The Tattoosday Book Review: The Word Made Flesh

If you're looking for an awesome gift for an ink-loving special someone this holiday season, and you can't afford a budget-buster like Marisa Kakoulas' Black & Grey Tattoo, I'd strongly recommend The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide.

As a lover of both literature and tattoos, The Word Made Flesh is right up my alley and, judging by the long-standing interest in sites like Contrariwise, should be an enjoyable read for many.

Last year, it seems, when I first posted (here) about Eve Talmadge's call for submissions, I was a bit jealous in a why-didn't-I-think-of-doing-that sort of way. But I quickly got over the inkblogger envy and waited with anticipation to see how this would turn out.

The answer: pretty darn good.

The Word Made Flesh, as the subtitle describes, juxtaposes photos of tattoos of a literary flavor, with blurbs from the contributors. There is poetry and prose, as well as more symbolic imagery to represent specific themes.

Compiled by editors Eve Talmadge and Justin Taylor, the reader is treated to a nice range of work, with a handy appendix which gives, when possible, credit to the artists and/or shops where the tattoos were inked.

I wondered, when starting the book, if I would see any tattoos that had appeared on Tattoosday. Sure enough, page 117 features a pair of alphabetic ankle tattoos, one of which appeared in this past year's Tattooed Poet's Project, here. To counteract that, there are two subjects who declined to participate in the same project.

The range of photos and stories is done quite well. We also get a snapshot of Shelley Jackson's Skin Project, and a lovely piece belonging to Katherine Barthelme, accompanied by an apropos story by her father, the late Donald Barthelme. Plus, amazing work like this:

©2010 Eva Talmadge & Justin Taylor

There is something for everyone here, unless of course, you're a barbarian and have never read a book in your life.

I heartily recommend this title and at a list price of  $14.99, it won't break the bank.

There's a slide show here, over at The Daily Beast.

You can read and see more, as well as hear how to submit for a possible sequel, at www.tattoolit.com. I also recommend visiting contrariwise.com, as well as checking out the Tattooed Poets Project index, which links all the tattooed poets who have appeared here the last two years.

You can buy the book here:

And, as for what's next from the editors, a recent email from the editor's says it all:

"I'm happy to announce that we are now collecting images of music-related tattoos for our next book. Song lyrics, band logos, record labels, musician portraits, you name it -- if it's in your skin and has to do with a musician, song or band, we want to put it in a book. Pass the word, tell your friends. Here's the fine print:

THE WORDS TO EVERY SONG: Music Tattoos from Around the Globe (working title, suggestions welcome), edited by Eva Talmadge.

Submissions now open for high-quality photographs of all kinds of music related tattoo work: band logos, song lyrics, record labels, musician portraits -- if it's a tattoo inspired by music and it's on your body, we want to see it!

We're looking for a wide range of genres and eras -- from classical to rock'n'roll to hip hop, punk rock, indie and soul -- if you ever loved a song or a band or a musician so much you went to a tattoo shop and made your devotion permanent, we want to know about it!

As with THE WORD MADE FLESH, we don't want just the images. We also want a few words from you about why you got your tattoo, what that music means or has meant to you, and any anecdotes involved. How much (or how little) you choose to say about your tattoo is up to you, but a paragraph or two should do the trick.

And of course please do provide us with tattoo artist/shop credit, photographer credit, your name or pseudonym, the city and state or country where you live, and the name of the band or song or composer your tattoo refers to (even if it's obvious).

Deadline for the first round is 12/31

Please send clear digital images of the highest quality possible to tattoolit@gmail.com. Images should be around 2000 pixels across, or a minimum 300 dpi at 5 inches wide, but if you're not sure about all the technical stuff, just set your camera to its highest resolution and send the best photo you can. Text should be included in the body of the email, not as an attached document. Also be sure to include one or more pieces of contact information, so we can let you know if you’re going to be in the book.

