Thomson second in 1500m

 9am on a sunny May 12th morning at the UBC track for the Vancouver High School track meet.  With Douglas playing field hockey in Bordeaux France and Candy helping deliver babies, Doco and I were the family Thomson-rooters.  Thomson, having trained hard for field hockey but not track this year, pulled off a tremendous second-place in the senior boys' 1500m final.  A personal best by 4 seconds, 4:06.

admiring fans before the race

lap #1, Thomson in 3rd place

lap #2, Thomson still in 3rd

Coming up to the bell lap - Thomson passing Kieran (hidden), leader out of sight

winner (Thomas) just in, Thomson in sight

Thomson at the finish (across the line, he folded)

some admiring fans after the race

"Oh oh, meo's got me"

April at New Denver

Doco and I scrounged one April week to be at New Denver (April 16-23).  Not long, but very full and fun.  Here are some glimpses:

Day 1.  Ana is planning a wood-kiln workshop on May 1, so she and Christiane, with the "help" of Jeff and Chris, fired up the kiln to test many glaze combinations at cone 4.  Ana is cautious after last spring's firing at cone 6 when many of her large masks cracked.  At the lower temperature, with 2 hours of firing, she was pleased with the result.

So much productive effort on this ranch.  Here is Mick and Ruth's garlic crop, looking good.

This is new rooster #2, "Rusty", who crows in one corner of the yard while the much larger rooster #1, "Tiny" (from Ralph)  crows in another … and attacks Rusty for paying attention to "his" hens.

Chris was removing compost from the chicken run, but the chickens gobbled so many worms he needed to shoo them off - and eventually fence them out till he was done.  See "Tiny" in the rear, keeping an eye on his hens.

April is when we catch the jonquils blooming on the bank below the ancient pear tree ...

… and the yellow plums.  The tree is noisy with all manner of bees.  Anyone here in mid-August will likely be put to work!

Doco's week has been mostly consumed by his booklets - two new ones in his "Slocan History Series", one on the town of New Denver (buildings and people) between 1891 and 1901, the other on Slocan newspapers in the 1890's.  Still, a bit of time-out for weeding.  Oh, and walks and visits.

Several scrambles up into our vast, newly-acquired (last fall), logged-over portion of the Ranch.  Chris knows the elk trails all through it.  This evening, he, Cole and I went to find the deep hole at the Fidelity mine site at the north end.  The land is collapsing down into the workings of the mine.  Dangerous! (photo to follow on our next visit - but, maybe not, because Doco has reminded me that he has asked Ralph to fill it in.)  My one photo, on our way back down, is from a promontory we'd never been to before.  Lots to explore!

Fairyland, on the edge

Yesterday, as Kay, Mary Barnett and I walked down the Galena Trail, Kay spotted a "ladyslipper" (Calypso orchid) right on the edge of the path.  Since a child, I have considered them rare treasure and was more than a bit pleased.  "Oh", says Kay, "I know where there are LOTS."  Could that be?  "It's on a woodsy trail, on the edge, high above Carpenter Creek, below the Old Sandon Road.  I'll take you there tomorrow."  So, today we walked up the Old Sandon Road for maybe a kilometre to a small trail that slants off the road, parallel to the creek.  On the very edge of the constantly cutting-away bank, it winds along through the evergreens and moss and, in April, ladyslippers.  For half a kilometre it must be their perfect habitat because, as Kay promised, there were lots!  A fairyland.  

Beauties!

… more and more ...

… with "Echo" as accidental background.

To try to get some sense of our precarious position, I took a photo of Kay and Echo on the undercut bank( but with sturdy trees beside).  I skipped photos of the treasures on the very edge.

Mostly you see them only when you look right at them.
 I would guess we saw a hundred along this little path, all  with pinkish-purplish tops ...

… except, for geneticists, one white one.

Eight kids! - count 'em

Norbert, Julia and boys headed to the coast for the spring break.  When they left, they had three goats.  When they returned, they had eleven!  Two sets of triplets (to Xiao-Xiao and Yo-Yo) and one set of twins (to Vicki).  The neighbour's visiting daughter became the unexpecting midwife (and gave them all names).  Four boys, four girls.  All fine at three weeks, and such glorious colour patterns!   All different, but it's still hard to keep track of who's who.  Fortunately, their mothers seem to know.

"St. Patrick" and "Yo-Yo", framed

"Emerald"?

