This and That, Woods and Shore

 

Our current high pressure ridge brings day after day of blue skies and warm sunshine. I know it won't last long and I'm enjoying it immensely while I can. Trees are leafing out at a tremendous rate - that bright acid green that is so beautiful in springtime. 

On a recent hike around Matheson Lake my eldest daughter slowed on a certain part of the trail saying that in previous years she had seen Fairyslippers (also known as Venus' Slippers) (calypso bulbosa) growing along the mossy bank. We were rewarded by finding several of these showy little flowers, along with other wildflowers, including a Western Trillium.

 Perhaps most magnificent were the woodland clearings carpeted with Fawn Lilies. How beautiful they are. 

We noticed this bird on our walk on Sunday by the shore and commented on its manic behaviour. It moved so quickly and jerkily that it was difficult to photograph. When I got home and looked in my bird book I read, "This fairly large shorebird often runs frantically in many directions while pursuing small prey." Yes, we thought, that describes it to a "t", so we're almost sure that it's a Greater Yellowlegs. 

Another group of smaller shorebirds, Long-billed Dowitchers, we think, were much less frantic, but bobbed their heads up and down as they fed. The trusty bird book called this a "sewing-machine" motion, again, very apt.

(note: I'm no bird expert and am always open to suggestions and corrections if I'm wrong.)

A little rowboat made a pretty picture with the water rippling around it.

Ikea Canada has published an e-book called Scrapsbook. It contains ideas for using bits and pieces of leftover food scraps in innovative ways. You can download the book for free and it's interesting to read. Many of the ideas are things I already do, but I was intrigued by a couple of recipes. One is seen above, with leftover meat, vegetables, and herbs/stems rolled into a thin phyllo pastry roll which is then coiled and baked. They were fun to make, and very tasty. I used some ground turkey patties, butternut squash, spinach stems, onion, and a variety of herbs in mine. 

My recent reading stack. The 13 Clocks is a fanciful tale, a spoof on a fairytale and very easy to read. After beginning The Girl From the Channel Islands I debated stopping because I wasn't taken by the author's writing style. However, I'm glad I kept on for the story picked up and became very compelling. It's based on true events during WWII. Who Speaks for the Damned was an excellent mystery and I will be looking for more C. S. Harris books. A Deception at Thornecrest is another Amory Ames mystery, very lighthearted and fun to read. The last book in the stack, The Other Bennet Sister, has not yet been opened. 

Since our weather is so wonderful I'll be spending the day in the garden. A little bit of weeding, some transplanting and clipping, and possibly seeding a few more vegetables. Enjoy your day!

Wind Warning

On Friday morning the tops of the trees near us began tossing their heads to and fro. A trip to the water seemed like a good idea. Across the strait clouds and mist swirled around the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula. 

At Clover Point waves splintered against the rocks with satisfying crashes then trickled back into the sea. The restless water surged this way, then that, never ceasing.

Great flocks of gulls wheeled overhead, or faced into the wind and barely moved, held aloft by the forces of air. Their thin screams were whisked into nothingness by the gusts.

The fluidity of flight - wings curving and tail feathers fanned. The wind tangled my hair and blew sea mist onto my face. Oh, but it was exhilarating. Autumn's wildness is catching - I longed to lift off and catch the wind like the gulls.

Linking to Mosaic Monday hosted by Judith of Lavender Cottage.

Trying Something New

Tim and I have talked about renting kayaks for several years. We've canoed and boated, but never kayaked. Until Sunday afternoon. The sunshine beguiled, the calendar free and off we went to Brentwood Bay.
 

Tim was in a snazzy Black Spartan and I in a cool blue Wave Sport. We might look like we know what we are doing, but really, it was an experiment with lots of giggles. 

One sits very close to the water in a kayak. Birds seemed less wary as we approached them slowly and we were able to get quite close. We paddled our way into Tod Inlet where hundreds and hundreds of moon jellyfish floated in layers beneath the surface of the water.
 

Warm sunshine poured down on this last day of full summer. That night clouds rolled in and the rains began. Trees are beginning to change color.

After paddling for two hours I thought my arms and shoulders would be sore, but they were not. Better yet, my back felt loose and wonderful. This is no small thing. There will definitely be more kayaking in our future.

I'm doing something new this evening, too, and will hopefully share that tomorrow or Thursday. What's the last new thing you tried?

