Catnip for Bees?

    In an earlier blog I wrote about how this was the first year I have grown Hollyhocks, and that I curious about what color the flowers would be.  As it turned out most of them are white or beige/pink, which aren’t the most exciting colors on the spectrum, but the bees sure seem to love them.  In fact, the first couple of times I noticed bee’s in the Hollyhock blooms, I wondered if they had died in the flowers.  They were inert and sort of looked like they were stuck in there.

    This seems to the the behavior they show whenever they get into the flower.  In most flowering plants, bees fly up, get the nectar and fly off quickly,  but not in these Hollyhocks.  I don’t know if the nectar has some kind of psychological effect on the bees or not, but their behavior sure seems different in the Hollyhocks than in other kinds of blooms.

You can take a look at my paintings:  davidmarchant.ca

Ancient Forest: Wheelchair Accessible

    There are not many wilderness areas that are accessible to people in wheelchairs.  About the only one I know is BC’s Ancient Forest Provincial Park.  If I was confined to a wheelchair, I would surely miss  being able to get out into Nature.   I am very impressed at the many volunteers who carried lumber and other building materials out into the woods, then spent countless hours to design and construct this boardwalk, so that people in wheelchairs could also experience the primal glory of this ancient place.

Take a look at my paintings:  davidmarchant.ca

The Ancient Forest: Looking Up

    When you enter into the Ancient Forest, you spend most of your time looking at the massive trunks at the base of the Western Red Cedar, but there are also wonders to be had looking upward.  The giants are gnarled and often broken from the traumas they have experienced over their thousand year existence.  One thing that surprised me was the severe taper of the trees.  While their base is very wide, their trunks quickly taper into a point.

    In this ecosystem Cedar is the climax species.  At the very beginning of this forest, there were probably a lot of Spruce, and Balsam Fir growing along with the Cedar, but over hundreds of years, those founding trees eventually died, but before they did they all spread their seeds, however it was only the young Cedar that could tolerate the very low light of the forest canopy, and eventually they, (along with Hemlock, which is also very shade tolerant) were left and able to grow on the dark forest floor and took over.

    The lack of light is a very limiting factor in the growth of the forest.  When the canopy closes, the opportunity for young tree growth diminishes tremendously.  Small cedar trees may start, but will often just sit there for decades waiting for enough light to grow.  When a nearby tree finally dies and falls over an opening of light is created in the canopy, and the small tree can finally start to grow.

    In one of my first visits to this area before it was a provincial park, I was struck by the clumps of moss growing on the branches of some of the trees.  The only other time I had seen such a thing was in the jungles of Costa Rica.  I ended up doing a painting of the Cedar, which I called, “Pillar of the Earth” which can be seen by clicking “Cedar” at the top of my website.

You can see my painting at:  davidmarchant.ca

Ancient Forest: Devil's Club

    One of the most common plants (and nastiest) growing in the Ancient Forest is Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus).  The Oplopanax in the scientific name comes from the Greek word hoplon which means “weapon’” and you can probably figure out what the other part of it’s scientific name means.   The stalk, stems, and the underside of leaves, are covered with very thin prickly spines.  Brush up against it and they get you, and once in your skin, they often fester.  It’s not a friendly plant.

    It is attractive though.  Because it grows in dense dark places, it has large broad leaves that spread out flat so they can catch what little light filters down from beneath the big cedars.  Devil’s Club produces shiny bright red berries, which had not yet turned red when we visited the park.

    Despite all its negative traits, it was widely used by the native people in the BC Interior for medicine.  The plant was used for everything from stomach ulcers, tuberculosis, syphilis, arthritis, to cough syrup.  It was also thought to have extremely strong magical powers that could be passed on to individuals.  

    Devil’s Club is very prominent and is spread throughout the Ancient Forest.  Here are some more photos of the plant.

View my paintings:  davidmarchant.ca

Return to Sender

    Our internet service has been horrible, despite the fact that I have been paying $80/month for “Enhanced” service.   The speed of my internet just kept getting worse and worse.  It was not uncommon for me to get download speeds (?) of 0.70mbps and upload speeds of 0.00.  I called the local technician for Monashee Communications (my provider) in Valemount to see what could be done.  He told me I had old equipment, but the main office wouldn’t sent him newer equipment.  He suggested that I start complaining to the Monashee headquarters.

    I started emailing them records of my internet speeds, to which there was no reply.  I called them and was told that the problem was the trees.  I asked them if the tree leaves got thicker at night since that was when my internet speed collapsed.  I was told they would have their headquarter technician call me the next day.  I tried to hang around the house, but the call never came.

    Our internet speeds at time made our internet unusable.  I called the Monashee headquarters again, and after I told them what speed (or lack of speed) I was getting, the woman on the other end just said, “Well, do you want to get off.”  

    I was taken back at this suggestion, they clearly wanted to get rid of me rather than solve the problem, so I said, “Well, I guess I do.”

