Monday, February 13, 2006

Cool report(.pdf) just released on the arts in small and rurual communities in Canada. CBC reports Bowen Island comes in fourth overall in terms of the percentage of residents employed in the arts. According to the report, 6.6% of our population are actively employed in the arts.

This is extremely significant, because I think that, of all the top communities, we are the only one that doesn't yet have a dedicated place to showcase the performing arts talent here.

It's coming though! We're working hard to raise the money and build the facility. Perhaps this report might give us some ammunition with other sources of funding apart from benefit CD sales and concerts.

For more on the arts on Bowen, go visit the Bowen Island Arts Council site.
Moving might be a huge hassle, but we welcome another blogger to our ranks: Ringo-Lo.

Kirsten has moved here just as spring has begun to arrive. The last couple of days have been beautiful and the wind has carried that soothing quality that takes the cold edge off it. When it rained the other night, Aine remarked that it was a spring rain.

There are lots of buds on the formerly dorman berry bushes, and the blackberries have started putting out new canes and trailers. Towhees and Winter Wrens are making their spring calls, both trilling in the forest.

Saturday, February 4, 2006

The hurricane landed last night. Well, not quite a hurricane, but still, it was a storm big enough to do some minor damage around the Salish Sea, and indeed, winds of 100-110km/h were recorded in the Georgia Strait. That's the strongest I have ever heard of.

We had power outages on the island, and my friend Patti had to resort to barbecueing her leftover coffee for her morning fix. That's the hardy island spirit!

This morning, Alison phoned to say that the high tide and the swell were combining to turn the Causeway over the lagoon into a spectacular sight. Apparently, the scuppers along the walkway, which ordinarily allow water to drain back to the sea were acting like blowholes every time a wave smacked the seawall. By the time we got down there at noon, the tide had started falling and the waves in Mannion Bay were calmer, but everywhere was gravel and moss, loosened and tossed from cracks and holes, and we even found a small shiner, a marine perch, stranded on the Causeway itself. A storm that throws fish from the ocean is a strong thing indeed.

Friday, February 3, 2006

I love weather warnings like the one we are under right now:

Environment Canada's Official Weather Warnings
Warnings
Howe Sound
4:10 PM PST Friday 3 February 2006
Rainfall warning for
Howe Sound continued

Up to 100 mm of rain is expected for Howe Sound.

An intense low pressure system is approaching the South Coast. Strong southeast winds of 60 to 100 km/h are expected this evening and overnight for much of the South Coast. The winds will shift to strong westerlies behind the storm Saturday afternoon. Howe Sound will receive up to 100 mm of rain. Whistler will receive up to 15 cm of snow before the snow becomes mixed with rain overnight.


100km/h winds? That's harsh. And with all that rain I'm waiting to see where the house leaks. I think I got the one stopped up in the south bedroom dormer but the north dormer may have one. We'll see how it all holds up. At the moment, the winds seem to be hanging around 50 km/h but they might get more intense over night. It's not likely that we'll see those 100 click winds, but I would be surprised with a repeat of Tuesday's blow.