Passions Magazine - Fall 2020

ISSUE 13 | FALL 2020

17

page

Picture Perfect

A season of change is upon us.

FINAL INSTALMENT: VI CIRCUMNAVIGATION | BAKING IN THE TIME OF COVID A TALE OF TWO BOOK STORES | CELEBRATION COCKTAILS | LITTLE BIG TREES

CONTENT

4

11

9

IN THIS ISSUE 4 9

FAIR WINDS AND MAST DESTRUCTION—FOURTH AND FINAL INSTALMENT

DAYTRIPS & OVERNIGHTERS—FOODIE FINDS FOR YOUR KITCHEN

10 CELEBRATION COCKTAILS IN THE TIME 11 BAKING OF COVID

14

14 ABOVE US ONLY SKY 17 FAIRWINDS PROFILE— PICTURE PERFECT

24 COVER PHOTO Mulberry Bush Book Store by Rae-Annes Guenther

2 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

photo: Pacific Playgrounds Resort & Marina

17

FAIRWINDS HOLE19 IN-ONE CLUB

UR FAVOURITE 20 OTHINGS: WINTER MOVIES

TALE OF TWO BOOK 22 ASTORES

24 LITTLE BIG TREES 26 GARDENING UPDATE 27 GOLF TIPS, CALENDAR

EDITOR’S NOTE

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons. Though the days are getting chillier and the nights longer, there is much to celebrate and enjoy.

The beautiful colour that bursts from nature, “Sweater Weather,” and dipping into the pantry to enjoy the stores of fruit and vegetables put aside from our gardens this year.

Over this past year, everyone has learned how to bake bread and expanded their cooking repertoire during the pandemic, myself included. As winter sets in, it’s time to light the fire, renew the sourdough starter, and make those comfort foods a priority again.

For me, the season is all about the comforts of home, time for reflection and also finding time to enjoy the company of friends and family— the ones in your bubble, of course. Even if we cannot be there in person, there are many ways to get together online… who even knew what Zoom was before 2020 began?!

I hope this issue of Passions finds you and yours happy, healthy and in good spirits! In the pages that follow, you will find some recommendations for classic (and unusual) winter movies; discover the art of bonsai, and learn how to improve your putt. We have the fourth and final instalment from Rob O’Dea, recounting his sailing adventures while circumnavigating Vancouver Island. And as the skies darken, we will tempt you to wrap up warmly and spend some time outside stargazing.

A season of change is upon us… let’s look up and see what’s out there!

Julie Jaworski, PASSIONS Editor

3 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

THE FINAL INSTALMENT IN A FOUR-PART SERIES

—Previous instalments in Passions Winter, Spring, and Summer 2020 (fairwinds.ca)—

by Rob O’Dea

4 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

background image Sailing into the sunset on the final night of the voyage right Welcome figure at Yuquot below The float plane arrived for a crew change and fresh provisions, Nuchatlitz Inlet.

Day 36

of our adventure and we awoke to dense fog and a heavy west coast rain, a problem considering that we had a Beaver float plane arriving at 11 am for a crew change and resupply.

Hopefully, the fog would lift by the time the plane arrived.

We were also five miles from the planned rendezvous location due to wind and sea conditions which would have prevented the plane from landing where originally intended. As the plane had already left Tofino, we hailed the pilot on the radio with the new landing coordinates and a report on the local conditions. Twenty minutes later we heard the plane approaching through the fog and then saw it as it descended below the ceiling. The pilot taxied to a stop about 100 feet from where Ern and Odin were anchored.

Success! But we would have to move fast so that the pilot could take off before the fog ceiling descended.We rowed over in the two dinghies and after a few trips back and forth we had the crew and provisions transferred. Darcy and Christian would be with us on Odin and Ern for the next week, and we said a fond farewell to Donald who had been with us for the past two weeks.

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from top Sharon’s surprise bear cub at Nootka Inlet At anchor near Yuquot, Nootka Island Arriving at Hot Springs Cove below Exploring islands by dinghy, Barclay Sound Ern and Odin in Victoria’s Inner Harbour

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As the drone of the plane’s iconic De Havilland engine faded into the fog we were once again plunged into the silence.

The next morning, we had blue skies and a marine forecast that called for perfect winds for the 30-mile trip down Nootka Island to our next anchorage near Yuquot (Friendly Cove). Along the way we caught a couple of ling cod, so it was fresh fish tacos for dinner including homemade guacamole, salsa, and tortillas that we made when we arrived at anchor. Another great meal on our gourmet cruise, and with the previous day’s resupply of fresh limes, tequila, and Cointreau, the tacos were paired with margaritas. It’s medicinal! The vitamin C in the limes keeps the scurvy at bay… or at least that’s what we tell ourselves when we make margaritas.

Sharon went for an after-dinner row in the dinghy to take a few photos of Odin and Ern at anchor. While she was busy with her camera, the dinghy drifted towards the shoreline. Unbeknownst to Sharon, a curious black bear cub came out of the woods and was standing at the edge of the water, not 16 feet from where Sharon was floating. “Sharon, TURN AROUND!” we called from the sailboats.

It didn’t take her long to make a few strokes of the oars and get out of range, but she had the temerity to snap a rather close-up photo of the cub before she put down the camera and took up the oars.

Who knows where the mother might have been!

After a wonderful three days in Yuquot we had a good weather window to continue our journey, so we hoisted sails for the 25-mile trip to Hesquiaht. Along the way that day we saw our first mola mola (ocean sunfish), which must have weighed over 1,000 lbs. It was feeding on the surface only about 20 feet from the boat as we sailed by. A short while later we hove-to to view Estevan Point Lighthouse, catching a couple of coho salmon, while a humpback whale surfaced nearby. If that wasn’t enough of a nature show, that evening we saw a massive elephant seal,

backlit by the setting sun, surfing inside a 10-foot high peeling wave. The large mammal was easily 18 feet-long and must have weighed over 6,000 lbs. All that wildlife in just a short day of sailing. The west coast of Vancouver Island is truly a wild and magical place!

Two days later we had a crew change planned at Hot Springs Cove. A water taxi out of Tofino would be bringing Georgina, Valerie, and Tom, and taking Sharon, Darcy and Christian back to Tofino on the return. We had wisely planned the crew change so that both the departing and the incoming crew had time to spend in the hot springs and the lack of hot water bathing over the past three weeks was soon forgotten! To add to the magic of Hot Springs Cove, that evening we were visited by a small pod of orcas, including a young calf who swam by the boats while we were at anchor. We also received a surprise visit from a dog who had swum a half kilometer from the local village to visit boats anchored in the cove. We learned that this was a nearly daily ritual for this particular dog. I guess he liked the snacks!

