Dear reader, I am honestly trying to do something different here; I promise. I am struggling to put aside my obsession with US presidential race memes (go here if you have not seen my growing collection). While thinking to myself recently, lo and behold, almost immediately, the image above landed in my social media feed.... Continue Reading →
Opposites, not opposition
Before an avid reader of this blog told me about Opposite Day I was unaware of its existence. Thank goodness for loyal readers who continue to provide grist for this bloggery. Apparently, in some places, Opposite Day is celebrated by school children as a fun diversion. Why can’t adults celebrate it as a deep study of... Continue Reading →
Building for sale – Re-purposing the Chamber of Commerce information centre
Another in our series “Life in our little Town of Summerland” The rumours are true; the Summerland Chamber of Commerce has put up its roadside information centre for sale. Located on Highway 97 at Thompson Road the site has outlived its usefulness. For many decades, alert and weary travelers would stop in for maps and... Continue Reading →
Hilltop Paradise — An August afternoon at Summerland Ornamental Gardens
It was a warm and lovely, late-August afternoon when I asked Kathie to drop me off at the Summerland Ornamental Gardens to photograph flowers. I visit the gardens several times each year and find ample subject material through all seasons. Readers of this blog will already know how I love photographing flowers in all their... Continue Reading →
Salsa Garden 2024 – A Summerland tradition is born
With thanks to Jan Carlson I am pleased to share yet another inventive, practical, and ecosocial initiative developed in our little Town of Summerland. Good people, doing good things, for good reasons, with good and great outcomes for each other, for our community and for creation. Jan writes: The idea was to create a sharing... Continue Reading →
Tevye’s dilemma
Sunday, August 18th, 2024A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen Summerland Anglican ChurchThe Very Rev. Ken Gray Remembering the late, great, Canadian Norman Jewison, who produced the 1971 film based on the earlier Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, let’s sing Tevye’s song: [TEVYE, spoken]Oh dear Lord, you made many, many poor people. I... Continue Reading →
The Case of the Disappearing Salad — A Summer-Land Mystery
It was a beautiful kitchen creation; a summer salad; a mix of spinach, chicken, avocado, strawberries, almonds, and cucumber topped off with a poppy seed dressing. And it’s gone . . . On a warm, breezy, summer evening in 2024 Ken and Kathie Gray drove to Sunoka Beach Park, a provincial park just outside the... Continue Reading →
This is Juno’s world — We just live in it
My son sent the above photograph with caption to Kathie and me while we vacationed in Nova Scotia recently. He was caring for our house and for Juno in our absence. He always enjoys Juno’s company and looks forward to the day when he can have his own dog. That day will come, but not... Continue Reading →
What I did on my summer vacation — AKA There’s no place like home
A sermon for the Anglican Congregation in Summerland, BCSunday, July 21, 2024 // The Very Rev. Ken Gray The idea was so simple. In exchange for presiding and preaching at Holy Eucharist for just two Sundays at the Church of the Nativity, Sandy Cove, Nova Scotia we would receive rectory accommodation at no cost to... Continue Reading →
Musical Chairs messed with my mojo
I loved playing musical chairs in my early years. Whether it was the running around, the competitiveness, or the music that created the delight I cannot recall. I just loved playing the game and can still picture one or two in my mind. You likely remember the drill. Chairs are set up inside a circle... Continue Reading →