And finally, we are indeed still collecting literary tattoos for the tumblr blog, http://tattoolit.com. If you have a literary tattoo and want the world to see it, please do e-mail it to us at tattoolit@gmail.com, or submit it directly (as an image, not text) to http://tattoolit.com.

And, of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't direct people here and here, the tags that link all the literary tattoos that have appeared here on Tattoosday.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name

You'd think I'd have more time for reading during long winter nights, but it's during the summer when I read the most. Here's another Coastal BC suggestion.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven was written in 1967 and has become a classic piece of Canadian literature. The used book I purchased (from a 1975 reprinting) came from the now closed Max Cameron Secondary School in Powell River. It's book #12 from a classroom set and was checked out to only one student, L. Sieg. That's almost as interesting as the book itself.

The story takes place in a remote village up the river at the head of Kingcome Inlet. Located near the Inside Passage of Coastal BC, it was a land of First Nations peoples, loggers and fishermen. The period wasn't specified, but based on facts in the book it was probably set in the early 1950s. Up until then, Mission Boats brought religious and medical services to remote communities. Churches were also built in settlements to convert and assist their inhabitants. In some cases, the people sent were a good match, in others, a detriment. The characters in this story run the gamete from the long enduring Kwakiutl villagers, an uncaring teacher, the arrogant anthropologist, by-the-book RCMP officers, unscrupulous traders, to the patient young vicar.

I Heard the Owl Call My Name is the story of Mark Brian, a new vicar with the Anglican Church who was sent to far-off Kingcome Inlet. Unknown to Mark, he has a terminal illness that leaves him only a few years to live. His Bishop sends him to Kingcome Village to learn about life in a short time, and he does. The book is only 160 pages and can be easily read in a day. But I enjoyed taking longer to savour the content and think about some of the profound messages. And it's worth reading more than once like I did.

Here are some more Coastal BC suggestions:

A Kwakiutl Village and School from 1967 by Harry F. Wolcott is the book version of his dissertation on the study of a Kwakiutl Indian village and its one-room school.

Heart of the Raincoast: a life story from 1998 by Alexandra Morton and Billy Proctor is about the life of legendary Billy Proctor who lived through the heyday years of Coastal BC.

Full Moon, Flood Tide from 2003 by Yvonne Maximchuk and Billy Proctor continues the story of Billy Proctor's life.

Inside Passage: Living with Killer Whales, Bald Eagles, and Kwakiutl Indians from 1997 by Michael Modzelewski who spent 18 months in the wilderness on Swanson Island with local Will Malloff.

Talking in Context: language and identity in Kwakwa_ka_'wakw society from 2005 is a case study of the use of the Kwak'wala language and cultural identity in two Coastal BC First Nation communities, Quatsino and Kingcome Inlet.

A Curve of Time from 1968 by M. Wylie Blanchet and Timothy Egan is the classic memoir of a woman and her children as they explore Coastal BC summer after summer in a 25' boat in the 20s and 30s.

I've only read A Curve of Time, but the others look interesting. -- Margy

Our Canada: Picture Perfect

When I got back to the cabin last week, Wayne had a surprise for me. Our float cabin on Powell Lake, was featured twice in a new book called Our Canada: Picture Perfect. What an exciting surprise! Of course, our off the grid cabin is a prominent feature in Wayne's Coastal BC Stories, but being included in a book published by someone else is very exciting.

Two summers ago, Wayne wrote an article for Our Canada Magazine called "On the Lake". It was the first story in a series called "Our Dream Home." We were proud to start it off for them, and got lots of great feedback from the magazine's readers.

The article included two pictures of our cabin. The first was a summer scene with my floating garden in the foreground and our floating wood shed tied to the log boom. This is one of my favourite shots. You'll now find it in the British Columbia section of Our Canada: Picture Perfect.

The other picture they chose to include in the book was a winter scene. Because our Campion runabout was tied to the cabin deck, it was placed in the boating section.

