I felt relaxed as I read this, not just for myself but for you. When I read and listen to you, I feel that you put yourself in the middle of all the world's problems and it must take an enormous toll on you. Thank you for keeping us in the loop with the true stories.
I too love solitude. My dear mother taught us to embrace blizzards, lightning storms and even hurricanes. We did our chores and played outside as much as was safe, then we hunkered down together playing board games, getting ahead on schoolwork and baking cookies.
Thank you for giving so much to your readers and listeners. You are appreciated, Trish.
The best I have read from you. Having homesteaded offgrid for decades isolated on the Canadian Shield reading you here was like much needed soul food in a totally inhuman digitally wired world of chaos that sucks life from us. Lake Erie is one of the most turbulent of the Great Lakes for those living on its shores. Being encased in nature as you are reconnects us to a necessary solitude out of which springs reflection. Keep sharing these pondering please
I haven't read this yet--too much going on. But wanted to ask that you watch this You Tube and consider interviewing this kid. He's talking about things in a particularly nuanced way that I found especially real and poignant (sorry for using that word). I am the daughter of a Japanese-Canadian whose family were already in concentration camp (well, forced farm labor outside Winnipeg) when my parents first went to the M.E. and touched ground in Jaffa, in 1946, TWO YEARS before the 1948 Nakba, during which time the Canadian government took possession of our land and eventually sold it off and did not allow the rightful owners back to B.C. until 1957, ten years after they were FINALLY released from servitude in Winnipeg in 1947. Didn't the war end in 1945? WTF? Anyway, I recommend you interview Omar Al Akkad.
Funny how Canada (as well as the US) did the same damned thing to us as the Zionist entity is doing to Palestinian, only the Canadians did it earlier.
The huge growth of the off-grid and homesteading movement for married couples world wide (in western countries anyway) is concrete evidence many others share your realization.
Trish, I'm not going to lie, I missed the POD this week. Hearing your voice each week has become as welcome weekly routine for me. It gives me comfort as I often laugh out loud or sometimes even weep. Please do get better. Take lots of Vitamin D as others have suggested, we need you healthy, so I guess I can sacrifice a week of the POD. 😂
As I read this post I felt like I was whisked away into a dream. The romantic idea of being cuddled up with a dog and/or my wife by a wood burning fire, the smells, the warmth. All while surviving storms and power outages. Oh how I long for moments like those, especially as I too get older(53). My wife and I entering that exciting, but strange time where we a quickly approaching the "empty-nest" phase. Sad as one chapter closing, but excited as it's like we are dating again. Our oldest daughter just got married yesterday and our youngest graduating high school in June. It's times like you describe that really help us to focus on what matters most, but also remind us to recharge.
I go to sleep every night with a wood burning fireplace sound coming from my speaker on the night stand. I pretend each night that I'm cuddled up near the fire battling the elements to stay warm. In minutes, I'm off to dreamland.
Thank you Trish for sharing these glimpses into your life in such an authentic, beautifully vulnerable way. I appreciate your work so much. Get well soon.
Thanks, Clayton. This piece has landed for so many people. My instinct tells me our soft lives are so very bad for our civilization. We are better when we have to have our wits about us and when our reward for hard work is earned comfort and serenity instead of material things. A crackling fire as soporific is very likely part of the human DNA at this point. I enjoyed your post.
Thank you, Trish. That read was a wild ride (in a good way). Provocative and mind-opening. Take good care of yourself. You are greatly appreciated by your (our) community. God bless!
All the best for quick healing Trish. I sat next to Stephen Reid on a flight from YYZ-YVR once (maybe in 2001 or so) and he was such a great person to talk to. I consider it a privilege to have met him.
Wow....yes he was a great guy. He was always bit baffled by how he ended up the toast of the buttoned-down Toronto literary crowd. We used to chat about it. He was a natural outsider. I'm so glad you got to meet him.
There is nothing better than taking in solitude. Today's life is constantly punctuated with too many demands. I love the sharing of these strong women's lives. Count yourself in there too, Trish. Get better!
Lovely thoughts on the peace and solitude of the power and wonder of nature and the way it feeds the soul. When I was about ten my family relocated to country primarily due to my father's work as a lumberjack. We spent two Northwestern Ontario winters living in the middle of nowhere. First was in a large one room camp -- no electricity, no plumbing and only heated by a wood burning stove. At night we listened to a transistor radio, read by kerosene lantern, let the dog inside and listened often to the wind howl. The following winter we moved to an isolated cabin, which at least had electricity, but no indoor plumbing and still heated only by a big wood burning cook stove and a smaller wood burning furnace. It was built on a hillside so the view from the living room was breathtaking. I was young, but, I for some reason have very fond memories of those times. A warm feeling despite the cold. We also spent the other seasons there. The school bus actually had to change its route to come and get me we were so isolated. But I had my dog and some pet rabbits as well. It was wonderful to have a husband so willing to help and it is so true that men are more inclined to express their love through deeds rather than words. My husband is very much like that too. Always cleans off my car after a snowfall, brings me back a favourite treat if he's popped of the the store, walks the dog for me when I can't stand the cold or the rain... I hope your feeling better soon.I always enjoy the words of wisdom you usually provide at the beginning of your podcasts before you introduce you guest. I do hope Sam Cooper is still slated to be one of them. Hope you feeling better soon. Seems a flu is going around, I had a touch of it too.