Gifts from the Sea

Head down I walk along the beach, looking for bits of sea glass. Opaque bits of white, green, turquoise, brown and blue lie in the sand, tossed ashore on the ocean's whim. They have tumbled over and over in the water, colliding with rocks, with sand, with debris, until their once sharp edges are worn into smooth loveliness.  I pick them up and put them in my pocket. Small white stones find their way into my pockets until the fabric sags with the weight. They, too, have been shaped by the force of the sea. 

I am not the first to draw parallels between the experience of life and the sea. I know that, by God's grace, my rough edges are being worn down like the sea and sand polished flotsam.

Linking to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Judith of Lavender Cottage Gardening.

Sidney by the Sea

Sunshine warming my back. Eyes squinting into the light. Brilliant water. Spring. Ducks swimming, gulls wheeling and calling. Children running. Flowers opening to the warmth. Lightness in the air. Sailboats dancing. Impossibly blue sky. 

An errand took me to Sidney by the Sea this afternoon. Sea glass beckoned and I filled my pocket with white shards worn smooth by the waves. It was all so lovely.

Thank you for all your comments on my previous post. Further to some of the comments - I don't remember who said what, and I'm not going back to check. Casting blame on anyone was never my intent. Thumper, of Disney's Bambi movie, was told by his mother, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." That's particularly true of blogging, I think, where facial and tonal expressions are missing from the conversation.

Bogeymom/Carrie - I have no way to contact you. If you read this post, thank you for your kind comments - they are always welcome. 

Is spring coming your way? Today's loveliness lifted my spirits immensely.

Ocean Views and Gulls

 This was my view when I opened my eyes this morning. We took a couple of days of vacation up in Parksville. Our room overlooks the water and we slept with the curtains open so that we could wake up to this view. 

Later in the morning, a walk along the breakwater at French Creek yielded this harmony of water, land and sky. The rocks on the right are covered with gulls. I've never seen so many of them together. A huge flock of gulls, maybe several flocks.
 

More gulls, wheeling and screaming in the air. There was also a great fluttering and splashing as the gulls bathed. This was a new sight to me, too. Oodles of gulls in the water, flapping their wings to bring the water over their backs, ducking down, squawking all the while. Then they lifted off the water and their white wings glinted in the muted light, bright against the somber forest.

Home again tomorrow.

Summer's Siren Call

Summer's siren song called again this afternoon, prompting another excursion, this time to French Beach. Waves rushed upon the shore, splashing upwards, then receding in long sighs. 
 

A small fishing boat pulled up crab traps (we think) as the sun lowered. A long line of distant fog obscured the far shore, leaving the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula groundless, floating on the water.
 

September's here and I wonder how many more such afternoons we will have before dull skies and rain take over. This month bridges summer and fall with warm sunlight and cooling breezes. The garden still blooms, but things are beginning to look tired. Soon it will be time to draw indoors and pull the coziness of autumn around. Change is in the wind. Do you feel it?

An Impromptu Picnic

It was one of those Sunday afternoons when it seemed like summer would linger forever, the golden sunshine pouring down on rocks, sand, and sea.
 

The blue of the ocean melded into the blue sky with only a thin line of blue mountains between. Sere grass golden against swirled cloud blue. A good day for a picnic with a view.
 

Wind-patterned water smooth, then dimpled with big boats, little boats and medium-sized boats going here and there, to and fro, barely visible in all the great blueness.
 

Fort Rodd Hill - a national park of Canada right here in our city. Summer day, summer day. Achingly beautiful summer day.

Water: A Personal Photo Challenge

rushing waters of the Robson River below Mount Robson which runs to the Fraser River and the Pacific Ocean

Donna, at A Personal Photo Challenge, is a wonderful photographer (whose photos can be seen at her personal blog Cottage Days and Journeys.) Once a month, she offers a challenge to photographers or want-to-be photographers like me to hone our skills. She puts up links and suggestions for great photos. 

This month the challenge was water. I wish I had read the links before I went on my trip to the Rockies. I know some things I would have done differently. 

All of these photos were taken with my Nikon Coolpix, without a tripod. For editing, I added in a tiny bit of shadow to highlight the contrasts which are hard to capture on sunny days.

 

calm Lake Agnes, above Lake Louise

 I crouched low to take this photo, trying to capture the expanse of calm water below the glacier.

a boulder and tree strewn glacier fed stream on a cloudy day - the stream feeds Lake Louise

The roar of this stream filled our ears as we hiked along the trail to the Plain of Six Glaciers above Lake Louise. I can only imagine what it must be like during the spring melt.

sparkling ocean waters off Vancouver Island

I'm always amazed at the different looks water offers. From ocean to mountain streams to glacier fed lakes water takes on so many characteristics.

