I walked onto my porch the other day and saw my kayaks waiting for me to go for a ride, but then had a thought.

Bear with me.

I love the Shuswap River and spend as much time as I can either swimming when the water is warm enough, kayaking at times right through the year, or, just sitting on the rocks below the falls contemplating life. I like to explore the back waters and side channels and I know how lucky I am to be able to do these things on a relatively little used river system. I think the Shuswap River is a sacred place.

Now for that thought ...

I was sitting on my deck the other morning enjoying the view and the silence of the morning and it put me in mind of how lucky we all are to live in this valley. I live out here in the middle of nowhere because I like the silence and peacefulness of being alone, but not all of the time. That is one of the reasons why I try to help out with the Mabel Lake Community Club, because it gives me a chance to contribute to creating the kind of community I want to live in.

I was sitting on my deck the other evening, Park Mountain was completely socked in, and I wondered to myself why I should be worried about forest fires and being chased out of my home by the government. So I decided I did not need to worry about it but maybe I should try and do something about it. If you recall last time I told you I had written to the minister of emergency preparedness, well I have still not heard back from them so I had an idea …

When I was sitting on my deck the other evening watching the clouds form and drift away over Park Mountain it put me in mind of the upcoming fire season. I do not like to think about what would happen if a forest fire threatened my property, but I think I would like to have the ability to try to protect my own property. Well the government is considering ways to stop me and everyone else from protecting our property in the event of forest fires or other catastrophic events.