Saltspringing 2026

 Come to Saltspring in May, and it's the roses -- both garden and wild -- that shout spring. But on recent walks in my area, I also spotted reminders of Easter and Christmas. See below:

Roses from my garden, plus a few random flowers from the yard.

Wild Alberta roses along all the roads scented the air. 

My friend Andre was as struck as I was by the bright red roses like cherries on top of a California lilac.

You can walk past this stump and not notice it. But once you see it dressed up as an Easter bunny, you never see it as a stump again. Here it's still wearing its Easter decorations.  

Going back even farther, there were still Christmas lights and decorations among the white blossoms on this tree.

And for a nice tropical finale, here's a palm tree in all its blossoming glory.

Old Guys Push Stump Uphill

John, left, and Andre prove you don't have to be young to take on irrational challenges.

Why? You might ask.

Why are two old guys — well beyond middle-aged muscularity and well, well beyond the rapturous irrationality of adventurous youth — pushing what appears to be a very heavy stump uphill?

The answer: A newly chopped 100-foot Douglas fir produces a lot of “rounds” — chunks of trunk that make good chopping blocks. And the woodpile where that chopping needs to be done is at the top of the hill on our Saltspring Island property.

On his own, John would have chosen a modest-sized round and wrestled it up the slope solo. But when  our friend Andre, who loves nothing more than a serious physical challenge (see earlier blog), appeared on the scene, it was modest schmodest — let’s go for the gusto!

John estimates the very fine chopping block that was chosen was 150-200 pounds, about two-thirds heavier than what he would have attempted.

And so followed the spectacle of two white-haired men on their knees, pushing, rolling, positioning and grunting the thing up quite a steep slope. But it was a joyful spectacle, with Andre providing a laughing, singing, coaxing soundtrack urging the beast along the least-awful route.

At the top, after the victory photo at the block’s new location, John added his contribution: “On second thought,” he said, “maybe we should have chosen another chunk."

It's a long way from the bottom of the hill to this point in the stump's journey.

The route had to be chosen carefully and twigs and branches cleared out of the way.

Sometimes it took pure push-power to keep it heading upwards.

Andre and John declare victory at the top of the hill. 

Down at the bottom of the hill, I survey the wealth of choices for a new chopping block.