Linking to A Personal Photo Challenge hosted by Donna. 

A Few Days Difference

Our few days in Mexico were not very warm. Grey skies, mist that turned to rain, and chilly winds marked our time there. The ocean was grey as well, but still beautiful in monochromatic tones. These photos are all untouched. 


 

Fortunately, weather systems can move quickly, and now, just 100 miles or so up the coast, we're in California and the sun is shining. It's still chilly, but the weather forecast is for increasing heat. Hooray!

 

Sea lions at La Jolla Cove nestled together - I love this photo. Tenderness in nature.

Our days are spent walking, reading, walking, eating, and walking, with a lot of relaxation thrown in as well. 

Hope your days are filled with good things. 

Just a housekeeping note: I'm appalled by all the spam comments that are getting through to being published, so I've disabled anonymous comments for now. I keep watching to see if that clears things up. I know other bloggers have had spam problems lately, too. If you can't comment on the blog, you can always email me through my profile. 

Along the Songhees Walkway

One of the prettiest walks in our town is along the Inner Harbour. Once the traditional grounds of the Songhees Nation, the route winds along the shoreline, offering glimpses of ocean, mountains and city. 
 

We started our walk around 4 pm, and on this November day, the sunset glowed in the sky, illuminating water and land.
 

I was struck by the architectural elements of this tree etched against the skyline. Stark beauty softened by the brush along the base of the photo and the foliage at the top of the branches.
 

We watched three float planes land, likely eager to find safe shelter before dark fell.  A light haze wrapped the Olympic Mountains on the Olympic Peninsula.
 

Looking back towards town, the Empress Hotel is seen on the left of the photo, and a variety of hotels elsewhere. Ducks and gulls paddled serenely on the water, unperturbed by the to and fro of boats and planes.

The Coho ferry exited the harbour for a calm but chilly crossing of the strait to Port Angeles.  

 By the time we turned to walk back to the car, the sun had fully set and the lights from the city twinkled in the twilight. We were glad for our heavier jackets and gloves. Winter weather is setting in.

I'm hoping to link to Mosaic Monday, hosted by Mary of the Little Red House. That depends on whether or not she has power yet. I certainly hope so. It's been a long stretch for many people devastated by Hurricane Sandy followed by a second storm.

Another Walk on the Beach

"The beach is not a place to work: to read, to write or to think."

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Gift From the Sea

Saturday saw us drive up island, to our home there, to take down a willow tree. The tree is beautiful, but too close to the house, and there is danger of the roots infiltrating the drainage system and causing troubles. So down it came.The yard looks starkly bare now.

Little Miss S is two months old tomorrow, and this was her first road trip. Her mother and I observed her father and grandfather work hard in the hot sun. Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with a walk on my favourite beach. 

Wide stretches of smooth sand alternate with barnacled rocky patches. The tide rushes in over sun-heated sand and we wade in the warm water. We're together, but each of us apart. The harmony of sea, sand and sun speaks to the individual. Cares fall distant as the white-fringed waves undulate along the shore.

Just an hour or so at the beach had all four of us (Little Miss S slept through it all) sighing with contentment as we got in the car to return home. I'm positive that if doctors prescribed such beach jaunts to be taken regularly, the need for high blood pressure medication would decrease. The seaside is a place to simply be.

Linking with Mary of the Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

Card Party - Ocean Views

For Vee's Card Party, I've chosen Ocean Views. These photos were taken and posted last summer.

In July we spent a week on remote Sonora Island visiting Tim's nephew and his wife. Stunning, unspoiled wilderness. Above, the photo shows the labyrinth of islands from a mountain viewpoint.

 We have plenty of weather variations here on the west coast of Canada. Clouds hang heavy against the forests, greying the landscape. I thought it interesting that a number of comments on my post Sunday thought that I had created a black and white mosaic. No - they were taken in colour and not altered. Clouds and misty rain dull everything.

On summer evenings in Parksville we frequently wandered down to the French Creek Marina. White boats huddled at their slips, masts rising tall into the fading light.

My parents came for a visit and we strolled through the beautiful Milner Gardens, and took the time to sit on this bench and enjoy the view framed by majestic trees. 

Check out all the wonderful card party selections by clicking on the links at Vee's.