"Totem Poles and Tea" by Hughina Harold

I'm always on the lookout for books to read about Coastal British Columbia. Finding them for my Kindle is a plus. I recently found and read Totem Poles and Tea by Hughina Harold.

Hughina, in her early twenties, had just graduated from Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria with a nursing degree and Victoria Normal School, but finding a job during the Depression was difficult. Through a classmate she obtained a position as a teacher with community nursing duties at Mamalilikulla on remote up-coast Village Island where the Anglican Church had a mission outpost and day school for First Nation children.

Alert Bay on Cormorant Island from the air.

In 1935, Hughina set off for Alert Bay on Cormorant Island as her first stop. She had many misgivings about the assignment, but was adventurous and open to new experiences. Village Island was a three hour rugged boat ride east of Alert Bay.  Here, Hughina lived in a very rustic float house with two older, dedicated English women who used their private funds to build a combined church and school, and refuge for children suffering from tuberculosis.

Totem poles at the Alert Bay cemetery.

The memoir covers the two years Hughina spent on Village Island and recounts her experiences with the two English women she called Guardian Angels (GA's), First Nations residents on Village Island, those in nearby villages needing her nursing services, and early loggers and their families eking a living from the lush forests along the many coastal islands and inlets.

Old cannery in Alert Bay.

I really enjoyed Hughina's book for several reasons: 1) foremost was Hughina's ability to put her experiences into a cohesive, well-written tale, 2) she made me feel like I was right beside her in that derelict gas boat being tossed about in Blackfish Sound, 3) I've been to Alert Bay by airplane, but would love to explore the area by boat someday, and 4) this is a slice of Coastal BC history that is quickly being lost.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. -- Margy

UBC Underwater Investigation

Powell Lake is our home. It's an unusual lake because of its origin, and its contents.

In 2006, Wayne and I heard about studies conducted in glacial carved Powell Lake to investigate trapped ancient sea water. We just had to do an underwater investigation of our own. A friend loaned us a Kemmerer Bottle and we dropped it down over 1000 feet to bring up trapped prehistoric salt water. You can read more here.

To our surprise, a few weeks ago we saw a truck with the University of British Columbia Earth and Ocean Sciences logo putting a skookum boat into Powell Lake. We just had to go investigate. We met Professor Pawlowicz, one of his grad students, and the driver.

They came to take and test underwater samples with a device much more elaborate than our little Kemmerer Bottle, and hundreds of times more expensive.  We couldn't stay, but plan to reconnect with Professor Pawlowicz to hear the results. 


Learning more about our lake home is fun.  Doesn't it look like it would be fun to take one of his classes? And we shared a copy of Up the Strait which includes a chapter all about our own underwater investigation. -- Margy

Repairing a Cooler Bag

Some things look good when you buy them, but turn out to have major flaws. We packed a cloth-sided cooler for an overnight cruise. Carrying the heavily packed cooler down to the boat put a lot of stress on the handle attachment points, resulting in ripped open cloth sides and exposed foam insulation.

We needed to find a way to make it better than new. First, I stitched the ripped sides closed at the handle attachment points. I salvaged a shoulder strap from a damaged folding chair bag and used it to wrap around the bottom of the cooler for extra support.

I stitched the strap to both sides of the bottom, to the side trim (the original stress point), and the plastic loops where the handles attached to the cooler. I snugged the strap around the bottom so it would support the weight when the cooler was full.


The result is a cloth-sided cooler that's better than new. A stitch in time didn't save nine (it took me more like a hundred), but it did save more than nine dollars. That's a plus in my book.

Have you made something better than new? How did it work out for you? -- Margy

Bird Nest Ground Protection

Yesterday you read about a pair of Barn Swallows building a nest at the back of our cabin. We love having them spend the summer, but the area beneath the nest can get pretty messy, especially when chicks are growing up. They just hang their bums over the edge of the nest and let go, literally. I don't want all that mess on our deck.

I decided to nail heavy plastic below the nest. Then I can easily wash the poop off with a liberal splash of water and a whisk of the broom.

I'll be careful not to intrude too much. I don't want to scare the parents away.

Do you have birds nesting at your house? How do you handle the mess around the nest? -- Margy

Barn Swallow Nest Building

This year, our Barn Swallows arrived in early May, but didn't start nest building until last week. We have an old nest under the peak of our roof that's been used since 2002, but this year, the pair wanted to build a nest under the porch. That would have been terrible, so we discouraged them by stuffing the nooks and crannies with newspaper.

After a few days, we saw them starting a nest at the back of the cabin. It isn't a perfect spot, but we didn't want to delay their nest building any longer. Bert IV and his Lovely Lady are working hard to get the job done so they can start their family.

Each time they fly in with a beak full of mud or grass, the nest gets larger.  Because it's lower than the peak of the roof, I'll be able to get even better pictures as the summer progresses.


When we get back to the cabin this weekend, we expect to see a finished nest with Lovely Lady sitting on her eggs, and Bert IV singing her praises from his swim ladder perch. -- Margy

Airplane Contrails

High altitude winds can transform airplane contrails into fantastic wispy cloud formations,

while lower level clouds barely move. -- Margy

Growing Potatoes in a Barrel

One thing I love to grow is taters. We like to eat them baked, fried, mashed, hashed -- well, you get the idea. There are so many ways you can fix and eat this nutritious, easy to grow, tasty tuber.

I grow my potatoes in barrels around the cabin deck. I have two varieties, Norland Red and Yukon Gold. Of the two, the Golds are the best keepers through winter.

After harvesting, I save my taters wrapped in newspaper in open baskets in my downstairs "root cellar" under the bed where it's dark and cool with little danger of freezing.

I save some of my crop to become seed potatoes. By planting time, they've grown nice sized eyes. Small taters get planted whole, larger ones get cut making sure there are several eyes on each piece. I let the cut edges dry before planting to prevent rot.

I put several inches of potting soil at the bottom of each barrel, place the potatoes on top, and then add several more inches of soil. After the plants break through the soil, I add more potting soil or peat moss. I do this several times until the soil comes within a few inches of the top of the barrel. This encourages the plants to generate more taters all the way from the bottom to the top of the barrel.

Potatoes are a great thing to grow even on an apartment or condo balcony if you get good sunlight. All you have to do is bury, water, and periodicallly give them a little all-purpose plant food. They even make a lovely plant for the summer months.

After the foliage withers, the taters are ready to dig. If you can't wait that long, carefully reach under the soil and take a few to enjoy with an early season dinner.

Fresh harvested potatoes last for months without spoilage. Click here for more harvesting and storage tips. -- Margy