Ready for grazing, willful Vicki as lead goat

a perky bunch, already very keen to trot along behind Norbert

seems to be good stuff in the road

UBC Women's Field Hockey magic

November 8, 2015, at the gold medal game of the Canadian Universities' Women's Field Hockey Championships at UVic.  Rowan played in goal for UBC.  Colin and Cole and I were there (thanks to Janet!).  With a few seconds to go, UVic led 2-1, but UBC got the ball into the UVic end and a penalty corner was called.  The clock was run to 0 time, the penalty play was allowed, and UBC scored!  Now tied 2-2, which meant shoot-outs.  Five players from each team, in one-on-one with the goalie, each in turn starting from the centre line, with 8 seconds to get the ball past the goalie and into the goal.  I could hardly watch.  Rowan was magnificent, saving three of the four UVic attempts.  UBC got three in and won the game!  No one could quite believe it.  Cole figures there were goblins.

………………………………………………………………………….

Here are a few of my photos (from a fair distance, in the dark).

Before the game ...

UBC on the left (in blue), UVic on the right

… and after!

……………………………………………………………….
Rowan in action in a previous game (photo not by me).  UBC vs Guelph

………………………………………………………………….
And go to "AP shutter" or "kevinlightphotography.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/uvic-vikes-thunderstruck-in-penalty-shots/" for some REAL photos.

Benner-Bandy hospitality

Five days before the Canadian Universities Women's FIeld Hockey tournament in Victoria, with Rowan in goal in her first major tournament, Janet found Colin a plane ticket (on points), Colin got the OK from his principal for three days off school (his first ever), and arrived in Vancouver on his birthday (birthday supper with his Vancouver family - also first ever)!  If he was going to Rowan's games, so was I! (again, thank you Janet!)  

Janet had also been in touch with her close school friend, Leah, to see if we could sleep at their Victoria home.  Yes.  Turns out they (Leah, Keith and daughters Kiera and Claire) had just moved, in July, from North Vancouver to Keith's family home in Gordon Head, Victoria (quite near UVic).  A fine time to have visitors!  Keith is still trying to get his two brothers to take away more of his parents' stuff, including the head of a bighorn sheep (a relic from his wildlife-biologist father's field-work days in the Ashnola).  When Colin and I arrived mid-Friday, we found Keith and one brother pouring over two ancient bird books, deep in a discussion about the difference between blue grouse and ruffed grouse (or maybe willow grouse?)  A family pastime.  A warm welcome from them all, and a wonderful stay, interspersed with Rowan's games! 

Patrick, a 3-month-old Nova Scotia Duck Toller, had recently been added to the family as an inducement to the girls to leave their North Van home.  It's clearly worked.  The girls are settled and happy in their "new" home and Patrick is a delight.  A cross between a cat and a fox, Colin says  - but with the temperament of a "stuffy".  Keith had that day discovered a raw-petfood store.  Here, Patrick has been given a whole frozen herring and is making short work of it.

Here he is cuddled by at least three members of the family.

Doco joined us on Saturday night for Rowan's Sunday-final game, after staying in Vancouver to see Thomson's BC cross country race, through ankle-deep mud, in sheeting rain at Jericho (Thomson came 7th; his good friend Kieran won.  Bravo, Thomson!).
Here we all are in the Bandy's large garden, full of interesting trees and plants.  Keith figures what he most wants to do now is garden.  There's lots to work with!

Thank you Leah and Keith!  Now it's Janet's turn to visit.

Thomson cross-country bronze!

The Vancouver high school cross-country finals were at Fraserview Golf Course today - two times round the course.  Five runners had been vying for top spots through the season - well in front of "the pack" - and it promised to be a tight race.  Doco and I made it back from New Denver last night to be there.

Ready for the start.  The Kits group, plus Kieran (Lord Byng) tying his shoe.
Left to right: Sepand, Liam, Alexander, Matthew, Julian, Sam, Thomson, Brodie (Jules Verne), Kieran.

At the first bend.  Thomson in the lead for a slow first lap.  It got too dark for my camera on the second lap, but Doco says it was much faster.  The four broke away and by the time they passed me, 100 metres from the end, Kieran led by maybe 10 metres, Simeo (Jules Verne) and Thomson a tight second/third, Thomas (Point Grey) fourth and Brodie fifth.

First and third.  Kieran and Thomson are good friends and long-term rivals in Vancouver  cross-country.  Kieran is "a runner".  Two years ago, Kieran was out with leg-growth problems and Thomson had the field.  Last year Thomson was in Oxford and the races were Kieran's.  This year Thomson is back and Kieran is in form (as a serious runner and cross-country skier) and the two are enjoying challenging each other.  Thomson says, "It was FUN!"

Now, on to the next race - the BC Cross-country meet at Jericho in 10 days.  Here, planning strategy with Ann Hayes, Thomson's Kitsilano School running coach, now retired but still very involved and interested.  She insists that what he needs for the next week is REST.  Hard to do with Canadian Junior Field Hockey training sessions and Vancouver Hawks games scheduled for the weekend.  Ah well.