Working Hard to Safeguard Paddling Assets for All Canadians

All about Whitewater

All about Whitewater
A Blog about River Preservation and the need to protect our free flowing whitewater resources

Saturday, August 11, 2018

The Susanator - poetry about susan

First Steps



The curtain's closed on our first act

the page has turned,the score has changed

and on our route the benchmarks point

away from things that caused us pain



Awake each day to new beginnings

turn away from used to be's

Focus on the time that's left us

Happier now with what we see



Together for the time remaining

sharing life as day by day

our love filled hearts are more sustaining

with lives now lived no other way



Lifetimes spent to find the other

And mountains climbed to reach their side

with vistas reaching there before us

We always knew that we'd arrive



New journies will be done together

miles to go, we'll walk in grace

that holds us safe from troubled waters

our meaning found in our embrace



kayaky







The Susanator



Where in the world 

did she come from?

sheltered from the world

kept in recluse

suddenly she was among us

The Susanator, lean and graceful

extra extra small with big while teeth

and the smile to match



The Susanator is nimble

front flipping on her trampoline

with so much ease

early to rise, and early to bed

and much too good in your bed 

when she's there

a whirlwind in the kitchen

like the Tasmanian devil

whipping up banana bread

so you can see how easy it is



The Susanator sweeps into a room

and the eyeballs start to roll

or pop depending on the gender

Shes too thin, too happy

too smart, too atheletic

too good a mother, too efficient

just too damned good to be true



The Susanator will affect 

everything she sees with her

well presented heads up screen

she'll choose...

"have a great day" or 

"hellooooooo" and smile



And in the drive through, 

rolling her stops 

to the beat of a differnt bongo

music pumping too loud and too hip

too much, too much, too much



SO Who will love the Susanator?

who can keep up with her?

and her sweaty workout highs

and her500 calorie runs

lessor mortals fear to tread

for perfection is never sweet

only bitter

Since it can rarely be so well

attained



You can't beat the Susanator

at her own game

you can only play your own 

and hope she'll come along

and if she does..

you'll be a happy man





kayaky

Jealousy



The wild heart cries out like a lone wolf

howling at the moon of an ancient sky

feelings rise from their shallow graves 

haunting smug veneer and inner peace

disturbing now what was sheltered then

in empty caves - with groceries delivered

never safe from rivals or unfaithfulness

we're born vigilant and a stones throw away



The mind reels at what was old and is new again

an inexplicable flush of green envy

from deep hearts well - in an oasis from flatness

anxious concerns about losing something real

never happy alone - never free from need

bathed in fear and trepidation

it thinks, it ponders, it rationalizes until

there is relief in balance, if nothing else

as life goes on



If that shone like a beacon, clear to all

free from apprehensive darkness, 

unencumbered by dangerous hidden meanings 

warped thoughts would straighten in natural light

and comfort us by the kind deeds it revealed

so modern animals - humans

soothed by the day's touch and warmth

would be left undistracted 

by the possibilities or probabilities

or awareness of irresistable forces 

and immovable objects

found in deep memories of ancient skies

and be left, once again happy, in love



kayaky





Knots



Impure thoughts, may sweep in and take us

Far far away, from our goals

And our dreams, take lessor status

letting passions grow more cold



But we're not living lives in endless little circles

and we aren't going to be stopped by such bonds of little purpose

Just take a deep breath and let go

Its not the doubts that hold us but ourselves you know



Gordian knots are how we make them

that tie us up and tie us down

And so it seems that we can't break them

giving up, too easily



But we're not going to live our lives in quiet desperation

Weíll pick ourselves right up off the ground and look for inspiration

Take first steps and then go

Until we do, weíll never know



Knots are tied but we can shake them

Silver cords canít hold us down

And those doubts wonít overtake us

Because our love has grown too strong



The future in store for us will be a thing of beauty

Each morning that we wake up will remind us of our duty

To live life to its fullest, and give love to each other

And thatís what bonds us together, away from knots that bind

Or Limits set by tethers



kayaky







Time Traveling



time travels back and forth

messing with our minds

but no one knows 

the time or place

only remembered moments

powerful when recalled 

cause us to wince

and relive flashes of reality

what was seen

what was felt

existing now as we existed then

may die when we die

or like leather clad

books on a musty shelf

cling to the knowledge 

without its power, 

preserving a memory 

without consequence

free from guilt



kayaky



Between Us 



Things between us cannot be seen, nor can they be heard 



No dangerous words too hot in frigid lands 



like gental touching - skin on skin by urgent longing hands 



Or voices that beseech us in a dimly lit recess 



encouraging our lips and tongue to places never guessed 



Things between us cannot be seen or heard 



unseen - the redness, unfelt the wetness 



of swollen parts that ache and crave their desperate release 



unheard gasping bodies lying blissful once they're spent 



Unread minds, not of this world - ecstatic, heaven sent 



those things that come are between us, unknown 



and too powerful for mated souls 



unknown musk beneath a moon soaked in sultry sounding jazz 



unspeakable candlelit moments which dare to be cried out 



As they are between us and no one else 



Stripped of daily burdens - painful memories are obscured 



by love and lust imagined - then unknown, by us procured 



kayaky  


When the lights go down

 

