June 30, 2009
Pre-Canada Day BBQ at White Rock
Had a great BBQ near Crescent Beach in White Rock, BC, with good friends this evening. A bit windy, but gorgeous. Nice way to get an early start on the Canada Day holiday tomorrow!
June 28, 2009
Duffey Lake Road Trip
A day trip up the coast from Vancouver past Squamish and Whistler and then along the Duffey Lake Road to Lillooet and Lytton had us up at 5:00 on Sunday morning. It turned out to be a great day, sunny, and not too hot. We stopped at several places along the way for short walks/hikes including Brandywine Falls, Nairn Falls, Duffey Lake, Seton Lake and Lytton.
Brandywine Creek
Brandywine Falls
View south to Daisy Lake from Brandywine
Yumi on the trail to Nairn Falls
Nairn Falls
Nairn Falls
Nairn Falls
Young black bear on Duffey Lake Road
Duffey Lake
Duffey Lake
Yumi at Duffey Lake
Seton Lake
Seton Lake
Seton Lake
Road toward Lillooet
Seton spawning channel
We came across a nonchalant herd of mountain goats between Lillooet and Lytton
The silty Fraser River
The clear Thompson River flows into the silty Fraser at Lytton
A crow harasses an osprey above the river lookout at Lytton
June 22, 2009
Sea, Sky, Clouds at Porteau Cove
Porteau Cove is one of my favourite spots to stop on the Sea To Sky highway from Vanvouver to Squamish and Whistler. With the sea, the mountains and the sky, there are always photo opportunities.
June 13, 2009
Back in Action
I'm home after a ten-day trip down east to Toronto, Ottawa and Kingston.
I returned on Monday evening, June 8, but over the course of the ensuing work week I attended the two-day Fraser Assembly 2009 conference at which I was on a panel, a City of Burnaby Environment Committee tour of Burnaby Lake followed by the committee's monthly meeting, the Burnaby Board of Trade 2009 AGM, a Byrne Creek Streamkeepers monthly meeting.... And so it goes. Hope to use the weekend to get fully caught up!
In Toronto I visited family and attended the 2009 Editors' Association of Canada annual conference.
My wife and I borrowed a car from my relatives and cruised up to Ottawa for a day (new Canadian War Museum, Museum of Civilization, etc.), Kingston for a day (Old Fort Henry, Royal Military College, etc.), and returned to Toronto on the Loyalist Parkway - nice drive.
I will fill out these adventures on this blog over the next few days, and post a pile of photos.
May 26, 2009
Language Lanterns Founders to Receive Inaugural CFUS Translation Prize
CFUS is awarding its first George S. N. Luckyj Ukrainian Literature Translation Prize to my aunt, Roma Franko, and my late mother, Sonia Morris:
Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies
www.cfus.ca
416-766-9630
May 19, 2009
MEDIA RELEASE
The Board of Directors of the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies (CFUS) is pleased to announce that Dr. Roma Franko and her sister, the late Sonia Morris have been selected as the first recipients of the George S. N. Luckyj Ukrainian Literature Translation Prize.
The Prize is named in honour of the late Professor George S. N. Luckyj, an eminent Ukrainian Canadian Slavist, editor, and translator of Ukrainian literature. It was created to encourage the translation of Ukrainian literary works into English and other major languages and consists of a monetary gift in the amount of $2,000.
Roma Franko and Sonia Morris are being awarded the Luckyj Prize for their dedication to and tremendous efforts and achievements in translating Ukrainian literature into English and making it accessible to a wide reading audience. After taking early retirement from their respective academic careers at the University of Saskatchewan in 1996, the sisters embarked on new careers, Roma Franko as translator and Sonia Morris as editor. Together they founded Language Lanterns Publications dedicated to publishing works of Ukrainian literature in English translation. They imposed on themselves what seemed a daunting schedule of publishing at least two books of literary translations per year. In 1998, a series entitled Women’s Voices in Ukrainian Literature was launched. By 2000, the first set of six books in this series was completed. The series includes translated prose of Ukrainian women writers of the 19th century. To date, seventeen volumes have appeared translated by Roma Franko and edited by Sonia Morris. A further three volumes are in preparation. Roma Franko currently lives in Toronto. Sonia Morris passed away in 2007.
The Prize will be presented to Dr. Franko and the family of the late Sonia Morris on June 3, 2009 at the UNF Library Dinner in Toronto. The names of the recipients will be inscribed on a plaque that will be permanently displayed in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto.
CFUS is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to securing funds and other resources that will promote the growth and development of Ukrainian studies in Canada in perpetuity. The work of CFUS is supported by the generosity of individuals through donations, bequests, and endowments.
For further information, please contact:
Natalka Zyla
Office Administrator, CFUS
May 25, 2009
Balcony Berries, Baby Spiders
A few shots of baby spiders on our balcony - so cool, but I gotta admit they make my scalp crawl when they crawl :-). The raspberries and strawberries are on their way.
Blog Back Up As 1and1 Restores Data to New System
Until last week I was a happy 1and1 customer -- then the server that hosts this self-installed Movable Type blog crashed.
While 1and1 did get the site back up with all data intact, it took them nearly 5 full days to do so. I also didn't hear anything from them until I complained, after which I received an email detailing the problem, and an email when the system was back up again.
So points for saving all my data, but overall I don't think it should have taken that long to get it migrated to a new system, and the communication could have been more proactive on their part. I'll give them a second chance and will continue to keep this blog there, but I'll be doing my own backups more frequently.
I also have a couple of sites at pair.com, and they have been rock solid in around twelve years of use.
May 23, 2009
Manning Park, Princeton, Coquihalla Trip Yields Bluebirds, Jays
A daytrip east from Vancouver to Manning Park, Princeton, north on the 5A and back to the coast on the Coquihalla yielded some nice photographs.
Similkameen River near Manning Park Lodge.
Yumi snaps a photo of friendly ground squirrel at Lighting Lake.
Sure are cute!
Clark's Nutcracker at Lightning Lake day use area.
Taking a break at Allison Lake.
Heading north up Highway 5A.
A gorgeous mountain bluebird.
Bluebird in flight.
Bluebird perched.
Steller's Jay at Britton Creek rest area.
May 17, 2009
Canoing Fraser River at SEP 2009 Workshop
About 70 streamkeepers signed up for a canoe trip down the Fraser River to cap the SEP 2009 (BC Streamkeeper) Workshop, out of around 300 people attending. It was a gorgeous day for a paddle and we had a great time. We put in near the Mission bridge, and took out up Kanaka Creek, with a stop for lunch along the way.
The putting-in point near the Mission bridge.
Me in front, with my wife Yumi behind me, and Naomi from Campbell River.
Heading downstream.
Catching up in a bit of friendly competition...
Cool water, blue skies - a gorgeous day for a paddle.
Working up a sweat!
Looking east down one of most productive salmon rivers in the world, with Mt. Baker barely visible on the horizon.
Heading up Kanaka Creek to the landing site.
It was a great day with a fantastic outing with wonderful people. Thanks to all of the organizers and sponsors!