This was a lovely piece to read, Trish. If it was possible I would much prefer to be living on a remote acreage, off the grid, and having a garden big enough to supply most of my food. Alas, life commitments make that impossible. Like you I enjoy reading stories about others who have succeeded in making that dream a reality. Your piece also reminds me that even if I didn’t have family commitments that prevent me from heading for the hills, I am too big of a coward to live out in the middle of nowhere all on my own. That’s awful about the poor woman in Ireland! The pictures you shared are stunning. I hope you continue to make a good recovery from your illness.
wow....i loved this! i moved back to the west coast almost 5 years ago and have the privilege of living on the edge of the rugged coastline at the epicentre of an earthquake yesterday. you describe so well my new chapter of leaving behind a busy, distracted, social, city life. the force of nature, its beauty, its challenges and its gifts are at my doorstep every day and it has brought such insight into how we have lost our way. i came here in 2020 when i felt most desolate, waking from my slumber (you were a big part of this metamorphosis)....almost screaming into the wind. as i write this i have lit a wood fire, put the music and candles on and snuggled with my 15 year old dog...who is now begging for dinner. my ambivalence with technology is always appeased when i feel the connection that can happen through this medium. as i have verbalized many times, you are one of my heroes. continue to pay attention to this calling you feel....thank you for putting it into such eloquent words...and thank you for your willingness to speak loudly. you are a very inspirational Canadian.
I too value solitude, nature, and acts of care for or from loved ones. Reading your art in words to capture these sentiments brought my heart joy. Thank you Trish. I hope you feel better soon!
I felt relaxed as I read this, not just for myself but for you. When I read and listen to you, I feel that you put yourself in the middle of all the world's problems and it must take an enormous toll on you. Thank you for keeping us in the loop with the true stories.
I too love solitude. My dear mother taught us to embrace blizzards, lightning storms and even hurricanes. We did our chores and played outside as much as was safe, then we hunkered down together playing board games, getting ahead on schoolwork and baking cookies.
Thank you for giving so much to your readers and listeners. You are appreciated, Trish.
Thanks kindly.....I guess we both love weather!
The best I have read from you. Having homesteaded offgrid for decades isolated on the Canadian Shield reading you here was like much needed soul food in a totally inhuman digitally wired world of chaos that sucks life from us. Lake Erie is one of the most turbulent of the Great Lakes for those living on its shores. Being encased in nature as you are reconnects us to a necessary solitude out of which springs reflection. Keep sharing these pondering please
Thanks, Richard....Happy to share.
I haven't read this yet--too much going on. But wanted to ask that you watch this You Tube and consider interviewing this kid. He's talking about things in a particularly nuanced way that I found especially real and poignant (sorry for using that word). I am the daughter of a Japanese-Canadian whose family were already in concentration camp (well, forced farm labor outside Winnipeg) when my parents first went to the M.E. and touched ground in Jaffa, in 1946, TWO YEARS before the 1948 Nakba, during which time the Canadian government took possession of our land and eventually sold it off and did not allow the rightful owners back to B.C. until 1957, ten years after they were FINALLY released from servitude in Winnipeg in 1947. Didn't the war end in 1945? WTF? Anyway, I recommend you interview Omar Al Akkad.
Funny how Canada (as well as the US) did the same damned thing to us as the Zionist entity is doing to Palestinian, only the Canadians did it earlier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cet41VbnRnU&t=7s
And I will get another cup of coffee before I settle down to this blog, a subject very close to my heart.
The huge growth of the off-grid and homesteading movement for married couples world wide (in western countries anyway) is concrete evidence many others share your realization.
I want to learn more about it. Not up for too much physical stuff given my age but very curious, too.
Trish, I'm not going to lie, I missed the POD this week. Hearing your voice each week has become as welcome weekly routine for me. It gives me comfort as I often laugh out loud or sometimes even weep. Please do get better. Take lots of Vitamin D as others have suggested, we need you healthy, so I guess I can sacrifice a week of the POD. 😂
As I read this post I felt like I was whisked away into a dream. The romantic idea of being cuddled up with a dog and/or my wife by a wood burning fire, the smells, the warmth. All while surviving storms and power outages. Oh how I long for moments like those, especially as I too get older(53). My wife and I entering that exciting, but strange time where we a quickly approaching the "empty-nest" phase. Sad as one chapter closing, but excited as it's like we are dating again. Our oldest daughter just got married yesterday and our youngest graduating high school in June. It's times like you describe that really help us to focus on what matters most, but also remind us to recharge.
I go to sleep every night with a wood burning fireplace sound coming from my speaker on the night stand. I pretend each night that I'm cuddled up near the fire battling the elements to stay warm. In minutes, I'm off to dreamland.
Thank you Trish for sharing these glimpses into your life in such an authentic, beautifully vulnerable way. I appreciate your work so much. Get well soon.
