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Cabin Repair – Part 2
In the last blog, I described the beginning of my long-neglected North Carolina cabin repair. One important decision not yet mentioned. What kind of roof would I install? Basically there are two choices: shingles, or metal. I looked closely at both, and was recommended to use asphalt shingles, similar to what was removed. However, my […]
Cabin Repair – Part 1
After weeks of sorting, packing, and storing boxes in one of the farm shed, and cleaning out my apartment, I flew from Vancouver into Charlotte, NC. I am now at my cabin in the Mayberry-esqe mountain village of Saluda. The trip was uneventful, but noteworthy that airports and planes are largely empty due to the […]
A BIG MOVE
After several blogs on the Corona Virus and its dominance in 2020, I will take a break and discuss other happenings. After all, the world still keeps turning, regardless of the lead news stories. A big decision in my life is unfolding. After decades of living in Canada, I am returning to the US. I […]
The Lost Art of Food Preservation
As mentioned in an earlier blog, we had a blessed growing season on our little mixed farm in 2019. We did have some sub-par production, i.e. orchard fruit, potatoes, tomatoes, kale. But the advantage of mixed farming is that other produce makes up the difference. No one starves, for sure! Many 21st Century households […]
2020 Coronavirus Pandemic – A Way Forward
In an earlier blog, I mentioned the H1N1 Spanish Flu of 1918-19. CoV has been compared to it. This comes from a lack of knowledge. H1N1 was by far the greatest killer pathogen in recorded history. It killed 1-3% of the world’s population, which today would be 80-240 million people. The 1918 world population was […]
2020 Coronavirus Pandemic – Action and Reaction
In the last blog, I explained how health care workers and therefore politicians had to do something at the onset of the CoV spread. The health community had several “shots across the bow” from viral outbreaks in 2003, 2009, 2012, and 2014. Now was their moment. The initial campaign for adaptive behavior – hand washing, […]
2020 Coronavirus Pandemic – a Bit of Background
This Coronavirus has hit and its impact has been severe! I am dumbfounded and staggered to see the speed with which it has moved, and the toll it has taken – physically, socially, economically. There is so much to say, and you may know that I am opinionated, so here goes. Along with a degree […]
My Long Canadian Winter Evenings
Many of you may know that I spent 50% of my career overseas. Much of this time was with unpaid or relatively low paying humanitarian work, which was very fulfilling. The compensation was irrelevant. But I did have a number of years with agencies that paid pretty well, such as the US Government, the UN, […]
Agony and Ecstasy of Winter Evenings in Canada
Despite the stunning beauty of much of British Columbia, one mild shock of moving to Canada from South Carolina has been the shorter daylight during the winter. You can blame my move north of the 49th parallel on a brunette Canadian lassie I met overseas…and blame what keeps me here on two sassy kids — […]
The 2019 Report Card on the Farm
This is my second full year of living on our 5-acre mixed farm on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia. As you know, we are primarily a fruit and berry farm, with several varieties of each. The owner, Norrie, is a former schoolteacher and now in his 80’s. He’s still amazingly active on the farm. […]
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