Happy Valentines Day from Powell River Books

Happy Valentine's Day 

from
Wayne and Margy
 
Powell River Books

www.PowellRiverBooks.com

Hope you and your loved ones have a wonderful day!
 

Wayne and Margy's Rental RV Trip Log

I invite you to come visit my Margy Meanders blog to read about our rental RV trip from Bellingham, Washington, to Tucson, Arizona.

Apache Junction KOA Journey pull-through site.

Wayne and I started this road trip on January 25 and it will conclude on February 19. Come along with us to sunny Arizona and then on our return to the Pacific Northwest during some of the snowiest weather in decades. Click here for quick access to the Margy Meanders blog.

Sunset's glow on the Superstition Mountains.

Traveling together is always an adventure. And it's our first time using an RV. We've learned a lot along the way so we've added tips at the end of each trip log entry.

One of my illustrated journal entries.

Do you travel in an RV? What kind do you have or is yours a dream for the future? What's your favourite destination? We invite you to share your story. -- Wayne and Margy


Thanks for visiting part of my world this week. For more great posts from Our World Tuesday, click here.

And also a meme called Through My Lens by Mersad.

And Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures.

"Educated" by Tara Westover

For Christmas I received Educated by Tara Westover from my friend Jeanne. She knows I like memoirs and off-the-grid. This book was off-the-grid in more ways than one.

Tara grew up in rural Idaho with a survivalist father, herbalist mother and older brothers and a sister. Their piece of the family ranch was now a scrapyard, and her father, who was extremely paranoid, was actively preparing his family for the End of Days.

Tara's young life was tough. Her father, who most likely was mentally ill, kept a tight rein on everyone. Home schooling (mostly no schooling) was used to keep his children hidden from a government he perceived to be dangerous.

While the book's main theme was Tara's drive to become educated, the backstory depicted an abusive home life for herself, her siblings and mother. Even after such a difficult upbringing, it was hard for Tara to separate from her family.

Tara wanted to go to school, but her father wouldn't allow it. She was needed to work in the family scrapyard. Her brother Tyler went to Brigham Young. Raised as devout (if not radical) Mormons, it was a logical choice. Plus, BYU accepted home-schooled students who passed the ACT. He encouraged Tara to try and she was accepted.

What follows is Tara's journey through becoming educated from nothing at all, through self-teaching, through university and ultimately to earn a PhD in history at Cambridge. Tara persevered through many challenges, so many it seems difficult to understand how she survived, let alone received an education.

The book was hard for me to read because of the harsh conditions Tara recounted from growing up. Unfortunately, that has been a common theme in other books published recently.

The memoir North of Normal follows Cea Sunrise Person from the Canadian wilderness to a nomadic urban existence with her mother. Cea's search for "normal" first led to becoming a supermodel, then a rewarding life with children of her own.

The novel The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah follows a similar theme with an abusive father, mental illness and isolation on a remote Alaskan property paralleling recent memoirs about coming of age and self-actualization.

At Amazon, Educated is available in three formats: hardback, paperback and Kindle. It is also widely available on bookstores and at other online booksellers.

What have you been reading? What about something fun and uplifting?


There's also the monthly Book Review Club for teen/young adult and adult fiction over at Barrie Summy's blog.

Also shared with Your the Star at Stone Cottage Adventures. -- Margy

997's Annual Inspection

997 on jacks to swing the gear.

We took our Piper Arrow 997 to Vertex Aviation Services for the first time for an annual inspection. Vertex is located at Skagit Regional Airport about fifteen minutes flight time from our homebase at Bellingham International Airport.

We are very happy with the service at Vertex. Owner Lin Holdeman squeezed us into an already busy shop schedule. You can read more about the annual here.

Owner Lin giving us personal attention.

This week we picked 997 up to return her to the hangar at Bellingham. Come along for the ride.

Wayne and I enjoy flying throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Pilots and aviation enthusiasts will enjoy reading about some of our adventures in Flying the Pacific Northwest. Follow us to out-of-the-way spots in Western Washington and Oregon where recreational pilots and their aircraft have the freedom to pursue adventure. It's available in print and e-book formats at Amazon and at most online booksellers.



Today is Sky Watch Friday. Go to the Sky Watch Friday website and you'll see sky photos from all over the world!

