The weekly newspaper reported that BC home assessments on the coast have risen by 25% this year. The news also said that over 200 million dollars from new construction in the area will also be added to the coffers.

I know new construction is happening here. But I admit, I had no idea to the extent. Houses go on the market and they sell in weeks, sometimes in days, on the coast. And, every time I go walking, I see blackberry patches being dug up, and trees knokced down, as new neighbourhoods are created.

I know the coast is changing, but honestly, until yesterday I’d only given it a passing thought. We are still small town folk after all.

But, you can bet I thought more about it all when our home assessment went up almost $200,000.

It hit me in the face yesterday when I ventured a walk in the woods.

I don’t walk in the woods much in the summer, but,I thought it was cold enough, and winter enough, for the bears to be hibernating. So, I tried one of my favourite paths, that goes from town to home, most all of it, in the woods.

Ken dropped me off at the usual place. The first thing we saw as he dropped me was a sign that said,

I told him I was willing to risk it, I crawled up an embankment, and then said, I’d see him in an hour.

It wasn’t long before I was lost. Not really lost, I knew (in general) where I was, but the trail was no where to be seen. It wasn’t long before I was bushwhacking.

Forest monsters had been in the area. They dug up most of the trees. The trail was no where to be found. I scrambled towards where it used to be, but a pile of slash was too big for me to climb over. I tried several different directions before I finally I saw this.

Thirty minutes into the walk, I found my bearings.

Now, my worry for the bears is a totally different one.

But, hey… think of all that added tax money in the city coffers.