Archive for the ‘About Monkey Valley’ Category
Saturday, December 13th, 2008
I like digging holes. It is very satisfying to see the concrete results of my actions. And the hard physical labour of it feels good in my body. I remember thinking I could dig a hole to China when I was a kid. I was inspired by a comic book ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
Here it is, December already. The time of the west is drawing to a close, enticing us to move around the wheel to the north. But sometimes, in our solitude, we can get stuck in the west. Especially for those of us who enjoy the introspection that the west evokes. ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley, Four Directions | 1 Comment »
Thursday, December 4th, 2008
Visitors to Monkey Valley usually enjoy the spirited character of The Donald. They might hear him galloping down the path to the Medicine Wheel, sounding like a horse, his tail puffed up and fierce. Or he might precede the group softly, with the tip of his upright tail bent at an ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley | 5 Comments »
Sunday, November 30th, 2008
It took two years from the time I bought Monkey Valley until there was hot running water to fill the beautiful claw foot bathtub in the upstairs bathroom. The bathtub was the first purchase I made after getting Monkey Valley. It weighs hundreds of pounds! Hugh and I brought it ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley | 2 Comments »
Thursday, November 27th, 2008
Each time I return to Monkey Valley it is an adventure. There's no telling what I will find. This time I arrived about 7:15 pm, well after dark. The outside temperature was -4 degrees, and the inside temperature was 0 degrees! In the power room it was a bit warmer—4 ...
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Thursday, November 20th, 2008
This morning when I was up on the roof for the daily conference call with my client, the wind brought men's voices over the tree tops. I looked to the southwest, but couldn't see anyone, and figured it must be hunters at the top of the ridge. After I was ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008
A while back I told you the story of the New Year's Eve visitor who resembled a wolf, and scared my friend Dorrie as she was sitting on the porch one evening. I recently went through some boxes and found a picture of the dog, and a thank-you card from ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
Prior to moving to Monkey Valley I had little exposure to guns. My dad taught me and my sister Kim to shoot a rifle one summer at the family cabin on Knouff Lake. It was fun, shooting at cans on a log. Learning to watch for the kick. But since ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley, Running, Wild Nature | 3 Comments »
Monday, October 20th, 2008
When I told people I was moving to Monkey Valley, they inevitably thought I needed a man, a truck, a dog, and a gun. In fact, when I first bought the place, I had the man, Hugh McMillan, and we were getting along pretty good. I bought a pickup truck—a ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley, Wild Nature | 2 Comments »
Sunday, October 19th, 2008
When I first moved to Monkey Valley, my biggest fears were attack by cougars, bears, and humans. I've already documented some of the encounters with humans. Pretty innocuous, and nothing like my late-night imaginings of a Charles Manson-like gang bent on my murder.
So it is with cougars. Due to my ...
Posted in About Monkey Valley, Running, Wild Nature | 1 Comment »