simple. At half past seven on a cold morning the servant brings a small basketfull of slender pine sticks and puts half of these in, lights them with a match, and closes the door. They burn out in ten or twelve minutes. He then puts in the rest and closes the door...the work is done.All day long and into the night all parts of the room will be delightfully warm and comfortable...it's surface is not hot; you can put your hand on it anywhere and not get burnt.Consider these things. One firing is enough for the day; the cost is next to nothing; the heat produced is the same all day, instead of too hot and too cold by turns...America could adopt this stove, but does America do it? No, she sticks to her own fearful and wonderful inventions in the stove line. The American wood stove, of whatever breed, is a terror! It requires more attention than a baby. It has to be fed every little while, it has to be watched all the time; and for all the reward you are roasted half your time and frozen the other half... and when your wood bill comes in you think you have been supporting a volcano.It is certainly strange that useful customs and devises do not spread from country to country with more facility and promptness than they do."

I washed my phone last week. It didn't recover. So, the search began for a replacement. I'm tired of telus and their "plans" and "contracts". I wanted to try the prepaid card thing, as I don't use my phone a whole lot. After extensive research, I switched to 7-eleven. No joke.... they have a great card plan (where the cards don't expire for a year) in denominations of $25 and up. Promo right now is $50 or 100 bucks for the phone including air time.... with no contract obligations. You walk out of the store and make a call... no passwords, no personal information given or hoops to jump through. If you loose your phone or run it through the washing machine like I did... you're out fifity or (100) bucks max. Too good to be true... air time twenty cents + long distance at thirty. I bought the $100 deal.... VGA camera, with video, bluetooth + FM radio. Upload and download wirelessly through bluetooth from your computer.... so no charges for ringtones, wallpaper etc. I must have been living under a rock, not to know before this.

Straw Talk

2008-01-29T12:53:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: I've been asked how we became interested in Straw Bale and what resources we used. The net was a great place to start. We stumbled upon on this site which offered up some basic plans... although our house plan is totally different, we liked the roof and wall lines lines of this house. We asked people that had homes we liked, who designed their home and found the designer was receptive to learning about strawbale construction and adapting our vision into a workable plan.

The best book I've come across is Serious Straw Bale. It's a great read regardless of what type of bale house you're interested in. (I ordered ours though Amazon.) Andrew Morrison's site, http://www.strawbale.com/ has lots of free information, (although I did buy his cd's. + well worth it). If you think building Straw Bale is going to save you money, think again. This type of construction will likely cost you 20% more than a traditional balloon framed home. The savings (hopefully) will come with reduced power consumption. Our home is basically one large thermal mass for heat storage in winter and cool storage in summer. Our finished floor will most likely be concrete (although Hempcrete is interesting and more enviro friendly). The interior walls will be one inch thick lime plaster (limestone), for even more thermal mass and the main heat source is a super efficient Crossfire masonry heater. The heater should be able to heat the home with two, one-hour fires each day. More mason heater info.

More eco-chump (ism).... Is must be more environmentally friendly to vacation in Mexico every other year for 2 weeks rather that every year for one week. There must be some way to justify a vacation next year.

Saturday, a Denman Island Fire Dept. call-out had a tragic ending as a reported van fire was fatal to it's owner. The owner (who lived in the van),was a familiar face to all that live here and was certainly part of our diverse culture. Coincidentally, only two days before, I had given him a ride from the ferry to the village.

A tribute to Volunteer firefighters, well said.

I'm an eco-chump

2008-01-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

Straw Bale House Update: A week of decent weather was a great help in framing the upper floor partition walls. The picture is taken from the upstairs common room, looking at the bedroom and bath. The stained beam is a collar support for the round dormer roof that's next on the list. A round roof sounded cool at one time, now I'm not so sure.

I think I may be an eco-chump.... This question came up while grocery shopping the other day... Is it better to buy regular carrots farmed in your region or from a "certified organic" farm hundreds of miles away? Take the chump challenge.

Are throw-away cars in our future? North American auto manufacturers will have their work cut out for them if cheap cars hit our market. If cars were sold for $2500, what would be the consequences? Millions of more oil depenadant machines, for sure. If anything should go wrong with them, it may be cheaper to buy a new one than to fix the old one. Cars would become disposable. There may have to be a refundable deposit charged or blue-box curbside pickup for your recyclable Tata. Even lower income families could afford a pair of Tata's... (sorry couldn't resist.) People will be able to afford the Tata Nano, but can the earth afford it?

