Full Circle : Thoughts From A Chicken Slaughter

Full Circle 1It’s been months since that fateful morning of flat tires, generosity and surprises at the Disco Thistle Farm, but Robyn, bless her buttons, wasn’t finished with me.

On that fateful day, I was flushed with the pioneering spirit projected by her and her husband Shane. I may have said something like: “If you ever need someone to help out…”

A couple months later they needed someone to help out.

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Synchronicity: Flat Tires and Disco Thistles

Disco ThistleI think I’m starting to believe in fate.

It’s been a crazy couple of months on Quadra, filled with adventures and mis-adventures, happenstance and straight-up, no-joke synchronicity. Every day it seems I’m stumbling blindly, yet gladly into another chance meeting, nutball conversation and potential life-changing experience. Take, for example the morning I got off the ferry and found that my rear bike tire was flat… Read More

Adios Amigos!

Goodbye WasabiyaWorking in a restaurant isn’t like working anywhere else. The heat, sweat, furious speed, constant pressure and never-ending workload can really take a toll on the human body and mind. It’s an environment that makes people crazy. I’ve witnessed this first hand over many years stalking this dimly-lit wasteland of sauté pans, cigarette butts, swear words and thousand-yard-stares… And maybe I’ve been a bit damaged in the process as well…. Maybe I’m just being really melodramatic.

The people who subject themselves to this, who willingly march into the meat grinder are an interesting breed. They come from every background, every culture and every level of psychological/emotional stability you can imagine. They are amazing people, my people. Read More

Best Westcoast Foraging Guides

Best Foraging GuidesMy co-worker and fellow creative lunatic Carol recently asked me what I considered to be the best, most easily accessible books on Wescoast foraging. She’d been poking around the backyard, getting excited about harvesting some local spring plants to eat and wanted a guide that could: a) Give her a fundamental understanding of foraging – ie. when and where to pick what. b) Clearly identify what plants are edible and what to avoid. c) Inspire her to roam farther afield for new experiences. Read More