Book Review: "Murder Rides a Gale Force Wind" by Yvonne Maximchuk

The author/artist in action at our float cabin.

This month I'm reviewing a new book by my favourite local author, Yvonne Maximchuk. I've read all her non-fiction books about the people and places near her off-grid home in Echo Bay on Gilford Island in Coastal British Columbia. Murder Rides a Gale Force Wind is her first novel.

Yvonne is an author and artist. She's a master at capturing the beauty of Coastal BC in images and words. You can see more at her website.

Murder Rides a Gale Force Wind is set in Echo Bay, nearby islands and North Vancouver Island. If you've read any of Yvonne's other books, you'll recognize her inspiration from real-life people and places like the Echo Bay Marina and Lodge and legendary Billy Proctor.

Review of Murder Rides a Gale Force Wind

Echo Bay is a small hamlet of cabins in a protected cove cut off from Vancouver Island by kilometres of sometimes dangerous ocean. Like all small villages, everyone knows everyone, sometimes too well. Woody's lodge and marina is the heart of the community. It's usually a quiet place, except when summer boaters come to cruise the nearby scenic waterways. In all seasons, it supplies residents and fishermen with fuel, mail, supplies and gossip.

Tim is a colourful character. He's settled into being a government agent checking prawn boats for legal catches. He has conflicting love interests, Margaret an RCMP Sargent in Port McNeill on Vancouver Island, and Kit who runs a boat taxi service out of Echo Bay. There's also a tangled web of other characters from Echo Bay, the First Nations village, and recent arrivals to this isolated region.

Several story lines unfold to introduce the characters and the beautiful land and sea. They come together crashing together when a body is discovered washed up on the shore of a neighbouring island. The big question, is it murder or something else.

Yvonne knows this area well.  It's been her home for many years. Her extensive knowledge of boating, off-grid living, commercial fishing, logging, painting, First Nations, hiking and exploring shows in her descriptive narration. I'm amazed at how much I have learned over the years by living in the region. For some readers, a few terms might be unfamiliar, but add to the authenticity. 

Congratulations to Yvonne on an exciting novel. You are a master of words to paint pictures in the minds of your readers.

Murder Rides a Gale Force Wind is available in e-book and print formats from a variety of online booksellers plus several Vancouver Island and Lower Mainland bookstores. Watch her Facebook page for upcoming in-person readings and presentations.

Posts I've written about Yvonne and her books:

Yvonne Maximchuk: Painter, Potter, Author and her visit to our Powell Lake float cabin

Her memoir Drawn to Sea

Books co-authored with Bill Proctor: Full Moon, Flood Tide and Tide Rips and Back Eddies

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Would you like to own a piece of historic and scenic Echo Bay? Yvonne's custom, state-of-the-art off grid waterfront home is for sale. For details visit Realtor.ca.

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Visit 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.

Growing and Preserving Garlic

Cabin life changed during Covid. Getting home for spring planting was difficult. Either we couldn't get here, or our timing was too early. In September, I cleaned my float garden, covered parts to prevent unwanted weeds, and planted flower bulbs and garlic.

At first I grew garlic in containers.

I've grown garlic for years. In the beginning, it was in small containers. I got plenty, but the bulbs were on the small side.

Now I grow it in my float garden. Garlic takes little attention. Plant cloves with the point up, mulch, water, feed periodically, dig, dry, and enjoy.

I purchase garlic bulbs good for my climate at the nursery. I also save my best bulbs for future planting.  A few bulbs go a long way. You separate the cloves and plant them seven inches apart. I plant in fall, mulch through winter and harvest in early summer.

Flower and garlic bulbs (in the front) sprouting in early March.

When the tops wilt, brown, and fall over, it's time to pull the bulbs. 

Tulips have died back and garlic approaching maturity.

If the weather is sunny and warm, I leave them on the cabin deck to dry.

Garlic drying on the deck on a sunny summer day.

After the surface of the bulbs has dried, I brush off any dirt and tie the tops of several together for hanging. Nothing goes to waste. I saved the trimmings for garden mulch.

Processing garlic for storage: Trimming and tying in bundles.

I hang them in a protected spot outdoors to continue drying. This starts the preserving process.

Garlic hanging to dry in the floating woodshed.

I leave them outdoors until the skin on the bulbs is dry and flaky. I then hang the bundles in the cabin's storage room. By this time there's no odour, and they're handy to grab for cooking.

Dried garlic hangs in our storage room ready for use.

If you live in an apartment with a balcony, or a home with limited garden space, you can grow garlic in a container and have plenty left over to share with friends and family. -- Margy

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

Visit Simple Life Mom for ideas about homesteading and simple living.

And Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop at Ridge Haven Homestead.

Visit Letting Go of the Bay Leaf for more Mosaic Monday.

#Throwback Thursday: Composting Without a Compost Pile

My former wire bin composter.

