We had a marvelous 3 weeks in Scotland – Edinburgh and Glasgow, driving around the Highlands and Isle of Skye, royal yachts and castles, distilleries and haggis, meeting up with a former colleague, and enjoying the Tattoo and several days at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Booked tickets in March for the Tattoo – it runs every night for 2 weeks each year with seating for 8,000 in a temporary grandstand and sells out every year. Stirring.

And we finished with 3 days at the Fringe Festival, managing to see 12 shows out of the 3,500 playing in 275 venues over 3 weeks. Streets are filled with festival goers, handbillers and street performers. Hope to go back to it again.

While we were away the incomparable Samina took care of the house and Taisho. They got along famously and she managed whatever arose with aplomb – power failures, potato bug infestations, irrigation issues and Taisho getting sprayed with a skunk.

Shortly after we returned a huge fire broke out on the west side of the lake, 20 years to the month after the great Kelowna fire of 2003. Over 12,000 hectares have burned and high winds carried embers to our side of the lake and started several more fires. 30,000 people were evacuated and the night sky was red with flames. 500 firefighters, planes and helicopters managed to get the blaze somewhat under control after a few days with some 200 houses destroyed. Thankfully we were far enough from the conflagration that we only had falling ashes and not embers. 7 days after it started we had a good rain, only the second in 2 months. It is still burning largely out of control 14 days after it started but is burning well into the forest and not near any houses. Several friends who had been evacuated are now back in their houses. Rain is falling as I write this.

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/442447/Dramatic-photos-of-the-McDougall-Creek-wildfire-including-the-Lake-Country-and-Clifton-area#442447

Finished two patios with paver blocks. I will soon power wash the area in between the two to expose the granite and fill in the rest with mulch. Also built a knee wall and installed a shoji frame to provide support for the sun blind when the wind blows.

Spent the long weekend spreading 3/4″ minus road base and tamping it with a compactor, followed by a few m3 of stone dust 2 cm deep. Three pallets of paver stones were delivered a few days later and I began to lay them, a few dozen a day.

Had a visit of sister and Bro in Law and cut down (and up) two firs and a dozen dead poplars. B in Law is very good at this. Moved the cut up fir logs to the drying rack and the branches to the chipping pile. The poplars are across the ditch from the road in a thick forest so I shall likely not get them all out until the fall and the logs/branches from the 2nd fir will need to be hauled up the hill. Also got 1 of the 2 power washers (from an auction) running.

Visited the new aircraft museum (built by the founder of Kelowna Aerospace) – impressive CLT and gluelam timber beams and trusses and glass walls. Worth a visit. M got her first birdy and nearly three more. And by mid-July we had enjoyed various types of lettuce, asparagus, raspberries, apricots, peas, snap peas, carrots, onions, peppers, edamame, and herbs from the garden. Off later today to Scotland while our house/dog sitter minds the fort (and waters the garden)

On the house front, some progress. Pulled lots of weeds and spread some mulch. Removed more bushes. Split and stacked 2 years of firewood but need to cut up some logs and trees for the future. Completed low wall around firepit patio. Started retaining wall along driveway – bought 200 plus used blocks and caps from a friend that will take much time to install. Hung up two more shoji screen frames. And the marmots have been especially numerous and active this year. I was able to dispatch one and Taisho got another (his second)! Spent many hours plugging the holes in the rock walls to dissuade them from building dens. Also bought 1/2 of a pig raised on acorns (sort of an Iberico pork) that we shared with some friends. Delicious!

On the social side, I was asked to become a board member for the Kelowna Chamber Music Society. We subscribe to the symphony, chamber music, ballet and theatre but the chamber music is the best, in our opinion. And we took a couple of golf lessons that were of immense value before we set off to the Kootenays with some friends for a 4 day road trip to Christina Lake, Rossland, St Eugenie and Nelson. Broke 90 for the first time!

Next month’s edition will be late as we will be in Scotland at the end of the month.

On the cultural side, we enjoyed a ballet, a week-long chamber music festival in a church, and an excellent jazz concert in Vernon for my birthday – the Nick Maclean Quartet with Brownman Ali on trumpet.

Had a vertical tasting of 8 years of Riesling at our favorite Spearhead Winery. Drove to Alberta via Jasper and Banff to meet with 3 of my former university classmates, two of whom I had not seen in 45 years.

With a week of hot weather, 15 degrees above normal, the garden got an early start and we have been eating greens from it for the past 2 weeks.

Made some progress on the short garden wall but ran into hard surface rock that I shall need to work around/over. Upper area will become a fire pit and seating area. Cut down a lot of shrubs and bushes as you approach the house and am hopeful grasses and low ground cover will fill in. Finished running irrigation to the lower garden area where we have planted 2 maple trees, several shrubs, lavender and some onions (all of which we hope the deer are adverse to).

