Yesterday I arrived on Cortes and briefly stopped at Mae's Garden, just as the light was fading. I noticed some alder trees that looked like recent windfalls. Today i spent a few hours there doing some brush cutting and fixing the doors on the tool shed.

I Also visited with Ron Croda who livesw at the south end of Gorge Harbour , perched high on a bluff where he has built a beautiful off the grid house complete with micro-hydro electric and solar power generation. The trailer is in great shape and very comfortable.

Ron also suggested I talk to Robbie Graham about clearing the site where we will put the trailer. So I called him up and described the project to him. I then asked him if he thought he would be interested in doing it. He said "yes". I then asked him if we could meet at the site.
"When do you want to meet." asked Robbie.
"ASAP". I replied, "I'm only here for a few days and I'd love to get this trailer moved here."
"Well how about 15 or 20 minutes," says Robbie.
"I'll see you then," says I.

So we met at the site and we looked at various options for backing the trailer onto the property and into the site. And once we had figured all that our we just talked. Turns out he is also a fisherman who knows and used to fish with Billie Proctor who we met in Echo Bay when we first went up to the Broughtons a few years ago. Billie is a legend. He has fished, logged and lived on this coast all his life. He is an ardent envionmentalist and close friend of Alexandra Morton who has to be the bravest person I know. It was Billie who told me precisely when and how to cross Narwhitti Bar coming our of Bull Harbour. Billie who has his own private museum in Echo Bay where he quietly subverts the minds of tourists by showing them the human side of being a fisherman, belonging to a trade union, having to strike to get the attention of the money men who don't care about real working people, only about money and who now buy or charter fancy boats and come up to exotic places like Echo Bay where who do they meet but Billie Proctor!

So Robbie says, "Let me think when I could come and do this work." ....... "Yup, I think I can come tomorrow,"

Good tip Ron!

Tonight I had dinner with my friend Martha with whom I enjoyed some great laughs about aging, Buddhism, drinking and Life. I think it's the first time in my life I have been invited to meditate before eating.

Martha taught me to value the last grain of rice as much as the rest... a great life lesson.