Close your eyes my love

when the lights go down

see only what you can remember

Bright like the desert sand 

see me 'cause I can see 

only you

 

Hold me tight my love

when the lights go down

feel your heart and you will remember

wonderful days

Holding me, like I'm holding you

in love forever

 

 

Kiss me my love

when the lights go down

with love like no other remembered

just wonderful ways

spent loving each day

of our lives in love together

kayaky


Gatineau Love
 
Between us the past - 
warmed back to back in the fireside light
sharing a mat on our lac phillip night
We shivered and smiled with Coq au Vin wafting
while warming our souls with cool red wine
each crackle and cackle cemented the moment 
to the icey crisps underfoot
with steady conspicuously knowing smiles 
we watched the moonshadows stretch over eerie snow
'twas no better place nor time for yet one more story 
which began in Gatineau's glory 
with skiis, and snowshoe delights
just two friends finding friends 
and a partner for life
 kayaky*********Have a Nice Day**********

No comments:

Canadian Rivers

Canadian Rivers
I speak for river users too!

The Queen is not amused!

The Queen is not amused!
http://www.ispeakforcanadianrivers.ca/

The Damned Dam - 2005 -

The Damned Dam - 2005 -
22nd Annual Kipaw Rally has modest turnout. - 23rd does better

The Ashlu river: it could happen to you

The Ashlu river: it could happen to you

Whitewater Ontario

Whitewater Ontario
Working Hard to Protect Canada's Paddling Resources

Whitewater Ontario - Mission Statement

It is Whitewater Ontario’s mission to support the whitewater paddling community through the promotion, development and growth of the sport in its various disciplines. We accomplish this through the development of events, resources, clubs, and programs for personal and athletic development, regardless of skill level or focus, to ensure a high standard of safety and competency; We advocate safe and environmentally responsible access and use of Ontario’s rivers. Whitewater Ontario is the sport governing body in the province, and represents provincial interests within the national body Whitewater Canada and the Canadian Canoe Association http://www.whitewaterontario.ca/page/mission.asp

Kipawa, Tabaret, and Opemican

Kipawa, Tabaret, and Opemican
If Hydro Quebec is not actively pursuing Tabaret what is that bite out of Opemican for?

Kipawa Dam: After

Kipawa Dam: After
Laniel Dam at 2006 Rally

Where is the Kipawa

Where is the Kipawa
Kipawa flows into lake Temiskamingue, running from Kipawa Lake, under hwy 101 in Quebec

Kipawa Dam

Kipawa Dam
laniel dam at 2004 River Rally

Tabaret is a Bad Idea

About the Kipawa



The best thing paddlers can do to help the cause of the Kipawa:

1. attend the rally and bring others including non paddlers to attend and buy beer and have fun

2. write your MP /MNA and raise the issue and post your objections -1 letter = 200 who didn't write

3. Write Thierry Vandal the CEO of Hydro Quebec strongly opposing the 132 MW standard decrying the use of "diversion" as the most environmentally inappropriate method of power production

4. Write Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec protesting that either the algonquin or the tabaret project will eliminate all other values on the Kipawa River by turning it into a dry gulch.

5. See if you can get other allied groups interested by showing your own interest, ie the Sierra Defense Fund, Earthwild, MEC, and so on.

6. Demand further consultation

7. Currently we are at the point where we need to sway public opinion and raise awareness.

However, if all else fails, don't get mad, simply disrupt, foment, and protest . The Monkey Wrench Gang.

Have you read Edward Abbey?

Important Addresses
CEO,Hydro Québec, 75 boul René Levesque, Montreal, P.Q., H2Z 1A4Caille.andre@hydro.qc.ca



Tabaret is a Bad Idea (Part Two)

Les Amis de la Riviere Kipawa is poised to use an application to the Federal Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus to ensure the Minster does what he is supposed to do, protect the public's right to navigate the water control structure at Laniel, Quebec using the Navigable Waters Protection Act. (see http://www.kipawariver.ca/)

In the now gutted Navigable Waters Protection Act lay the means by which the Minister of Transport could keep the public right of passage down our great Canadian Heritage, our rivers and streams which are threatened especially by resource corporations and power brokers such as Hydro Quebec.

