Sometimes people will ask us why we like living in BC. I mean is it really that nice a place? Well, let me put it this way. A week ago we checked into CBC-Vancouver and what was the top story? Murder? Gang activity? Corruption in City Hall? No, this is Vancouver. The top story for most of the day was a small deer (they called it a baby, but it was more likely a yearling) that was wandering around downtown.  The city police made it clear they were “monitoring the situation” but mostly they let it wander. There were regular updates on CBC, Police and other web sites, as well as on Twitter about where the deer was. But nobody bothered it as it explored the city. It didn’t get hit by anything. People were careful not to spook it or let it come to harm. Finally it escaped into Stanley Park which as officials said was “a pretty good place for a deer”. The most refreshing part of it was that this was the most important story of the day. That’s the kind of place we live in.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/baby-deer-on-the-loose-in-downtown-vancouver-1.3161871

Then there was the story from north of here. An orca (killer whale) chased a seal into shallow water in a dropping tide. It got stuck on the rocks and when people found it, the whale was completely high and dry. Normally this is it for a whale. They don’t do to well out of water. But people dropped whatever they had planned for the day to help the whale. They poured water on it to keep it from drying out and to keep it cool. They put blankets over it to keep the sun from burning its skin. This wasn’t a little effort either. They kept at it for eight hours in the hot sun until the rising tide freed the orca and it was able to rejoin its pod. The best part of it was that not only did people help out without even hesitating, most didn’t think there would be a question. Of course you would help a stuck whale.  It’s just what people around here do.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/stranded-orca-saved-by-volunteers-who-kept-it-cool-for-hours-until-high-tide-1.3164728

And the animals seem to be learning that the people here are OK too. A few years ago a seal was being chased by a pod of orcas. It decided to escape by jumping onto a fisherman’s boat. He drove near the shore so the seal could escape to dry land. Because that’s just how people are.
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/BC/ID/2250991645/

This week a picture surfaced of a bear near the Dog Mountain fire near Port Alberni. People were worried that the bear was fleeing the fire and it might be trapped. It generated quite a bit of concern. Then wildlife experts pointed out that bears and other predators will hunt along the fire front to catch small animals that are fleeing the flames. Also if the bear found itself trapped they are strong swimmers and it could just cross the lake to escape. It was a reminder of how bad fires are and how we all have to do what we can to prevent them and report them if we see one.
http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1422973/b-c-man-captures-photo-of-bear-apparently-trying-to-escape-wildfire/

Around here people aren’t just nice to animals either, they’re nice to each other. There’s this story from Courtney BC about a hundred km up the island from us. A little girl had spent the day doing chalk drawings in the street in front of her house. Suddenly the street sweeper came down the block. All seemed lost when without warning the driver pulled up the sweeper’s brushes and skipped over her drawings. Not sure we’ve lived anywhere else where they’d do that.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/caring-courtenay-street-sweeper-saves-girl-s-chalk-artwork-1.3154293

So yes, overall Canada is a nice place to live. British Columbia is a nice place to live. Vancouver Island is a really nice place to live. The people are friendly. The climate is pleasant. And food is as close as the blackberry bushes and the ocean. 

We like it here.

Doug & Marsha

PIX: They also have the coolest events here. Last week we had a bunch of pictures of the sand castles in Parksville. This week was the Great International World Championship Bathtub Races in Nanaimo. They take a normal regulation steel bathtub, put enough of a hull around it to make it behave like a boat, and then hang an outboard off the back. Then they see who can pilot these little, they’re about the size of a kayak but shorter, uncomfortable craft from Nanaimo Harbour to Nanoose Bay and back. They do require a chase boat  for each ‘tub for safety. Once they cross the finish line they have to beach the boat, run up the sandy shore and ring a bell to mark their time. As you might expect after two hours kneeling in a bathtub that’s pounding through the cold water getting drenched by spray many of them aren’t walking too well. Several people said that was the most entertaining part of the race. Often the pilots end up crawling and it’s fairly common for standings to change on the beach depending on who can still move the best. Rather than battling the crowds at the Start/Finish line, we opted to drive down to Sebastian Beach in Lantzville. The boats come close to shore here and it’s right at the turnaround. There was a group of about eight of us that camped out on the hill overlooking the course. We chatted, played with “Thor” a poodle that belonged to one of our party, and generally had a great time. For the most part none of us had met before but that didn’t matter. We just chatted, and laughed, and cheered, and had a really cool time. 

That’s  what it’s like on Vancouver Island