I Have to see a man about a horse!

A Lot can happen in a couple of weeks. The highlight was a short trip to Bonanza, Oregon to see a man about a horse. Some old frequent flier points came in handy earlier this month.... as I made my way to Curry Ranch. I was the guest of the most gracious host, Dr. Henry Curry and was able to spend some time (although not nearly enough) talking Peruvian Paso Horse with Henry and his trainer, Jaimie. Best of all I was introduced to Lindero, a very handsome gelding with pleasant ground manners and a smooth, ground covering gait. In a couple of weeks Lindero will become a Canadian citizen and a resident of Denman Island. This means that Mikki will have a trail partner that can keep up with him.

This weekend, there was a horse camp-out, trail ride, and soccer game on Denman Island. Mikki, (with Kari) and several other horses and riders took part in a trail ride on Saturday, which was followed by "happy hour", a pot luck dinner and impromptu line dancing. The next day we introduced the horses to soccer balls. Most of the horses had never experienced the game, but soon got the hang of it. Mikki was a natural and within minutes could "dribble" the ball the entire length of the field. His high leg motion is a definate advantage. He's now ready for some serious competition. Pictures of the weekend can be seen on the Island Equine site.

Strawbale Houe Update: Continuing on with the fir flooring upstairs. The gutters went on last week. (only pictures of horses this week)

Poking the bear

Smok'n hot, quite literally sums up our weather for the last two weeks. Forest fires in the interior have made for some interesting sunsets and very smoky air quality. In one of the pictures below (looking out the living room window) you can see that the mountains are no longer visible though the smoke.

I spent five days at The Haven for their "Come Alive" program. I'd have to say it made a notable impact on my life, (to say the least). I highly recommend it for those that wish to get to know themselves a little better. Thanks to the inspiring people I met there.

Straw Bale house update: The fir floor is nailed down in the upstairs "bonus room" (I still have the upper bedroom to do). It now needs to be sanded, stained, and finished, (a project for a rainy day) This entire room is backed up by generator power. It will contain TV and wireless router coverage for the multiple laptops in the house. Door painting and prepping for kitchen cabinets is on the agenda for the coming week.

Pictures this post are: (1) fir floor in the bonus room, (2+3) living room window detail from two directions, showing bales "hung" above the windows on the gable end.

It was a sad day for direct democracy last week when the HST petition was set aside pending court actions. I'm all for a VAT tax of sorts, (although not this one) but I think the latest blunder is a case of "poking the bear". People are pissed.

Hot on the trail

Earlier in the month, Kari and Mikki went camping on a back-country horseman trail-ride. It's not so much camping, as it is a good excuse to eat and drink well, have some fun and music and, oh ya, do some trail riding. Pictures of the outing can be seen on the Denman Horse Club's website by clicking HERE. (and then view slide-show.) There could be a second pony in our future, as this looks like way too much fun to miss out on. Mikki has never had to cross any water and since this was a minor issue on the trail ride, Kari thought it prudent to acclimate him to water via the ocean. This is one of those times that she offers to let me ride... (whenever there is potential for loss of life or debilitating injury). After much fuss (and some exciting rodeo action) He decided that the ocean was rather interesting and potentially tasty. Next time, we'll try to get his toes in.

The kitchen is all ready for cabinets. They are being built on the island and and should be ready to install mid August. Installation of the rustic fir floors (upstairs), is well underway. It has proven to be a challenge as local fir does pretty much what it wants with regard to straightness (or lack thereof). Pictures to follow.

Every other Friday afternoon, the "Mystery Beach Happy Hour" takes place on Denman Island, around four-ish. The beach where "happy hour" takes place is a mystery until just a few days in advance. Each time it is held at a different beach and has grown to about thirty people, all of whom show up with appetizers and beverage of their choice. There are many rules if one wants to participate, such as:

-You should only show up if you want to

-You can leave when you feel like it

-Invite someone along if the mood strikes you

-Swimming is optional

-You don't have to remember the rules.

