Archive for the ‘About Monkey Valley’ Category

Chairway to heaven: the efficacy of ridiculousness

Friday, July 17th, 2009

There was a breakthrough at Monkey Valley this week. For two years now I have been suffering with my cell phone here. I could only get a signal by standing on a bench on my back deck and holding the phone in the air, or by climbing up on the ...

Goodbye, wascally weasel

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

I had a productive 9 days at Monkey Valley, with the winter plumbing problems fixed at low cost, thanks to Kevin Thompson of Princeton, BC! Finishing work on the barn is well underway, too, thanks to Brent Ross and Tom. It is going to be bee-you-tiful, as my grandma used ...

Spinal Tap at Monkey Valley!

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

The story of the Starshine Way sign was interrupted by my Christmas holiday trip to Berlin, so let me tell you now how it all turned out. When I last wrote to you about it, I had poured the concrete, and the sign was setting overnight in my laundry room. ...

The second sign of Starshine Way

Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Have you ever noticed how humans tend to repeat things from the past, which didn't work out the first time, hoping that somehow it will work out this time around? Well, that was my experience of trying to replace my Starshine Way sign. As I mentioned previously, at first I ...

The first sign of Starshine Way

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 ...

Digging a hole

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. ...

Adventures of The Donald

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 ...

Ah, the luxury of hot running water!

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 ...

November 25 – Frosty homecoming

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 ...

More cowboys!

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 ...