It was a chilly -6 C (21 F) this morning when I set out to join my hiking group. We enjoyed a delightful 4 km walk around Buttertubs Marsh, a bird sanctuary in Nanaimo. As you can see, there is ice on top of the water and we didn’t see many ducks until we had […]
Category: nature
Cable Bay Trail
The Monday morning short hike today was along the Cable Bay Trail just south of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The trail itself is a wonderfully immersive forest experience with huge trees, ferns, streams, rocks, fungi, moss, and birds. We breathed in more than our fair share of oxygen-rich forest air. The prize at the end […]
Why-y-y?
This morning, while out for a walk, I saw a man who was stylishly dressed in maroon and gold pants with a matching maroon hat trimmed with a gold band. He was tuning a guitar and then, just as I passed him, he sang “Why-y-y-y?” That was it. No additional lyrics. Just, “why”. As I […]
Linley Valley Drive and Linley Valley Cottle Lake Parks
In between rain showers today I enjoyed a 5 km walk through Linley Valley Drive Park and part of the way into Linley Valley/Cottle Lake Park with my Monday morning hiking group. The trees were resplendent in their coatings of lichens and moss, and I also enjoyed seeing several nurse stumps. Nurse stumps are mother […]
Across the Strait of Georgia
When you visit the Surf Lodge Pub on Gabriola Island, you will be amazed by the massive size and beauty of the wooden joists and beams that support the roof above you. When you leave the Surf Lodge Pub on Gabriola Island, you will be in awe of the view of the Strait of Georgia […]
Nanaimo Sunrise
This morning I woke up to find this glorious sunrise outside my windows. This new year is looking very promising!
Wild Turkeys (Not Bourbon)
While visiting Gabriola Island today, I was enjoying a great lunch at the Ground Up Cafe with my eldest son and his family when this family of wild turkeys crossed the road just outside the window. Traffic was sparse and slow enough that all the turkeys got to the other side safely.
Frosty Morning
Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park on a frosty December morning.
Advent Eve
Tomorrow will be the start of Advent in the Western Christian tradition. That means you can start taking the chocolates out of the Advent calendar, and you can begin putting up Christmas decorations. Some of us use a different tradition and start putting up decorations as soon as Hallowe’en is over, which explains why some […]
View from Yellow Point Lodge, Yellow Point, BC
We took the long way home from our hike on Monday to drop by Yellow Point Lodge. It is in a perfect location to enjoy the ocean views from an isolated location within a forest. We did not visit the lodge itself, but we did enjoy the view.
The Fog Lifts
This is for everyone who has experienced brain fog with Covid-19. Eventually, the fog lifts.
Roberts Memorial Provincial Park
Roberts Memorial Provincial Park is in Yellow Point, British Columbia. It is a lovely short hike through ancient trees and abundant ferns to the coast where there is a view of Ruxton Island and Valdes Island. We also saw a sea lion and a loon that were happily ignoring each other and us.
Don’t Tell Me I’ve Nothing To Do
It just occurred to me that I like having lots of different things on the go at the same time. Sometimes I can do something like crocheting or writing for an hour, and sometimes I can do it for four hours. At the same time, though, in between times I have other activities that keep […]
Nothing Gold Can Stay*
The weather forecast is for snow tonight, so before the leaves are all blown away or covered up, here are today’s colours. *Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost Nature’s first green is gold,Her hardest hue to hold.Her early leaf’s a flower;But only so an hour.Then leaf subsides to leaf.So Eden sank to grief,So dawn […]
Clinging To A Cloud
Yesterday afternoon, after the heavy rainfall and before the strong winds came through, there was mist.