Fresh snow coated the morning with a blanket of white that embraced the slopes of our mountain home. Anxious and excited we put on our gear and rushed out the door in time for the first chairlifts of the day. It was another day living the dream; little did I know it would end in a personal nightmare. Steep powder turns greeted me as I bounced in the fresh snow through the trees off the Powder Chair. Deep snow caressed Read more…
Powder snow blew over the top of the mountain. I rode the chair and saw the fresh snow filling the trees. I floated in the light snow and bounced on the bumps like pillows on the slopes. There were remnants of ice that scraped free in some of the steeper pitches. Ullr was regaling us with his blessing. I was lucky enough to ride the fresh snow as it fell in crystalline heaps of wonder. With excited trepidation, we have Read more…
My brain swam to the surface of consciousness. I awoke and turned to the clock and saw the time, it was 5:30 on the alarm clock. In real-time, it was 5:15. I’m not sure why I try to trick myself with my clock, I have set my alarm clock fifteen minutes fast since I was a kid. Most days I know to subtract fifteen minutes from the clock that glows in front of my eyes. It was no different on Read more…
Without malignant intentions expanding never ending always seeking A host A place to reproduce, to begin again and again… Unaware of the damage that it is wreaking The host dies and searching once more To recreate itself, it spreads Cell to cell, faster, faster Rebuilding the host, infecting the core Just a simple calculation, a mathematical equation Double once, double again Reproduction unchecked, spreading, changing, faster, faster It rapidly infects the population Without intent, without knowing Simple Read more…
Sensalia ran through the forest in a daze. She had a flash of a memory, a woman yelling, telling her to go. The fleeing young woman ran from all she knew. The further she went, the less she could remember of the place she was raised in. She knew she came from a place in the elven kingdom. A kingdom separated and isolated from the human world; the world she now found herself in. The young human woman raced on Read more…
Lockdown, our nice Bonnie Henry refused to use the word, but it sure felt like a lockdown. Restrictions brought in two weeks ago were extended today. Today was another Monday in our pandemic inflicted country. This time the non-lockdown measures were extended until January 8, these restrictions limited social connections of any kind. Today Christmas was essentially canceled. Two weeks ago the BC government announced health orders telling everyone to restrict all interaction outside of their own homes. Monday, December Read more…
Three snow riding buddies carved their boards and skis across the freshly groomed slopes. The sky was a pure blue glowing overhead. Cookster, Barrman and the Big Boarder consumed the vertical of the mountainside and connected in an alpine wonderland. As the lines grew longer time slowed. The connections continued as the three adventurous friends stood and waited for the return trip to the sun-baked mountaintop. The story started in the lift line. But in reality, his story started long Read more…
I pushed myself to leave the bed as another Sunday began on the mountain. There was no new snow at Big White but the freshly groomed corduroy called to my spirit of freedom. There is nothing quite like the true feeling of freedom attained by carving a fresh groomed run early on a Sunday morning. I revel in the pure energy and connection with the mountain and the earth around me. Krista and I scrambled to get out the door Read more…
Fear and loathing, anger and hate, words and feelings that have taken over parts of our society these days. I never thought when this pandemic began that so much animosity could occur around a small piece of cloth or paper designed to cover someone’s face. Designed to protect each other from our viral foe, masks have become a divisive item that has caused more pain than warranted. In a Walmart in an innocent and peaceful town, a man was attacked Read more…
It’s Monday, November 23, 2020, the world has kept revolving, the seasons changing. Eight months of Mondays has passed since I began this journal of self-discovery. Eight months of Mondays since the world seemed to implode and we were all forced to take a pause. Now with case numbers climbing and the world suffering from covid fatigue we stare another pause in the eyes. A lockdown in Toronto began today, as well as parts of Manitoba. They have shut down Read more…