Deborah Borsos’s Weblog
The Art of Philately Project- about art, community culture, mountains,stamps…and moreArchive for September, 2008
Farewell to summer, hello elections
Farewell to Summer©
The bracken has finally turned brown, and the larch, those lovely Kootenay trees that hide in the evergreen forest all year, then light up the hillside each fall with their colour ; well they are at it again.
A few crisp nights, - which Im sure we will see a number of quite soon - and the mountains will be a blanket of colour, hopefully for a good long while before they become a blanket of white. I did notice a dusting of white on Mt.Willet just today. And as sure as fall follows summer, the season of door knocking political candidates is upon us. The Canadian Conference of the Arts (which boasts an excellent website in itself) has come out with a separate website dedicated to the 2008 election and it contains a goodly amount of information; including very relevant questions to ask those previously noted door-knockers when they come calling.
Be prepared ! (I didnt squeeze myself into a girl guide uniform year after year for nothing; I did learn that being prepared makes your life WAY easier than shooting from the hip…..most times). In this case, having prepared , intelligent questions regarding the arts for the candidates can be very telling. And dont wait for them to come calling – organize an all candidates meeting; or invite your local arts council to do this! There is a list of (almost) every arts council in this fine province on the Assembly website for your convenience…
I have heard to date, (and I do indeed listen to CBC Radio almost all day long every day) only one politician directly address the arts funding cuts recently announced and what he would do to correct that. And another thing? Make sure you vote! If you dont vote, you can’t grumble after the fact. And if you dont think anyone running is worthy of your vote? Then get involved yourself. Although I was born in Canada, I did have two parents who truly appreciated the chance to vote; one of them having lived a long time in a country where voting wasnt popular or an option.
And tomorrow, we head East for “Part Two” of the road trips. Hooray! Ill be working my way down the East shore of Kootenay Lake , then over to Cranbrook, Fernie, Canal Flats, and as far past those points as I can manage. Cant wait! More soon, with more sketches from the road. cheers,DB.
Travel Delights
Sometimes being spontaneous is just the ticket.
I was driving back from Nelson on a lovely morning recently, and at the last second, tires squealing, the car seemingly turned itself down to the Harrop-Proctor ferry and over the water I went. It had been many years since I had been over there, and I decided to see what I could see. Here was the first delightful site, before I even reached the far shore:
Kootenay birdies
The ferry ride is only about 3 minutes, so I was in and out of the car just long enough to snap these Canada geese and Osprey enjoying their morning constitutional. Always seeking new scenes and ideas for my Philatelic Collection, I nosed my way north through Harrop to the far end of the road in Proctor , and judging by all the sideroads I passed I saw only a tiny bit of each of these lovely communities.
Grow local! Seeing the greenhouses in Howser was a good reminder, (even though I do believe these greenhouses house tree seedlings and not veggies or fruit.) But its always good to grow more trees too, so there you have it. I carried on, and every turn and bend in the road held something new and interesting, such as this scene; classic Kootenay; of an old barn , green fields and mountains to the northwest. Smallholdings abound in the Columbia Basin and more power to them as a big part of our Basin culture. I think this may end up being the way of the future for our area as it was in the past. Everyone grows a bit of everything and it works quite fine, thanks. And heck; with global warming, soon we wont even need to ship in our bananas…..
Kootenay classic
Fire & Rain
Well this (see below) just about sums up our summer weather.
fire and rain summer 08
This was taken just to the north of us (by my carpenter/fire warden/(photographer)) partner when he was out on patrol, flitting about in a helicopter. We had several wicked thunder and lightening and wind storms come through, and before the inevitable rains came, several (18 in fact) blazes got started which amazingly continued for a week or two through numerous downpours.
Fire in our forests here is another piece of the Basin Culture puzzle. We have various fire lookouts; many of which are no longer used, and several (happily) which have gained heritage site status and have been restored. Without them and the fire lookout folks who once stayed up in the towers all summer watching for lightening strikes from their strategic perches, our area would have burned off much more than it has over the years. And maybe (?) that wouldnt have been such a bad thing; once an area is burned, it isnt a hazard to nearby communities for quite a while. There is new growth and regeneration and the forest goes on. However – (as the fire lookout people have done in the past), the forest service these days does a pretty great job of getting onto blazes as fast as possible.
Because the fire warden lives here,(in this house, that is) we usually monitor the fire radio all day every day throughout the summer. And its amazing how many fires, small and large, are found and worked on without the general public even realizing it. The rain helped a lot. It helped the gardens (would anyone out there like some green tomatoes????) and it helped curb the “fire season” from truly getting going. But the fire crews still got their share of work, even in such a cool wet summer.
I would personally like a refund however, on the amount of long lazy sunny summer days I expected (and usually get) around these parts. Im just not sure who to phone about it…
And on the studio front: The stucco saga continues…and continues…. but it is progressing (really).
More soon.cheers, DB.