Our Canada: Picture Perfect was just published in May 2010. It is 160 pages with 250 photos and illustrations. The stories and pictures show our great country in all of its glory. It's available online at Reader's Digest, Amazon.ca, or chapters.indigo.ca. You can also purchase it in bookstores throughout Canada including our own Coles in Powell River. Thanks Wayne for a great present! -- Margy

Puffin Cove by Neil Carey

I learn a lot about Haida Gwaii by reading Carolyn's blog Living on the Edge. One recent post was about the ceremony giving back the name Queen Charlotte Islands. In 1887 Captain Dixon named the island archipelago after one of his ships, the Queen Charlotte, named after the Queen of the United Kingdom. On June 17, 2010, the Haida returned the colonial name to the Queen's representative in BC, Premier Gordon Campbell. The official name is now Haida Gwaii (Xaadaa Gwaayaay), the name given to the lands by their original inhabitants, the Haida. Carolyn tells the story (with pictures) much better than I, so please read her post.

The book I just finished reading was Puffin Cove: Escape to the Wilderness of the Queen Charlotte Islands (Hancock House, 1982). Neil Carey and his wife Betty (an adventurer in her own right) went looking for a remote place to live and build a wilderness cabin. They first found their paradise on Moresby Island in Haida Gwaii in 1955 while on a boat trip. They sold their home in California (sounds familiar to me) and built a cabin in 1964 on property they purchased in Sandspit. They started as "Summer Settlers" (also a familiar ring) until they immigrated to Canada to live there full time in 1965. Next came the building of their remote cabin at Puffin Cove on leased land on the southwestern tip of Moresby Island.

Neil recounts life on Haida Gwaii in a different time. Logging and mining were bigger industries, but already starting to decline. No regular ferry service to the mainland made life more isolated and simple in many ways. Neil takes you gyppo logging, hunting, fishing and boating in fair weather and hurricane force storms. You get to meet the people that made their homes on the islands to live a good, but hard life. It must have been something to see wild storms raging on the open ocean from their snug cabin on the protected cove. Today, it is part of the Gwaii Haanas National Park.

Here's some more about Puffin Cove:

Puffin Cove at InsidePassageNews.com
Nearing the End of the World by Lyn Fox
Visited in 26 Feet to the Charlottes by June Cameron
Log of Baidarka 2001 Part V: Moresby Island's Uncharted West Coast
About Neil and Betty Carey on Northword

It's all interesting reading. -- Margy

Woman in the Bush

One of my favourite used bookstores in Bellingham is Eclipse Bookstore. It's located in Historic Fairhaven and my friend Betty and I go there every time we get together for coffee. They have a good Canadian section and I always find interesting books to read. I just finished rereading Woman in the Bush (Pelican, 1998) that I got there last year.

Woman in the Bush is the story of Jeanne Connolly Harbottle's first year in the Yukon with her newlywed trapper husband. The book was co-written with Fern Grice Credeur in 1966, but took place during the winter of 1947-48. Jeanne married Tom Connolly following World War II and left her city life in San Francisco for the wilds of the Yukon Territory. They were contemporaries of my parents, but their life was so different. I cannot imagine my mother being capable of living throughout the winter with temperatures around fifty below zero in a six by eight foot log cabin chinked with mud to keep out the wind and only a wood stove to heat and cook.

Jeanne learned how to snowshoe to break trail for the sled dogs, shoot, hunt, trap, skin and cure pelts, trade -- everything needed to survive and support her husband's work as a trapper. It was a hard life, but her adventurous spirit carried her through. People still seek a simple life in the bush, but times have changed. Hunting and trapping is more regulated, and trading as a means of commerce isn't as common. Jeanne's story is a look back in history to a different time, and way of living.

