All Hail Canada Day

 

A Most Valuable Coin

A couple of weeks ago--which now feels like a lifetime--Mom and I went to Co-Op after one of her medical appointments. While she waited in the car, I went in to get her some lemonade and Sprite. When I returned, she said "I have a present for you." It was this coin, the first doubloon with King Charles III on the obverse. She knows I have a small collection of coins, so she saved it the last time she received change from a store by herself. 

Mom is not doing so well now, but after her last six-week hospital stay, she returned home and had a pretty good most-of-June. We were planning what to do for Mom's 83rd birthday when she had to be hospitalized again. Sylvia and I went to visit her today, and it was a hard visit; Mom's cancer has left her confused and not herself, and she demanded we leave after we were there about 20 minutes. 

But I know that's not Mom talking; it's the disease. I still have hope there are more lucid moments, and moments of happiness, to come. In the meantime, I'm very glad for this keepsake, which symbolizes how Mom always took care of us. 

Sgt. Prestown and Bark

I've been painting many minis lately, and Canada Day seems the right time to show off Sgt Prestown of the Yukon and his trusty Husky, Bark - so named for the sound and the skin of trees, of which there are many in the Yukon. It's a pun! 

This miniature set was created by Bob Murch of Pulp Figures, a Canadian company based in Kelowna, BC. Bonus points! 


 

Canada Day 2023

Unhappy Canada Day

The Great Western Canadian Heat Wave of 2021 hit me hard last night, and the effects have lasted all Canada Day. Normally this would not be a big deal, except that I was really looking forward to today because it would have been the first social gathering Sylvia and I have attended since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit; and for that matter, the first time in years that we had decent plans for Canada Day. 

So I guess I'm feeling a bit out of sorts. And now I feel guilty, because hundreds of people in British Columbia are dead thanks to the heat wave, and there are probably more casualties around the world that I haven't heard of yet. 

And it scares me that this could be the new normal.

I'm glad that my friends were able to get together, though, and there will be other gatherings. 

Ugh, my privilege is leaking. 

JULY 4 UPDATE

Turns out my privilege really was leaking because in my heat-addled haze, I hadn't realized that there were calls around the country to cancel or at least tone down Canada Day celebrations to recognize the old wounds of Indigenous peoples in Canada freshly torn open by the discovery of mass graves at several locations across the country. To complain about a missed gathering obviously feels pretty tone deaf in retrospect, and if any Indigenous people ever read this blog, please accept my apologies for my insensitivity. For some great reflections on this topic, please see my friend Steve's blog: Oh . . . Canada. 

The World of Null-Canada-Eh

Thanks to the rain and COVID-19, Sylvia and I did absolutely nothing for Canada Day. It was wholly unremarkable. Poor effort on our part, but some days you just don't have the energy to be creative...

Shut Up & Sit Down Reviews Crokinole

I really enjoy crokinole, and my dad and his dad were really good at it, playing in tournaments together. So in their honour, and to mark Canada Day, here's the Shut Up & Sit Down review of one of Canada's most popular gifts to the  world, crokinole. 

Crushing Canadian Stuff on the Hydraulic Press Channel

Our Finnish friends at the Hydraulic Press Channel kindly celebrated Canada 150 by crushing some Canadiana in slow motion. I love these guys. 

How We Spent Canada Day

Sylvia and I decided to do something different on Canada Day; we travelled south to Wayne, Alberta, a ghost town just outside Drumheller. Nestled deep in the badlands, you have to drive across eleven narrow bridges to reach the town and its last remaining business, the Last Chance Saloon. 

This old coal miner guards the road to Wayne. According to the signs posted around the town, Wayne used to have as many as a couple of thousand people; now there are only 28 permanent residents. One of them, Jim, shared some stories while we ate a very enjoyable lunch at the saloon. 

Here's one of the eleven bridges. 

Here's the saloon, and the associated Rosedeer Hotel. 

Here's a panorama of the interior. 

The bar. There were no bar brawls during our visit, thankfully. 

The heat nearly laid us low; it was a sweltering day. 

For a ghost town, the place is pretty active. There's an annual convention of Harley-Davidson afficionados, and an annual "Waynestock" music festival. 

In fact, Denny Eddy showed up just before our meal. He's a charismatic entertainer, and treated us to a selection of original songs and well-executed covers. His Johnny Cash impression is uncanny. 

I love the badlands. Such a breathtaking landscape. 

Sylvia and I had a great, low-key Canada Day thanks to the fine folks in Wayne. Hope yours was just as enjoyable! 

149 Years Young and Counting

Happy Canada Day!