Sincerely,
Clayton Shearer
Thanks, Clayton. This piece has landed for so many people. My instinct tells me our soft lives are so very bad for our civilization. We are better when we have to have our wits about us and when our reward for hard work is earned comfort and serenity instead of material things. A crackling fire as soporific is very likely part of the human DNA at this point. I enjoyed your post.
I hope you get better soon, Trish.
Thanks so much.
Thank you, Trish. That read was a wild ride (in a good way). Provocative and mind-opening. Take good care of yourself. You are greatly appreciated by your (our) community. God bless!
All the best for quick healing Trish. I sat next to Stephen Reid on a flight from YYZ-YVR once (maybe in 2001 or so) and he was such a great person to talk to. I consider it a privilege to have met him.
Wow....yes he was a great guy. He was always bit baffled by how he ended up the toast of the buttoned-down Toronto literary crowd. We used to chat about it. He was a natural outsider. I'm so glad you got to meet him.
This was a lovely share. Thank you and please get well. I have drilled down on the remarkable Sam Cooper and look forward to your interview with him.
There is nothing better than taking in solitude. Today's life is constantly punctuated with too many demands. I love the sharing of these strong women's lives. Count yourself in there too, Trish. Get better!
Sorry to hear you are battling the flu, hopefully your recovery will be quick!
Very much enjoyed the article you
provided for us all, in spite of being very
much under the weather. Reconnecting
with nature at your lake property, even
in the dead of winter, I am convinced
did wonders for you, body, mind and
soul! No doubt it allowed you to put
things into their proper perspective.
Very pleased you have a wonderful
four pawed companion rescue canine
to keep you company!!!
Nature even in the dead of winter, with
challenging conditions to adapt to, has
a wonderful ability to heal us all. I think
with our busy lives, we often lose sight
of that. Your stay at the lake will have
recharged your batteries in many and
profound ways. Hope you are fully on
the mend now. Be well, stay warm and
above all, for all of your loyal fans,
do stay critical. In these bizarre times,
voices of rationality and common sense
like yours, become all the more
invaluable to us all! Thanks Trish for
all you do!
Thanks for the thoughtful post. Much appreciated.
Lovely thoughts on the peace and solitude of the power and wonder of nature and the way it feeds the soul. When I was about ten my family relocated to country primarily due to my father's work as a lumberjack. We spent two Northwestern Ontario winters living in the middle of nowhere. First was in a large one room camp -- no electricity, no plumbing and only heated by a wood burning stove. At night we listened to a transistor radio, read by kerosene lantern, let the dog inside and listened often to the wind howl. The following winter we moved to an isolated cabin, which at least had electricity, but no indoor plumbing and still heated only by a big wood burning cook stove and a smaller wood burning furnace. It was built on a hillside so the view from the living room was breathtaking. I was young, but, I for some reason have very fond memories of those times. A warm feeling despite the cold. We also spent the other seasons there. The school bus actually had to change its route to come and get me we were so isolated. But I had my dog and some pet rabbits as well. It was wonderful to have a husband so willing to help and it is so true that men are more inclined to express their love through deeds rather than words. My husband is very much like that too. Always cleans off my car after a snowfall, brings me back a favourite treat if he's popped of the the store, walks the dog for me when I can't stand the cold or the rain... I hope your feeling better soon.I always enjoy the words of wisdom you usually provide at the beginning of your podcasts before you introduce you guest. I do hope Sam Cooper is still slated to be one of them. Hope you feeling better soon. Seems a flu is going around, I had a touch of it too.
Nice to hear from you.
This was a lovely piece to read, Trish. If it was possible I would much prefer to be living on a remote acreage, off the grid, and having a garden big enough to supply most of my food. Alas, life commitments make that impossible. Like you I enjoy reading stories about others who have succeeded in making that dream a reality. Your piece also reminds me that even if I didn’t have family commitments that prevent me from heading for the hills, I am too big of a coward to live out in the middle of nowhere all on my own. That’s awful about the poor woman in Ireland! The pictures you shared are stunning. I hope you continue to make a good recovery from your illness.
wow....i loved this! i moved back to the west coast almost 5 years ago and have the privilege of living on the edge of the rugged coastline at the epicentre of an earthquake yesterday. you describe so well my new chapter of leaving behind a busy, distracted, social, city life. the force of nature, its beauty, its challenges and its gifts are at my doorstep every day and it has brought such insight into how we have lost our way. i came here in 2020 when i felt most desolate, waking from my slumber (you were a big part of this metamorphosis)....almost screaming into the wind. as i write this i have lit a wood fire, put the music and candles on and snuggled with my 15 year old dog...who is now begging for dinner. my ambivalence with technology is always appeased when i feel the connection that can happen through this medium. as i have verbalized many times, you are one of my heroes. continue to pay attention to this calling you feel....thank you for putting it into such eloquent words...and thank you for your willingness to speak loudly. you are a very inspirational Canadian.
yes! and thanks for sharing
I love the West Coast.
I too value solitude, nature, and acts of care for or from loved ones. Reading your art in words to capture these sentiments brought my heart joy. Thank you Trish. I hope you feel better soon!