I’m fighting with a couple of books, for very different reasons. Downstairs on the side table by the front window rests Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. It was my third Christmas read, and the one that provided the bridge for that awkward and often painful period between an easy work-free New Years afternoon and the return to work. The problem is, at page 800 I just want it to end. I’m invested, but I’ve learned all I want to about cathedral building, thank you. With every page turned I skim along hoping for a raging pestilence, a spectacular tumbling buttress or a sudden surge of wild uninhibited witches…

My son Jasper (8) is growing up. He loves hard guitar music, is fearless on a snowboard and, last week, shocked his mother when he told her he liked how “some girls have shirts that show a bit of their belly.” I’m having trouble keeping up. And sometimes feel out of place. Like at his hockey games. A year ago he could barely skate. Then, suddenly, he is a sought-after goalie in Novice B. Other parents at games call him “fantastic.” But I still feel out of place. The thing is, I’ve never been a hockey fan. And a year into going to Jasper’s games, I still don’t really know…

I’m in Washington. I love it here. And it’s not just the lack of snow. Think about it: The US has just endured what some here are calling “the lost decade,” nearly a decade of perhaps the worst president ever unless you consider James Buchanan (1857-1861), whose dithering nearly split the country as he remained indifferent to slavery and somehow didn’t see the Civil War coming. That was bad. There should be statues to Lincoln in Ottawa. Canada was formed when the Fathers of Confederation realized the US was getting its act together and they figured they’d better get theirs in shape too before the US took over everything north…

I often feel a bit shattered at this time of year, if it’s possible to be a “bit” shattered. A big party’s over. And resolutions no longer seem to reassure. Last year my sister-in-law and I pledged to give up breakfast meats (“Who needs bacon, really?”), but it didn’t last. And today I toyed with the idea of putting down $60 for the half-marathon training course at Running Room, but just walked out (slowly) with the brochure. With age comes some self awareness (or at least I think that’s why; ask me when I’m older). So it’s a bit amusing to be conscious that I just can’t pack the Hallmark…

Day five of seven sharing a ski chalet at Sutton, Quebec with the in-laws and cousins over Christmas break. Jasper (8) is on the floor on a mattress beside the bed where Suzy and I are curled up with the Little Monk (Simon, 4). It’s 11:45 PM “Dad! I Can’t Sleep!!” “Dude, you just have to close your eyes.” “No! It’s NOT working! I don’t know what to do!” “Just close your eyes!! Think about the day you just had on the hill. Your awesome snowboard lesson. Think about the fun we’re having here, and all the family with us.” “OK.” “Think about your friends from school back at home.…

What does the Best Before Date really mean? I love thinking about this kind of minutiae at this time of year when everything’s so macro. Ask yourself: Would you eat a Raspberry bio-enhanced yogurt stamped with today’s date? Maybe that’s not a great example; it is bacteria after all. Personally, I think you’d know right away if after the first bite you’d made the wrong call. Someone at work today suggested that Best Before is the date the grocers use to indicate when an item is to be removed from the shelves (or fridge). In that case, it’s surely safe for consumption for days afterward. Hold off on the fridge…

Alison Wright is my hero. We met as I was nervously running through safety checks on my buoyancy control device, waist deep in the Red Sea, moments before a 150′ dive to a scuttled freighter off the southwest coast of Jordan. I was scared shitless. Alison tapped my shoulder and asked to by my dive buddy. It was the first time we’d talked more than hello, day three into a press trip of the Hashemite Kingdom. She was representing National Geographic. I was on a stealth assignment for the Ottawa Citizen. She said I looked like I knew what I was doing. My OCD-inspired safety check had obviously attracted her.…

Popcorn should always be served in a round-bottomed bowl. Preferably also made of stainless steel. When screwing red cedar decking to the floor joists, compensate for slight warping by using a 2×4 as a winch between the last board and the crossbeam. Don’t worry about drainage; cedar shrinks as it dries. The elderberry is ripe in Ottawa, hard on the heels of hazelnut. Something is released in the back of my head at 6k into a run, especially at night. It’s a good thing. Simon reacts to school with anger. Jasper with sadness. I understand the latter, and can deal with the former. It took 3 years of weekly therapy…

This was going to be the “summer of whimsey.” I declared it such to my sister-in-law JD while out buying a string of Buddhist prayer flags to adorn the cabin. But if circumstances dictate decree, in retrospect the past few weeks are off to a good start as the “summer of squirrel wars” or “summer chipper.” Walden was great. Today’s my first day back after a month away, two weeks spent at the cabin with the boys. We discovered new birds, including an American Woodcock with an elongated beak and a tinny peent call. We cut a path through the woods and chipped a third of an acre of brush…

I’m spending Canada Day in America. It’s July 1 and I’m in the heart of Washington, DC, just a few blocks from the White House. In a few hours I’ll be at the United Nations Environment Program headquarters here to meet Executive Director Achiem Steiner to get his photo with a Porchlight bulb — and to secure a deal to work together to give UNEP a grassroots angle to their global work. Cool, eh? It’s an old tradition of mine to buy a new shirt and tie for big new events. This was fine when they were rare occasions. My closet would be full if I’d kept it up over…

Hi Folks If you’re a regular reader of this web site it’s about time you were rewarded. Thanks for dropping by! Gas prices, the rising loonie and my lack of attention to my rental site have resulted in a shortage of bookings at Walden Cabin in PEI this summer, so my good friend Elizabeth suggested I post something here. Please help. If you refer someone to me who books a week at Walden, I’ll pay you $50. And, well, you’ll also get that good karma. Consider a week for yourself! Long outdoor showers. Walks in the woods. The edge of crisp PEI evenings cut by the warmth of a gentle…

I’m proud of this. It’s a good summary of a fun day.

I have a New Idea. But it’s too early to talk about it in detail here. Let’s just say that it brings together my past, my present and my future into one project. Or, at least that’s what I think tonight. I could change my mind by morning. One thing I do know and can share is that I truly believe I have the best job in Canada. And maybe in the US too. We launched Project Porchlight in Vermont this past week and, after kicking off the BC campaign at Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway in BC a week before, I can honestly say that there is universal…

Here’s a tip: Never try to take an organic wild blueberry spelt crust pie home on your electric bike. First of all, it’s not worth the $9. And chances are the young woman in tie-dye with dreds behind the counter will give you a used grocery bag with holes (when you ask sheepishly for that unholy item to take home your righteous tart). I’m enjoying my bread-free journey to a healthier me, but there are some things that will never change: blueberry is unkind to library books lulu lemon sweats. And bikes and pies don’t mix.

Sometimes I get serious here. So I’ll spare you the mouse update except to say that the thing that was clogging the drain in the wash basin this weekend wasn’t lint. As I write I’m listening to Ideas on CBC Radio. Tonight’s program features Ray Kurzweil, an inventor and futurist being called “the rightful heir to Thomas Edison.” So of course my ears perked up. I do a lot of Edison bashing. What got my attention was his confident assertion that solar power will supply all of humanity’s energy needs in 20 years. It’s the first time in months I’ve heard a positive perspective on the future. I’d like to…