I have about 10 uncompleted blogs sitting, obviously ones that I didn't feel the usual rant for, so they will just wait. One day, whatever they were about will hit me again, and I will get back to them in full force.
This time I have decided I must try and tell you why Hydro has become such a thorn in my side, and why I am continually spitting venom about them.
See, last night I wasn't feeling too chipper. The heat at work must have got to me, and I hit the hay without supper, just dead tired. We have been having thunder storms for days. I love them, and will sit out and enjoy the light show, and even the torrential down pours, rain is a blessing....But, again, along with the flashing and booming, comes the oppressive heat, and this old bag does not enjoy extremes.
I slept and sweated, and about 11 PM, I must have needed to replenish my fluids, so up I get. The first thing I do is look out the window, just to try and figure out if it is morning or night. OMG...the incredible picture out my window was one that should be on inspirational cards. The moon was almost full, and shining on the slow flowing Peace river which is my treasure, and reason for staying in this town. It is my backyard!! I am so very lucky to have this as my very own...What I saw, as I gazed out the window was nothing less than jaw dropping. The moon lit up the water which shimmered. There was a low layer of fog sitting just above the water. This scene is something I have enjoyed for almost 8 years, yet, it never gets old. It is what I call a religious experience. One that makes a person forget the pressures of life, and realize peace and beauty are possible, and if you are as lucky as me,available right outside your bedroom window.
I remember the first time I viewed my backyard with the fog above the river. I sat on the steps and watched it lift. How very beautiful, and relaxing. It allowed me to be in the moment. Because it is such a huge thing, and it is... Those who have seen the Grand Canyon will understand, those who have seen Mount Everest, and an erupting Volcano, and a massive Glacier, will understand, the reason I say huge. It is bigger than your worries and pains, it is a gift of nature. This gift is something that is my treasure. It is what I can go to, when life is weighing heavy.
I, apparently have always needed this gift of nature. When I was a teenager, I had an on-off road motorcycle. I would ride my bike to the edge of town, where the mountains started right along the river, and met the ocean, there I would park and sit, sucking in the silence and extreme beauty. Just a 1/2 hour there, would allow the problems I was dealing with to fade. They would stay, but, they would be so much smaller, because I had spent my time with greatness.
I miss my mountains. In my world, they truly are the epitome of Huge, however, life brought me here, to a place where mountains are not close. For the first year, I could not find the beauty of the Peace, everyone spoke of. Oh, it was there, but nothing compared to my mountains. I was lost, I could not find that place that allowed me to see greatness and to make my personal problems shrink.
This changed the moment we bought our home. There it was, right out the back door, the massive, intense Huge Peace River. Each moment of that river is amazing. There is the mist on early mornings, behind the hills. The loons crying to each other, the geese honking as they land and take off. The Eagles, American and Golden, fishing and catching the wind drafts. The little white caps on a windy day, mesmerizing a person, and allowing them to enter that moment in time, and forget all the rest of the world. Watching the deer swim from one side to the other, stopping on the little island for a rest. Watching the tree across, change with the seasons. My backyard is my home. The house is just a place to cook and clean, and sleep. It is simply what came with the view. I would be just as happy to have my travel trailer parked under the big tree, and live in that. What I have managed to acquire is a place of greatness, one I do not have to travel to. A tiny piece of the mighty Peace River belongs to me!!
The rest of the Peace apparently belong to B.C. Hydro! Already they turn it up and down. I can wake up and the island below me is large, the trees are no longer at the edge of the island, it will have a big gravel area reaching to the edge of the river. I can look out a few hours later, and they have turned the river up, the trees are surrounded by water. A person can see the water coming, signs are placed out in the middle of nowhere, warning folks that sudden rises in water level can happen.
Because I am new to the area, I cannot remember the Peace before the two dams. I cannot remember the land lost to others. I can, however, commiserate with some of what they felt. The gem of Hydro's alphabet Dam's (A, B, C,) destroyed far more than what I am faced with Site C. The massive footprint those 2 previous beauties made, is beyond comprehension. Oh, we were left with the largest man-made lake in B.C. (in fact THE largest lake, period) and the 7th largest reservoir in the world! The left over land is handicapped. The banks of this lake slough steady. I know folks who had to sell their property to Hydro, after purchasing it decades after the Dam was running, when weather and other conditions caused acres to fall into the lake. It doesn't take a scientist to clue in, Hydro did not study the effects of Williston Lake too far into the future.The displacement of communities, and farms, and families was enormous in the construction of WAC Bennett Dam. The effect of this Dam and the "Lake" continue, drastically, year after year, and Hydro simply shrugs their shoulders, offers some pittance to shut the landowners up, folks who really have no other choice but to accept the offers, or live in danger. Can't sell your problems to other citizens, that's illegal, so Hydro is your only option, and they know it.
When this new Dam was added to the alphabet back when the Wacky Bennett and the Peace Canyon Dam were constructed, it became blatantly obvious to the folks back in the 60's to build the third was not possible. The environmental challenges and risks were far too great. It was shelved for a myriad of reasons. Suddenly, someone decides to haul it back off the shelf. Nothing has changed, the risks are still as great, but apparently, according to our present Government and Hydro, we will overlook what those in 1964 recognized as insurmountable, and fix it so that Hydro does not have to even consider any of the steps every other company attempting to do business that effects nature, must go through. They fast tracked it, cancelling the Utility Commission. and various other government safety guards, just rubber stamp it, because the people of British Columbia don't need to know all the nasty facts. They just need to be told by Christy Clark, we will all be in the dark, if it is not built.
I know folks living beyond the Peace, have their own little "Greatness" maybe it is the shopping Malls, or the fancy new buildings, or the museums. Small town does not have this. Small towns have their own natural Greatness, gifts that must be cared for, gifts that man did not make, and gifts that will remain if treasured.
I will rant, and spew about Hydro, because they see this new letter of the alphabet, as the way to employ more, to ensure they increase rates, to call out every single Union worker in Vancouver, so they can make their fortune, and then leave. They willfully haul truck loads of our money to pay for "studies" and lawyers, and yes men. They spin boldfaced lies, to the public, and have a professional teaching them how to answer, without saying anything.
Truth is, they are working very hard to take my greatness away from me, and I am not going to sit back and let them destroy something as Great and as Huge, as the Mighty Peace River, that happens to be my backyard!
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