The trip out of the bush back to "civilization" was even more difficult, on many levels. The heat and mosquitoes made the journey on foot a huge challenge for both man and dog. Also, having contact with other people was a big lifestyle change. The book only hints about the future for Jeanne and Tom, but she did return and spent seventeen more years living in the bush, became a big-game guide and a trapper in her own right. She was quite a woman for her day, or any time for that matter. -- Margy

The Golden Spruce by John Vaillant

One place I want to visit is Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands). This island archipelago is 90 km (56 miles) by ferry from Prince Rupert on the northern British Columbia coast. Speaking of ferries, I get some of my best books about BC in the gift shop on the ferry between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale on the Sunshine Coast. On a recent trip, I found The Golden Spruce (Vintage Canada, 2006) by John Vaillant.

The Golden Spruce was a 300 year-old yellow-coloured Sitka spruce located on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii. It grew from a minute seed that sprouted around 1700 to a massive tree "sixteen storeys tall and more than six metres around." This amazing biological wonder was the result of a rare genetic mutation that thrived along the bank of the Yakoun River in a rich, fertile lowland called a "spruce flat."

Vaillant likens the Golden Spruce to the bumblebee which can miraculously fly despite less that aerodynamic characteristics. With limited chlorophyll in its needles, the carotenoids (the same substance that makes fall leaves turn red, yellow and orange) shine through. Not surprisingly, this unique tree had special significance to the Haida First Nation people. It also made it a prime target for Grant Hadwin, a former logger turned environmentalist. The Golden Spruce is the story of the tree and its demise at Grant Hadwin's hands in 1977, but it's also so much more.

John Vaillant artfully weaves together the history of Haida Gwaii's discovery, Haida inhabitants, logging practices in British Columbia, and the life of Grant Hadwin. The author is a master at blending facts and background information into a story that grabs the reader. I enjoyed it very much even though the event itself was a sad occurrence. If you are looking for a book that gives an unbiased depiction of logging and life in remote areas in British Columbia, I highly recommend The Golden Spruce.

My friend Carolyn lives in Haida Gwaii and blogs about her island paradise. You can read more about an insiders view of Haida Gwaii at her blog Living on the Edge. -- Margy

Otherwise by Farley Mowat

I'm a fan of Farley Mowat books. When Wayne and I first started coming to Canada on vacations in the 80's, we liked to read books that would give us a flavour of the country we would be visiting. Naturally, a few of those were written by Farley Mowat. Over the years, I've continued to collect his books and am proud to say I have about two-thirds of the forty-two he has authored, and have read more than half so far.

Mowat's most recent work is Otherwise. It's a memoir covering his youth, World War II service and subsequent revival in the Barrengrounds of the Arctic north. The "others" are the animals, both domestic and wild, that have been a core part of his being over the years. They inspired and sustained him in good times and bad.

If you've read several of Mowat's books, you know his life experiences have been retold in several ways. One of his earlier works, Born Naked (1993), also tells of his early life and love for animals and the north country. I'm glad that I read that book before Otherwise.

The war years were hard on everyone. Farley learned to make his way through and around the bureaucracy of the military. He was very inventive in an organization that didn't reward thinking outside the box. Upon returning to Canada, Farley wanted to get back to nature and a less complicated (and constrictive) way of living. Scientific expeditions took he back to his beloved Saskatchewan and the flora and fauna he knew so well, but it wasn't enough to make him feel re-connected. The opportunity to go on an expedition to the Barrengrounds to study caribou was the perfect (for him) solution. Based in a remote cabin at Windy River, he discovered his true calling, the preservation rather than destruction of nature and the people who depend on it for their livelihood: caribou, wolves and the native peoples of the north.

Many of Farley Mowat's books about the Canadian north (1981 Video: Ten Million Books), it's people and animals grew out of these early life experiences. The People of the Deer, his first book published in 1952, focused on the starving Ihalmiut people he met and lived with on this very expedition.

Are you a Farley Mowat fan? What's your favourite book? -- Margy

Eyes on the Wilderness

Eyes on the Wilderness is a treasure from a simpler time. It's hardback and available only in used bookstores or online. Amazon.com has it for $19.95 plus shipping, but I found it for $5.00 in one of my favourite used book haunts.

