Living with passion. Travelling off route. Striving for insight.
“Hey, we’re getting great gas mileage with these tailwinds,” Lothar said, a statement tempered by angry gusts of crosswind testing the integrity of our 22-foot sea kayak, hanging way out on the roof rack of our Toyota Forerunner. We were … Read More
For Halloween, some of my neighbours entertain spooky creatures and they have tombstones and cobwebs in their yards. Me? I’m an outlier; at this time of year, I go for something shocking—yet practical—in our yard. Each year, I put up … Read More
Last Saturday night it was time for clocks to fall back an hour to Standard Time. When I woke up the next morning, the level of daylight was at odds with the wet grey morning. I emerged from sleep with … Read More
Last night, I gave Lothar a pot of pesto pasta to share with the busy crew he was working with on night shift. He came back home with delightful comments and a request for the recipe. Since I threw the … Read More
I am Canadian. When somebody accidentally bumps into me, I say “sorry.” When I’m in the company of non-Canadians, I remind myself to not say, “eh.” And when I’m cold I put on a toque. In Canada, a toque (also … Read More
While talking to a young scientist, keen to continue building her career specializing in carnivore conservation, I was reminded that today is an exciting day for a bunch of professionals that I know who are interested in solving complex and … Read More
This post is a quickie to introduce you to a series of posts about preparing for a long distance sea kayaking adventure, completed and on my to-do-list. When Lothar and I were preparing for a three month trip from Smithers, … Read More
I know a lady who’s something to behold. She’s flawlessly outfitted with curves in all the right places. Lothar and I think she’s perfect. She’s a Seaward Passat G3, a lanky 22-foot double sea kayak; she’s a work of art, … Read More
Black bean burritos are a staple for camp cooking. No matter how I’m traveling, whether wandering out on the land or threading along waterways, I usually have some form of black bean burrito recipe on the trip menu. Quite simply, … Read More
People often ask me how they can live, work, hike, camp, sea kayak, raft, and [insert verb here] more safely in areas that grizzly bears and black bears live. Keen to help, I’ve done lots of internet searches over the … Read More
When I finally get down to making tortillas from scratch on a sea kayaking trip that’s when I know I’m on a major adventure. Over the course of a few long trips, I’ve learned that it takes me about two … Read More
For people and bears, and the environment that sustains us, it pays to consider and weigh options for composting. One of the greatest rewards of spending decades immersed in my career as a wildlife ecologist has been perspective. With each … Read More