BC’s new carbon tax went into effect July 1. In June, everyone in BC got a check for $100 from the province, a one-time bonus to ease the shock. Just the push I needed to finally get a new bike — one that I might actually want to ride, unlike my old one. Isn’t she a beauty? I would call that colour “Arbutus”. Pretty.

The story has it that Gordon Campbell (that’s BC’s Premier, for residents of the US) started to take climate change seriously after reading George Monbiot’s book “Heat.” I read “Heat” last year, and it is an amazing book. A downer? Yes. But a well-reasoned one. Monbiot’s research assistant should have gotten his name on the book too. It’s more substantiated than anything else I’ve seen. It tries to answer the question of whether and how we can make the changes necessary to reduce carbon emissions enough to avoid the worst effects of global warming. Gary is reading it right now, which is good, so he can share in my sense of generalized dread. I read it last year, and actually, I feel more hopeful now than I did then. Its starting to feel like things could change.

Of course, it hasn’t stopped me from flying off across the country, like we recently did to Toronto. Where, (among other things) we went to the Hockey Hall of Fame and saw the Stanley Cup . . .

So, for penance, today we took the bikes to the Metchosin Farmer’s Market and bought our local peas and swiss chard. It all sounds very nice and neighborly, but I tell you, its a cut-throat atmosphere when the market opens at 11. People cutting in line all “oh — I didn’t notice you were there” like. Jockeying for the last bunch of spinach. I think you could make some money buying up all the spinach and basil and then setting up your own stand and selling it at a 100% markup.

Our own garden is very neglected. Makes me appreciate the value of drought-tolerant plants — there are some lovely flowers in the front garden (which is totally on autopilot from all the gardeners who came before us) in spite of the neglect and the dry weather. This photo is for my mom, of the hens and chicks we bought the spring before last, which has recently experienced this fascinating growth spurt.

I’m having a work-at-home weekend, here, so I must get back to it. We are getting excited for the next in our series of July guests. It’s a lovely summer, but busy, so excuse me if you don’t hear from me again for a while. I’ll be on my bike.