Heat Wave

We had a bit of a heat wave last week. I took a couple of days off and traveled with kari (business trip) to Port McNeill and Alert Bay. Alert Bay is quite an interesting place with lots of history. It's a very walkable town/island with a beautiful boardwalk that runs the entire length of the village. This picture is of the old "residential school".

What do you do when you're a fat, black cat on a scorching hot day? Boo Radley's solution: Find a nice cool, shady patch of daisies, expose as much surface area as possible, get the white side up and catch a few winks.

It's been a while since I took a picture of the view side of the house. This shot shows the shop on the right and the pumphouse on the left. There's a lot of roof lines on this house, but somehow it all works. Very attractive lines, in my opinion.

arbutuspliff

While Curt's in the Okanagan working, he's making good use of his time off to do some recording..... using only a laptop.

Finding Balance by arbutuspliff

The Truth be Told

The July 1st long weekend was kicked off Thursday with a (mini) parade of sorts held by the Denman-Hornby Equine Club, (of which we're members). Horses and people donned with Canadiana paraphernalia Walked from the Bistro down the ferry hill to welcome the 11:00 sailing of the Quinitsa. Only on Denman Island! Kari is not yet brave enough to ride Mikki in an event like this, but I'm sure next year she'll have worked up the courage. We bundled up in our polar fleece and carried the banner instead, which seemed like a good idea until it was time to walk back up the hill. note: horses prefer to walk quite quickly uphill and if in front of them.... you must move quicker still.

Saturday, I wandered over to Hornby Island to check out their home and garden show. It gave me a chance to see a couple of straw bale houses in different stages of construction. One where the leftover bales from our construction will be put to good use. The highlight for me was this amazing fireplace mantle that perfectly replicated the sandstone shoreline that can be seen on many of the gulf islands. I'd love to know how they did it.


The forecast was sketchy but the Fire Dept. pulled off yet another warm, (although overcast) Pancake Breakfast on Sunday. Prediction is that we set another record.... with final numbers to be tallied, it looks like more than half the island turned out.

I saw on the news that there's a super-tanker in the gulf trying to suck up huge amounts of oil. I wondered just how environmentally friendly that was. It turns out that just 15 of the worlds largest cargo ships spew as much pollution into our air as all the cars in the world put together. Hard to believe, but check it out here.

Strawbale house Update: The truth Window is in. Kari came across the perfect thing for a truth window in an antique store in Courtenay. It was part of something much bigger (I know not what) but I ripped it down to size and it's a great feature. FYI: It's traditional to have some sort of window that reveals the construction of the home. This one is in our dining room.

Finally, beach weather!

Straw Bale House Update: I'm officially done with the exterior plaster. The living room window details were a little tricky, but I'm happy with the outcome. We'll have the best sunset views on the island through these windows. Depending on the weather over the next couple of weeks I'll be working on interior plastering and kitchen cabinet prep or finishing the staining of the shingles on the gable ends.

When we first moved here there were very few raccoons on the island. The rumour was that they had all died off from some disease. Last week, I found the first evidence that they have found the building site.


The better weather has allowed for more horsey riding. Mikki loves to get out and spend some of that hot-blooded energy. (he can really motor) We generally switch off half way through the ride with one of us riding a bike. Mikki loves the bike and will follow close enough to touch your back with his nose. Today was his first ride to the beach. He'd never seen the ocean before and seaweed was a whole new culinary experience. Notice the front leg action of the Peruvian Paso, known a termino, where the feet are thrown to the side. I've learned the hard way not to ride beside him as he can throw gravel a fair distance. Kari's riding confidence level has increased dramatically over the last month. Through my own ignorance and stupidity this hasn't been an issue for me.
.
Kari planted the two small raised beds I built a couple of months ago. We're looking forward to the first real harvest. She also bought a few fruit trees including cherry, apple, nectarine and Asian pears. The last couple of weekends, we've attacked the thistles which have taken over on the southern exposure of the property. It's a thorny business.