The Unlikely ADVENTURER THE FIRST INSTALMENT IN A FOUR-PART SERIES by Wendy Maurer
20 21 A YEAR FOR ADVENTURE! THAT IS MY INTENTION. WM
EVERY YEAR I start with a theme for the upcoming year. I never know exactly what that will look like. Last year was designated my year for skills development. I imagined that would mean an increase in my glass bead making skills and it started that way. I was fortunate in February to take courses in California from an admired German bead maker, Bea Stoertz. Then COVID hit and my desire to work at the torch went up in flames. Instead, my energy went into gardening. My skills certainly improved and I added straw bale gardening to my food production. I also took on some home improvement projects where I let go of my need for detailed advance planning and learned to ask contractors for suggestions as we went along – with great results. Now we come to 2021 and my big question is: what do I want from the coming year? I have had a very quiet year at home, enjoyed it, yet I am getting restless. At 69, diabetic and afraid of getting COVID, I haven’t been past my garden except to buy groceries. Fortunately, we have a fabulous view of the ocean, so my home world is actually quite large visually. Yet, my body tells me it’s time to move, time to get out and do something. Find new trails to walk, ride my e-bike somewhere that I am inspired to explore, maybe hunt for fossils, kayak, tube down a river, go ziplining again. It’s been ten years! So what if I am afraid of heights? Maybe I could go caving at Horne Lake, or heaven forbid maybe even snowshoeing (it’s getting up and down the mountain that is my biggest challenge). I don’t expect COVID-19 vaccines will eliminate the risk anytime soon, so that means day trips within reach of Oceanside or where we can camp nearby on Vancouver Island. I’m too nervous to do outdoor things on my own so my husband has to want to come along too. I had been wondering what to focus on for 2021 when during a conversation with a friend, the idea of Vancouver Island adventure took root. About a decade ago, I was an Unlikely Adventurer in the Alberni Valley and although it was sometimes a challenge to embrace all the opportunities for adventure there, I did it. I had fun, I discovered a lot about myself, and my husband of over 40 years totally shocked me with his joy and abandon while ziplining. It won’t be a hardship to focus our adventures on Vancouver Island this year. We have glorious spaces here and even though I was born on the Island, there is always something new to discover. I have been invited to share my year of being an Unlikely Adventurer (again) with you and I hope it amuses you, maybe inspires you to get outdoors and enjoy our island. One thing for sure that gets me out of my glass studio every February and March is rainbow season. You might know it as herring season, but it is so much more. I love this time 11 PASSIONS | WINTER 2021
