sleuthing through finn slough...

A few minutes south from the glitzy hustle-bustle of Richmond central flows a murky narrow slough off the Fraser River into a falling-down rustic clump of a fishing village more than a century old...
A few kilometers from the end of the towering concrete pylons of the Canada line skytrain is sited a marshy block of patchwork cabins and rusting boats that is a world and a half away from the big box chains, the asian megamalls, the multi-glut of restaurants, and the monstrous maxi-mansions...

But here, on a sun-drenched late summer's day, the micro community of Finn Slough chills to the ebb and flow of the tide, the soft whirring of swallow wings, the gentle swishing of boats tied up, the creaking of worn boardwalks across muddy stretches...

Here, too, the wary inhabitants tolerate dog walkers, excursion cyclists, curious history buffs, enthusiastic sketching artists, over-excited photographers tired of urban scenes, the odd blackberry picker, and first-time sleuths from the sympathetic republic of East Van...

And here, this picturesque mucky strip of a historical Finnish settlement is now threatened by encroaching development and the "raze the rotting pile" mentality of short-sighted, quick-buck, bottom-line feeders with complete disregard of history or ecology or conservation, and obviously a most insensitive lack of appreciation for its rusticated nordic-riverine splendour...

This Dyke Road flopdollhouse comes complete with a dirty mattress on the floor, miniature bottles and syringes strewn about, streaky walls, an unused bird's nest in a corner and billowing lace curtains...and also, a proud canadian flag tucked above the front door...

Finn Slough along Dyke Road at the south end of No. 4 Road, Richmond