Tuesday Morning, Covid and Lockdown’s Continue

It was a hard start today. I measure these by the number of hits to ‘snooze’ button. Three today. The worst has been ‘five’.  I don’t like snow. I feel I did my time on the prairies.  I am due for some of that “Privliedged Southern Living” that Equatorial sorts take for granted.  I want to see Canada trade Quebec for Hawaii.  I’m Western Canadian. We’re the civilized educated well mannered Canadians.  Eastern Canada where Montreal and Toronto are imperialists bullies is a ghetto of colonial thieves.  I like the Maritimes.  I weary of the urban activists and critics who are the sources of all the worlds problems of pollution. It takes a whole lot of energy to move resources to the urban centre. If people would just stay dispersed they’re be no parking lot destruction of habitat.  I miss small town living. I miss my homestead.  

I am so thankful for my river walks each day with Madigan.  I love Burnaby lake.  I’m really blessed.  

Covid 19 continues with the promise of vaccines which don’t so as much scientifically as they are purported to do politically.  I’m upset with the communist globalist agenda, Agenda 21, Davos 2030 and the WEF along with Trudeau to maximize this tragedy for their own greed and short sightedness. I’d rather be camping.  I’m ready for a week by a creek in the BC interior, God’s country.  I want to explore back country. Maybe even shoot a bear.  Bear meat would be a change. 

I sure enjoyed the grouse I had last night. I cubed a couple of the grouse I shot in the fall with the 20 guage. I brazed this in butter in the frying pan and added a can of mandarains with sauce to stew for a bit with curry seasoning.  I poured this on the white and wild rice to make a truly delicious meal.  I gave a few pieces to Madigan telling him this will be what we are looking for next fall.

I bought the Lowe’s 5’x10 foot trailer on Friday then drove over to Northwest Marine at Boundary and First. Some of the folk there started at Carter’s Honda. I’d bought several outboards and generators at Carters before buying my first Honda 50cc Ruckus.  Such a great little machine for scooting about downtown when I lived on Beach off English Bay. At North West I’d bought more outboard motors and generators but the last lovely I bought was the Pioneer Side By Side 500 cc ATV.  Tom and I had a good bow hunt with that. Gilbert though didn’t like the hard ride so much. I should have added a cushion to his seat.  I did like the rain cover.  Otherwise it was bit enclosed like being in a car in the backwoods.  When Gilbert went blind and stayed with Laura in the camper I traded the ATV for the KTM690. More backwoods fun on 2 street legal wheels. The difficulty with ATV’s is getting to the legal logging roads. The beauty of the motorcycle is that I didn’t have that issue. The difficulty though was the greater anxiety about crashing alone backwoods. 

So with Madigan needing a ride I bought the 2021 Honda 42 Rancher ATV. I really liked quad’s the best of all hunting machines.  When I shot a deer with my Yamaha 450, a sweet machine, I just put it on the back of the quad to haul it home.  Now I’m fully outfitted again . A good feeling. I dream of a three month tour of the backwoods visiting hot tubs and hunting moose on the way home with my camper and quad. In a year or two maybe. I really am enjoying working so don’t have any real drive to retire. If Laura wasn’t working in the city though I expect I’d head back to the country.  The attraction of being in Vancouver was the Symphony, Theater, Ballet and Stanley Park.  The traffic made the city less and less appealing, bike lanes taking all the parking.  Now with lockdowns the city is less appealing and without the culture there’s no reason for the high prices. I do miss the homestead and chickens.

I also liked travelling. I love travel writing in a cafe and museums and churches.  I had hoped to go to Aberdeen this year and Laura and I want to return to Southern Ireland for another week or two of exploring. We so loved Galway, Dublin and Londonderry.  We’d like to go to Italy again. Rome and Milan were magical.  There’s all of South America I’d live to visit, mostly the bird sanctuary in Brazil.  I don’t have any desire for danger anymore. I was intrepid younger but now don’t like poverty or desperation or aggressive merchants. I may even get to the point where I’d like to travel with a group for the safety in numbers. But my interests travelling, writing, cafe’s and history and spirituality are not well served by the standard tours.  

Covid cancelled all the tours but more it took the pleasure out of the equation. I was anxious visiting the lowlands in Ethiopian not wanting to get disease.  Now with Covid I simply don’t want the risk. I have a paranoia about infections.  I’ts become apparent with Covid. A little PTSD I supposed for HIV and TB days and all the contagious diseases I’ve treated.  I’d rather deal with blunt force trauma but if the truth be known I’m older and more cautious. Everything takes longer to heal and I simply value health now far more than I was a crazy young guy.  I miss that fellow too.  Today though I reminisce about the glamor and elegance of my dancing years.  I loved the theatre and the pageant. I’ve been in these little clinical rooms and doing the small necessary work but miss the big stage.  I’ve taught so many one on one but would re visit the class room. The whole zoom thing is encouraging me to formalize.  I’ve a desire to write another book or two. It’s more than usual. I may actually settle down.  

It’s time to work.  

Thank you God for this day. Thank you for Madigan. Thank you for the life I’m living, family and friends. Help all those I am close to today and help me heal in my work. May i be a channel for your light and peace Lord.  May I serve you. May I be a better person today than I was yesterday. May I find reason for joy and feel the presence of you in the flow of creation.  Thank you Lord.