Creativity

Yesterday I had a visit with one of the most creative people I will likely ever meet, my wonderful friend and pseudo auntie Edie. Together we listened to a song her son had written and recorded for her entitled "chasing trains with the car" about how Edie used to do just this, fuelling Nick's love of trains, and, perhaps, high speed chase?

I love their family and have learned a lot about creativity and the importance of nurturing it, from them. Here is a Ted talk by the author of the recent book "eat, pray love" which I have yet to read but which Edie recommended, and I recommend that if you have 18 minutes to kill you will come away inspired.

Return to the Land of Birds

In April I was asked to come and care-take for some people I met last year in Haida Gwaii. I was elated and though it meant postponing several other trips I had planned I hopped on a plane and arrived the 18th of May to start learning about the life I was preparing to lead.

The place I came to is an island, just outside of Queen Charlotte City, and my friends live off the grid relying on solar panels, micro hydro and a diesel generator for their minimal power needs. They run a greenhouse and supply the island with the most delicious tomatoes I have ever tasted. While they were gone my boyfriend and I took care of their place and feasted on all the wonders that surrounded us including clams, mussels, oysters, crab, sea asparagus, duck eggs, stinging nettle, tomatoes (Beefsteak and cherry), cucumbers, kale, arugula, nasturtiums, onions, parsley, oregano etc etc etc.

It was an amazing time. I have learned so much and fallen in love with this place and all its wonders.

Laskeek Bay

I just spent 2 weeks down in the park volunteering with Laskeek Bay Conservation Society doing research with some field biologists about birds. It was super interesting and has inspired me to look into doing a masters about the deer problem they have here. The deer are destroying the forest understory here which impacts the nesting sea birds as well as the other birds who have fewer berries and habitat as a result of all the munching. During our week on the water surveying for black oyster catchers we actually chased a couple of bucks off one small rocky island where it seemed they had been trampling on some oyster catcher and gull eggs.

I am thinking that the ideal long term solution would be to hunt the deer to get the population down to a number that is sustainable. According to what I've heard there are somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 deer in Haida Gwaii and to get their numbers to a level that would be sustainable for the pre-existing ecosystem would mean taking 10-15,000 out of the system per year. I figure there are so many people looking for "organic" meat, and you can't get much more organic than this. Hunting these deer for meat would lead to fewer and happier deer, which are starving now and seen often eating seaweed on the beach due to the lack of greenery left to eat, and of course lots of happy eaters, not to mention jobs up here which would be helpful given the decline of the fishing industry. The only problem is of course, the law, which does not allow the sale of wild game. So that's what I need to work on :) I am planning on enlisting my brother and his poli-sci degree, but he doesn't know that yet...

Wood Heat

Seems strange to be writing about heating when it seems like North America is engulfed in a Heat wave. Even here in Haida Gwaii it is smoking hot.

Still, we all know it won't last, and I have been thinking about the wonders of wood heat, both as heating in the forms of amazing cast iron ovens and also for baking. The people I am staying with just returned from France and are inspired to build a community wood fire oven for people to be able to come and bake bread in. I Think it's a great idea, like a community garden but for bread. As of right now there is no reliable source of good bread here in Queen Charlotte, so seems like it could work.

I also just heard a podcast from deconstructing dinner where they spoke with the folks from Speerville Flour Mill who have a portable Panyol wood fire oven which they use to demonstrate the amazing breads their flours can make. Apparently just about everything you cook in these things turns out great.