    They were ready to dump me immediately, but since they had just deducted the coming month’s $80 a couple of days before, I told them I would stay the month, since I had no other provider.

    Then I was faced with the problem of what to do about internet, since there were so few choices available locally.  I could go with a satellite, or Telus, the phone company.  Friends of mine had been using a “Smart Hub” from Telus for rural users, but more recently, people that have tried had been refused because it was no longer permitted in McBride for some reason.

    I went to the Telus website, and checked the availability of the Smart Hub.  The map that showed my location indicated the service wasn’t available in my area, but gave a phone number I could call, just to confirm it.  I called the number and got a guy in India named Raul.  He asked me my location and I went to Google Earth and got my Lat. and Long. and gave it to him.  He went off to check the numbers then came back and said,  “Yes, it would work for me.”

    I was ecstatic.  He asked for all kind of information about me, my finances, and finally after about forty minutes of being on the phone, it was done.  They would send  me the smart hub which would arrive in 3 to 5 days.  It took a week, it arrived yesterday when I had ridden my bike to town for our book club.  I got it at the post office and had to borrow some shipping tape from the library to secure it on the back of my bike to get it home.

    Last night the power went off after a windstorm which blew in as I was biking home, filling my eyes with sand from the river, and winds that were so strong it stopped me as I was crossing the Fraser River bridge.  I ended up walking the bike across the bridge.  When our electricity came back on I started to hook up the Smart Hub, anxiously anticipating being able to use the internet like other people.

    I got it set up, and the hub indicated I had a strong signal, four bars out of five.  I went to my computer to connect it, and when I did, I got the message that the hub could not be used in my area--WHAT?

    I called Telus, and sat listening to their music for about an hour.  The woman that finally answered, told me she couldn’t help me with the hub but would transfer me to a hub technician, and assured me that there was no one in his queue so I wouldn’t have to wait.  She was wrong, I waited another 40 minutes before he got to me.

    I explained what had happened and he apologized saying I could not use it in my area, because the CRTC, Canada’s telecommunications watchdog had designated that Telus had a monopoly in our area and wouldn’t allow them to sell this service so that other carriers would have a chance.  He mentioned that the hub could be used in Dome Creek to the west of McBride, and Valemount to the east.  

    Mentioning Valemount really made my blood boil.  Valemount is where Monashee, my terrible provider was located.  Valemount had another provider right there in their village, McBride had none, and yet we were the ones being restricted.

    The conclusion to all this mess was that I have to send the solution to my internet problems back.  I guess today I will start researching internet by satellite.  I am so tired of all of this struggle, and not very optimistic.

You can view my paintings at:  davidmarchant.ca

The Ancient Forest: Big Trees

    The main attractions of the Ancient Forest for most people are the enormous Red Cedar that grow there.  The rainforests on BC’s Pacific Coast have long been known for their huge trees, but what makes the Ancient Forest unique is that it is located in the interior of the province, closer to Alberta than the Pacific Ocean.  It is a very rare, and recently discovered ecosystem.  

    One of the really frustrating things about taking photos in the Ancient Forest is being able to get a picture that can realistically relay the size of these giants.  About the only way to do it is to have someone stand beside the base of one of the behemoths so that the viewer can get a sense of the scale of the trees.  I had my friend Jim be the “stand in” for some of my shots.  The photo above shows one tree, the coloring and texture of the bark might give the impression that there are two there, but it’s just one.  

    Below are some other photos of big Ancient Forest trees.

You can see my painting "Pillar of the Earth" featuring one of these trees at:

davidmarchant.ca

Art Day at the Ancient Forest

    Matthew, photographer and artist, was ready to have some fun after finishing a long 17 hour day of baling his hay before the rain came, and he sent me an email proposing that we have an “art” day at the Ancient Forest along with Jim, another very creative friend.  The Ancient Forest, which is about an hour west of McBride, is now a provincial park.

    It is an example of the rare Inland Rainforest ecosystem which features enormous Western Red Cedar, many of which are thought to be between one and two thousand years old.  It is always an inspiration to walk among those magnificent old trees, so I happily accepted the proposal.

    We made the trip on Monday, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I had been on an  “out with the guys” fun excursion which was not some kind of “work” day.    We certainly didn’t break any speed records hiking the trails in the park with all of the stops we had to make for picture taking. 

    Matthew, who is a real photo perfectionist, was particularly slow, and Jim and I ended up doubling back on the trail a few times when he failed to show up after we had made stops to wait for him.  He said he had to wait for the light to get right whenever he found a suitable subject for a photo.

    It is so primeval and timeless wandering amongst the giant cedar, ferns, and Devil’s Club.  I couldn’t help but notice the many new boardwalks that have been built to protect the roots of the enormous trees, since I was last in the Ancient Forest.  There is also a large new parking area.  It is gratifying to see how many tourist now stop to experience the forest that they used to just drive by.

    I ended up with 138 new photos, some of which I plan share on the blog, but don’t worry, I will restrain myself and not bore you with all of them.

You can view my paintings:  davidmarchant.ca