It continues to be a very wet spring here on the West Coast. Temperatures are rising a bit though so in between the rain we’ve also had some nice-ish days and things are beginning to grow in the garden.
Even my compost seems a little more beautiful these days:
Pearl had her last pro-d day of the school year and the day was sunny so we took advantage and had what the girls referred to as a Ladies Date. We spent the whole day in Roberts Creek. We played on the playground, got ice cream, visited the shops, browsed farm stands, and played at the beach. I didn’t take a single picture and it was kind of nice to put my phone away and just enjoy the time with my girls.
The first backyard popsicles of the year!
It’s been a hard week to follow the news. And even though I live in a country where I do feel safe to send my kids to school, I felt that squeeze of fear as I dropped my firstborn off at the building on Wednesday morning. Americans, I am enraged for you. I am enraged that your leaders care more for power than they do for the lives of your children. I am enraged that there are people citing the name of Jesus Christ and the importance of life, who honour guns over these lost lives. I am so angry at having watched this over and over again throughout my adult life. I know there are people saying that if Sandy Hook didn’t change anything, this will never change; I’ve said so myself. But I really, really want to be proven wrong. There are moments for silence but this is not one of them.
I hope you are all taking care of yourselves. I hope there is some sunshine in your days this week.
Karissa Reads Books 
Agreed. Americans need to make this the top priority when they vote, and only vote for candidates who support gun control. But they won’t – they never do.
It’s like watching the house next door burn down but when you try and warn your neighbours they insist the flames are keeping them warm.
Such a good analogy. It is difficult to watch and feel so powerless from the other side of the pond – it must be even harder when it’s your next-door neighbour.
Our federal government is trying to introduce some new gun controls right now and apparently one of Canada’s gun issues is weapons that are smuggled in across the US border. So as long as the US refuses to change, that will likely continue to be an issue for us too.
I browse Reddit daily to see a variety of news and humor and educational stuff, and lately, I keep seeing this same question asked by people who do not live in America: do Americans really all have guns or love guns or something of that nature. Yes, yes they do. I think the hunting folks get caught up in talks about gun restriction because they feel their hunting rifles are in danger. And to be honest, we need hunting, especially in places like Michigan where the deer population notoriously gets huge, spreads diseases, and increases automobile accidents. But that’s not what we’re really talking about. Why are military weapons for sale at all. I’ve seen a number of veterans say they are all for gun control because they know what military weapons are like. They are pro-gun AND pro-gun control. I will say this: I have stood in line at a gas station, staring at the back of the person in front of me, because he had a hand gun shoved into the waistband of his jeans. My grandmother carries a handgun in a purse specifically designed to hold a handgun. And that experience can be pretty normal. And I hate it.
I think it’s really hard for those of us outside the US to understand. Gun culture is so foreign to me. The only guns I’ve seen in person have been on police officers and I’ve only once in my life seen one removed from its holster. Living in a more rural area now, I know people who hunt and therefore have guns and I see the purpose in that. But of course no one is hunting deer with an AR-15. Peter and I have discussed having a gun for backcountry camping but neither of us ever want one in our house. In Canada the rules around storing and transporting guns are very strict and, I believe, there are limits on the magazines allowed so as to limit how many shots can be fired at a time before you have to reload. Those seem like reasonable restrictions to me, not to mention all the checks and tests you have to go through here to get a gun license. So hearing about a state like Texas where an 18 year old can show up and purchase a weapon designed only to kill large amounts of people at once is hard to wrap my mind around.
Oh! I remember you mentioning Peter wanting a gun for camping just because there are some scary animals around.
Yes, he encountered a cougar last summer while camping with the girls. That’s really the only reason I could imagine having a gun in my own life.
I saw a video on Reddit of a guy hiking who encountered a cougar. He started recording what happened. (At first I wondered why people do this, but then I realized such videos are also educational about what to do/what can happen). That cat followed him for a solid 5 minutes. Every so often she would charge then stop. I believe in the beginning we can see a baby cougar, so that’s likely what happened.
I’ve heard a cougar twice but never seen one and apparently that’s not unusual. They will be aware of you long before you know they’re there.