Helmut Hirnschall was born in Austria and immigrated to Canada at 27 in 1960. Austria had few wilderness areas even then, so Helmut was enthralled with all the natural surroundings in Ontario where he settled. First on foot, and then by kayak, he explored the lakes, forests and rivers whenever his work schedule allowed.

In Eyes on the Wilderness, Helmut uses the animals he encountered as the vehicle to introduce the reader to his new life in Canada. They range from the lowly (but powerful) Blackfly to the mighty Black Bear. You can hear the hoot of the night owl, trills of the many songbirds and lonely cry of the loon through his vivid descriptions. Each animal story includes a personal anecdote about its discovery, a biological description and First Nation legends.

This book is recommended for both children and adults. I can imagine reading it as a young teen while on a camping trip exploring the outdoors for myself. As a adult and a new Canadian immigrant myself, it was interesting to see how someone else became acquainted with his new and exciting home. So if you would like to step back in time, and get back to the wilderness, keep an eye out for Helmut Hirnschall's Eyes on the Wilderness (Hancock House, 1975) at a used bookstore near you. -- Margy

Introducing Lloyd at "Lloyd's Blog"

This week for Wednesday Friends Day I would like to introduce Lloyd and his blog aptly titled Lloyd's Blog.


Lloyd found me (rather than the other way around) through a post about my floating garden. Last January he summarized the post and included it on his blog. During one of my regular checks I discovered the link and Lloyd's wonderful blog.

Lloyd lives in California's Bay Area. It's a beautiful location to live and headquarters his small book publishing company. You can read more about it at his website called Shelter Online. He publishes his own books about building/architecture and fitness. He also offers other quality books on the same subjects.

One of Lloyd's books is Builders of the Pacific Coast. Of course that caught my eye because of where I live in Powell River. It's a beautiful full colour collection of distinctive buildings, many of which are in BC. Lloyd has personally traveled throughout the region to meet the builders and see their handcrafted structures. Several pages of text, photographs and drawings are used to highlight the unique abodes. While the majority of the homes and cabins are land-based structures, there was one floating home, a boat modified to anchor temporarily on pilings.

Lloyd has been blogging since February 2005 so there are lots of posts to choose from. Some of his topics follow his personal adventures. Others are a compilation of unique posts he has discovered across the web and world. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Wild woman of the woods mask - BC art
• A few random factoids about the future of publishing
• Greenhouse Book from HomeGrown Evolution - chicken lovers
• Powerful Oakland Graffiti - organic art
• Forest House - New York State cabin
  

You can also find Lloyd on Twitter as lloydkahn or shelterpub and on Facebook as Shelter Publications. He's really linked in. Why not give my friend a shout. -- Margy

Juggling Fire

I just finished a book I purchased in the BC Ferries gift shop. They have lots of books of local interest and by Canadian authors.

Juggling Fire by Joanne Bell tells the story of sixteen year-old Rachel. She grew up in a remote log cabin with her mother, father and older sister Becky. When she was six they left to move closer to town, but her father's worsening depression sent him back to the Yukon wilderness alone, never to return. Rachel has clung to hope that he's still out there, and undertakes a quest to discover the truth. Brooks, her half hound and half malamute/Newfoundland cross pup reluctantly joins the journey. Rachel navigates her way back to the family cabin with relative ease, but an encounter with a grizzly along the way leaves Brooks severely wounded. Fairy tales and juggling keep Rachel focused and in control of her emotions during difficult times. This journey into the past is no different. Can they sustain her for what she'll find at the end of her odyssey?

Juggling Fire was published by Orca Book Publishers in 2009. The author, Joanne Bell knows the wilderness well having lived in New Brunswick, Alberta and British Columbia. She lives in a log cabin near Dawson City in Yukon where she runs dogs, hikes, canoes and enjoys nature. She also serves as a naturalist and substitute teacher, passing along her love of the outdoors to future generations.

