Sunday, finally a calm cabin day.

Sunday morning at the cabin and maybe one half of a degree above zero.I could see my cabin cleansing fire of yesterday still smouldering, so I decided to keep cleaning up some of the dead wood over our five acres of land because in this semi-arid region there is a very limited time I can safely burn things outside.The day started in a much more relaxed way; in the clean living room with a review of my sketchbook...which I had plans for but had no time to work in... some foil baked fingerling potatoes with garlic and onions in a sort of cabin hash brown bake, and my usual tea.Maybe it's the waiting for the stove to heat up and boil the pot of water and cook the potatoes, but food just ends up tasting so much better up here.After breakfast I took a long walk over our property and had a good assessment of last winter.Some of our neighbours told me it's been a very long winter. Maybe that's the reason that the pack rat broke in and ate Dusty the bear, (and the sinew from some of the vintage snowshoes). But at least there was no sign of the beaver this winter!I've been trying to grow a weeping willow here in our little lake, (which is really a pond but has been named "lake" for the look of it), for the past 25 years and it seems I only end up growing winter beaver food, but this year the little willow is still there.The water in the lake is low right now and the undergrowth sparse, which means I can walk all the way around and check out every inch of the bank rather than using the meadow paths.Last night there was a chorus of frogs who probably live in the little swampy area where the skunk cabbage grows. One of them says the classic "ribbit, ribbit" and that gets the rest of them going.There are a couple of fallen aspens (thanks to last year's beaver), and I'm trying to decide how to, or if to, drag them out of the lake.That's me in my OOTD, (which I hear is a popular tag), some unknown brand cabin hat which came from who knows where, 80's Nordic wool sweater and no make-up. Yeah, that's how we do it!And here is the carpet of periwinkle which my grandmother planted 25 years ago.This is what's become of Chloe's childhood raft. It's a sort of living island now. Also can't decide what to do with it, but maybe it needs to stay in the lake and evolve.Here is the remains of last year's tent caterpillar nest. Ordinarily not a good sight, but this land is so big that even the tent caterpillar moths belong and are left alone to make their living.So I walked on exploring the lake banks and meadow and across the first three acres......and came to our river.The Gates river runs thru our land and is a protected salmon spawning stream. The water level is very low because most of the water is still locked up in the snowy mountains.Here is the morning view from the river, across the meadow, to the lake.Oh yes, one more beaver killed tree. This time one of the large blue spruces.It's caught up in the other spruce and I suppose I'll need to drive my SUV into the meadow to pull it out.(You can just see the cabin thru the trees.)Here are some lupines that are just starting on the meadow. I love these faithful little plants. They come back every year, and every year they multiply and get more beautiful.View of the lake and cabin beyond.And back across the land to the railroad tracks which border one side.Back in the cabin I was contemplating what to do with the ghostly imprint of Dusty the bear.In the end I decided to put a painting there. The painting is one of five which were painted by a patient of my late father's and show various lovely scenes around BC and also England. It's a nice memory to have here at the cabin.Finally, a lazy Sunday afternoon of reading and relaxing.And a new, fresh bouquet of seasonal greens. This time pussy willows, fresh elder, red willow branches, and some seed heads.So with a cheery fire warming the cabin......and the sun setting...we lit the candles...And had a good night.

Hello from a lovely cabin long weekend...except for the pack rat infestation! Part 1 of 2

