“I would say just the weather in Vancouver in the winter can be kind of unforgiving.”
Brandon J McLaren
Here be some photos of a wintery weekend in Vancouver.
Brrrr!
These guys had some bottle!
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Tags: British Columbia, Vancouver, winter
Well – here we go! Renovation – part II…
Having spent the past two weeks packing up all of our worldly possessions – again – and setting up a ‘cosy’ living space in our walkout basement, we are about to hand the entire top floor of the house over to our contractor.
Scary stuff indeed – not least because right now it is not clear that all will be done in time for Christmas. There are so many balls to juggle – so many different plates to be kept spinning – so many… well – you get the idea…
So – farewell 1970s kitchen:
Goodbye weirdly pink bathrooms:
Adieu popcorn ceilings, variegated floor coverings and yet more pink walls:
And in answer to the question – “Where did all your stuff go?“… here it is in our makeshift warehouse in the downstairs ‘family’ room:
Tags: House, Photo, Renovation
There is something completely magical about the way that fungi live patiently in one’s lawn – in the shape of millions of spores just waiting for the perfect conditions in which to thrive – before suddenly bursting forth for the purposes of reproduction. They have a relatively narrow window in which to do so once the air turns cooler and the moisture levels rise, before the first frosts persuade them once again to keep their heads well down for the duration.
Persistent little buggers, aren’t they!
A final batch of photographic images from the recent sequence…
Having survived the rigours of our efforts at the Victoria Fringe Festival and enjoyed the company of our friends from the UK, the Girl and I took a well-deserved couple of days off and scooted westwards around the coast to a quiet resort on the other side of Sooke. The wild-fire smoke that had been so pervasive a little earlier in the summer made a brief return (much of it this time from Oregon) and as a result we felt disinclined to do much that was strenuous. Fortunately our suite featured a splendid rooftop hot tub in which we could be-sport ourselves and – apart from indulging ourselves with the tasting menu in the Copper Room at Sooke Harbour House – that was pretty much all we got up to.
I did take the Fuji x10 for a stroll along the beach…
Given that the friends who visited recently from the UK (see previous post) had a mere four full days to spend in the provincial capital it was essential that we mapped out their agenda with particular care. Wishing to meet (and hopefully to exceed) their expectations we offered them a rich palette of options and put the choice in their hands.
For the Saturday they chose a day trip to Saltspring Island – and in particular to the Saturday market in Ganges. It would have been lovely to have cruised to Saltspring under our own power in ‘Dignity’, but a blazingly hot Saturday on the September long weekend is a bad time to fight with the queues both at the Sidney boat launch and at the public docks in Ganges, so we chickened out and took the ferry to Fulford instead.
A stall holder at the market – with whom, as is our nature, we engaged in conversation – swore that the crowd was scarcely half what it had been but a few weeks previously. Goodness knows what all of the other souls could possible have been doing – the place looked to be completely packed to us… and did I mention that it was blazingly hot?
It mattered not, of course, as we all had a splendid time, a very passable lunch and then returned home tired but contented.
The taking of photographs in the melee of the market, however, would definitely have been inadvisable, so I contented myself instead with assembling the odd assortment of images that you see represented below…
Tags: Friends, Holiday, Photo, Salt Spring
What is there more kindly than the feeling between host and guest?
Aeschylus
As revealed in my last post to these pages my efforts at the Victoria Fringe Festival on behalf of Intrepid Theatre had to be brought to a premature conclusion with five days of the festival still to run. The reason for this unfortunate abrogation of my responsibilities was a previous engagement welcoming to British Columbia our second set of visitors from the UK this year.
Our most welcome guests were themselves only to be with us for five days; scarce time to see all that they desired on their first visit to Canada (let alone to Victoria) and only just enough time to catch up fully with dear friends that we have not seen for over two years. Nonetheless – we had a good stab at covering as much ground as possible and I kept the trusty Fuji x10 to hand to document our various excursions.
Our guests are great gardeners and horticulturalists and an extended visit to the Butchart Gardens was thus near the top of the list of things not to be missed. The recommended agenda of a daytime visit followed by a bit of a break and then a return to catch the gardens under illumination during the evening was adopted; the Kickass Canada Girl and I accompanying our guests for the latter…
Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Stephen King
My apologies that posts have been somewhat erratic of late. Things have been busy!
I posted some images from the Victoria Classic Boat Festival two years ago. I make no apology for posting more this year because I think that the boats are gorgeous and the inner harbour extremely photogenic.
Next time round I will provide an explanation for all of this ‘busy-ness’ and a proper catch-up…
Now that the wildfire smoke has dissipated – from the coastal regions of southern BC if from nowhere else – much of the Salish Sea and its surroundings have sprung back into their normal summer focus… with bright sharp colours and sparkling vistas.
A trip with good friends on ‘Dignity’ to Sidney Spit provided an opportunity for some relaxed photographic reconnaisance:
Tags: Boats, British Columbia, Photo, wildfires
The ship called ‘Dignity’ is enjoying her sabbatical at Westport Marina in Tsehum Harbour to the north of Sidney. Renting a slip there means that more time can actually be spent ‘messing about in (one particular) boat(s)‘ than would be possible were she to have to be launched afresh each time she goes out – and the prices are really very reasonable this year.
I have also taken the opportunity to do some tinkering – tweaking idle speed and fuel/air mixture for example – so that she now runs as she should at slow speeds. This makes navigating through the maze of channels and marinas that comprise Tsehum Harbour a whole lot easier than it was before.
Taking the boat out on my own sadly means that I don’t get the opportunity to take as many photographs as I would like whilst out on the water – which explains why most of these were taken in the marina itself.
This is Sidney by the Sea:
Reflections…
Shipshape!…
…though we all have our own ways of doing things. Now – which do you suppose would be my preference?
I am always quick – when friends or acquaintances make appreciative observations concerning our garden (yard!) – to sing the praises of the previous owners of this fair domicile, who clearly knew a great deal more about gardening than do I (though it must, of course, be pointed out that that is not difficult!).
Yet – even though I make reference to the fact that there is scarcely a week during the spring and summer months when there is not a riot of colour and activity somewhere within its boundaries – I still find myself surprised that – just when it looks as though the display is about to peter out – some fresh wonder bursts forth.
All this by way of making apology for yet more photos of plants!
Tags: British Columbia, Gardens, Photo, Summer
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