It's an easy read, and hard to put down. I finished it in two very enjoyable evenings. In addition, it would be a good book for teens who could identify with Rachel and her quest to bring closure to family issues. You can purchase Juggling Fire online from Orca, Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Chapters.-- Margy

Mount Baker Highway Road Trip

Yesterday was my mom's 94th birthday, so we all bundled up and went on a road trip up the Mount Baker Highway.


Mom rode shotgun and our good friend Jeanne drove. We started at the junction of I-5 and Sunset Drive then headed east. In a few miles we left busy Bellingham behind and entered lush green fields dotted with farmhouses. Along the way there were lots of Christmas tree farms and u-pick berry fields. We'll have to come back this summer for sure. At about the 25 mile mark we entered the small village of Maple Falls.

We pulled into the Frosty Inn. It was just what we were looking for. Inside were two locals drinking coffee and talking about "the old days" and a cheery fire was burning in the dining room. Just the place to get a leisurely late breakfast fit for hungry travelers. The friendly waitress took our order and made us feel right at home. If you are headed up to Mt. Baker for skiing or sightseeing, I highly recommend stopping at the Frosty Inn for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It also appears to be a night spot, too.

After a hearty breakfast we continued up the road towards the ski area. In Glacier, there were several ski and snowboard rental shops, more restaurants and a few places for lodging. Just before the road started the final climb to the Mount Baker Ski Area we decided to turn around. The snow along the side of the road was building up and we didn't have chains with us today.

We reversed course and followed the Nooksack River back down to the coastal plain. It was a gorgeous day for a drive in the mountains. Puffy white clouds stood out against the clear blue sky. Before we returned to town we stopped briefly at the Deming Homestead Eagle Park. It's a great place to view Bald Eagles in winter months, but today the robins were heralding spring instead.

To plan our trip, we used an excellent guidebook, the Insiders' Guide to Bellingham and Mount Baker by Mike McQuaid. He is a Bellingham local that really knows the area. It is available at Amazon.com by clicking here. If you are coming to Bellingham it's a must.

It was a fun way for all of us to celebrate Mom's big day with good food, good company and great views. Glad you could come along for the ride with us. -- Margy

Introducing Susannah at "Wanderin' Weeta"

This week for Wednesday Friends Day I would like to introduce Susannah, better known as Wanderin' Weeta.

Susannah hails from Delta in the Lower Fraser Valley. That's part of the Coastal British Columbia mainland. Her blog is called Wanderin' Weeta (With Waterfowl and Weeds). It is aptly named because many of her articles and photographs are of plants and bird life, but you will also find a host of other nature based topics mixed in for good measure.

Susannah's profile gives you a hint about her good sense of humour and positive outlook on life. She says that she's "as weird as necessary for sanity, as sane as kids and grandkids permit, and a lover of birds, green stuff, tiny beasties and oddities generally." Every time I visit Susannah's blog I know I'll learn something new and experience this wonderful land through her outstanding photographs.

Here are some favourite posts I'd like to share:

• Five dozen babies (master of the miniature)
  
• Of Old Growth and New Life (book review & forest info)
• Why do we call it vacant? (takes time to sees what others miss)
  
• Rock Flipping Day (a fun activity for young and old)
• Two-faced Hermit? (Susannah has unusual pets)
• Self portrait in a cat's eye (great closeup)

Susannah is an author and has two books available online. The first is Fire in the Bedroll, an autobiographical account of a marriage gone wrong. The second is Susie, a collection stories of her childhood growing up the the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Both are available at LuLu.com. In addition, Susannah can be found on Flickr (her wonderful photos) and Twitter.

