Archive for August, 2008
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
Monkey Valley is a scenic 4-hour drive from Vancouver, BC.
You can take the Coquihalla highway #5 (which no longer has a toll!), which climbs through majestic mountain passes and emerges on the rolling grasslands near Merritt. Another option is to take the Crowsnest highway #3 to Princeton, winding through Manning ...
Posted in Retreat Centre Information | 1 Comment »
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
Gone swimming—Part 3
I started across the dam, sometimes walking on twigs and branches above the water, and sometimes slightly below the surface. The walkway felt sturdy, though, and I wondered why I’ve never tried this before. Halfway across I noticed that the water right below ...
Posted in Wild Nature | 2 Comments »
Friday, August 29th, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
Gone swimming—Part 2
As I walked up towards the dirt/grass/moss road that parallels the creek on the opposite side of the valley from the house, I startled a ruffed grouse, who whirred away ahead of me, disappearing into the pine forest. This cheered me up—I always ...
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Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
Gone swimming—Part 1
I thought the other day was hot. But yesterday was even hotter—it was 43° C in the afternoon (108° F)! Too hot even for Lizard Woman, and I decided to brave the icy waters of the creek.
The challenge was to find a place ...
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Monday, August 25th, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
Shrimpton Creek
The creek, with the unglamorous name of Shrimpton, is a defining characteristic of Monkey Valley. It is fed by snow melt from the northern end of the Cascade Mountain range, as well as icy cold underground springs. In the eight years since I have owned ...
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Sunday, August 24th, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
Another morning visitor
Another beautiful August morning, sleeping out on the balcony again. I heard something scrabbling under the balcony. I wondered if it was the flicker, or maybe some other bird building a nest. Suddenly a bird popped its head up above the weathered wood ...
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Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
Sleeping on the Balcony
The thick walls of the log cabin usually keep the house at Monkey Valley pretty cool, even in the August heat. But I had all the windows open, and after a day of +40°, it was 26° inside the house in the ...
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Thursday, August 21st, 2008
An August day at Monkey Valley
The morning walk
I started the day with a walk up to the top gate at the north corner of Monkey Valley. It takes about 15 minutes to walk up there from the house. The driveway goes past the spot where a faster pitched her tarp ...
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Saturday, August 16th, 2008
Exploration of wildness
A lot has changed in my life since I started to explore what it means to be a wild woman. My work life usually involves cerebral pursuits, such as accounting and writing computer software manuals. The exploration of wildness brought my body, heart, and spirit into my work ...
Posted in Wild Women, Yoga | No Comments »
Friday, August 15th, 2008
Hatred glitters like polished obsidian funeral beads. A sharp and brittle shining jet-black shell. Its sharp edges cut. The hating heart wants to be cut, slashed with razor blades until every scrap of vulnerable human heart flesh is gone. Cut away to leave rib bones clean white, shining, curving open ...
Posted in Four Directions | No Comments »