A bomb of a day...waterbomber, that is!

It has been a summer of wildfires here in BC.  We have spent much of our time out here unable to see across to the other side of the lake.  

The past few days, however, the winds changed direction, and blew some of the smoke away, leaving us with 3 days of blue skies, and air that finally did not smell and taste like smoke.  What a gift!

Cousins enjoying the water and sky down at the beach - Aug 11

Late yesterday afternoon, Duncan and I drove into Sicamous to pick up some groceries.  To our shock, it looked like all the wind had whipped up the Two Mile fire (which we had thought was under control).  Smoke was billowing up from several spots.

the view from downtown Sicamous

By late last night, you could start to smell the smoke again.  This morning the sky was still mostly blue, but the smoke was super-visible over to the Sicamous side of the lake.  I was over at Glen's to check on the kiln when the deep thrumming started.  It sounded like it might be a helicopter.  Nope.   A water bomber.   More specifically, FOUR water bombers.   I grabbed my phone to see if I could capture them going by.  Wow.  

VIDEO:  [here is a 2:10 minute video that shows all 4 of the planes grabbing water from the lake right in front of us)

At the Bates house next door, everyone was up on the deck with their phones out.   Glen called out that this was the second time.   Within minutes, we could hear them coming around again.
 
I phoned back over to Mary, to see if she could get any good shots from Arta's deck with my camera (which I had left there).  Here are some shots Mary got from Arta's (which is kind of amazing since we have all those trees between us and the lake!)

Can you see Steamboat Island in the background?

Over at Wyona's, there was a more open view of the action.  By this time, Glen had done the timing, so we knew the planes were doing a circuit every 7.5 minutes.  I decided to grab the camera and go right down to the beach to see what the action looked like from there.  

VIDEO: [1:49 minute video of the planes coming to the beach...you can hear it first, so look for it to emerge around 30 seconds]

VIDEO: [This one is 2 minutes long, but you can see how close some of the the planes were coming to the beach]

Here are some more still photos of the action.

 I hung out down at the beach for at least another 6 or 7 cycles.   It was pretty amazing.

Steamboat Island again

Then Glen phoned and told me I should check out the view from the top of Bernie Road.   I headed up there to see what I could see.  I only managed two cycles before they stopped flying (they had been going around 3 hours, so I was guessing they needed to fuel up).

Skirting the tops of trees on Bernie Road

Later afternoon, they started up again.  By then, the smoke had really started to roll in again, so things looked much more misty.

I did wonder why that fishing boat was not moving back closer to the shore.   Or maybe this is just one of those rear-view-mirror 'objects may be closer than they appear' thing?  The boat and the bomber did look pretty close to each other in the video!

The sun casts a golden glow on the water

The planes kept going in the smoke

And as the hours moved along, the smoke got thicker and thicker.

The smoke didn't really stop the kids playing in the water.   

Piper takes a leap of faith off the dock

Gabe makes the catch!

But the smoke kept thickening, and finally the planes gave up for the day.  I hope they managed to push back the fire!

So... that was our 'bomb' of a day.   I wonder if any of the other family members caught some good photos to share?

The Three Sisters

While visiting Shuswap Lake in the Secwépemc territory this summer, I was introduced to the Three Sisters Garden growing on the lot of my Uncle Glen and Aunt Janet's home. 

Glen and Janet Pilling in front of the Three Sisters Garden

It is one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen.  Robin Wall Kimmerer in her book Braiding Sweetgrass describes "the genius of Indigenous agriculture, the Three Sisters.  Together these plants --corn, beans and squash -- feed the people, feed the land, and feed our imaginations, telling us how we might live." 

Here are a few closeups of the garden.  See if you can identify the corn, squash and beans. 

Who is the tall sister shooting for the stars, and who is the sister spreading her broad leaves wide to shelter the soil and protect the other two sisters from weeds and pests?

Which sister embraces the corn, keeping pace with its height, wandering and dancing around its stock?

Here is the gardener describing the Three Sisters and the garden, made for Arta Johnson with love.  

Kimmerer wrote:  "At the height of the summer, when the days are long and bright, and the thunderers come to soak the ground, the lessons of reciprocity are written clearly in a Three Sisters garden.  Together their stems inscribe what looks to me like a blueprint for the world, a map of balance and harmony.  ...  Respect one another, support one another, bring your gift to the world and receive the gifts of others, and there will be enough for all."

These are the same lessons that I have learned from another group of three sisters - Arta, Wyona and Moiya. Respect one another, support one another and bring your gift to the world.  Not only is there enough for all, but the bonds you form using this blueprint will be the structure that sustains you through a lifetime.   

Other profound truths these three sisters have taught me include:

1.  Listen with curiousity.  

2.  Open your heart, home, and table to family and friends. It leads to a rich life.

3. Share the gifts and resources you have with others.  That might be bucket of cherries, a basket of ripe plums, a stick of cream cheese for butterhorn icing, and a black feather boa to finish a vintage outfit. Just a few of the gifts I received last week. It might also be your time, your stories, a walk in the woods, a hug, or sharing a priceless memory.  

4. Every gathering is a party.  Where there is food, laugher and love, ever moment is priceless.  These gatherings are the building blocks of connection. 

5.  Set your food out on your best dishes and you will always know it is a feast.  

6.  Travel and explore the world with others.  It might mean a cruise to the Baltic, Indian Ocean or around the world or could be as simple as a trip to the Dairy Queen or Costco. The journey together is important.  

7.  Really get to know your family.  Learn the names of your nieces and nephews and their children. Be curious about their lives.  It takes work to remain connected to family, and it begins with the simple step of knowing each other.  Strong ties in families begin with curiosity and love.  These ties also require work, honesty, humility, and respect.   