Well if you can believe this!Chloe and I packed up a weekend's worth of clothes, food and the paddle board for a lovely Easter break at the cabin. A lush, semi arid, mid-province, late spring sunshine, lakes, wood fire, peace, no electricity, no cell phone reception, get out of town type weekend.I unlocked the door and the first this we saw was last year's bouquet of cabin greenery, (which we always leave as an homage to the cabin gods), tumbled off the table and on the floor.A few seconds later we noticed that Dusty the bear, who we inherited when we bought the cabin, was torn in half and his head and paws were missing. We found ourselves trying to figure out if we were looking at the aftermath or a burglary or a vadalisation.In fact it was both. It seems that I left a window slightly ajar last October, and even though there was a screen blocking the open space, somehow a pack rat got in.We found a bunch of pack rat residence material all over the main floor. So Chloe and I cleaned and bleached and threw stuff outside till very late.And then we went upstairs to the sleeping loft.OMG!!!Let me just say that everything, and I mean EVERYTHING upstairs was torn up, peed on, or otherwise destroyed. So out went the blankets and pillows and mattresses and box springs and carpet and underlay. And from the main floor, out went games and puzzles and cushion and coats and sweaters. And then I bleach-washed everything.Talk about spring cleaning!We cuddled up absolutely exhausted on the sofas in some clean blankets I brought from the city and went to sleep.Saturday morning dawned bright and cheerful and one could almost ignore the disaster around us.I walked down to the pond and found a pair of Canada geese standing on the rock in the middle like nothing at all unusual was happening this morning.But something unusual was. There was a mountain on ruined stuff to be disposed of, and poor old Dusty the bear needed a decent send off.I felt so sad you know.But as I was ripping out carpeting Friday night and throwing 25 years of accumulated blankets and treasures into a burn pile, I was thinking how five generations of my family have affected this beautiful place with their energy, and that is a thing which can never be destroyed.But I felt particularly sad for Dusty the bear who has been an anchor at the cabin for all these years.He will never be replaced...at least I have no idea how he ever could be. I'm firmly against trophy hunting and there is no way I would actively go out and buy a real bear skin (except the one I bought with the cabin). Although I do go hunting for smaller over populated animals with my bow, I recently went and checked the best bow sights and decided to buy one. I felt like a sort of guardian of the spirit that was Dusty, who happened to end up on our wall, and now that he's gone, I felt like he needed a proper send off.So we built a pyre of a bonfire with fresh fir and cedar, had a moment of gratitude, and laid old Dusty to rest.And then we burned the lot. Everything. Carpets, beds, blankets and pillows and quilts, magazines, underlay, coats, sweaters, board games...we burned and burned all day long.Somehow in the clean-up, one of Dusty's paws was saved, and so we put it into the glass medicine cabinet along with the hummingbird skeleton, woodpecker skull, silver ore, and other family and cabin treasures.Later in the afternoon, after I was sure the fire was just smouldering, we drove to the nearest little town of Pemberton, to the hardware-home store, for air mattresses, a little battery operated inflater, batteries, mattress covers, big plastic bins, and a rake for the rest of the stuff to be burned.Back at the cabin I put some Brussels's sprouts in butter and Parmesan on the stove, boiled some water for tea and made some black bean and sweet potato burritos for supper.And Saturday evening came and the hope for a more peaceful Sunday.

Got out of town...to my cabin

It's a bank holiday weekend here and I've been dying to get away for a few days, and I wanted to visit my daughter Kerstin, but I also wanted to spend some time at my cabin. I decided to take the very long way around and head up to my cabin overnight first and then the back roads from there to visit with Kers and our little girls.Guess who was waiting for me under the eves of the cabin. The little screech owl.Right where I left him last time. :DMy neighbours were up, (there are three other cabins around me separated by properties of 5-10 acres), and we decided to have a little meeting about our rights to the small creek we all share. We lease those rights from the government, and that protects the watershed and our water from pollution and diversion by logging or anything else.Inside the cabin was quite chilly but soon the fire was roaring and the stove heating the whole space.First thing I always do is walk around and pick some flowers and greens, or anything else in season...like old wasps nests on twigs, and make a little bouquet for the table.Then I had some lunch.And then, believe it or not, I slept for three hours!While the world went on around me.When I did wake up I went for a walk around the cabin,and out into the meadow.The lupines are so beautiful. I think that my grandmother may have planted there some 20 years ago.Mostly they're that gorgeous blue, but look at this blue and white one! I even saw a pinky-mauve one.Back at the cabin I decided to sketch in my "sketch book"Not your typical sketch book, but I loved everything about this 1923 music book and so decided to give it a new life.I chose this page to paint the tiger lily from my little bouquet because its other common name is "Turk's cap", and on the opposite page I painted a wild columbine.Then I started an evening grosbeak, but this is as far as I got.Instead of painting I went outside and relaxed on the trampoline.Selfie without a single stitch of make up. You don't need make up at the cabin! :DI heard the screech owl hunting at night from his little perch just outside my bedroom window, but in the morning he was gone.I started a fire as soon as I woke up and the stove was hot in no time and my tea water boiled. I love toasting toast right on the stove top but the time it takes to go from beautifully toasted to singed is a fraction of a second!Well, I had my breakfast, drew and painted a little more, and it's time to clean up, lock the cabin and head out.I hate to leave but I'm excited because I'm getting even further out of town!

