Sunday, October 21, 2018

One Last Boating Outing



Day after day deep blue colours the sky. Patches of gold, red, and orange glow among our mostly green forests. This October is one to mark. Just a fraction of our normal rain fell, as golden day followed golden day. There's a change coming, though. These are our last few sunny days, according to the weather forecast. It seemed appropriate to make the most of the flat seas and warm temperature and plan a boating trip as a finale to the season. 


Quite frankly, I was reluctant. I was tired from a long week of teaching my own classes plus covering for another teacher during my spares. On Thursday evening a colleague and I took the ferry to Vancouver for a professional development conference on Friday. We returned Friday night and I wanted nothing more than to spend the next day quietly at home. However, the trip was planned, our friends ready to join us, and so I went. I'm so very glad I did. 


In spite of a misty chilly morning, we set out on the glassy water, I had a cup of tea, and chatted while we watched the sun slowly emerge and burn away the mist. My friend said that her grandmother always told her that a "patch of blue large enough to make a Dutchman's pants" was the sign of a sunny day. I've never heard that expression before, have you?

We tied up at Port Browning on Pender Island after passing through the narrow channel and under a bridge. By then the sea sparkled with diamonds. 
  

A bald eagle watched our approach from a tall tree at water's edge. In a nearby apple tree, a pileated woodpecker hammered away. We ate lunch at the pub with views overlooking the water. The day was much too pleasant for being indoors and so we ate on the patio, warm and toasty as can be. I even got a faint sun burn.


After lunch we walked along the beach where a few derelict boats have washed up. Derelict vessels are a hot topic around these parts. No one claims them and the jurisdiction around who is responsible for their removal is a moving target. 


As we chugged homeward, the horizon changed to pale pink and distant islands became shrouded in mist.

Ernest Dowson's words seemed appropriate for such a magical day:

Pale amber sunlight falls across
The reddening October trees
That hardly sway before a breeze
As soft as summer: Summer's loss
Seems little, dear! on days like these. 


A gulp of cormorants (isn't that a great collective noun) grabbed the last bits of sunshine as they perched on a chunky bit in the water. We arrived home replete with sunshine, laughter, and the company of good friends. I'm glad I overcame my reluctance and enjoyed such a fine day. Do you have similar experiences? Hesitation followed by immense delight? 

Linking with Mosaic Monday, hosted by Maggie of Normandy Life. 

27 comments:

  1. Yes, I have experienced it many times as I am just the sort of person who gets stuck in a rut and wants solitude. So glad that you had a wonderful time in spite of your initial reluctance. Yes, I have heard the expression...one time and years ago. My boss (an Italian by birth) shared it with me after an extended rainy spring season.

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  2. I'm so glad you didn't stay home! Beautiful images of your wonderful day. The reflections in the water are stunning. I love that a group of cormorants is a Gulp ... seems just right. I wonder who thought up all those terms?!

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  3. That sparkling water surface looks divine - diamonds! Wishing you happy MM.

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  4. Yes, many times I feel the hesitation but then I give in and am not disappointed. You enjoyed the beauty of moving forward with the plans that were made. Hope you have a good week ahead.

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  5. You overcame your reluctance and swapped a cosy day by the fireside for sunlight and diamonds, now I'd call that a win. I have heard a variation of that saying only the pants belong to a sailor!
    Wishing you a less hectic week ahead and a very Happy Mosaic Monday.

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  6. I am so glad you went on the day trip so we could go too. It is all so beautiful. Have a great week.

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  7. These are the most beautiful photographs. I can't decide which I like best. Maybe it's the first photo. The still water is so appealing.

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  8. What a lovely, restoring kind of day! Just what you needed!

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  9. This October has been beautiful! The water shimmers in your photos.

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  10. A last trip, on a perfect day. How beautiful the water looked.

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  11. There is a podcast - A Way with Words - that would be THE place to ask where that expression originated. You’ll get hooked on the program!

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  12. Yes, often it happens that way. If we could only remember that the next time we aren't thrilled about a proposed outing! I've heard the Dutchman's pants quote all my life. Maybe it's an east coast thing.

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  13. Looks amazing, a great trip with a lot of joy. Those outings we are reluctant to take often end up been the best.

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  14. Yes, that has happened to me. I am rather a homebody and sometimes have to be jolted from my comfort zone. Sounds like you had an incredible day. :) Kit

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  15. I’m so glad you did go on your boating trip because your photos are wonderful. I know that feeling of having to make an effort. Certainly worth it this time :) B x

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  16. A patch of blue like dutchman's pants.....I've never heard of that. It is so true. Your photos are soothing, they capture the beauty of Fall

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  17. Yes, sometimes I am reluctant; but in the end glad I did something. What a lovely way to celebrate the end of the most gorgeous of Autumns here in the northwest. All of your pictures and words are so beautiful!

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  18. I am often the reluctant one, as I am a confirmed homebody. But you're right . . . making the effort usually brings great reward. Your effort certainly paid off with a lovely and fulfilling day!

    No, I have never heard the "Dutchman's pants" expression, but it is descriptive! :)

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  19. Yes, I can relate to the hesitation. Like you, I am more reluctant if I have already had a lot of 'people' interaction in the days leading up to an 'event' - I need 'me' time. It also has to do with the planning - if it was planned, then I am more likely to get on board - in other words, I don't like surprises but I do like to follow through! But in the end, there is no correlation with either of these factors and level of enjoyment. Aren't we just quirky people?

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  20. Anonymous8:25 AM

    I'm always in are of your photos, your part of. Ananda is utterly breath taking I've never heard that saying before but I will remember it lol a gulp of commorants I have heard , my husband calls them a nuisance bird, he said they clean out all the bait fish before the other fish can prosper lol that's the fisherman in him He hates competition even from our winged friends lol thank you for sharing such beauty with us!

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  21. Love the pretty purple flowers.

    "Hesitation followed by immense delight" is the M.O. of this homebody with anti-social tendencies. HA! I'm reading a book on social anxiety and they talked about something similar. I wished that I could remember the terminology that they used.

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  22. Yes, I totally relate. I actually think many bloggers are like this. We can visit when we want online and unplug when we want! But yes, getting out and doing can have immense rewards. The sun on the water is beautiful. Glad you had such a nice day. Your pictures remind me of when we were there in June. Such a beautiful area. xo Deborah

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  23. Absolutely gorgeous photos. Yep! It is time to put all the warm weather things aside for the change is seasons. Too bad about the washed up boat, I would think that the numbers on the side would take them to the owner and that they would be reasonable for clearing them away. I had one idea there were so many that they became a problem but I can clearly see it now. It's bad enough all the trash people throw in the water. We are always picking up things when we go camping and kayaking. What happen to "keep our country beautiful!" I'm always picking up trash that people throw out their car windows, too. It's so disrespectful!
    Well, back to your lovely photos . . . simply beautiful!
    Connie :)

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  24. Fabulous photos and a beautiful poem!
    I too have heard that expression, about sailor's pants. I read it in a book - the genre would now be called Equestrian Fiction, I believe, or perhaps Pony books, a term that I just found. In those remote times especially young girls read it. I can't remember from where the book was... British? Swedish? From Northern America?

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  25. I am also glad you overcame your hesitation and went sailing, Lorrie. Such magnificent sights, and I'm sure equally magnificent sounds, on your voyage. I never heard the Dutchman's pants saying before but it was a delightful way to describe the blue sky after the early morning fog dissipated.

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  26. Your photographs are so lovely to look at.

    All the best Jan

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