Fire's Burning and Some Really Biiiiig Footprints






My wood burning stove is now in a place of honour in my living / dining room, and I'm looking forward to some toasty warm nights in front of the crackling flames! Well, the reality of getting a load of unchopped wood put this little dream to rest for a while. Anyway, until I get some stoked chopped lad to do the job, this girl ain't doin' no choppin! I tried, and the axe got stuck in the wood, and I couldn't get it out, and I hate to say it, but I was so upset that I threw the whole thing. Fortunately, no one was around to see my axe throwing display! I will probably be able to manage the kindling, and if not, I can collect some suitable sticks from the woods. Yes, the reality of using wood to provide the heat for my skinny little body is just not that romantic, and I won't be giving up the propane any time soon!








Went for a walk the other day and came across some giant footprints. Cougar? We didn't really know, but were glad that we didn't meet the big beastie in the flesh.






Check out my newest film clips at http://www.youtube.com/user/acwsalcta

The Humble Hound and Other Holiday Stories





The humble hound, aka the Greyhound, has become my friend this holiday season. Silly me, had my flights all booked, pick-ups arranged, all nicely timed and scheduled, to get me from Bella Coola via Vancouver to Nelson, final destination Yasodhara Yoga ashram. Well, first it was a 2 hour bus to get to another airport to get out of Bella Coola, so, many hours late into Vancouver. Then 2 days of cancelled flights into Trail, my next destination.....actually the second day, we flew to Trail, the pilot tells us its 3 or 4 minutes to landing, down we go, down, down, down, down, nothing but clouds, then.............up, up, up, and he couldn't land...........then, all the way back to Vancouver! And that's when the humble hound (from now on, hh) entered into my travel plans. So there I was, back in Vancouver, still a very long way from Nelson. I decided.......to take the night bus to Nelson - knowing that the hh always seems to make it to wherever it goes, there was no other option. So a 6:30 pm departure from Vancouver (along with all the other people from the airport from two days of cancelled flights), drunks and druggies getting kicked off, a midnight "OK we gotta clean the bus now so everyone off the bus" stop in Kelowna, a bit of sleep, and finally into Nelson, only two hours late, at 7:00 am.
I had a quick visit with some friends in Nelson, then another bus, a ferry, a pick-up, and finally, the ashram. The ashram is on Kootenay lake, and the view from the beach was often specacular.



My ashram visit started with three days of stomach flu. Christmas eve featured a movie entitle "Joyeux Noel" - highly recommended! Ashram life was..........a bit strange, a bit esoteric, a bit disconcerting..........and featured some rather "interesting" rituals and events, a few workshops, some very elementary yoga, great food, interesting books in the bookstore and library, beautiful lake views, quiet, some interesting people. All in all, I had a relaxing and enjoyable time after a very busy four months back at school.


Here are some of the local turkeys. We had turkey on Christmas Day, and I thought - wow, fresh on-site turkey.....however, these are wild turkeys, and they were not what we had for Christmas dinner!



I spent some time taking some "Miksang" shots - the contemplative photography course I did in Toronto last summer. Following are a few shots.





There was a teepee frame, which yielded this shot.




A humble weathered log from a new, wintery perspective.




The brilliant red of rose hips against the white snow grabbed my eye.




The final part of my journey on the hh is tomorrow as I make my way back to Vancouver. I hope the trip goes according to plan.............!

Happy New Year to you all.