Opening the cabin for the year

Here's a turn-up for the books guys!Suddenly I got the weekend totally free and so off to the cabin I went.Two hundred km out of town to mile 120 on the railway. That's where I was.In the gloriously dry and warm Lillooet Country on our five acres beside this bubbling mineral stream.Opening the cabin for the year is always such a special time.First thing I do is fling the curtains wide open and take the shutters off the windows, open the doors and windows, and let the sun and fresh air in.Everything is just as I left it last autumn.Spring come a little later to this area, mainly because it's in the Gates Valley and the sun doesn't crest the mountains all winter, but also because the interior of BC is colder than the Pacific influenced coast.But I was happy to see spring well and truly sprung.So many lovely sights. There were butterflies everywhere mixing in the air with last autumn's milkweed seeds.Each time we get to the cabin, we pick a little bouquet of whatever is blooming at the moment. There's very little blooming right now, but I did find some beautiful, fresh green aspen shoots and some blooming falsebox.I started a cozy fire to warm up the cabin, put a pot of water on for some tea and a couple slices of bread for some toast.Then I poured myself a glass of that cold mineral water from the stream and relaxed. At home I usually play free online slot machines at www.EasyMobileCasino.com but here it is so serene that I prefer to sit and just feel at peace.Just outside the door of the cabin, right in the middle of the path in harm's way, was this beautiful native fairy slipper orchid. I had to be so careful not to step on it.And on the other side of the pond was a lovely tapestry of blue and green periwinkle courtesy of my grandmother, who planted it there 20 years ago. I love it there and love that it reminds me of her...but as I've had several friends over the years that were solicitors, a few in particular being Knotweed solicitors, I do know it's an invasive plant and so am watchful how it spreads. So far, the country is so dry and arid, that this is kept beautifully in check only around that part of the pond and doesn't spread into the meadow. .On the other side of the meadow is the Gates river.I did a little surveying of the land to see what's changed. The beaver came around again this winter and cut down several trees, but only at the pond and not close to the cabin. I did a little tidying up of fallen branches and limbs...And soon it was time for supper. Food just tastes so much better here.I relaxed and read my book until the sun set.Then, I chose candles over oil lamps and watched the last of the light fade away.The only art supplies at the cabin are a bunch of old elementary school pencils from when the children were young, but they were perfect for drawing that fresh, green branch of aspen.And after the light was well and truly gone, I played a little solitaire, (the way my grandmother used to play it and never lose)......and I watched the bats flying in the moonlight.Sunday morning came much too early, and with it the need to return to the city.But I had the most amazing and relaxing weekend.Can't wait to come back up again.

Love Letters: Dear Rest

Dear rest,It's so peaceful here.It's quiet and uncomplicated and serene.I love it. Rosy and fresh and cool.Like a good book.Like a song.A bowl of really sweet cherries.Yeah, that's it.Cherries, like cherries.Postcard: Acrylic paint, shadow play, plus a collaged copy of Erwin Blumenfeld's photograph Aubade 1938.The only place I really rest it seems is at my cabin. No electricity, no cell phone reception, no bother.I love it so much. I really have to get up here more often.

