Tendrils and whisps

An early morning start from Bowen for a full day of work and travel. Off to run a full day Open Space for the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of BC and then on to Naramata to work with the leadership program of the Federation of Community Services of BC.

A rainy day of warm air and misty tendrils and landscapes half revealed.

Coming into summer

Entering the summer solstice. I crossed the Salish Sea today which provides this view of my home island and, today, a glimpse of two dolphins who passed us in a hurry, steaming their way north.

This is the time of year in the north when the light begins to wane. The time of the fullest and brightest days, the fulfilled promise of the winter solstice. For me it's a time of waning fullness, letting myself empty out leading into some time off in the summer and a busy fall. I love the rhythm of waxing and waning, of light and dark, of ordinary time and non-ordinary time. A year divided into two forms of practice.

So I wish you a happy celebration of the fullness of promise, an honoring of the warmth and light, comfort if you need it and relaxation if it helps. And my wish for this six months is for a half year of good practice, putting to good use everything that has been learned in the winter and spring.

Island time

On Bowen when it closes is the right time.

Welcome to Junuary

Every year the heat and sunny promise of May turns to cool rain in June. This year is no different. We call it "Junuary."

Lazy spring day

Stunning weekend here on Bowen Island. Yesterday was 25 degrees and clear and Aine and I went walking along the south shore of Cape Roger Curtis, watching cruise ships sail and surf scoters dart by. Today it was a late brunch, some football at the artificial turf field and lunch at Artisan Eats with the kids and then relaxing on the sleeping porch in the cool afternoon breeze. Nothing remarkable, and yet it is his miracle of stillness that I live for.

Surrounded by lows

Early morning trip to Minnesota on a holiday Monday. One downside of working a lot in the United States is that American clients often book me for long weekends. It's free on my calendar, so it must be okay!

Not too choked to leave on a little trip today though. The weather has been glorious the past few days, the Vancouver Whitecaps have treated us to some fabulous games at BC Place, including a thrilling comeback in the opening leg of the Canadian Championship Cup final and a terrific derby match against Seattle.

But now the rainy weather has moved in, the Pacific high which gets established over the Gulf of Alaska every summer, is yet to settle in so it's bright grey cloud with light rain, moderate temperatures and no wind. I'm off to Minnesota where I'm looking forward to sunshine and thunderstorms.

Public vs. private again

Last week in the Undercurrent our mayor published an article about the money we pay to Translink, the Greater Vancouver Regional Transit Authority.  In it he argued that, despite paying a substantial amount of money to the authority, we get very little in terms of local attention and services.  Two ideas he would like to see are increased consultation with Islanders on creatively expanding our local bus service, and figuring out ways to have a better connection between Express buses and Horseshoe Bay.  Both of these are good ideas.

But this week, we see the knee jerk reaction to the idea that we might continue to contribute to a region-wide public good.  In a letter to the editor entitled How much is enough?, R. Gordon Ganong argues that we should aim to reduce our contribution to Tranlink to zero:

I urge mayor Adelaar and council to continue their work regarding TransLink payments and take whatever steps possible to reduce our gift to TransLink with the goal of reducing it to zero.

This is not a gift.  Public financing of public services is the way we live together in a society. We cannot simply reduce our contribution to zero.   I urge the mayor to continue with his solution focus, to find ways we can make our contribution matter and have a greater affect on addressing local needs.