June shall see us spreading about 10 yards of fir mulch (ordering 15), finishing the garden rock wall, more pruning and shrub removal, firewood splitting, prepping site for equipment shelter and hopefully starting a mortared rock wall. Also have a road trip planned with some friends to the Kootenays toward the end of the month.

Very little accomplished around the house in March as we were busy with foreign films, concerts, dinners with friends and skiing (14 trips to BW this season). At the end of March, M and B (friends from Niagara Falls) came to stay at the house and take care of Taisho during our Japan sojurn. A good time was had by all.

Lots of developments in the neighborhood in our absence. Our neighbors spent 2 years and loads of $ building a very unique house and huge shop and have now decided to sell – not sure why. 500 acres of ranch land nearby will be subdivided into 9 large lots (15 to 40 acres) and the remaining 300 or so acres will be planted to cherries. Another 15 acres lower down is being prepped for grapes. And our road will no longer be a dead end as it will later this year be connected to another road higher up the hill. Progress. Bah.

In Japan for the 1st time in 4 years, my longest absence in 40 years (Mizuho was back last year). Loved it. With our rail pass we toured Kurashiki, Izumo, Kyoto and Kanazawa and saw friends and family in Tokyo. Sakura were a week early but we saw lots of blossoms. Struck again by Japan’s organization and civilized people and the best food in the world. Also by how inexpensive Japan now is (prices have barely changed in 30 years) and how popular it is with foreign tourists. Ancient and modern architecture and interesting design, like the atria of the Kyoto and Kanazawa (town of 400,000) train stations.

Most of the bars, restaurants and buildings I knew and loved while living there are long gone. Below is the lobby of Mid-Town – a 60 story collection of offices, restaurants, bars and galleries – which replaced a warren of small bars and Boeicho, a military base near my apartment in the 1980s where Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima committed seppuku in 1970.

One of the highlights was touring a water catchment facility just north of Tokyo. During typhoons, water is diverted to 5 concrete silos 30m wide and 70m deep. When full, they empty into the “pressure chamber” (pictured below and the size of Toronto’s Sky Dome). When half full, enormous pumps shift the water out to a river and into the sea. It cost $2 billion and suggests Japan will be better able than most to adapt to climate change.

Below is the magnificent Suntory Hall where we enjoyed the Viennese Phil playing Bach and Beethoven. Amazing acoustics – you can hear each instrument clearly, as well as a cough in the far corner of the hall. At the entrance, you are given a folder with 100 promo sheets for classical music concerts in Tokyo over the next 5 months. There are, of course, thousands of blues, jazz, pop and rock concerts as well.

There should be some progress on the house front in May.

Several forays to the ski hill, 5 concerts, 2 movies, 1 play, and several dinners made for a busy social calendar. On the home front, some final pieces of baseboard trim were cut/painted/installed as was a cover for the attic hatch.

Following a discussion with the Regional District, I learned that because the neighbors had indicated they intended to make a lavender farm, are at liberty to pretty much do what ever they want with the land – the provincial “right to farm” trumps local environmental considerations. We are now considering the viability of some combination of lavender, wild flowers and honey, trees and perhaps a field of garlic. Diddley Squat 2?

And we now have a bedroom door after about 7 1/2 years. The frame is clear fir left over from the wood I bought from a closing saw mill 8 years ago, with the straight grain facing the hallway and bedroom. One of the MEC doors cut in half and edged in fir, scalloped to match the faces. I first went over the scalloped fir with a orbital sander to remove the scars and discoloration from years of use and then after a bit of hand sanding, applied 3 coats of tung oil. The light fir should darken over time. The black medallions are to hid the holes where the handle had been mounted. I shall be asking my brother-in-law to turn two bowls and cut them in half for the handles on the doors. Still need to install ball catches on the top of each door. I have one more MEC door in the container that needs an imaginative treatment.

After a rather warm February and the disappearance of most snow from the property, it is snowing as I write this. Lots of snow in the mountains this year. Taisho anticipated an early spring so has already shed his undercoat but seems fine with any weather.

We have been enjoying balmy January weather – daily highs above zero for 22 days straight but lots of snow in the mountains where we have skied 4 times this month.

January is sausage-making month. Led by Klaus and his knowhow, skills and equipment, 3 of us joined forces to turn 10 legs (250 lbs) into a year’s supply of Italian sausage, smoked sausage, schnitzel, and speck (like prosciutto). Also made a few smoked moose/pork sausages. Will likely get only 6 legs next year.