Sunday at the cabin and coming home

Oh boy, we didn't want to leave!Sunday came around way too soon, but still time for one more lazy morning and one more walk around the cabin, then we cleaned up and shut the cabin down and took our time heading back to the city.We stopped at our nearest lake, Gates, and had one more paddle. This is a small, and warm lake, and the waters are crystal clear for a good depth. It's also a pretty private lake, because the only public dock is off the main road and really only locals know about it. Nice for us.Then we stopped in Pemberton, at North Arm Farm, where we picked a bucket full of organic strawberries. We may have eaten a few while we were picking, but I had a laugh at all the children there with their parents who probably ate as many as went into the bucket. That's the way with strawberries and children and you-pick farms, isn't it. :DNow I'm home in the city looking forward to the next weekend I can spend at the cabin.

Hello from Sunday night

We're back from a glorious weekend at the cabin. I've just downloaded hundreds of photos...typical, lol...and have had time to only go thru Saturday.So here's what our Saturday looked like:We arrived quite late Friday evening and stayed up to see the first star.Evenings at the cabin are magical. Nights are either black and stars or light and minimal stars. We had a light night. We saw a couple of satellites fly overhead, off to bed we went and slept for a very long time.Mornings at the cabin, and a pot of water warming on the stove, Chloe wakes up in a place she's known her whole life.That little teddy bear is Nanny Bear, her first teddy given to her by her great grandmother when she was born. There is a hand painted pillow and an orange "Moshi" pillow, both gifts from her childhood best friends Megan and Becky.Breakfast at the cabin. I don't know why, but food always tastes better here.Then, off to a lake for the rest of the day.Oh my goodness, look what we have here! It's the rainbow city of the Birkenhead Lake fairies.Late afternoon and time to head back down to the cabin.But first a walk in one of the high meadows.We came away with a little bouquet of wildflowers and a treasure of wild strawberries.I don't know what it is about me but I tend to trip over four leaf clovers. I think that maybe in the war I could have made a good code breaker because I see irregularities and patterns very easily. Anyway, I must stop picking them because the pages in the cabin books are pretty full of pressed four leaf clovers. :DI love to have a puzzle going at the cabin. This lovely 1000 piece puzzle was loads of fun.There we are Saturday evening and time for bed. Boy this day went by quickly. Were not ready to go home.Sharing with Judith and the mosaic bunch. :D

Opening up the cabin 2015

It's time.It's time to open the cabin for the year. All winter the cabin sits in a frozen valley 200km from the door of my city house. It's still chilly up there, but the promise of spring is in the air.I took a lot of photos, and it's probably going to be quite boring for all of you who've seen the cabin before, but, you know what, mostly I write these posts with Robbie in my heart, (because right now we're apart.)So here we go, for Robbie, but also, most definitely, for you! :DDriving in, there was a small, dead birch across the access road. I moved it off to the side.Outside the cabin Clover's and Kers' bespoke wind chime is still hanging up. They built it from the scrap iron they found along the railroad tracks, which are only about 100 ft behind the cabin.The lake, (which is actually a pond, but the previous owner and all the neighbours always referred to it as "The Lake") has filled up already.And the cabin is still standing after the winter!I lit a fire to warm the cabin up and invite in the new year.Then, a quick check: Kitchen's fine.No mouse droppings on the stoves or counters! A year ago Robbie and I went all over the place sealing up any little hole that a mouse might pop thru, and guess what Robbie, we did a great job!Dining area, living room all fine too. I didn't take the shutters off the bottom windows.Fireplace working brilliantly, we'll need to chop some more wood this year though.Up the stairs to the sleeping loft......everything's just fine. No mice, clean linens, fluffy, warm duvets.The games are all waiting to be played with.It's lovely to look thru the contents of the vintage medicine cabinet. A photo of my grandfather camping, my aunt's silly doll from her studio, silver ore, a dried bat, a hummingbird skeleton, dragonfly wings, hand painted Easter eggs, C's silver baby rattle, love all these treasures.Nothing is the worse for winter, nothing got knocked down by the vibrations of the passing trains.Everyone is fine...if a little cobwebby.On the property, the tool shed is fine. I think some mice snuck in under the door, but, since it's such a mess there anyway, nothing bad going on.Odds and Ends, the heritage train workers trailer guest cabin, will need a new roof and the metal chimney toppled off. Must do that this year before something happens to the interior.A beaver's been thru and there are about 10 small trees......and one rather big tree down. There's our firewood, right there!And I think you're right Robbie, some of the trees need to come down. Perhaps I'll talk it over with Jon, Kers and Clove and talk to Billy Jr and ask him to harvest that great big cedar right behind the cabin...maybe the one by the side door too. And the blue spruces in the meadow need to be trimmed up, and maybe some of the alders need thinning out too so we can see the meadow and the river from the cabin.Apart form that, the porches need rebuilding and the broken window need replacing. (Darn Canada goose)So that's on the project list this year: Thinned trees, one small roof, one wrap around porch, and a window.But guess what happened as I was locking up and leaving? I got the feeling that I was being watched!From up high by the window of the loft. Who's that? Could it be a great horned owl?It is!Who is the luckiest girl in the world! That would be me. Who else do you know who has a great horned owl as the guardian of their cabin? :D I need to paint him, don't I?