Here is a classic photo of the Three Sisters

"It's close to midnight
Something evil's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight
You see a sight that almost stops your heart"
Lyrics from Thriller, Michael Jackson

I could have chosen a lot of great photos to share of these three sisters, but for some reason, this photo caught my attention and made me smile.  This photo captures so much of the fun these three had together.

Wyona tells the story of these photos here:  

"Moiya, Arta, Wyona and Alex left on a cruise from South Hampton to Canary Islands and back. We went to a dance class to learn 'Thriller'.  After one lesson, which was fun, we were asked to dance in a predance before a game show on the ice rink. We were not happy to do it but we were sort of cajoled into it because not many people were at the practice.  So we dressed up the night of the dance and performed. I have a video of the event. We were on the 'Independence of the Seas', Royal Carribean.

I can't stop laughing thinking about these three sisters doing the Thriller dance. 
I gotta see that video.

I finish with another paragraph from Robin Wall Kimmerer from her book Braiding Sweetgrass.  

"Of all the wise teachers who have come into my life, none are more eloquent than these, who wordlessly in leaf and vine embody the knowledge of relationship.  Alone, a bean is just a vine, squash an oversize leaf.  Only when standing together with corn does a whole emerge which transcends the individual.  The gifts of each are more fully expressed when they are nurtured together than alone.  In ripe ears and swelling fruit, they counsel us that all gifts are multiplied in relationship.  This is how the world keeps going."

"The forester who guided my eyes to places I could not see on my own."

While visiting my mother, Arta, in Victoria during the last month of her life, she spoke to me about her trip to Avatar Grove. She called it "one of the holiest moments of (her) life". You can read more about it on her 80 Memories for 80 Years Blog - post #24  Avatar Grove 

Glen Pilling in Avatar Grove

Multiple time, Arta encouraged me to "try a trip to Avatar Grove", the ancient growth forest, otherwise known as T'l'oqwxwat. 

Our family vacation this summer was to visit my mother in Victoria.  After her death, we decided to honour her by keeping our tickets to Victoria so we could take that trip to Avatar Grove. Now the funny thing about my life is that things often go sideway or don't go as planned.  Our trip to Victoria got us close to Avatar Grove, but the night before our trip we learned that the logging company that maintains the dirt road to Avatar Grove had decided to gate and lock access.  Avatar Grove is close to Fairy Creek where there are protests happening to save another ancient growth forest. If you want to learn more about what is happening to ancient growth forests in Canada, check out this website.  Ancient Forest Alliance

To say that I was disappointed wouldn't do justice to my emotions.  

Now things sometimes have a way of working themselves out.  Our family left Victoria after a brief stay and we made our way to Annis Bay on the Shuswap Lake.  There I got a chance to meet up with the forester, my Uncle Glen Pilling, who had taken my mother on her trip to Avatar Grove.  

Glen Pilling, giving us a guided tour of the forest

When I told him I had never hiked the path toward the Old Sicamous Road, he told me to be at his house early the next morning and he would give me a guided tour.  He signed up my Uncle Greg, one of the trail keepers, to walk along with us.  Only those wanting an early morning hike were invited, so eventually our group consisted of Catie, Eric, Glen, Greg and myself.  

Greg Bates and Eric Jarvis on the trail

Here are a few of the photos from our hike.

The climb begins

The guide and the young (Catherine Rayanna) waiting along the trail
for the rest of us to catch up.

The sun peeking through the trees.

The forester gave us a lesson, then a quiz about the various trees that make up this forest.
What kind of tree is this?  Answer in the comments.  A special prize if you know.

Look up at the blue sky.  Sadly, high in the sky is the only place to glimpse
the true blue of the sky because of the haze of smoke from local forest fires.

Check out the links below if you want to listen to the forester's lessons:

  

Learning about trees

Indigenous knowledge about conks

Twin Flower

We made it to this glorious destination overlooking Shuswap Lake. 
The spot is a bit off the path, only known to the forester.  

Proof that I was actually on the hike.  A hazy view over the Shuswap Lake.

On the trip home, we learned about what it takes to be a path keeper.  Greg Bates walked along with us carrying gardening clippers to cut back stray branches along the path.  Although he didn't carry his chainsaw today, we got  a little lesson on how one clears large trunks that fall across the path.  Be careful sometimes the tree surprises you and torques in a direction that will knock you off your feet.  Just ask Greg. Listen to him describe recent work on the trail and how one clears a trail

The path home - downhill.

The finish line - back at Glen's home.

At the end of Arta's blog post on Avatar Grove she wrote: "A holy experience. If I go again, I will take with me that same forester who guided my eyes to places I could not see on my own." I'm feeling so grateful for the chance I had to walk through the forest with that same forester. If I never get to Avatar Grove, I will still count myself lucky to have walked the forest around Annis Bay with my uncles.  Another forest that my mother loved.  

And who knows, maybe I will get back to T'l'oqwxwat with this same beloved forester. I can only hope.

Ranking Your Favorite Rob Dirk Illustrations

Rob Dirk did a series of illustrations for Arta as a thankyou for allowing him and Pam to stay at the Shuswap. 

Is anyone interested, either in a framed set of prints, or in sets of postcards? 

I curated 10 illustrations from his larger collection that seemed likely to be the most popular, 

I have grouped some in sets of three, that could be framed, and also below are the individual illustrations. The sets are suggestions only, if other configurations are preferred that is fine.

Please let me know if there is interest either in framed sets or postcards.

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3A

Series 3B

Series 3C