To The Top Of Mount Work With John, Pete, Zoe and Mookie

Here's a north facing view, overlooking Saanich Inlet, with Saltspring Island in the far distance. In the foreground, logger-turned-teacher and fabulous writer John Schreiber, whose Stranger Wycott's Place will soon be published by New Star via my Transmontanus imprint; my perfect daughter Zoe, bass player with Words Around the Waist, back from Toronto for a visit; and our pal Pete Stein, from whom we learned that there really were five Yiddish theatre companies in New York once. Plus mookie:


Here's the view to the south, from the summit. Across Juan de Fuca Strait, you can just barely make out the Olympic Mountains in Washington. Not nearly as ambitious as I'd imagined. There was a cougar up there a month ago. On our morning there were lots of turkey vultures, ravens, a young bald eagle, songbirds without number, Pacific tree frogs singing, and dang good company.