If I had that organic farm I keep threatening everyone with...

...it would look like this:There would be a huge open barn with a chandelier swinging from the ceiling.Lovely, fresh organic produce would be available seasonally.Every inch would be lovely to look at.It would be family welcoming with lots of play areas for children.There would be places to sit beside a warm fire.And not just any old fire pit, a beautiful, huge metal disk of a fire pit.There would be a few farm animals and horse drawn wagon rides out to the pumpkin patch.And there would be a little store where everything would be golden and warm and seasonal, with a little bakery and good coffee and a few tables and chairs.This place really does exist. It is North Arm Farm and it's conveniently right on my way to the cabin. If you ever head up to Whistler, you should really go a little further and stop by. It's a lovely place.

Blissful Saturday at the cabin

I spent a few tranquil hours at the cabin today.To some, driving 200km to get out of town for a day sounds a bit like hard work, and Robert said it's like driving from Oxford to Scotland and back, but that's what life is like in Canada. Pretty wide open spaces, mountain passes to negotiate and the ocean to drive past means it will take a few kms to get out of town.Besides, I wanted to check on the cabin, and this time of year is the loveliest time to go there.Here is the lake at the cabin. It's actually just a pond that has illusions of grandeur, but someone named it The Lake, over 20yrs ago, before it became ours, and the name, for the sake of history, has stuck. It's full and lush this time of year. Too cold to swim now, but hopefully it will freeze solid for a bit of skating this winter.Inside the cabin felt very cold, and certainly much colder than the outside, so I opened the windows and doors and built a cheery fire and the cabin warmed up in no time. Best thing we ever did was replace the smokey old stove with this terrifically efficient new one.Then, I went to have a walk around on the paths. (Cougars and bears be damned :) ) But I did feel much easier walking here when I had dogs.This is the best time of year for wild mushrooms. (Except spring morels) Do you know your edible mushrooms from your poisonous ones? I only know about a dozen trusted types. These I'm not sure of so they stay right where they are.These are delicious and are coming home with me. My grandfather always cut the mushroom to leave the bottom piece int he ground. He believed the root system, the mycelium, needed to stay so more mushrooms would grow back. Grandmother would say that's nonsense and yank the whole mushroom out of the ground, break off half the stem and toss that back to the earth.The moss is so lush right now. I couldn't help gathering a little to take back to the city.I walked down to the river which flows thru the property. It's beautifully clear and fresh, but not a lot of water. In the spring it's thick with spawning fish.Best thing about today was I left the fog of Vancouver behind and spent the day in the warm sunshine. That's worth the trip any day.