These powerful entities continue to petition that 'this' river or 'that' stream is not navigable and therefore not protectable.
I don't say that dams and bridges should not be built, only that if they are, historical navigation rights should be considered and preserved by making reasonable accommodations for recreational boaters.

It is the Minister of Transport, in exercising the right to allow or disallow work on or over a navigable waterway is what keeps boats and recreational boaters plying our waterways.

To many recent cases launched in the Federal Court concerning the Navigable Waters Protection Act, most recently the case of the Humber Environment Group of Cornerbrook Newfoundland versus the Cornerbrook Pulp and Paper Company indicates that the important oversight is not being faithfully performed. Have we really come to the point now where we must say "such and such a stream is one foot deep, possessing so many cubic feet per second flow and so on?" The answer to this is... YES!

The honourable Mr. Justice John A. O'Keefe, ruled that it had not been shown that the river was navigable. How convenient was that to the Minister? But either the Minister of Transport acts to protect our rivers and streams as a public right or he does not and that means rivers and streams currently enjoyed by kayakers and canoists.

Enough of the cheating, and double-talk. Canadians! our rivers and streams are our own, lets urge the Minister of Transport and the our government to protect them.

Peter Karwacki

Tabaret is a Bad Idea (Part Three)

10 Reasons WhyTabaret is a Bad Idea1) Tabaret is too big. The station is designed to useevery drop of water available in the Kipawawatershed, but will run at only 44 percent capacity.We believe the Tabaret station is designed to usewater diverted from the Dumoine River into theKipawa watershed in the future. 2) The Tabaret project will eliminate the aquaticecosystem of the Kipawa River.The Tabaret project plan involves the diversion of a16-km section of the Kipawa River from its naturalstreambed into a new man-made outflow from LakeKipawa. 3) Tabaret will leave a large industrial footprint on thelandscape that will impact existing tourismoperations and eliminate future tourism potential. 4) The Tabaret project is an aggressive single-purposedevelopment, designed to maximize powergeneration at the expense of all other uses. 5) River-diversion, such as the Tabaret project, takinglarge amounts of water out of a river’s naturalstreambed and moving it to another place, is verydestructive to the natural environment. 6) The Kipawa River has been designated a protectedgreenspace in the region with severe limitations ondevelopment. This designation recognizes theecological, historical and natural heritage value ofthe river and the importance of protecting it.Tabaret will eliminate that value. 7) If necessary, there are other, smarter and morereasonable options for producing hydro power onthe Kipawa watershed. It is possible to build a lowimpactgenerating station on the Kipawa river, andmanage it as a “run-of-the-river” station, makinguse of natural flows while maintaining other values,with minimal impact on the environment. 8) The Kipawa watershed is a rich natural resource forthe Temiscaming Region, resonably close to largeurban areas, with huge untapped potential fortourism and recreation development in the future.Tabaret will severely reduce this potential. 9) Tabaret provides zero long-term economic benefitfor the region through employment. The plan is forthe station to be completely automated andremotely operated. 10) The Kipawa River is 12,000 years old. The riverwas here thousands of years before any peoplecame to the region. The Tabaret project will change all that.

Problems on a local River?

  • There is more to do as well but you have to do your research and above all, don't give up.
  • IN the meantime prepared a document itemizing the history of navigation of this spot and its recreational value. Use the Kipawa river history of navigation as a guide: see www.kipawariver.ca
  • Under the Ministry of Environment guidelines you have a set period of time to petition the change under the environmental bill of rights, you may have limited time to take this action. But it involves going to court for a judicial review of the decision.
  • 4. contact the ministry of natural resources officials and do the same thing.
  • 3. contact the ministry of the environment and determine if they approved the project
  • 2. determine if the dam was a legal dam, approved under the navigable waters protection act.
  • 1. research the decision and timing of it to determine if an environmental assessment was done.

Minden Ontario

Minden Ontario
Gull River Water control at Horseshoe lake

A History of Navigation on the Kipawa River

Prior to the environmental assessment there was no signage at the Laniel Dam

T-Shirts Area: These are available now!

T-Shirts Area: These are available now!
Send $25 and a stamped self addressed envelop for the Tshirt, and for the bumper sticker, a stamped and self addressed envelope with $5.00 for the bumper sticker to Les Amis de la rivière Kipawa, 80 Ontario St., Ottawa, Ontario, K1K 1K9 or click the link To purchase a Les Amis "T" contact Doug with the following information: Number of shirts:Sizes: Ship to Address: Method of Payment: cash, cheque and paypal, Shipto address:

Bumper Stickers Now Available

Bumper Stickers Now Available
Get your bumper sticker and show your support for the Kipawa Legal Fund ! - send $5.00 in a Stamped, self addressed envelope to: Peter Karwacki Box 39111, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 7X0