For the next 10 days we explored Clayoquot Sound before Valerie and Georgina disembarked at Tofino. Now please don’t get me wrong, I love Tofino/ Ucluelet and Sharon and I take vacations there twice a year (I’m heading there again soon for a week), but after seven weeks of sailing, five of which had been spent exploring the remote coastline from Port Hardy to Clayoquot, Tofino was a shock to the senses for the two skippers.

There were people, cars, and shops, and along with that came sirens, horns, and the need to remember to look both ways before crossing the street. Although we still had more than 200 miles of sailing to do before reaching home, we knew that the bulk of our fishing, surfing, exploring, wildlife encounters, and open west coast sailing was now behind us. We had been spoiled by the wild, rugged beauty and blissful serenity of northwest Vancouver Island. From here on in we would be in places we had visited many times before.

We were back in cell range. Tofino signaled the beginning of the end of our circumnavigation.

After departing from Tofino, we sailed to Barclay Sound to explore the Deer Group of islands before the two-day slog down Juan de Fuca Strait… in the fog!

Victoria was a welcome sight for our last crew change. Skipper Arnt’s nephew (also named Arnt) and father, Lloyd, joined the boats. On board we now had four

Arntzens comprising three generations.

Being a very musical family—they actually have a jazz band that includes four generations—the next week was filled with live music as we made our way from Victoria and up through the Gulf Islands before a planned overnight on Mayne Island to visit friends. To the surprise of the two skippers, there was a big party planned to celebrate the successful circumnavigation and many of the crew from the past nine weeks had come to partake in the festivities. It capped off the entire trip!

Alas, it was time to go home. Odin and Ern left Mayne Island with just the two skippers and no other crew.

We were now in our home waters and had planned to do the last two days of sailing alone. We had a leisurely sail up to the north end of Galiano Island where we anchored for the night to await the morning’s slack current at Porlier Pass.

The two boats were rafted together and Arnt and I spent the evening recounting the many adventures while retracing

Cape Scott lunch in Guise Bay

Nahwitti Bar & Crew change in Port Hardy

Dis

Stop in Port McNeill for a new mast

Hello, my name is Charlie

Tucked in behind an island

Cape Cook a.k.a. the “Cape of Storms”

our route on the charts and looking at photos we had taken. In the past 63 days and nights we had travelled over 900 nautical miles (1,600 kms). We had been extremely lucky with fair and following winds over most of the trip and had been able to sail for all of it except for two days when we needed to use the motor due to lack of wind. It had truly been an epic trip for Arnt and me, and on this last night we went back and forth between nostalgia of the trip that had been, and excitement for the ones yet to come. The BC coast is a sailor’s dream and our two fine boats had proven that we could do just about anything. It was time to go home and start planning!

Slack current the following morning was at 0645 and from there it was only 26 miles to get home. We awoke to sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.

The winds were a light 12-15 knots from the northwest and the seas were a 2' choppy wave. Arnt decided that with the northwest wind and Odin’s gaff rig, he preferred to head towards Richmond

Root ball collision

and then tack his way up to Point Grey and into Vancouver Harbour. Ern, with her Bermuda rig, was fine with a more direct line, so I decided that I would head straight for Point Grey. We would meet at the dock in five hours.

The sun was already baking so I set the auto steering for a few minutes to go below for water, sunscreen, and a wide brimmed hat. I had only just stepped off the companionway ladder and into the cabin when Ern was rocked hard to starboard, then even harder to port, before going way over to starboard again.

I looked up through the hatch and with that last lurch to starboard, I watched as Ern’s 60 year-old wooden mast unzipped along the glue line and with the resulting lack of structural integrity, broke off just below the boom and the whole rig went into the water; 40 feet of mast, the 18-foot boom, mainsail, headsail, sheets, halyards, and shrouds and stays (eight stainless steel cables that support the mast and connect it to the hull)… all of it was in the water!

Green Point Rapids

Winter Harbour crew change and reunion Columbia Cove Bunsby Islands Kyuquot

Odin is dismasted Awaiting supplies and a new crew at Mary Basin

Predator tracks at Rugged Point Marine Provincial Park

Whirlpool Rapids

Yuculta and Dent Rapids

Powell River Prawn Festival Retreat from the gale

Sharon's Bear Cub visitor

Nuchatlitz Inlet Abandoned steel hulks at Louie Bay

Mola mola spotting

Sea sickness strikes

Hot Springs Cove, visit by pod of orcas Humpback, elephant seal spotting

Engine troubles

Barclay Sound

Surprise party on Mayne Island

Final crew change in 7 Victoria Harbour

PASSIONS | FALL 2020

Disaster! The broken mast lashed to the rail

Now for those readers who have I would try! the dock. I coiled up the shrouds, stays, followed this story over the previous I went back up on deck, grabbing my halyards, and sheets, and two hours after three instalments in Passions magazine, boarding ladder and a knife from the my drama had started, the water was you might remember that Odin had been galley along the way. I tied the bitter end clear of lines and I could start the motor dismasted, just south of Port McNeill, on of the jib sheet around my waist, installed for the slog home. the second week of the trip. Now it was the ladder, put the knife in my teeth so As with Odin, Ern would get a new that my hands were free to deal with the mast, and because I had managed to save Ern’s inglorious turn. tangled web of rope and cables in the the old one, the insurance company was I stood there looking up at the empty water, and I stepped over the lifelines to able to inspect the rig and determine sky and I think I was experiencing make the plunge. that it was a “catastrophic glue failure.” “phantom rig syndrome.” The rig wasn’t “Jump!” my mind said.

We received a settlement and over the where it was supposed to be, but my “No!” replied my legs. winter we built a new mast but that is a mind could not believe what my eyes story unto itself and were seeing. My initial more appropriate shock and disbelief did for a woodworking not last for more than a or wooden boat couple of seconds when I ... 40 feet of mast, the 18-foot boom, publication. heard the gut-wrenching And with that ends sound of something hit mainsail, headsail, sheets, halyards, and the story of our great the wooden hull. Thud!

Vancouver Island Then two seconds later, shrouds and stays (eight stainless steel circumnavigation louder. THUD!!! I was adventure. We had shaken from my stupor as cables that support the mast and connect shared the voyage with I realized that Ern’s mast a total of seventeen had become a battering it to the hull)… all of it was in the water. crew members, ram and the boat was through seven crew being smashed against it changes… laughing, with each wave. I was at eating, learning, serious risk of having my singing, surfing, hull caved in right below I had to forcefully will myself into the and loving, strengthening friendships the waterline. water, a difficult task when you are the and forging some new ones along Any good sailor keeps a set of bolt only person on board. Once in the water the way. There had been countless cutters on board so that in case of an I quickly cut away the two sails and adventures, and a few misadventures, emergency they can cut the steel shrouds shoved them up onto the deck with the which only added to the story. We are and stays and set the rig free. I ran boom still attached. I climbed back on planning another for next summer, if below to retrieve Ern’s bolt cutters but board, maneuvered the mast alongside the pandemic lets us; and Haida Gwaii I had only made it halfway through the Ern, and I lifted it out of the water and is also on the radar. I’ll make sure to let cabin when I realized that if I cut the up to the deck where I lashed it to the your editor know of any future trips and rig free, I might not be able to retrieve stanchions and rails. I have no idea how I maybe we will meet again on these pages. it and in that case I would never be able did it alone from the deck except for pure Until then, fair winds, and long may your to reproduce the same rig on my old adrenaline… it took three grunting men big jib draw! wooden boat. History was at stake! But to carry it the next day when I was back at could I save the boat and the rig?

