I awoke briefly last night during a rain storm; the thunder was reverberating off the ridge just beyond the house. Before I fell back to sleep, I couldn't help wondering about the weather because for me it would seem to be the norm, having never lived in NB before. However, since we've arrived near the base of Green Mountain almost a year ago, many of the locals have told me the snow fall has been the worst that they had experienced and the rains are the heaviest yet My understanding from the TV and radio news, the widespread natural calamities that are occurring all over the world, what is happening here is the same for everyone - welcome to climate change!
Brendan Leeman has been mowing and tilling our new garden area off and on now for about a week in exchange for some signage I did for him in return. He is a good natured, likable, soft spoken 14 year old kid, a young lad of few words, the size of a small barn and the strength of a horse. He has been working very hard since the snow has gone and life has once again sprung forth from the earth - a young entrepreneur who doesn't complain, helps out a lot at home too, isn't a chronic complainer like some kids are; I expect he will go far in life. He may not make gobs of money or become some big shot when he grows older but Brendan is the sort who will be a survivor; a person that his parents and siblings will be proud of and never have to ask for a helping hand - he just will. - many of today, if not the majority of kids, could take lessons from Brendan.
When I think about it, the friends I've made since moving to NB are all pretty much hard working people who have been very helpful to this old city guy whenever I've become stumped on one of my projects, many of them not taking so much as one thin dime for their services. I've tried to be helpful to them in exchange because I'm a firm believer in what goes round comes round. One of my very best friends, Winston Bushnell, who I sailed with through the Northwest Passage 16 years ago, is also a firm believer in this adage. Being a greenhorn when it came to sailing, he helped me out a lot and also when I had to repair my 42' sailboat. I remember once, when I was in need of a brass through-hull valve for Dreamer II, without even asking, he brought me two he had stored in his workshop. When I told him I only needed the one and how much money he wanted for it he said, "They were a gift from someone; I don't want any money and the extra one, just pass it on when you hear that someone else is in need of one." He said, "I've always lived my life like this; I'm a firm believer that if I help someone out when they are in need, the same will happen for me and you know, that's the way things have always worked out for me all my life."
I miss my good friends, Winston Bushnell, Wayne Evenson and Ubo Gronier back in Nanaimo and it hurts quite a lot, because of my age and finances, realizing I most likely will never see them again. However, on the other hand, Clayton and Garry Clark, Bill Leeman, Bobby Farrell and George and Margaret Probst to mention a few, are fast becoming like my friends in Nanaimo. I feel extremely fortunate in moving a great distance across Canada to a place out in the country where I didn't know a soul, to have found the helpfulness and camaraderie of such good neighbours. I'm looking forward to the barn raising on June 25th (weather permitting) because it will be taking me back to a time when people did such things and it should be one hell of a lot of fun; buns, bread and beer with great new found friends. And the way I'm looking at it, since I don't know squat about building a barn and if I can't find someone to supervise the job properly, if it doesn't really get completely built; it matters not. At least there will be a good start and whatever needs finishing, I'll be able to do myself.
As I look out the studio window, I see the clouds are hanging like a heavy grey shroud over the ridge and light rain is falling. Everything is so green, luscious, peaceful, so full of life; it's hard to discern the underlying ingredients that are threatening our existence. Many people believe heaven is Paradise and have made the great mistake of not thinking our planet Earth is a Paradise also - what a wonder to behold, to have had the pleasure and honor to exist on such a place - I thank my lucky stars or whatever else that has allowed me to live in such a wonderful place and to have met so many good people throughout my lifetime. I am grateful for my accomplishments and my failures because I've learned much from both. And that being said, rain or no rain, it's time for me to grab the pick and shovel and continue digging a 45' drainage ditch so the rain runoff from the road going by Golden Unicorn Farm doesn't flow into the garage, under my studio and where the barn will soon be situated.
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