There is an abundance of wild berries in the Kootenays. Thimble berries. Wild strawberries. So sweet!Plus blueberries, raspberries and Saskatoons. Click here for a yummy closeup. Why so many berries in this region you ask? Bears of course! Everytime a bear eats, it of course deposits a great many berry seeds. The great circle of life. What to do if you get to the berries before the bear does? Make wild berry pancakes! There it is, the best breakfast ever. Not bad for camping eh? (Oh that's blueberry syrup by the way.)
Bob's Lake. Fishing was good, though the fish were too small. So peaceful, the only sound heard was the whining of the mosquitoes. We would've stayed longer if not for that. Found a swing at the other end of the lake. Nothing like a swing to make you feel young. Vermillion lake. Isn't vermillion red? The water was turquoise. Hmm. Heading down along the Fraser river to Lilloett. I just love this rugged landscape! Forest fire! Started by a huge R.V. that just blew up and caught fire. Tried to take a picture of it but it didn't turn out. Good thing we got through when we did because the next day the whole highway was closed for several days. Big slide! Heading down into the Fraser Canyon. The muddy Fraser River. All that silt carried down to the ocean has formed the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Stay tuned for Hell's Gate Canyon!
So, there's been a lot of controversy about "The Order of Canada " in the past couple of weeks. The thing is, Canada is not about controversy! We must all be in agreement to get anything done here. For those of you not Canadian and not willing to connect to the last link , the Order of Canada is issued to those Canadians, and I believe a few foreigners who have made some sort of worthy contribution to Canada, the great land of the free.
Anyway, I decided to go to the official government site to see who has been awarded this lofty honour. Here are a few, mostly in ABC order. I couldn't possibly get through them all, but just merely picked a few familiar names. No judgement here!
Bryan Adams . Okay. Summer of 69. He's just a bad skinned rock star who doesn't even care enough about Canada to even live here. He was once quoted as saying (paraphrased) that the Canadian music scene SUCKS! Yeah, he's so deserving. He's a rock star too, I bet he's bedded a few underage groupies. Nice moral guy. Who am I to judge.
Frank Augustyn. Ballet star. Enough said. So what if he was Karen Kain's partner. Who cares.
Lionna Boyd . Classical guitarist who once dated Pierre Trudeau. She wasn't even that good. Oh, as a guitarist. She did have beautiful long blonde hair though. She lives in Florida, probably doesn't even pay Canadian taxes. Charles Bronfmann. Big Rich Monopolist from Montreal. I'm positive he doesn't pay taxes.
Jean Alland. Military Man. I wonder how many people he killed or was responsible for killing?
George Athans . World champion waterskiing. Awarded for athletic prowess! Whoopee. I have met his mother Irene though. I wonder if she is still alive. She is an awesome swimmer...even at age 80+. How come she doesn't have the Order?
Alex Baumann . Okay. World champion/Olympic swimmer. I had a crush on him. He deserves it.
Charles Best . Discovered insulin! No question here.
Ernie Molson. Canadian beer man! No doubt.
Father Lucien Larre . Well, he just returned his order, in protest to a recent nomination. Funny, because he was actually convicted of abusing young people in his care when he was a psychologist. Gee, someone I could look up to. A real friggin' hypocrite.
k.d. lang. Personally I don't like her because she made a pass at me at Joe's Cafe in 1988. She's GAY. Oh dear. That doesn't bother me, I just don't like people making passes at me. She lives in L.A. anyway. If I hear her songs in the elevator I have to plug my ears and go LA LA LA. I CAN'T HEAR YOU! Robert Humme ! The Friendly Giant. No contest. I wonder if Jerome and Rusty have the order as well.
and... Ernie Coombs . Mr. Dressup. The greatest Canadian ever.
Bobby Gimby . Of course. Who could disagree? CA-NA-DA! Barbara Gowdy . Awesome writer. Controversial though. Oh, let's not even go there. Freedom of speech lives in my country. She writes superbly.
Alice Munro . My hero. But, oddly, not on the list. WHAT THE FRICK! The Chekhov of Canada not on the list?
Walter Gretzky? Why? Cause he's a dad of a hockey star? What about mom? I know a few hockey moms who have sacrificed a lot. I nominate Shelly Heggenstaller for the Order of Canada! OH! Update...Mom received OOC!!!!
Peter Gzowski . No contest. Great man. Stupid for smoking though.
But Murray McLauchlan ? He was convicted of drunk driving. Many people know how I feel about that. If he gets this award, what does it mean? I bet Bryan Adams thinks he sucks.
Joey Smallwood , one of Canada's greatest. Father of universal healthcare.
Elaine Tanner . Olympic swimming gold. Backstroke. Canada's sweetheart. Mark Sptiz had a crush on her.
I feel so fortunate to live in a country where we try to take care of one another. Having universal health care is such a privilege. Of course we pay for it with higher taxes but at least everyone has basic free access. Lately there have been debates about a two tier system here, that for those who can afford it, they can pay extra and have procedures done in private clinics. Some say this is not fair. Anyway, I don't want to get into that debate here. What we have is pretty darn good.
I googled shoulder injuries and rock climbing a while back and I was so dismayed to hear of people who could not afford the medical help that they need in order to heal. And that their only option is to go on internet forums and sort through advice in order to help them get better. What's even more frightening is that many of them keep reinjuring themselves because of bad advice. Here in Canada , though there are wait lists and other problems, I can still afford to go to physiotherapy and I can see a Sports Medicine specialist at no cost. I can also get an ultrasound and an MRI for free, and have surgery at no cost as well. I feel so fortunate to meet doctors that say, "No this is not good enough, you are an active person and we need to get you active again."
My brother just sent me some photos of where he is working right now, up in the Yukon . This is at Kluane National Park. It always amazes me this country I live in, the diversity, the beauty and the wildness of the landscape. I also love that some of these places are so remote that most of us will never have a chance to visit them. Some of our planet needs to remain untouched by humans. Although sadly, global warming will affect this area eventually.
Wild strawberries. So sweet!
Plus blueberries, raspberries and Saskatoons. Click here for a yummy closeup. 
Why so many berries in this region you ask?
Everytime a bear eats, it of course deposits a great many berry seeds. The great circle of life. 