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D AY T R I P S

& OVERNIGHTERS

left Flying Fish, Nanaimo

Foodie Finds

above The Worldly Gourmet Kitchen Store, Ladysmith

for Your Kitchen IF LIVING THROUGH A PANDEMIC HAS BROUGHT OUT YOUR INNER INA GARTEN, YOU’RE NOT ALONE.

Soaring sales of flour, yeast, cookbooks and more have sparked a new wave of home cooks eager to test out their burgeoning skills alongside their Instant Pots and sourdough starters.

Of course now that you’re into the swing of three squares a day, you may also be looking for ways to simplify the process. Smart and savvy cooking requires the right tools for the job. But in a world of ever-changing gadgets and trends, what tools do you need to kit out your cupboards?

We asked four of our favourite kitchen store owners to share their insights on the essentials. For Fairwinds foodies, you’ll be delighted to know that these well-appointed shops are right around the corner, making for a perfect fall day trip or overnight outing.

THE WORLDLY GOURMET KITCHEN STORE, LADYSMITH

In less time than it takes to rise a loaf of crusty artisan bread, you can be at the doorstep of The Worldly Gourmet Kitchen Store in Ladysmith. Located on the main drag in a 1944 heritage building, owners Kamal and Therese Saab attract customers from Tofino to Victoria and beyond with local and international gourmet and commercial cookware.

“A great kitchen starts with great pots and pans,” says Kamal.

“But we encourage our customers to try a mix of manufacturers instead of buying a set. For instance, start with a stainless steel pot and then add a Scanpan which we think are the best non-stick pans on the market. They are ceramic titanium, not teflon, and they can go into the oven up to 500°F. You can use very minimal or even no oil and the pans have a lifetime warranty.”

Other pots you’ll find in this well-stocked store include carbon steel pans for ceramic top and induction ranges, commercialsized stock pots and paella pans from the tiny tapas size up to one

metre in diameter. And if paella is on the menu, don’t forget to pick up the paella rice, Spanish oil and saffron here too.

LOVE MY KITCHEN SHOP, SALT SPRING ISLAND

A quick ferry ride away to Ganges, lies another gem of a kitchen shop with everything from small got-to-have-it items to investment pieces.

Owner Linda Koroscil says that some of her best-sellers satisfy customers’ needs for more eco-friendly solutions. “Anything made from bamboo is popular, right down to our bamboo toothbrushes. Now that people are trying to reduce their use of plastic, they’re buying items like our stainless steel straws which are totally reusable.”

Moving away from plastics has also paved the way for Koroscil to introduce a new produce bag for carrying fruit and veggies home from the store and for keeping them fresher in the fridge.

“Our Vaya bags are made out of a netting material and crafted in a small village in Mexico. They come in a pack of three different sizes and you can wash them and use them over and over again.”

THE FLYING FISH, NANAIMO

Well-situated on a sizeable downtown street corner, this 6,400 sq-foot store is a go-to for local foodies looking for new items to add to their kitchens. One of the trends Assistant Manager Gina Moscrip is seeing is that customers are making artisan bread at home. “We sell a lot of Banneton baskets which are used to hold shaped loaves as they proof and undergo their final rise. They’re a caned, natural fibre basket and come in different round and oblong sizes. The basket texture is imprinted onto the loaf or you can line the basket with linen for a smoother finish.”

Home cooks are also embracing the fermentation trend as a way to improve gut health. “We sell fermenting kits,” says Moscrip. “Whether you’re making kimchi or sauerkraut, we carry 9 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

Celebration Cocktails

by Kim Krieger

Finding excuses to celebrate the festive season is now more important than ever, and nothing says celebration like champagne!

Fairwinds French 75 a kit that includes a glass jar with an air lock and a ceramic disk that weighs it down.”

As the weather cools, cocktail-obsessed hosts will be keen to check out new additions to their barware. “People are experimenting with more fun, artisanal drinks. Strainers and muddlers and hammered copper mugs for Moscow Mules are all popular choices,” adds Moscrip. “We’ve introduced a line of local bitters from BC Buttered Sling with flavours that range from root beer to grapefruit and hops. It’s a nice way to introduce local flavour into your cocktail creations.”

If you’re tasked with thinking up a flavour to evoke the refreshing ocean winds coming off Fairwinds Marina during a winter storm, I don’t think you can do better than cranberry.

The way the tart tannins in cranberry makes our mouths pucker reminds me of how we steel ourselves against the wind, hunching over our shoulders, narrowing our eyes, and wrapping our arms around ourselves.

Too dramatic? Ok, maybe cranberry and lemon just go wonderfully well together.

This cocktail is a perfect way to showcase the pairing. Enjoy!

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1. Add ice to champagne flute and place in the freezer to chill.

2. Add first four ingredients to a cocktail shaker, then fill with ice.

3. Shake vigorously until frost forms on the outside of the shaker.

4. Discard ice from champagne flute; strain ingredients from cocktail shaker into it.

5. Top off with champagne and garnish with lemon zest.

Fountain of Youth

WHAT’S COOKING, QUALIICUM BEACH

After 27 years of operating this destination store in Qualicum Beach, husband and wife owners Patrick Simpson and Vickie Sissons know a thing or two about what home cooks are serving these days.

“One of the items on the menu is pizza,” says Simpson. “We sell pizza stones that are made in California. Rather than cooking your pizza on a metal pan that moisture can’t escape from, these stones absorb the moisture and will take up to 1200°F of heat so you get true crispy restaurant-style results.”

Innovation also makes its way onto the shelves with the introduction of Lodge Cookware’s Blacklock pans. “Every kitchen needs a good quality cast iron pan but as we get older, cast iron is just too heavy. The new Blacklock product looks and functions like cast iron but it is about half the weight. We carry this line in different sizes of frying pans, as well as a Dutch oven, wok and a deep saute pan.”

When it’s time to serve, What’s Cooking carries white tableware as well as bold and bright Fiesta® ware. “Most colourful dinnerware is chippy because it’s made out of ceramic which chips down to white really easily but Fiesta® is durable and they’ve got a fantastic array of colours from primary to pastels. These are unique and retro-inspired pieces that add a lot of wow factor to a table.”