During the early years we had shore access. Four years ago our lease required us to remove our stairs to the outhouse (decommissioned in 2018 for an on-float compost toilet), my hillside potato patch, and my compost bin. I had to find an alternative for composting kitchen and garden waste on the cabin deck or in my floating garden.

One method I learned about is called chop and drop. Chop and drop works well for garden waste.

As plants are trimmed or removed, the residue is chopped into small portions and used as mulch in garden beds and plant containers. The majority of my composting needs are taken care of in this manner.

Cutting a plastic 55-gallon barrel in half.

It doesn't work as well for kitchen scraps because the smell can attract critters. I decided to compost kitchen waste in a 55-gallon plastic barrel cut in half. Barrels in my town cost about $40. Check nursery, building and farm stores, or use a large plastic trash can that isn't too deep.

Now that last year's batch of soil is ready to use, I'm starting over.

Composting in a Plastic Barrel

Step by Step

A kitchen compost container.

Cut the barrel in half. Drill drain holes in the bottom. Make two composters or use the other half as a planter.

Place four inches of soil in the bottom to start.

Use a kitchen compost container for fruit and vegetable trimmings chopped into pieces.

Layering chopped plant matter, Rot-It and soil.

When the container is full, spread the contents over the layer of soil.

Add garden trimmings if you have them.

Sprinkle with compost accelerator. I use Rot-It.

Moisten with water.

Add 1" of soil over fresh items.

A cover cut to fit and a plastic mesh cage.

Cover with a porous material and surround with a cage to keep small critters out. If you live in bear country, enclose your composter.

When it's time to add a new layer, stir the ones below first.

Continue layering waste and soil until the barrel is full.

Let your composter rest with it's porous cover on for several months while the organic matter decomposes. Periodically moisten and mix to encourage the composting process.

Compost turned into rich soil in 8 months.

Your rewards will be less kitchen and garden waste going into the garbage stream, and free rich soil coming into your garden.

Do you do compost? What process do you use? Do you have any tips to add to my post? -- Margy

If you've ever dreamed of living away from town in an off-the-grid home, or in town with a simple lifestyle, you'll enjoy reading Off the Grid: Getting Started.

Print for $9.95

Kindle for $4.99
Kobo for $4.99

Smashwords ebooks for $4.99

Or go to PowellRiverBooks.com for more ordering information.

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

Visit Simple Life Mom for ideas about homesteading and simple living.

And Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop at Ridge Haven Homestead.

Visit Letting Go of the Bay Leaf for more Mosaic Monday.

Float Cabin Living: Getting Started

Arrow 997 over Powell River Airport.

If you've been following my blog, you know that our home is a float cabin on Powell Lake in Coastal British Columbia.

We discovered Powell Lake and float cabins during our 2001 summer flying and camping vacation in our Piper Arrow 997.

First night at the float cabin.

Powell River had an immediate attraction for us including the opportunity for a wide variety of outdoor adventures, beautiful forest and seaside locales, a small town atmosphere, and expansive Powell Lake with its unique float cabins.

The tin boat.

We rented a 14' aluminum boat (a tin boat to us) and explored Powell Lake. After discovering float cabins, we contacted a local realtor, Harry Zroback. A long time cabin owner himself, he gave us directions to two cabins currently available.

First day inside the cabin's great room.

The first was old and cluttered. Float cabins traditionally come with everything included. The second was newer, built in 1998. It came with just the basics. That was perfect for us because the cabin would be a vacation home until we could retire from our jobs in Los Angeles.

In the summer of 2005 (we were both educators), the float cabin became our primary residence. A small condo in town provides a place for mail, washing clothes, an occasional shower and a place to stay overnight when we have late evening activities in town. 

Our float cabin home in 2022.

Since 2001 we've upgraded our float cabin to better match our lifestyle. Some of the major changes include (follow the links for more information):

• Solar power and battery banks.
• Wind power.
• Anchor cable repairs and shock absorbers.
• Chimney cap to prevent smoke blowback.
• Additional docks for boats and outdoor living.
• A floating garden with raised beds.
• A floating woodshed.
• A repurposed boat to become a writer's retreat.
• A bathroom addition with a compost toilet.
• Updated kitchen appliances.
• Enhanced insulation and pine paneling.
• Plastic barrels for extra flotation.
• Extra anchors and logs for our protective booms.

You can read more about float cabin living by selecting Float Cabin Living and Float Cabin Construction in the topic list on the right side of this page.

You can also read about our off-the-grid lifestyle in Wayne's Coastal BC Stories series books including Up the Lake, Farther Up the Lake, Off the Grid and Off the Grid: Getting Started. All books are available in print and e-book formats from most online book sellers. -- Margy

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

And Sunday Sunshine Blog Hop at Ridge Haven Homestead.

Also shared with Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures.

Bats, Bees and Birds

Coming home is always fun. We were last here in winter. Now it's spring going on summer, even though Mother Nature is holding on to cold rainy weather. One exciting thing about coming home is checking for critters that return each year.