Head on over to Wanderin' Weeta for some great photographs and information. I know you will enjoy it as much as I do. -- Margy

Storing Root Crops for Winter Use

My floating garden is relatively small, consisting of four 3X10' beds raised above the lake surface on a cedar log foundation. I use Companion Planting and Intensive Cultivation (Rodale Press, 1989) and grow an amazing amount of vegetables in the limited space. But I still haven't figured out how much to plant, especially for root crops. I always end up with a row or two left at the end of fall.

A really helpful book on preserving crops is Stocking Up: How to Preserve the Foods You Grow, Naturally by the Editors of Organic Gardening and Farming. It's a great reference for harvesting, storing, drying, freezing and canning fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy products, and nuts, seeds and grains. It gave me directions for leave my root crops in the ground through the winter. Now that I have my carrots and beets out of the soil, I'm going to use their directions for storage (well, sort of).

First I pulled all of my remaining crop and discarded any damaged ones. I removed and composted all the carrots tops. But for the beets, I tore the tops off leaving about three inches of stem. To help prevent them from "bleeding" red beet juice, the book recommends not using a knife for this part of the process. Because the soils was so wet, I arranged the unwashed veggies on newspaper to dry a bit. After about thirty minutes I gave them a flip to dry the other side. Then finally, I rubbed off the excess dirt with a dry paper towel.

The next step was to arrange the cleaned (not washed) carrots and beets in plastic trays I purchased at the Dollar Store. The open sides allow air to circulate. This helps reduce mold or rot as time goes by. I started with a damp paper towel on the bottom covered by a folded sheet of dry newspaper. The damp towel helps increase atmospheric moisture which helps keep the root crops crisper while being stored out of the ground. After one layer of veggies I folded a sheet of newspaper and then added a second layer to each basket.

The final step was to cover the top layer of veggies with folded newspaper, a layer of moist paper towel and finally another folded newspaper. To store the baskets, I place them under the bed in my downstairs guest bedroom. It is the coolest room in my house.

This improvised "root cellar" lets me keep my carrots and beets for several more months of enjoyment in salads, soups, stews and simple pickled beets. -- Margy

Introducing Jenn at "My Muskoka"

Hello readers. It's Wednesday Friends Day. This week I would like to introduce you to another Canadian follower. Her name is Jenn and her blog is called My Muskoka.

Like Carolyn, I first discovered Jenn's blog through the SkyWatch Friday meme. I also bump into her on That's My World Tuesday. Now I'm one of her Blogger Followers so I don't miss anything. Jenn is a retired teacher, so we have that in common. She lives in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. That's where they have real winters, not like our wimpy West Coast cool season.

Here are some of my favourite posts:

• Snow Squalls (a sample of her fine photos and videos)
• Camera Critters (I love her cats!)
• Raccoon Trouble (I can relate to that)
• G8 in Huntsville (probably tighter security than our Olympics!)
• Snapping Turtles (OUCH!)
• Cottage Life (now that's living)
  

Jenn is the author of a very important book. Living and Dying with Dignity chronicles her poignant and often difficult journey while caring for her ailing aging parents. This is something many of us "baby boomers" are experiencing. It's hard to know what's best to do when the roles start to reverse. When do you encourage independence, and when do you step in? Where do you turn for help for aging parents, and where do you turn for help for yourself through a stressful time? Jenn's book lets you follow along in her footsteps and ends with helpful resources. While the book is set in Canada, the process has no borders. In addition to her website, you can find more information at her other blog Living and Dying with Dignity. The book is available online in Canada at Chapters and on Amazon.com in the States.

In addition to her blogs, you will find videos by Jenn on YouTube as J3nnyj1ll's. So stop on by and say hi to Jenn in any of her many locations. I'm sure you'll find her posts and movies are as much fun as I do -- Margy

Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon

What does an author buy as Christmas presents? Books of course. In my stocking I found Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon. She is one of Wayne's favourite science fiction writers. He purchased it earlier in the year for his Kindle, but couldn't share it with me because I don't have one yet.

Elizabeth Moon is from Texas. Her educational background is in history and biology (just like me) and she served as a Marine (definitely not like me).