2 oz gin 1 ½ tsp simple syrup ½ oz freshly squeezed lemon juice ½ oz pure cranberry juice (no sugar added) chilled champagne lemon zest, to garnish ice for cocktail shaker

If you know any Fairwinders, you’ll agree that being young at heart is something all community members have in common.

Every resident has a youthful way about them. Maybe it’s because they truly, as the saying goes, live their passions? Perhaps it’s the incredible natural surroundings.

Or maybe this magical place just attracts magical people. We may never know the true secret, but we can pretend we do with this elixir. To perpetual youth – because it’s not how old you are, but how you are old!

½ oz vodka 2 oz pomegranate juice 1 oz diced fresh ginger chilled champagne fresh pomegranate seeds, to garnish ice for cocktail shaker and finished cocktail 1. Fill an old-fashioned glass with ice and place in the freezer to chill.

2. Add first three ingredients to a cocktail shaker, then fill with ice.

3. Shake vigorously until frost forms on the outside of the shaker .

4. Strain into a chilled old-fashioned glass half-filled with ice.

5. Top glass off with champagne and sprinkle with a few pomegranate seeds.

The Spicy Spendthrift.

New to this column: an alcohol-free option!

I am noticing a growing trend towards sophisticated options for booze free drinks.

Whether you’re purposefully avoiding alcohol or just need a tasty break between drinks, this spicy little number is sure to impress. It may not have any champagne, but carbonation gets us close enough.

For an alcoholic version, mezcal works wonderfully! Add 1 ½ oz with the flavoured soda, then continue the recipe.

4 oz The Great Jamaican Spicy Pineapple soda chilled club soda jalapeno, sliced crosswise into wheels Tajin seasoning ice for collins glass 1. Half-fill a collins glass with ice and add pineapple soda slowly, to avoid fizzing.

2. Top with club soda and stir slowly, until just combined.

3. Slice into two to three jalapeno wheels and place on the edge of the glass as garnish.

4. Dust with tajin seasoning.

T H E PA S S I O N AT E F O O D I E

Baking in the Time of

COVID

by Sandy Robson photos by Members of COVID Comfort Facebook Group

One of the positive trends to emerge from the global pandemic has been a renewed interest in cooking and baking.

People who had never picked up a paring knife or dusted a cake tin were getting busy in the kitchen. There were even shortages as we began stocking our pantries and demand soared for items, including flour and yeast. And in this hyper-connected social media age, we reached out to our online community for help tracking down essentials, sharing with each other which stores had what supplies on hand. And then came sourdough‌ the bread you could bake without yeast! It became a hot topic online, as did bread baking in general.

Flat bread Arlene Rolston Administrator, Non-profit Board Director

Fig bread Mirella Trozzo Baker, Entrepreneur, Community Fundraiser

Cinnamon bun Lawrence Sauter Baker

Sourdough loaf Wendy Sears Event Organizer 11 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

“If you’ve seen an influx of sourdough starters on your Instagram stories, you’re not alone. Over the past three weeks, Google Trend searches for “bread” have hit all-time highs, #breadmaking has garnered nearly half a million posts on social media and grocery stores are facing flour shortages.”

– Louise Johnson “The science behind why everyone is suddenly baking bread” Globe & Mail, April 8, 2020

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As the days progressed and we sought comfort, and something to keep busy with, online food groups sprang up across Canada and the US (and I am assuming worldwide), including a group called COVID Comfort, started by event planner and Nanoose local, Wendy Sears. From her first post on April 4th (and there were over 70 additional posts that day as invited friends jumped in) membership in the group has grown to over 600. Members posted photos, shared recipes, inspired and cheered each other on… and made me hungry!

Months later, as we are still finding our way through this time of COVID, and the days of summer are gone, we will once again be tucked inside our homes. So, it’s back to kitchen and happily. Fall is the perfect time to get cozy, replenish the sourdough starter, put on the apron, and jump back into what is already a busy baking season in our part of the world.

To top it all off, baking is good for you, and your mental health, and has become a form of therapy for many.

But what to bake? If you are looking for some inspiration, The Huffington Post has created a list of “25 Baking Recipes for SelfQuarantine and Self-Care” that includes: Dark Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Cake, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars, Quadruple Chocolate Pudding Cookies, Overnight Cinnamon Roll Bread With Chai Frosting —note to self: do not write when you are hungry—and Blender Lemon Pie. So, what is on your home baking list for the season? Is there some holiday favourite that your family loves? Something that brings back memories of time together; perhaps a recipe passed along through generations? Drop us a line… we’d love to know!

Mama’s Shortbread… my home baking must have for the holidays.

The first printed recipe for shortbread appeared in Scotland in 1736. Traditionally it calls for one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three parts flour (by weight), but there are of course many variations on that theme, from whipped shortbread, to those that add pecans, cranberries or chocolate.

I have a vivid childhood memory of being in my grandmother’s kitchen while she, and my mom and aunties, worked together baking up a big buttery batch. Passed down through four generations, from my great-grandma Taylor, our family recipe is just the basics, although we did go rogue and included golden yellow sugar rather than white… oh my!

1 lb salted butter 1 c. golden yellow sugar 4 c. all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Cream butter. Stir in sugar and flour. Mix well, then work with hands until it forms a smooth sturdy dough and form into a disk. Roll out one half of the dough at a time to about 3/8” thick. Use a cookie cutter or knife to create the shape of your choice—my go to cookie cutter for many years has been a holly leave— and transfer to baking sheet. I also press a candied cherry into each. Just keep reforming and re-rolling the dough until it is used up… I get about 60 of my holly cookies. Bake until golden (12-15 minutes) and transfer to cooling rack.

The shortbread will keep for a couple of weeks stored in an airtight tin, but they never seem to last that long in our household! They also freeze well.

Happy Baking!

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Above Us Only Sky Starlight, star bright, The first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight.

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W

by Kait Burgan photos of the night sky by Chris Boar

hile this late 19th century nursery rhyme is familiar to almost everyone, the galaxies, stars, and planets that shine brightly in the skies above our heads are not nearly as well known. The mystery of the night sky has made it a focus of study since ancient times and astronomy is one of the oldest and most complex of the natural sciences. Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Hubble, and countless others spent their lifetimes studying the heavens. Today students attending the University of Victoria have an opportunity to receive a degree in physics and astronomy utilizing one of the largest optical telescopes (0.8 m)

of any Canadian university available right on campus for their studies. And with the NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, and the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory located nearby, Vancouver Island is considered a leading centre for astronomy in Canada.

“Those guys are working on some of the most cutting-edge topics in astronomy in the world, and because astronomy is so wide, they’ll be specializing in their own areas like planets or galaxies or black holes,” says Chris Boar, President of the Nanaimo Astronomy Society. “You could pick any one particular small

aspect of astronomy and spend your entire life investigating it.”

