Today, after rubbing the back of my neck, a sticky inky substance rubbed off on my hand. Black, gooey. It took a while to wash it off my hand, even longer to remove a big blob from the back of my neck. Needed hot water and soap. I discovered it was the from the label of the Icebreaker top I had been wearing earlier. Gross! I recall this happening to me a while back with another top so I went through my closet to take a look at the many other Icebreaker tops I wear, found many in a state of fading, two getting into the gooey sticky phase.  Note the various state of breakdown of the inky labels in these photos.    And check out the sticky state of the labels in these two video's. Soon, I'll be washing these off of my neck.     Not sure what to do about this. I like the Icebreaker line up and the fact the merino wool is more environmentally friendly as other athletic wear products shed micro plastic. I’m disappointed to discover Icebreaker products shed yucky...

We spend many summer evenings on the deck of our Deep Cove home looking out over the calm sea as the sun sets. One evening, at a distance of almost 2 kilometres away on the shore of Belcarra peninsula, we spotted white lights newly strung on a house in what appeared to be a distinct and deliberate pattern.    Many Metro Vancouver residents string lights to help push back the darkness that comes when the winter sun sets at 4:30 pm. But it summer, when dusk ends at almost 10 pm. the night darkness is usually a welcome end to a long day.  On closer examination the lights appeared to be a side profile of a pig's head. A drooling pig at that.  On yet an even closer look, we agreed. It's not a pig! They've constructed an image of a drooling fox.  Perhaps it's a company logo they're reproducing or maybe they're making a statement.  Several days later on a morning paddle past the house, we talked to one of the their neighbours. It was not a deliberate pat...

When you paddle from Deep Cove, North Vancouver, BC and head north into Indian Arm, following the community known as Woodlands, you will encounter Lone Point after 2 kilometres of paddling. Lone Point is a privately owned property in a spectacular location. A beautiful 5,000 sq foot log home now dominates what is an island when the tide is high. I'd paddled past Lone Point recently and took this photo, posting it on the social media site Strava where a friend asked about it. That question had me dust off a very good book on local history titled "Echoes across the Inlet". It tells the story of  Lone Point's first owners and an intriguing story of murder of one of the owners family members. From the book, without permission. The book can be purchased from  the Deep Cove Heritage Society . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Page 47... "Lone Rock." It was...

The hunt started when an eagle flying overhead spotted a vulnerable duck and sky dived to catch it with it sharp talons. The duck, a Barrow's goldeneye, winter here using the calm Deep Cove waters as its breeding ground. The eagle hunted in pursuit of its next meal. They prefer to feed on fish or scavenger food but will prey on seabirds if the opportunity arises. Ironically this hunt broke out just as we sat to dinner in our home overlooking the 'Cove. We became spectators of the hunt that instantly transformed the normally calm water into a battlefield involving five species of birds; one bird of prey, two aquatics and two corvids. The eagle’s hunt was not easy. It required numerous  attacks.  Its first dives were unsuccessful as the duck would dive to protect itself under the water's surface. Each failed attack required the eagle to fly upward, regain altitude and circle waiting for another opportunity to attack.   Seagulls appeared in large numbers ...

I recently participated in peaceful, yet passionate protest against the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project .  Local Coast Salish people launched this protest to protect Burrard Inlet. They are supported by several environment groups and many concerned volunteers.   I encourage you to go to their web site Protect the Inlet  and sign up to support them as well.  Many reasons to oppose Kinder Morgan Pipeline Expansion - now 1. Mother earth can't absorb any increased oil sands production Canada is the world's 4th largest producer of oil and natural gas and we make the top 10 list of nation's largest CO2 carbon emitters per capita.  Alberta plans to increase oil sands production by 36%, an increase of 1 million barrels a day in the next decade. Oil sands production results in 22% more emissions than in conventional oil production. Mother Earth cannot handle increased emissions from increased oil sands production. (You might also agr...