Remnant Population isn't your normal (if there is such a thing) science fiction novel. It is set in Sims Bancorp Colony 3245.12 on a distant earth-like planet. Over the last forty years, the colony has terraformed their surroundings, but it hasn't been easy. Now, representatives from company headquarters have arrived to tell them they all must leave. With stoic resignation, the colonists prepare their belongings and ready themselves for a long interstellar trip in cryogenic suspension. Everyone except for grandmotherly Ofelia. She has always followed the demands of her parents, husband, employer and most recently her son, but not this time. She decides to stay behind and live as she wishes, alone but not lonely.

Trained as a self-sufficient colonist, she is able to use and maintain the buildings, materials and equipment needed to sustain herself. She's an avid gardener and lives simply until new colonists arrive far to the north. As she listens to their landing transmissions, they are horribly massacred. Ofelia knows this will be the end of her solitary life. Intelligent and deadly creatures share her planet, and her own kind won't let the tragedy go unavenged.

Even though the book is set far in the future on a distant planet, life in the colony was much like living in a small rural community. I could see lots of similarities to my lifestyle and attitudes living off the grid. Ofelia decided late in life that she would live according to her own plan. She no longer cared what others thought and finally was comfortable speaking her own mind. She became quite a role model for me in more ways than one.

Check your local bookstore, library or online book source for Remnant Population. I couldn't put it down except when my flashlight ran dim late at night. -- Margy

The Blue Trail

Wayne and I treated ourselves to a short Christmas quad ride. That's easy here in Powell River with trails right at our back door. We parked near Edgehill School at the head of Abbotsford Street. From there, the Edgehill Trail system winds through large stands of trees with an understory as beautiful as any in the area. This handy launching point can be used to reach any area east and south of town. We rode it to the Washout Trail, our starting point for today's ride.

The forecast was for a sunny day, but the actual weather was foggy. That made the views along the trail a bit eerie. If you've seen the movie New Moon, you get the idea. The Washout Trail was dotted with big puddles along the way. In places, the trail building group had created bypasses on drier soil to prevent damage to the area.

At the well marked junction we turned up the Blue Trail. This trail has been the location of extensive work by the local ATV trail building group. With a combination of volunteer workers, donated supplies and a $3000 grant from ATV/BC, two replacement bridges were built this month. The Blue Trail is a multi-use trail for hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders and, of course, ATV riders. It's also an interpretive trail used to teach the youth of Powell River about their forest environment.

Follow this link to an article in the Powell River Peak for more information about the project. Through the efforts of Dave, our Club president, and all the trail builders, everyone has better access to our back country with its unparalleled exploring.

Do you want to explore the great outdoors in Powell River? Would you like a book full of maps like this one? There's a great map book written by Dave, the president of the Powell River ATV Club. It’s called the ATV Trail Guide and costs $25. If want a copy, you can contact Dave through the ATV/BC website. All profits support trail maintenance and building activities just like the Blue Trail.

Western Conifer Seed Bugs

Down at John's there are two types of insects that are plentiful. The first is wasps (not hornets thank goodness) and the other is what he calls Stink Bugs. When I saw one crawling on our screen door, I took some pictures and looked it up. They are called Western Conifer Seed Bugs (Deptoglossus occidentalis). I used my Insects of the Pacific Northwest by Peter and Judy Haggard to make the identification.

The photograph in the book and the bug were an exact match. They are brown and have a distinctive white (or yellow) zigzag line through the middle of their body and hind legs that look somewhat like a flattened leaf. Both the nymph and adult eat conifer cones. I guess that's better than attacking the trees, but it can't be that good for future forest growth. The book says they are rarely seen because they spend most of their life up high in the trees, but these bugs seem to be enjoying their float cabin fall vacation.

I really enjoy having nature guides at the cabin so I can identify the plants, animals and rocks I encounter. I especially like ones with photographs rather than line drawings. Do you have any favourite nature guides that you recommend? -- Margy