Chris fell in love with the mysteries of space back in the late 1990s when he was a student in the US. He took a trip to New Orleans and paid five dollars to a man on the street with a telescope focussed on Saturn. He didn’t know then that star gazing would later take up a large part of his life. “It’s quite amazing to see its rings,” Chris recalls of his first time seeing Saturn. “I have seen the same effect on other people. I’ve seen people cry when they see Saturn through a telescope. They think I’m playing a trick on them, sticking a photo on the end of the scope or something.

15 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

I think it’s just the realization that there is more out there than you and you have to be within 50 miles of what’s called the tend to notice.” centre line in order to capture it.” For those on Vancouver Being overwhelmed to the point of tears, however, is not Island who witnessed the 2017 solar eclipse, Chris says that a typical first-time experience. For many, looking through a here, it was 97%. In Oregon, it was 100%, but the pandemic telescope is often underwhelming the first time because, as Chris as well as smoke from the forest fires kiboshed his trip this explains, people expect to see images like those from the Hubble year, and he missed another total solar eclipse event.

Space Telescope. That is not the case. He says it’s common to see While 2020 has been disappointing for Chris and many Andromeda Galaxy or one of the larger deep space objects, but members of the Nanaimo Astronomy Society, there are you don’t actually see much colour. The images that we’re used to some prime spots to get lost in the night skies right here seeing have been captured with cameras through telescopes. on Vancouver Island, especially this time of year. When Chris himself is an astrophotographer, and notes that “It’s very the days are shorter and cooler, the air stabilizes, making technically challenging, much more so than wedding photography it easier to look through a telescope, as they magnify because it’s such a long process. You need fairly good equipment everything, including distortions in the atmosphere created to start with; fairly expensive equipment.” Chris says he jokes by heat. with his wife about his photography equipment being his Harley “Westwood Lake in Nanaimo is a good spot because Davidson… his mid-life crisis investment. you’re actually high up and hills surround it,” Chris says.

Setting up to photograph the stars is complicated, and the “It shields part of the light dome of Nanaimo, but generally, process of capturing the images takes hours and hours; sometimes if you want really dark skies, you have to head out west to spanning multiple evenings. “Most of my images are all-night Tofino or Ucluelet. There’s a surprising amount of light exposures,” he says. “I might do five or six hours of exposure time coming from Nanaimo and Parksville.” for one image, and then I’ve got to process it. There’s a lot of fancy Humans have always been fascinated with the mystery processing on computers in Photoshop and speciality software to and endlessness of space. We look to the skies for other actually pull all of the detail out of the images.” worlds, life on planets other than our own, and just when Like almost everything in the world today, COVID has changed we think we know how things work and get comfortable in things for Chris’s astrophotography adventure and the Nanaimo our collective knowledge, something new is discovered that Astronomy Society. The group thrives on public outreach, giving shows us just how little we actually understand. What we people a glimpse into outer space through their telescopes while do know for sure is that you don’t have to be an expert in sharing their knowledge. Events like Canada Day would typically outer space and all of its contents to appreciate the beauty it be a big a deal for the society. contains. When we’ve Unfortunately, its 85 members got the green light haven’t met in person since to gather in public February. Instead like many groups again, the of us they rely on Zoom to Nanaimo Astronomy CHECK OUT CHRIS BOAR‘S WEBSITE keep them connected. “If it Society will be here (chrisboar.com/astrophotography) and the Nanaimo weren’t for COVID, we would to guide us but until Astronomy Society site at nanaimoastronomy.com, be inviting the public out to then, in the words of as well as their Facebook page. see Jupiter and Saturn in the Stephen Hawking, night sky right now. That really “Remember to look Stargazers are also invited to attend UVic’s online bright star in the southern up at the stars and Open House every Wednesday from 7:30 to 9 pm night sky at the moment is not down at your feet. actually Jupiter.” on Zoom. Each session includes an astronomy Q&A Try to make sense For Chris and other serious of what you see and session, followed by an astronomy-themed presentation astrophotographers, COVID wonder about what by an invited speaker. Please contact the Physics & has other impacts as well. makes the universe Astronomy office or visit the UVic Observatory Facebook “There is one big event exist. Be curious. And, page for more information. in December which I think however difficult life I’m going to miss,” he says may seem, there is as if finally coming to terms always something you with the fact that he won’t can do and succeed be travelling internationally. at. It matters that you “There’s a total solar eclipse don’t just give up.” And it never hurts to wish upon a star occurring down in Chile, now and again while you’re at it.

right The University of Victoria telescope has a 32-inch / 0.8 m mirror.

16 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

FA I R W I N D S P R O F I L E

Picture Perfect

by Sandra Jones photos by Rae-Anne Guenther

FOR A SPIT OF LAND SO SMALL IN STATURE, NANOOSE BAY PUNCHES WELL ABOVE ITS WEIGHT CLASS WHEN IT COMES TO JAW-DROPPING SCENERY.

I paint in fits and starts. When my brain is into it, I’ll paint for four or five hours a day. My table is on wheels and on a nice day I just push it through the doors onto the patio and paint from there.

RICHARD ALM Federation of Canadian Artists, Signature Status

17 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

With its ancient trees and weathered rock rimmed by the tidal blue of the Salish Sea, it’s no wonder Fairwinds draws those with an artist’s eye and a penchant for painting.

Artist Richard Alm moved to the community from Vancouver three years ago and discovered a wealth of inspiration. “Moving here gave me a whole new range of subject matter. I’ve always been an outdoorsy guy and I’ve painted lots of trees, forests, and streams but now it’s right outside our door. My wife Bonnie and I are just discovering the Island and haven’t even touched the surface.”

For this prairie boy turned painter, the road to Fairwinds was a winding one. “I grew up in Saskatoon and majored in fine arts at the University of Saskatchewan.

But I knew early on that there was no money in art,” recalls Richard.

Instead his career was an epic adventure that included jobs in sales and marketing and culminated in ownership of an ad agency that worked with worldwide brands such as Hyatt Hotels.

The original agency morphed into an exhibit design and management company and went on to create 3D exhibits for world fairs including Vancouver’s Expo 86.

It wasn’t until 2003 that Richard’s thoughts turned back to creating his own art. “In the early days, I got accepted into the Federation of Canadian Artists and was painting big canvasses. After I had been painting for five years, I noticed that Robert Genn, a well-respected artist with the Federation, was offering critiques for $40.”

Richard paid the fee and met with him to ask for his opinion on his work and where he fit into the milieu of artists. “He told me, ‘You’re about page three of a 783-page book. But why are you painting all of these big paintings that nobody can afford? I want you to go and buy 300, 11" x 14" canvasses. When you’ve finished them, you’ll have a style that people will recognize.’ ” Richard took his advice, or at least some of it. He bumped into Genn the following spring and gave him an update.