A new meme is All Seasons. Stop by and take a look. -- Margy

Transplanting Blueberry Bushes (Again)

Blueberries in pots on the cabin deck.

My blueberry bushes have had several homes over the last three years.  To get ready for their fourth summer, I decided to move them from beside the cabin to the nearby transition float. This will get weight off our cabin's float, and give them a sunny spot to thrive.

Winter is a good time to transplant and prune because plants are dormant. Production last year was minimal, so I'm hoping the change will stimulate growth and fruiting.

Pruning and then transplanting three blueberry plants.

Transplanting was needed because the pots were too heavy to move. Plus, I wanted to check on the roots.

I pruned aggressively to focus the plants' energy for fruiting.

I was please to discover they weren't root bound. I loosened the roots before putting them into their new containers to encourage growth..

I loosened the root balls before replanting.

I put compost in the soil then added bone meal and ground egg shells before placing the plants in the new containers. Last summer the visiting Garden Club members brought me a third blueberry to add to my grouping. Having several varieties helps with pollination.

The shorter Northsky goes in the middle.

My Northsky is shorter so I put it in the middle. It's flanked by the taller Duke and Bluecrop from the Garden Club. I put stakes in to help train the two taller varieties upward rather than outward.

Transplanted volunteer pansies from the blueberry pots.

Last year I practiced chop and drop composting and mulching.  Pansy cuttings went into the blueberry pots. I transplanted them roots and all into my deck flower containers. After a week they still looked healthy, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for early spring flowers.

Do you grow blueberries? What have you done to improve production?

Hop on over to the Simple Life Mom and see some great ideas for homesteading and simple living.

Want more ideas? Try Nancy's Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop.

Head over to Blogghetti for Happiness is Homemade to see more recipes, crafts and DIY projects. -

And Bloggers Pit Stop at Frugal Living on the Ranch. - Margy

Book Review of "Up the Lake"

With a wonderful twist, Wayne's Coastal BC Stories book Up the Lake received a tremendous review from Leigh on her blog 5 Acres and a Dream.  What a wonderful way to be a star for the day. Click here to read Leigh's review.

Up the Lake book review at 5 Acres and a Dream.

Up the Lake is the first book in my husband's thirteen book Coastal BC Stories series about Powell River, BC, and the surrounding region. It tells about how we discovered Powell River, Powell Lake, and float cabin living. There are also stories about flying, hiking, boating, quadding, and of course fishing.

Would you like to read Up the Lake? If you have a Kindle or a Kindle app on your handheld device you can get it for free from Amazon. Click here if you need a free Kindle App.  

Up the Lake is also available in print from Amazon and many other online booksellers for $9.95.

Thanks Leigh. We're glad you enjoyed the book. We hope our readers will follow this link to 5 Acres and a Dream to learn more about your homesteading life and experiences. -- Wayne and Margy

Shared with Your the Star at Stone Cottage Adventures. And Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures.

Coastal BC Birds: Great Blue Heron

We have a seasonal visitor to our float cabin home on Powell Lake, a Great Blue Heron. Each fall he (or she maybe) returns to our protective log booms to fish. He stands motionless for a long time before leaping into action to catch a meal.

One morning I went out front and saw the Heron standing on the boom.

Look to the left of my floating garden for the Heron.

I watched for a long time and even walked out to the corner of the float to take pictures without disturbing him.

Changing position.

Great Blue Herons are a common sight at the marina in town and nest in nearby trees. The subspecies in our area is the Pacific Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias fannini).

Flexing his wings.

The Pacific Great Blue Heron has Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) and Canadian Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) special concern status. They are protected under the British Columbia Wildlife Act and the Canadian Migratory Birds Convention. When the City of Powell River was building a new community track, construction stopped due to the discovery of nests. We now have a lovely track away from the nesting site.

Framed by my floating garden.

Pacific Great Blue Herons are found from Alaska to Washington State in coastal areas. They are a large bird standing over a metre in height. There are 4,000-5,000 adults in Canada.

Alert!

Herons are identified by their blue and grey feathers and black stripe from the eyes backward. In flight, Herons look prehistoric, matched by its piercing squawk.

Do you have Herons where you live? Are you as infatuated with them as I am? -- Margy

References: Nature Canada, Pacific Great Blue Heron (online), The Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds, Great Blue Heron (online), and Bird Watcher's Digest, Great Blue Heron (online).