And on the cultural side, we enjoyed a few shows at Kelowna’s version of a winter Fringe Festival and my first Monster Truck Show (with Coop not M) at the local ice arena. Like climbing Mount Fuji – worth doing once, crazy to do it twice.

December has been cold and snowy. Record cold just before Christmas (-29) and about two feet of snow on the ground, followed by some after-Christmas snow, freezing rain and rain. New rims and tires for the car so I can now drive it year round. Several dinners with friends and neighbors and several soaks in the tub. Fired up Bob after Christmas to scape and move about 20 buckets of snow from the parking area over beyond the container.

Some progress on the home front as well. Closet door completed and installed with trim (touch ups to come), and door frame for jamb for bedroom door partially completed – still need to mill and finish the jamb and door stops out of fir. Decided to forgo the pivot idea for the door and instead slice the door slab length-wise and edge it, thereby making two doors.

And for your viewing pleasure, Taisho enjoying a walk in the snow on the upper part of the property, with me on snowshoes. Lots of deer. January should see some skiing, serious progress on the door, and some more sausage making. Best wishes from us for a great new year.

November began well with harvesting the last of the tomatoes and some work with Bob. 20cm of snow fell on the 4th and got deeper through the month. This is 5 weeks earlier than usual and prevented the usual seasonal forest management work. Mizuho arrived back from Japan on the 9th after a most enjoyable 3 weeks.

Drove to Vancouver to see a good friend and former Ambassador to Japan who was passing through. We golfed and dined with another former Ambassador to Japan who brought me over to Foreign Affairs some 24 years ago. Stayed at the delightful 110 year old Sylvia Hotel (special deal at $88 a night!!) and at my sister’s for a few nights. Thousands of pieces of heavy equipment were astride the highway in the mountains laying pipe and fixing the road and bridges that were destroyed a year ago by torrential rain.

Had several dinners with friends and two concerts. Picked up 1/2 a side of beef from a neighbor and enjoyed some of a lamb we bought from another neighbor with a bottle of 2004 Chianti Classico (one of the few remaining old bottles from our cellar).

On the home front, I think I finally figured out how to build our bedroom door, something that Mizuho is keenly interested in. As a warm up, I built a door for the closet, using some straight-grained cedar BroinLaw Steve gave me that he reclaimed from his 50 year old deck. I trimmed the weathered wood on two sides then cut and planed the pieces to final size. The vertical stiles were grooved with a dado blade 1/2″ wide and 1″ deep while the horizontal rails had a 1/2″ wide and 1/2″ deep groove. The panels (cedar and fir) were all 1/2″ thick to fit into the grooves. After making 1/2″ tenons on each end of the rails, it was just a matter of glue, clamps, sanding and oiling. Still need to find the hardware to attach it to the overhead rail that I installed 7 years ago.

December should see some progress on the bedroom door, some skiing and some dining with friends.

No rain for the last 2 weeks of Sept and first 3 of October – nothing but sun and temps in the 20s – but finally got some single digits and some much needed rain in the last week of the month. Dropped off car to have oil strainer for the turbos replaced under a recall notice. Good thing it was covered as it was 7 hours of labour; 9 liters of oil; a dozen gaskets, seals and washers; and assorted filters, bolts and clamps. Had our 4th Covid shot and the heat pump serviced. Drained and refilled the spa for the first time (will do it in fall and spring).

Made a presentation on “Canada in a Troubled World” at the Kelowna Roundtable (great fun), had an excellent end of season ride to Vernon on the back roads and bade “mata ne” to Mizuho when she left on the 19th for 3 weeks in Japan. After her departure I had 3 concerts – Charles Richard-Hamelin playing Chopin, Brandon Isaak (Yukon gold at a house concert – check him on Youtube), and a three-person vocal opera group in Vernon.

On the home front, planted two maple trees and two new bushes, extended the top step leading to the firepit-to-be, sanded and spar urethaned the two oak wine barrels, and prepped for the change of seasons by, inter alia, storing 1,000 ft of garden hoses. Also stained all the cedar posts, soffits, front of garden shed, etc. The stain I used originally is no longer made but found something similar (redwood rather than cedar). Spread many pails of poppy seeds and lavender trimmings outside of the fence, along the driveway and around the area near the well head. Did some work with Bob. Aiming to wrap up a bunch of projects before winter, including the barrier fence in front of the spa and cutting/piling lots of branches and felling some trees. Mizuho would very much like me starting work on our bedroom door before she gets back.

And that’s all for October. Hope all is well in your world as it is here (although Taisho is clearly underwhelmed with my care vis-a-vis the care he receives from his mistress).