“I told him two things: The first was that one of my big 12 x 4 foot canvasses was the feature at the Harmony Arts Festival.

The second was that I was now up to #37 of my small canvasses and he was

18 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

absolutely right. When I was working small and doing two or three at a time, I could see the improvement.”

The ultimate compliment came later when Richard presented Genn with a painting he had done of the artist. “He told me he was going home to give it to his wife and they were hanging it on the wall.

So I went from ‘page three’ to having a piece in his house,” laughs Richard.

Today Richard’s work can be found in homes far and wide while the walls of his own home showcase more than 100 paintings. The house seems custom-made for the work of an artist and the walk-out lower level, with an abundance of light, ideally suited for his studio.

Propped on an easel facing the patio doors in his studio, his latest work is a study in the scenery just beyond. “I paint in fits and starts. When my brain is into it, I’ll paint for four or five hours a day. My table is on wheels and on a nice day I just push it through the doors onto the patio and paint from there.”

Robert’s skill and passion for sculpting, painting, and illustrating translate into an ability to think outside of the box. “I get tired of painting on flat surfaces so I’m now working on a framed canvas that is inset with another framed canvas. It’s like putting a whole bunch of canvas bits together to make one structured canvas piece. There’s a lot of trial and error.”

Active in the local arts scene, Richard has joined a group of 15 Nanoose Bay artists and his studio is a featured stop on the tours that typically run twice a year in non-pandemic times. “I also mentor a group of aspiring artists and we meet and talk about art.”

But it’s not all work for this prolific artist. “I like to fly fish up near Qualicum Beach and Bonnie and I are both golfers.

We’re on the Fairwinds course three times a week.”

It’s the combination of people and place that Richard loves. “We lived in Vancouver for decades and never knew our neighbours. One of the things we were looking for was a real neighbourhood and we’ve found that here. Now we know all of our neighbours. Plus we were able to sell our 1800 sq ft condo and buy this 4600 sq ft. home for half the price.”

And of course, there’s the showstopping environment. “This is like heaven. Spectacular scenery is out the door and a block away – what could be nicer?”

HOLE 10

Blanka Dunville

A smooth nine-iron shot right into the hole on the front pin...

July 6

HOLE 2

Marlene Cox

Shot on the back pin into the wind during couples match play... July 5

Fairwinds

HOLE IN ONE CLUB

HOLE 10

Sharon Vincent

A shot on the back right of the green so she knew it would be close but couldn’t see it roll in over the rise...

July 23

HOLE 2

Jackie Higham

A shot that took her team to victory on Ladies Night... August 4

HOLE 8

Brenda Juss HOLE 2

... Sept. 25

Joan Jones ... Oct. 1

19 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

O U R FAV O U R I T E T H I N G S

Holiday & Winter Movies

AS THE DAYS GROW SHORTER AND WE SPEND MORE OF OUR EVENINGS AT HOME, IT'S THE PERFECT TIME TO REVISIT SOME SEASONAL FARE… FROM HOLIDAY CLASSICS TO A FEW WE ENJOY FOR THEIR MEMORABLE WINTER SCENES ALONE!

3

1

If you’ve ever wanted to be a grinch yourself and run away from the annual holiday madness, Christmas with the Kranks is the goofy (and sometimes cringeworthy) comedy for you! Stars, Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, are empty-nesters who anger their neighbours by planning to skip Christmas in favour of a cruise. We particularly enjoy Dan Aykroyd as the neighbourhood Christmas vigilante.

A Christmas Story If you’ve seen this holiday classic before you’ll know not to be fooled when we triple-dog-dare ya to stick your tongue on that frozen flagpole or anything else metal for that matter! Some of us laughed out loud the first time we saw this movie and it has been a yearly tradition in our families ever since. Some of the movie was filmed in Canada— including the schoolyard used for the previously mentioned scene—and it was recognized with two Canadian Genie Awards in 1984… Best Director and Best Screenplay.

4

A Charlie Brown Christmas With help from the Peanuts Gang, Charlie Brown has been seeking the true meaning of Christmas since 1965 when the TV special was first aired. As much as we loved this show as children, it wasn’t until we discovered the score by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi that we truly appreciated the full brilliance of this animated treasure.

2 How the Grinch Stole Christmas We are going for the 1966 classic here, narrated by Boris Karloff. While it is actually an animated TV short—only 26 minutes long—it is true to the Dr. Seuss original book and the holidays would not be the same without it!

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5 Becoming Santa documents the journey of Jack Sanderson as he attends Santa School and eventually transforms himself into a pretty fine version of Santa Claus, if you ask us. There is a tinge of melancholy to this behind-the-scenes look at Santa culture and history, and includes interviews with men and women who work to keep the red suit legend embodied and alive for children.

8

7 Never Cry Wolf From Farley Mowat’s autobiographical novel, this film follows a biologist (played by the delightful Charles Martin Smith) who sets out into the Arctic to study the lives of wolves. An adventure to say the least, and a journey into wild places both of the landscape and the human heart.

One of the best movies ever made, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is a masterclass in filmmaking with a message that resonates across the decades.

6 The Holiday is a lovely, light and fluffy rom-com about two women (Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz) who switch homes for the holiday in order to get away from failed romances only to find new ones abroad.

And frankly nothing says Christmas like snow falling on a charming cottage in the English countryside… oh, and did we mention Jude Law is in it, too? Sigh!

9 March of the Penguins While the filming of this documentary was a monumental challenge involving 13 months out on the Antarctic ice, this heartwarming tale resulted in the world falling in love with Emperor penguins.

10 And then there’s A Christmas Carol, the Dickens classic re-imagined with so many versions and variations on a theme. From the black & white 1951 film starring Alastair Sim, filled with its dark and moody scenes (and some pretty good FX for the day as well) to Bill Murray’s Scrooged, and even a version with Kermit the frog and the rest of the Muppets!

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A Tale of Two Book Stores

by Jen Groundwater photos by Rae-Anne Guenther

In 1989

Barb and Tom Pope moved back to Canada after living for more than two decades in New Zealand. They visited family in pretty little Qualicum Beach, where they soon heard that the local book store, Mulberry Bush, was for sale. They put in an offer─and began putting down roots on the Island.

Soon afterwards, they were visited by their first publishers’ reps, received their first quarterly microfiche (Microfiches! Remember those?!) advertising new book titles, and put in their first orders. So began a beautiful story of community and connection that continues to be written to this day.

If Barb and Tom had foreseen the many challenges they would face as independent booksellers─including the rise of big-box bookstores, online rivals, and even a global pandemic, they might have bought a different kind of business─but, decades later, Barb reflects on the secret to their longevity, “Our customers are the reason that we’re here. We feel like we have a sacred trust with them.”

