International demand for Canadian maple syrup surges amid U.S. trade war | CBC News A quintessential Canadian product is finding its way to more store shelves and breakfast tables around the world. Canadian maple syrup exports are trending upward, generating $844.2 million in 2025, up 17.2 per cent over the previous year, according to Statistics... Continue Reading →
NOTE TO VISITORS: Kathie and I will travel to Nelson tomorrow to meet our new grandson (name withheld). So my daily blog flow may be interrupted. To say we are excited is an understatement. Do not expect however images of you-don’t-know-who on this blog. It is too risky to share images of children online in... Continue Reading →
All Saints Cathedral, Halifax NS [This is a living document. Additional images and stories will be included as they are received.] Anglican activist and ecological animator extraordinaire, The Rev. Marian Lucas Jeffries (Team Leader of the Environment Network of the Diocese of Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) sent a note to her clergy colleagues asking: “What... Continue Reading →
[KJG] During her 2006-2015 term as Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori stated that ignoring or denying climate change is a moral failing and a "sinful" rejection of God's creation. The howls of protest at the time remain legendary. As a trained scientist herself, she knew the effects of climate change on... Continue Reading →
That's the message from Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, marking 1 September as both the start of the Orthodox ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment, an observance the Ecumenical Patriarchate established in 1989 and which now brings Christian communities together worldwide: "a symbol and practical promotion of the unity... Continue Reading →
I walk into a room. Around a table sit three people engaged in lively conversation. I want to join the chatter so I sit down and pay attention to each speaker in turn, even when one talks over the other, excitedly. It’s hard to keep up as the topic shifts quickly from a family story,... Continue Reading →
A Poem on Hope It is hard to have hope. It is harder as you grow old, for hope must not depend on feeling good and there’s the dream of loneliness at absolute midnight. You also have withdrawn belief in the present reality of the future, which surely will surprise us, and hope is harder... Continue Reading →
A reflection from the late John O’Donohue For the First Day of the Season of Creation 2026 Also our first experience of the Feast Day of Creation in the calendar of the Christian Church Listen to John’s beautiful reflection here https://vimeo.com/203378234?fl=pl&fe=cm Video transcript: I'm John O'Donohue. I'm a writer. I live here in the west... Continue Reading →
Chef Ned Bell (left) and Farmer Thomas Tumbach started the Summerland Sauce Project to turn veggies into help - Photo: Summerland Sauce Project Casey Richardson - Aug 29, 2026 / From Castanet A project that bought crops from Okanagan farmers impacted by the Bald Range wildfire and turned them into seasonal sauces and preserves raised... Continue Reading →
Here's the good news. The Bald Range wild fire is now held. Hallelujah. Back home in Summerland most residents have now returned to a new post-evacuation experience of "normal." Though not all; some are still unable to access their homes or work places. Many are negotiating with insurance companies; others continue to wonder about next... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 