Winter 2019

Despite the mother of all storms just before Christmas that put most of Vancouver Island out of power, in many cases close to a week, there were blossoming trees in January. Then came February with a record setting snow dump and low temperatures. Living in a flat roofed floathouse I cleaned more than a foot of snow from it three times in less than a week. Blossoms are gone now that things are going back to some kind of normal, but this morning I saw big juicy buds on some trees.

At one point nobody could get in or out of the bay. All roads were closed of by fallen trees and powerlines. Hydro crews and clean up crews worked 24/7 during that December week right before Christmas. Many stores must’ve lost money due to lack of power and customer mobility. But Christmas came and went and the storm is now almost forgotten.

January was mild enough for walks by the seaside.

Nice days and nice evenings make recording the bay a pleasure.

But then… Just as I thought that spring had sprung, King Frost on his high horse rode in accompanied by his frigid sweetheart the snowqueen. The next photo is taken from the same spot as the above one but after Her Queenness covered most of Vancouver Island with her virgin white.

and a little pano from the roof of my house

Of course common opinion says it is very pretty

cottages, estuary, all very pretty, but enough is enough

and no more snow photos after this. Resist!

I hope you have enjoyed this winter excursion and, as always, the photos may be clicked to enlarge.

 

 

 

 

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Merry Christmas

May your larders be full, your rooms warm, and your life be filled with love and laughter.

 

Boats

Today the topic is boats. At times they appear as alive as creatures with massive amounts of diversity in style and use. Part of the interest we have in boat portrayal is the boat’s environment. boats are always set in unique and often fabulous looking surroundings.

Let me start big.

From here on we go much smaller.

So many boats so little room. Thank you for perusing this boatsy affair. Until we meet again, good sailing.

 

Shopping plazas

Most of us end up spending a large part of our lives driving and walking around in shopping plazas. To my eye everyone of the plazas I’ve visited looks disturbingly ugly. Nevertheless my phone is my camera and I use it as such everywhere. So without further ado, here are a few pictures from my plaza collection.

It is a small sampling, especially for those of us who don’t see enough shopping plazas. Mostly the photos are taken as my wife shops. She does not like being “herded” by me and it is cheaper for me to keep out of the shops anyway, lol, so I spend the time clicking away. Glad you spent time with me on these plazas, I hope to see you here again next time.

More from the lake

Jonathan is his name. Most of us know him. As I was conversing with him about the state of the world, the oddities of it, Politics, religion, smarts and lack of it, and more, I noticed that he was not really listening. He gazed past me lost in his own thoughts and memories that floated on the mists of time. I followed his eye and felt his melancholy as he observed the lake.

Late afternoon seaside

A few days ago I followed Manley Creek, a small stream cascading down the mountain, to the sea. It winds through Arbutus Ridge, a small community and golf course south of Duncan.

It was late afternoon. Autumn has its own light, waning at this time and pleasing to the eye. This location also has a depot that receives and ships the fuel keeping our vehicles going.

The other disturbing artifacts in this awesome scenery are the cargo ships parked all over the place until they can jump into action again. Their anchors slowly plow the sea bottom killing it where they park.

This entry was posted to share colors of this particular autumn light. Except for straightening no editing was needed which makes life easier. Thank you for your perusal.

 

Avatar Grove

The Avatar Grove, northeast of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island’s west coast, was recently developed with trails that may be traversed by young and old (but not for wheelchairs). Once you have arrived there, the last so many miles travelling on very rough roads, it is both amazing and accessible.

As a park Avatar Grove goes down to the Gordon River with impressive decay and impressive trees,

but the park really is famous for its gnarled trees and many of those are unforgettable.

Trail blazers have spent, as volunteers, countless hours on building the beautiful trails and made this forest accessible. For people visiting Vancouver Island a sidetrip to see this forest will be memorable indeed.

Hope you enjoyed this little trip despite the horrible logging road. May see you there some time.

Quamichan Lake

Hi again! It has been a while but a walk by the lake last Sunday around nine o’clock  inspired this post. Autumn is a time of warm colors and cool mists. Following are a few photos of the marvellous views of that morning.

The island has always intrigued me. So one time a few of my brothers and I swam out to explore it. As always these swims take longer than anticipated. When we arrived at the island we found a buffer zone of reeds and swamp around the island and no way to get on it. No choice but head back again. The swim ended up very very long severely testing my endurance. Yet I’m still here to photograph the tale and that is what matters.

Thank you for perusing this entry with me. I am happy to be back on the blogging journey and look forward to sharing thoughts with you, my friends, about our adventures.

Duncan’s Totem Poles

Duncan celebrates its origins on native territory by including totem poles carved by traditional carvers in its city panorama. Each carving shows the style of the individual artist but much of the subject matter and the way it is pictured comes from way back  history. Several totem poles may be set in groups and single totem poles can be seen in front of buildings or greenery or parking lots. That type of distribution shows on some old photographs of native villages (minus parking lots) as well.  Here are some of them beginning with a group photo.

A totem pole walk in Duncan’s small downtown area shows most of them and come spring summer is both interesting and enjoyable.

The next pole, a little off the beaten track, shows this art media’s relevance as a recorder of modern history and is one of my favorites.

Except for one or two poles they may all be viewed in full color on my Flickr site here and here.

 

weather

Hi again!

A mere 162 days till summer.