The Popes opened a second store in Parksville in 1992, and both Mulberry Bush book stores have become beloved fixtures in their communities. For many years, they’ve been not just where you go to pick up your next beach read or thriller, they’ve been a gathering place. Book launches and author events happen in store, while the Popes and their staff take “sales-on-site” book displays to literary and festival events. Their Community Gifting Program helps support local organizations, they act as a ticket agent for various concerts and performances, and they have a frequent-buyer club for their die-hard bookworms.

Though Barb and Tom’s two stores combined, occupy a physical space of just about 2,000 square feet, they offer access to over eight million titles on their online store. Which means that in a very real sense, walking into a Mulberry Bush bookstore is like opening a door into a universe of infinite possibilities. “Books take you everywhere you want to be,” Barb says.

Each store has a slightly different ambiance. In Parksville, it’s cozy, with dark wood shelving and a children’s area with a castle façade. The Qualicum location is bright and airy, with a holidayesque feeling. But whichever store you visit, you’ll get a warm welcome from people who know and genuinely love books.

Both stores stock plenty of new Canadian titles (Barb says, “We like to support

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A SELECTION OF MULBERRY BUSH STAFF PICKS

The Jane Austen Society: A Novel

by Natalie Jenner The Power of Kindness: Why Empathy Is Essential in Everyday Life

by Brian Goldman The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History

by S Theresa Dietz How to Window Box: Small-Space Plants to Grow Indoors or Out

by Chantal Aida Gordon

To Speak for the Trees: My Life‘s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest

by Diana Beresford-Kroeger Two for the Road

by Roddy Doyle

local and Canadian authors”) along with sections for mysteries, popular and literary fiction, non-fiction, bargain books, and more. The Staff Picks shelves are a great place to find your next favourite author. And there are lots of children’s books.

Barb is the buyer for the stores. Asked how in the world she selects which books to order from the thousands published every month, she says she considers her customers first. “What have they asked for? What are they reading? We always buy more work by authors our customers love.”

She also pays close attention to publishers’ lists of hot new titles, book-prize shortlists and winners, Canada Reads and celebrity book-club recommendations, and titles or topics in the media. “Recently, books about US politics, along with Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Canadian titles, have been very much in demand,” she notes.

Like most small shops, both Mulberry Bush locations closed in mid-March 2020 in the early days of COVID-19. But then something marvellous happened, Barb says. “Books really took off during COVID. It was an unexpected but amazing phenomenon. People rediscovered the joy of reading.”

For the Popes, this meant a surge in online and special orders. They quickly began offering home delivery and no-touch pickup at the door; they re-opened in June with restrictions on how many people can be in each store at one time. This means no in-person events for now, but you can still go in to browse or buy, or chat with the staff, who Barb calls “fabulous professionals.”

A key team member is Barb and Tom’s daughter, Marianne (“We can’t do it without her!”) who works in the Qualicum Beach store and oversees all of Mulberry Bush’s website promotions, marketing, monthly newsletters, and Facebook and Instagram feeds.

In these strange pandemic days, book lovers need bricks-and-mortar bookstores more than ever. And our booksellers need us, too. For Barb and Tom, the connection to community is one of the very best parts of running their stores. Over the years, they’ve seen summer visitors come back year after year, and have become friends with many local bibliophiles.

“We’re grateful for our customers. We’re just so blessed that we get to talk about books every day,” says Barb. “We can talk about books with our customers, we know what they’ll like, and they keep coming back.”

23 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

Big Trees

Hiroshima Survivor, photo by Sage Ross

1000 year old FICUS RETUSA

Little

by Sandy Robson

IF YOU ARE OF A CERTAIN AGE,

your first introduction to bonsai may have been watching the bonsai scene from Karate Kid as Mr. Miyagi shares yet another life lesson with his young protégé while tending his trees.

When I was a child and saw a bonsai display for the first time, I remember imagining myself as suddenly shrinking in size and climbing up to sit in its branches. The scale of these amazing creations is what first draws you in from a distance. Is that real?

Is it a dwarf tree? It is upon closer inspection that the magic is revealed.

These are living trees just like the ones in the forest. Diminutive versions perhaps, but the same in every other way, except they have been tended, trained, coaxed and cared for over many years by a patient and guiding hand.

Bonsai is based on the ancient Chinese practice of penjing, which was adopted and developed, under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhists, to become a horticultural artform. The term’s literal translation is “planted in a [shallow] container” but the practice goes well beyond that. The ultimate bonsai is a replication of the full-sized tree in nature, with the same look and feel in the landscape but in miniature.

By restricting the root space available and through meticulous shaping and pruning, over time the tree conforms to the constraints. Certain species of tree are better suited to this process, but many trees, as well as woody-stemmed 24 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

shrubs can be used; some of the more popular options being juniper, pine, Japanese maple, and fig. And if you are interested in flowering varieties, azalea, and crabapple are well suited to bonsai with their smaller flower size.

With bonsai, it is all about the details: pinching, clipping, pruning, wiring branches and restricting roots while also encouraging healthy growth. The wiring process allows the grower to sculpt the shape of the plant so that it has the shape and appearance of a much older tree. And the art is definitely best practiced by those interested in the long game as the trees can outlive their creators— sometimes by generations—if properly cared for over the years. One of the oldest bonsai alive resides at the Crespi Bonsai Museum in Italy and is believed to be over 1,000 years old. The Yamaki Pine, donated to the US National Arboretum in 1976, is almost 400 years old and a survivor of the atomic bomb dropped at Hiroshima.

And bonsai are never complete. They are alive and of course keep growing (albeit slowly) which requires ongoing care. With this kind of investment in time, it is fair to say that bonsai truly becomes a passion; as it was for John Naka who began training what would become a masterwork named Goshin, meaning ‘protector of the spirit’ which in its final form has eleven trees, each representing one of his eleven grandchildren.

There are many ways to enjoy

bonsai. You can simply be an admirer and visit garden club shows, as well as botanic gardens and museums dedicated to the art of bonsai. And right here on Vancouver Island you can see some lovely specimens at Canada’s second largest outdoor bonsai display at The Gardens at HCP in Victoria. The collection has over 60 trees on display and includes trees native to Vancouver Island including Douglas fir and western red cedar.

When we are travelling again, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver is worth a visit for the ambience alone, and they have a lovely collection of penjing (the Chinese term for this practice) to enjoy. The Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, Washington is also worth a visit. And of course, if you are anywhere near the US National Arboretum in Washington, DC… just go!

Support for your bonsai journey wherever it may lead is close to home with the Mt. Arrowsmith Bonsai Club.

