Walkie Talkie

Not long ago, Vancouver’s alternative weekly newspaper, the Georgia Straight, posed a question that (for once) was not about real estate or housing: “Crows, yay or nay?” Two columnists drew swords. “See, we’re not alone!” said my wife.

As I sat on our sunny porch to review Bill Arnott’s A Perfect Day for a Walk, a couple of the black bastards alighted on the railing and started their grating caw-caw-caw. No, I am not a crow person. But I suspect that Arnott is, since the birds squawk, preen, and flutter throughout his perambulations around and across Vancouver’s downtown and affluent West Side. His introduction’s first sentence sets the tone: “The crows are in flight, reminders of omens and overcast skies.”

Vancouver’s gloomy weather seldom deters determined walkers, though to me, the perfect walk is best taken when brisk westerly winds banish clouds to the Fraser Valley — when the city, mountains, and sea appear freshly uncrated...