Canada Day Ten Years Back

Ten years ago, Sylvia and I attended a Barenaked Ladies concert at Commonwealth Stadium to celebrate Canada Day. Look at her big googly eyes! Ooooo! 

In Canada Our Music Videos are Gently Humourous

More incredible stuff from the Hadfields. Happy Canada Day.

Rain of Fire

The last time Sylvia and I celebrated Canada Day I was unemployed. With nothing but time on our hands, we accepted our friend Neil's invitation to spend the long weekend at his cabin in Kenora. 365 days later I'm working two jobs, so Canada Day travel was never in the cards for 2013. It would be pretty hard to top last year's celebrations, anyway - watching fireworks explode over the Lake of the Woods from the perfect vantage point of Neil's boat. Here's one of my favourite fireworks shots from that night.

Cabin on the Lake of the Woods

Recently my friend and ex-boss Neil Mackie invited Sylvia and me to his cabin in Kenora for the Canada Day weekend. Sylvia and I hopped in the car as soon as she was finished work on Friday, and a day later, a couple of hours before darkness fell, we found ourselves driving through several kilometers of bush and winding, heaving gravel roads to discover Neil's cabin on Poplar Bay, part of the massive Lake of the Woods.

Raising the flag on Canada Day is one of Neil's annual rituals, and we arrived in time to see him mount the flag on a sturdy wooden pole.

Our late arrival left us with little time but to enjoy a late dinner prepared by Neil's friends Andre and Maureen and to get settled in our room. But right from the moment of our arrival we knew we were in for a special weekend, for Neil's isolated retreat was welcoming and homey in a way only a lakeside cabin can be.

We spent much of Canada Day on Neil's boat, touring the upper regions of the Lake of the Woods. Neil's cabin is barely visible through the trees; you can see the swimming dock at left.

The property includes a natural cove that provides safe harbour for Neil's fancy boat.

The weather was perfect: low 30s, sunny with just a few clouds and calm waters. Neil is an accomplished pilot and navigator and gave us a thorough tour of the northern part of the lake, bouncing us over the wakes of other watercraft from time to time for fun. We really zipped along, and Sylvia and I were both thrilled by the sights and the ride.

Kenora's proximity makes this part of the Lake of the Woods quite busy. On Canada Day, the lake drew dozens of motorboats, sailboats, water skiers, wake boarders, float planes, jet skis and canoes.

 The MS Kenora provides lake tours to residents and tourists. 

Neil insisted on having me pose in front of Huskie the Muskie.

I didn't catch the name of this fearsome fellow, but whoever painted the boulder did an impressive job.

I'm not a sufficiently expert photographer to convey speed, but perhaps Sylvia's hair and expression will give you a hint of the way we zipped along the waves.

Whoosh!

We docked at Safeway for supplies. While I was picking out potatoes for dinner, Neil and Andre rescued a large Labrador that had fallen into the water. Sylvia was duly impressed.

It's been many years since I rode in the bow of a speeding boat, but I remember the thrill of a boat ride quite warmly. And this time there were even comfy padded seats!

After the midday tour, we took a break to prepare dinner.

My first embarkation onto the boat provided me with some just desserts; it was a complete pratfall. I stumbled into the bow like the proverbial drunken sailor, managing to bark my shin and knee on the camera and Sylvia's cane while also knocking Sylvia in the head. Fortunately I quickly remembered my sea legs and hopped on and off the boat multiple times afterward without incident.

Andre and Maureen paddled around in the canoe for a while.

Neil and I, on the other hand, played my very first game of The Awful Green Things from Outer Space. I have the ad for this in a hundred old comic books, but I'd never laid eyes on the actual game until visiting Neil's cabin. Neil's awful green things quickly overwhelmed my multispecies crew.

After dinner, we embarked again to watch the Canada Day fireworks right up close from the boat. It was a spectacular show, made more so by the dozens of watercraft crowding the bay. For extra safety, we tethered our boat to that of Neil's friend and neighbour.

The fireworks were incredible enough, but the ride back to Neil's cabin was a transcendental pleasure. With the full moon guiding a convoy of speedboats returning home, we bounced over the surface of the lake with the wind in our faces, Neil guiding us through the darkness, following in the wake of his neighbour's boat. It was both exhilarating and peaceful at once, and Sylvia and I merely glanced at each other across the bow from time to time, enjoying a special moment that we knew we'd both treasure forever.

Sylvia and I are both very grateful to Neil for opening his second home to us and showing us the great natural beauty of the Lake of the Woods. It was a short but spectacular journey to one of the world's great treasures.