A big ol’ Humpback went by slowly yesterday. Huffing and puffing. I was working on a little deck and the dogs alerted me to ‘something’ and so off I went to witness an always interesting sight. To be fair, whales don’t really do very much. But a humpy is so HUGE that when it is just swimming along is somehow amazing. The dogs agree.
I returned to my work and a half hour later, the dogs went nuts again. This time it was a pod of 8 Orcas. One big bull, two calves and a harem of five moms? They really boiled up the waters going by. You do not often see a pod of eight around these here parts.
I am building a small deck around the funicular box because Sal has to go over that way to put on the safety chain when required. But the box is located at the top of a large granite outcropping. Very uneven ground. Nothing is flat. In the rain, in the winter, in the dark, she could slip. If she slips, she falls twenty feet into the Salal and rocks below. A safety deck is overdue.
We have finally begun to bring in the firewood logs. Sal collected ’em over the last few months. I went down and cut ’em into lengths (varying because weight is the determinant). After cutting to length, Sal ‘chokes’ ’em, lifts ’em on the chain hoist and I winch ’em up the hill. About 120 feet at a 30 degree angle. And then my daughter and I,drop ’em at the top, unhitch ’em and drag ’em ten feet from the top of the highline to their drying and cutting rack (also made up of logs). Later, I’ll cut ’em into 15″ lengths and Sal will split ’em and stack ’em. Small problem: we do not yet have enough logs. We need at least six more and there is very little afloat out on the water these days.
Might be just reason enough to take a winter vacation……hmmmmm……
My daughter is visiting. With her dog. J is a great dog but a smidge Alpha. Gus is laid-back goofy guy and mostly just ignores her. But Daisy is kinda skittish. They all get along pretty but it is not love. Daisy hates being mounted by a female despite our modern times. We think she is anti-woke.
The summer neighbours have arrived. City folk. But they are good. Two or three days here and they have adjusted to the pokey-slow, forgetfulness, deliveries not showing up when expected, and all that urban efficient-ness of their last few months will fade away.
I was kind of thinking of doing a blog on arbitration and mediation and the interesting aspects of both. Having been both a chartered arbitrator and a chartered mediator, I have some insights. I was reminded of it last night all by Timothy Snyder (author of ON TYRANNY). He made a point he called ‘both-sidedness’….and how, on the face of it, it seems reasonable enough but, in reality, it is a falseness that is currently and purposefully writ large in our media and our politics. If you wanna read it, just say…..
Our Off the Grid Home 
Please do enlighten us! There is sometimes more wisdom in your blogs then in some books I have read.
Your daughter has a great timing, helping out with the logs. Shouldn’t she have brought her husband along, an extra pair of hands always comes in handy!
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Enlightenment is more than elusive but stories and examples sometimes suffice. I’ll tell a few.
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By the way, what is the situation with the forest fires in Canada?
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Well, BC is lit up again. But the worst of the worst is back east. In fact, way east (Nova Scotia way) got out of control for awhile. Right now, it is Ontario mostly. It’s a bit early in the season and they are pretty intense fires. So, I would call this bad. For us on the west coast, it is OK. We had one fire, maybe two that put some haze in the air but we are generally OK.
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I think a blog or few, on what you are chartered for would be great….
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I agree, “What the hell would HE ever get chartered for!?” I started out as an arbitrator but then, in a mini-burst of ambition, went and obtained my Mediator’s accreditation. Chartered Mediator. The irony to that is that they are both included under the Alternative Dispute Resolution umbrella but, in fact, are polar opposite approaches.
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I echo those who would have you write a blog about mediation and conflict. You have led an interesting life with many insights to share to be sure. Just say’n…….
We are such binary thinkers as a rule.
Your blogs are so artistic- as this one surely is… It just seems to pour out of you. A great gift!
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“It just seems to pour out of you….” THAT is the fear.
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In times gone by your blog might touch on on tangential topics and there was a segment of your readers who would engage and and it was like a small debating group.
Some of those engaged may have left us now.I miss that, now you have sort of circumscribed your range and those colourful followers are not around, do you miss those times?.
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Absolutely. But Sid passed on. So did one of the Johns. And Trump generated a lot of umbrage from me and people joined in. I like that sort of thing. I’ve been meaning to do something on PC’ness, wokeness and the myriad new range of social nonsense but, well, it all seems pretty silly and petty to me. But, still, it is a bit interesting. For instance, apparently gossip is a cohesive feature of communities….I am not so sure that is true but the shrinks and social scientists think it is.
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“..a winter vacation….” Might that be the oft postponed trip to Mendoza?
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It really SHOULD be, John. But it likely will NOT be. Not this time. This winter is too complicated by dogs, very old mother-in-law and a residual loathing still of flying (I am hoping to outgrow that someday. Hopefully by the next year).
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How exciting to see the humpback and orca pod. It’s lucky your dogs have sense enough to stay on shore when faced with such excitement.
What has always amazed me is the flagrant waste represented by those logs floating downstream but I am not Canadian and don’t know how much of that was generated by the forestry industry and how much was due to natural causes. I would like to hear about that one day, Dave.
I would also like to hear your thoughts on meditation and arbitration. I suspect that by the time I got to the arbitration or mediation stage that I would be too shat off to listen to reason.
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Good point. A large part of mediation is a willingness to engage. Written agreements sometime mandate that. Divorcing couples do it to save money. Families use mediation. Business partners. But, if you are really ticked, you just want to QUIT the other person and that means court and lawyers and huge bills or else cheaper, faster arbitration.
Virtually all logs floating downstream are from logging. Now and then nature pulls one off the mountain side but logs are usually trimmed of branches and of relatively uniform length. Logging companies do that.
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Logs are a valuable resource. Perhaps there will be less wastage coming your way in future. Makes a tricky situation for you.
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