  Little Brown Bats

Every year we have bats at our cabin. They arrive in May and stay the summer.  One of the first things I do is check a favourite roosting spot under the metal roof of the propane shed. 

I found a Little Brown Bat had already moved in. It's probably male, because females group together under the cabin roof to raise their young. It's noisy at dusk and dawn as they wiggle out and in, but they keep the mosquitoes away. Here's the little guy under the shed roof. 

Mason Bees

I was worried my Mason Bees wouldn't have enough empty nesting blocks, but the enterprising bees cleaned out the old ones and are filling them up again. A few bees are still working away. My colony grew from two bees in 2015 to over 100 in 2019. 

Sadly, I lost the colony due to a long absence in 2020. Fortunately, a few native bees got me restarted last year. I love giving pollinators a helping hand. Here's more about my bee experiences:

Readying My Mason Bee Hotels 
Revitalizing a Bee Hotel
Drilling Nesting Blocks
Building a Simple Bee Hotel

 

Tree Swallows

Two Tree Swallows flew in and out of the birdhouse on my floating garden. They arrive in mid-May, followed by Barn Swallows in June. This year the occupants are Tree Swallows. 

 

Sometimes a pair of Violet-greens will get there first. Swallows fly all the way from their winter home in Mexico to raise families in Coastal BC. My arms get tired thinking about it.

 

There are lots more critters for me to enjoy around my float cabin home. What do you like to watch where you live? -- Margy

 

Visit Letting Go of the Bay Leaf for more Mosaic Monday.

Thanks for visiting my post this week. I'm linking up with Saturday's Critters. Check them out for more great animal pictures.

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

Finally Heading Home

Our Powell Lake float cabin home.

Last Wednesday Wayne and I drove to the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, WA. Most Canadian COVID-19 border restrictions have been lifted for vaccinated travelers. The online ArriveCAN app is still needed. 

Rules are in flux, so check before you go with the Canadian Border Service Agency and US Customs and Border Protection.

We timed our border arrival to catch the first of two BC Ferries needed to get to Powell River. To ensure we made our connection at the second ferry, we had a reservation.

Arriving at Saltery Bay means we're almost back to Powell River.

There's no quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated. Because of the relaxed rules, we headed home early after our Arizona Snowbird RV Adventure. After a few days in town to take care of business, we got in our Hewescraft and headed up Powell Lake to our float cabin home.

Heading to First Narrows with Hole in the Wall beyond.

Here's our cabin and the view from our front porch. Purchasing our unique off-the-grid home in 2001 was the best choice we've ever made.

Here's the cabin's interior. It's 500 square feet with a sleeping loft. We have a woodstove for heat, propane appliances and a hand water pump in the kitchen, and a bathroom with a composting toilet.

Here's a video created by Kirsten Dickson at Faircompanies featuring our float cabin home.

 Travel is fun, but here's no place like home!

Living through the COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on everyone worldwide. Wayne and I hope you and your family are starting to come out the other side in a safe manner. -- Margy

Blog sharing at Through My Lens by Mersad and Wordless Wednesday by Natasha.

And Travel Tuesdays at Intelliblog, Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures and My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand.

Visit Letting Go of the Bay Leaf for more Mosaic Monday.

"The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek" by Kim Michele Richardson

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2019) was recommended by my husband Wayne. He's typically a scifi aficionado, but found this historical fiction novel compelling. Through extensive research, the author has effectively woven factual events into a well written tale.

They say to write about what you know. Kim Richardson grew up and lives in Kentucky, the book's setting. Her story portrays the people, places and history of the Depression era pack horse library project in Appalachia. It also brings the extreme poverty, illiteracy, and racial discrimination to life.

Cussy Mary Carter lives with her widowed father in Troublesome Creek, a hill-country coal mining town. They are descendants of French immigrants who carried the methemoglobinemia gene, causing blue skin tones. At the time, little was known about the condition. In tight knit communities, anyone different was subjected to discrimination and persecution. 

Due to her physical condition, Cussy Mary has to go behind the back of the local librarian and apply by mail to become a Pack Horse Librarian. Her mother was an avid reader and instilled in Cussy a love for books. Serving as a unique mobile librarian, she shared her love for reading and learning with individuals and families isolated by location, poverty and antiquated attitudes.

I highly recommend The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I learned about a part of the United States far from my homes in California and the Pacific Northwest. Living conditions were dire, women were subjected to harsh conditions and abuse, and young children often died from starvation. Yet, families endured and the pack horse library program brought a bright diversion and educational opportunity to people with few opportunities.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is available in print, e-book and auditory book options online and in bookstores.

More about Kim Richardson and Book Woman: 

Kim Richardson's website.

Kim Richardson's Facebook page.

A book trailer at Kim Richardson's website.

Controversy about another book published with similarities.

The story continues with The Book Woman's Daughter.


Visit 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.