The group was founded in 2002, and has an active membership ranging from 10 to 20 members over the years, ranging from beginning to advanced practitioners. The club focus is on learning together and having fun with bonsai, so most meetings involve members actually working on their trees. Their regular meeting time is the second Saturday of each month (September through June) at Nanoose Place Community Centre from 1 pm to 4 pm, and everyone is welcome. Club

Detail of John Naka’s Goshin

member Frank Corrigan’s nursery, Rivers Edge Bonsai in Nanoose, is a small specialty nursery with limited production of high quality pre-bonsai with a focus on the development of Japanese Black Pine, assorted Japanese Maples, and collected yamadori from Vancouver Island.

And there are many resources available, from books to online guides and tutorials to help guide you to create one (or more) bonsai of your own. Local bonsai enthusiast Janice Stevenson recommended Jonas Dupuich’s website Bonsai Tonight (bonsaitonight.com) for links to his beginner’s guide to bonsai.

He also wrote The Little Book of Bonsai: An Easy Guide to Caring for Your Bonsai Tree. There are, of course, many YouTube tutorials available online and for some inspiration, watch American Shokunin, a short film about by Ryan J. Bush, commissioned by Bonsai Mirai.

Bonsai Empire’s YouTube channel has a number of videos including master classes and online exhibitions. And I really enjoyed Learning the Ancient Art of Bonsai - in 1 Day, by a very energetic dude known as Jazza and Jeff Barry, bonsai boss of Chojo Feature Trees in Melbourne, Australia.

Bonsai can be enjoyed for a lifetime and on many levels. It’s like Mr. Miyagi indicated, the study and practice of bonsai teaches us about patience, dedication, joy, philosophy and well, life in general… when we allow ourselves to “think only tree.”

THE GARDENS AT HORTICULTURE CENTRE OF THE PACIFIC This island gem is a wonderful place for anyone interested in gardening on Vancouver Island. Referred to as a “gardener’s garden” and has many areas to visit including the herb garden, a Birds, Bees and Butterflies Garden, as well as a Mediterranean Garden, a conservation park and other. They are also home to the Pacific Horticulture College for those looking for certification and also offer a wide range of community education programs.

For more information visit their website at: hcp.ca

25 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

GARDENING UPDATE

WHILE AUTUMN SEEMS LIKE THE HARBINGER OF DARK TIMES IN THE GARDEN, I AM ALWAYS A LITTLE RELIEVED TO SEE THE HOT DAYS OF AUGUST FADE AWAY. I quite enjoy the quiet that seems to descend as we settle back into routines and the busier tourism season slows. There are still lovely things about the west coast garden in fall and there is always work to be done!

Now is the time to clear away garden debris, remove spent annuals past their prime, pull up remnants from the summer veggie patch, and generally weed and tidy the garden beds. Don’t forget to drain your garden hoses and irrigation systems and get them ready for winter, as well as clean and repair garden tools and equipment. But there is still time for planting too, as October is prime time for putting in perennials and spring bulbs for next year’s display.

Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocuses are usually the first splashes of colour to emerge in the garden each year. And now is the time to pop in a few bulbs here and there, or perhaps create a dedicated cutting garden for bringing these early beauties inside next year. For me there was nothing more uplifting this spring when the pandemic had us confined at home, than to look out and see my tulips in bloom! The options in colour and form are remarkable and there are still many bulbs available at local nurseries, but don’t delay!

For me perennials are the backbone of any garden and now is the time to tuck them into their new homes with enough time to establish a good root system before they hunker down for the winter months. And if, like me, you tend to buy more plants than you need, don’t leave them to overwinter in pots, just pop them out and into your resting veggie bed while you decide how best to fit them in next spring! This year I am on the hunt for some new additions to bolster the perennial beds. My vibrant purple asters are spectacular right now, which reminded me I could use some more late-season colour. And a new bed outside of my fenced yard will need some deer resistant plants, so white lavender, fountain grass, and rudbeckia, are on my list. Also had my eye on some agastache and euphorbia. Hmm… perhaps it’s time to make another trip to the nursery to pick up some new favourites before they close for the season. See you there!

“If it is true that one of the greatest pleasures of gardening lies in looking forward, then the planning of next year’s beds and borders must be one of the most agreeable occupations in the gardener’s calendar.

This should make October and November particularly pleasant months, for then we may begin to clear our borders, to cut down those sodden and untidy stalks, to dig up and increase our plants, and to move them to other positions where they will show up to greater effect.

People who are not gardeners always say that the bare beds of winter are uninteresting; gardeners know better, and take even a certain pleasure in the neatness of the newly dug, bare, brown earth.”

—Vita Sackville-West (1892 -1962) Novelist, Poet, Garden Designer

Learn about the formal gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, created by Sackville-West and her husband, between 1930 and 1939.

Visit: historicengland.org.uk

26 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

GOLF TIPS

CALENDAR

DECEMBER

Improve your putting with the Putt, Pause and Peek Drill HÊlène Delisle Head of Instruction, Fairwinds Golf Club

I see a lot of people peeking too soon while they execute their putting strokes and end up missing their putts. The tendency is to make the club face open at impact, and push the putt without releasing the putter.

the DRILL

To create a putting track, place two alignment sticks on the ground making the space between the sticks, the same as the width of your putter.

Cool Yule Cookies Wed. Dec. 9, 4 - 7 pm Neil Scott Rm, Fairwinds Wellness Club Live Music at Fairwinds Bar and Grill Thurs. Dec. 10, 5 - 8 pm Light Up Fairwinds - Holiday Yard Decorating Contest Entries must be received by 4 pm, Dec. 11 (see fairwinds.ca for details) Christmas Dinner to Go Until Dec. 15, order yours from Fairwinds Bar and Grill.

Live Music at Fairwinds Bar and Grill Thurs. Dec. 17, 5 - 8 pm Holiday Flowers Fri. Dec. 18, 2 - 3 pm Fairwinds Wellness Club

PUTT by swinging the

PAUSE after your stroke is putter while your head stays completed and still.

PEEK by turning your head

to look at the ball rolling instead of turning your body.

There should be no movement done with the head, wrists, and knees.

A putting stroke should be done by rocking your shoulders.

The putter should swing back straight through or on a small arc, but never outside your target line.

Make sure that your putter head stays between the sticks.

Happy New Year's Eve! Thurs, Dec. 31, 6 - 9 pm Fairwinds Clubhouse - Arbutus Room. (see fairwinds.ca for details and reservations) JANUARY Christmas Tree Chipping

by Donation Sat. Jan. 2, 11 am - 2 pm Fairwinds Maintenance Yard Monthly Tour of Fairwinds Marina Thurs. Jan. 7, 2 - 3 pm Fairwinds Marina To reserve, email marina@fairwinds.ca by 2 pm on Jan. 6.

Chinese Dumplings Hands-on Workshop Wed. Jan. 27 (see fairwinds.ca for details)

27 PASSIONS | FALL 2020

N3 9 OO CWE A N SSI D EERLE SLI DIE NN C EGS

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