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Give a man the net and he'll stay home and blog"

I Don't Care!

2008-01-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

I don't care about global warming. It's rather irrelevant. There's a camp that believes that global warming is man made and another that says it's a natural phenomenon. The Inconvenient Truth movie has been found to be grossly embellished. Documentaries have aired that state this (warming) is the earth's natural cycle. To me it really doesn't matter.....But let's face it... global warming is now big business. The big corporations...eg. McDonalds and Walmart can't wait to jump on the big green bandwagon. Is this because they care or is just good business? Our Governments can't wait to give grants and tax cuts for green enterprises because it buys votes. Meanwhile...people... average people, like you and me, we make the real efforts to counter global warming... like recycling, switching our light bulbs to cfl's, buying unbleached paper towels, eating less commercial red meat and buying low-flush toilets. We dream about the 100 mile diet. Sometimes we remember the cloth shopping bags and weather permitting, we'll walk the two blocks to the store.... to negate driving the two blocks to pick up our lazy, TV addicted kids from school. In reality, our combined good deed, global efforts may extend the life of the earth, by about 30 seconds. The mega corporate polluters offset our efforts beyond our comprehension. So, I really don't care about global warming... it is what it is. What I do care about is the earth. Man is parasitic to the earth... parasites eventually kill their hosts and move on. Our problem is we have nowhere to move, yet. The important thing is that we stop poisoning the air, earth and water. If we do that, the climate will take care of itself. But, mega polluters also generate mega tax dollars and are mega employers and that means mega votes come polling day. Food for thought.... In the 1940's teams of scientist gathered to save the world by splitting the atom. (boom) Once again the great minds of earth were assembled in the 60's for the "space race". In the 50's a computer with the memory of the one I'm using, (laptop) would've been as large as a house. Do you think If all the money spent on environmental band aids was spent on research to find another way to make the wheels on the cars go round and power our homes and factories, we could end our nasty oil dependence? It seems like a small feat comparatively. Instead we'll pour buckets of cash at global warming symptoms but none at the real cause... our dependence on oil. "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." H.D.Thoreau.

Straw Bale House update: Work on the roof line is progressing while the weather cooperates. Some days there are real decisions to be made... like what size window you you want there? This weekend we went to Demxx in Coombs to scoop a couple of antique, leaded, stained glass windows. Demxx is a treasure trove of recycled building materials for the enviro-builder. The old windows will be stripped from the original frames and remounted in frames made from the Douglas Fir on the property and stained to match the beam work... something I can do in my spare time? I've been extremely fortunate that a long time resident of the Island has agreed to help me build, (at least for the time being). He's in the process of completing his own home, (coincidentally a design from the same home designer) and is well versed in post & beam construction. So far he has been extremely patient with his apprentice, Moi.

Tar, a sticky subject

2008-01-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

Yes, survived the the holiday season and have settled into winter lethargy. Becoming a Denman Island tradition, is the loss of our regular ferry, which has been replaced by her smaller sister. This makes counting on making a ferry somewhat of a gamble... such is island life. A short foray into town last week for supplies was an adventure, as the roads were somewhat treacherous.... note the lack of other traffic.

Canada is host to one quarter of the world's remaining boreal forests. Northern Alberta's Precious forests are quickly being eaten up to make room for oil sands strip mining operations to fuel American Automobiles. Currently an area the size of Vancouver Island has been marked for development. Once the trees have been cut down and the animals displaced, the work of poisoning the air and the (once pristine) Athabasca River can begin. But hey, Alberta is debt-free!

Toxic Alberta - Alberta Oil Sands Raw Documentary

The Harm the Tar Sands Will Do

Straw Bale House update: 34 new posts and beams have been milled on the island for us. This means that there's work to do even on crappy days. Now that the straw is on the island and the free storage ends in June, there is some urgency to getting the roof on and the floor poured before that. It's our plan to begin baling as soon as weather allows for the drying of the lime plaster. Lime plaster is the exterior and interior finish of choice for a few of reasons....

- it sticks to straw. (very important)

- Carbon neutral - It actually recovers the carbon dioxide it took to make the hydrated lime.

- thermal mass for interior heat storage and cooling.

- it allows the free transfer of vapour through the walls.

- nothing will grow on it (moss, mildew etc)

The picture on the right shows the location of our current home (green circle - low) and the location of the new home (light blue circle - high). A distance of less than a kilometer and about 6 kilometers apart by road.