A Few Days on the Wild "Wet" Coast

 

Vancouver Island lies roughly parallel to the mainland of North America. Between the continent and the Island are many smaller islands and islets. Land is almost always visible from anywhere in these waters.

However, the west coast of the Island faces the open ocean, with a clear view to nowhere. Japan and the Asian continent lie far across the waves. The Pacific Rim National Park stretches along the coastline and includes the West Coast Trail, the Broken Group Islands, and the Long Beach Unit. It's this latter section that we visited. 

The road climbs up over several mountains and winds in tight curves through narrow passes and along enormous Kennedy Lake to arrive in the Park. It's difficult to reserve a spot to camp in the Park itself - our son and his family reserved in January. We stayed in another private campsite with our camping caravan/trailer, about 15 minutes drive away. 

We enjoyed hot weather (not too hot) a couple of days before leaving, but once we got down to the ocean, the temperatures dropped to 22 degrees, then to 17 degrees for most of our stay. Fog and cloud rolled in, followed by drenching rain and strong winds.

We put on our rain gear and enjoyed the scenery. The Wild Pacific Trail offered the views in the above three photos. 

Someone amplified the out-of-bound warnings. We saw no wolves, bears, nor cougars.

The Amphitrite Lighthouse is active, and can be accessed by road. It's not open to the public, but the trail passes close by. There is a webcam of the waters around the lighthouse, and I see that today the water and sky are blue, and there is no fog, very unlike our time there. 

This area was known as the Graveyard of the Pacific; several thousand ships have floundered and sunk in the waters stretching from the mouth of the Columbia River in the USA to Cape Scott on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Shifting sandbars, rocks and reefs have claimed many lives over the past few hundred years, and likely before Europeans first explored the area.

This is part of an unnamed wreck that sank in the late 1800s. Rusted iron and weathered planks of Douglas Fir are all that remain. 

On the other side of the Pacific Rim Reserve is the more sheltered water of Grice Bay. We drove down the narrow road one evening as the sun was setting.Tim wandered to the water while I took photos where blues and greys melded in tranquil harmony. 

On our last evening there, in the drizzle and wind, we went one last time to Long Beach. Lovekin Rock stands ominous and dark, and swimmers and surfers are warned to stay away from the rock because of strong rip currents. Driftwood lies abandoned by the waves on the sand. It is a place of many moods, and this particular moment felt full of mystery and shadowed loveliness. 

We enjoyed our time seeing this part of our Island, in spite of the inclement weather. Our son and his family were in a tent trailer and decided to pack it in two days earlier than planned. We helped them pack up in pouring rain. It was so crazy that it was funny. 

And now the summer is almost over. Tim returns to work on Monday and I begin in-service on August 31. How will this school year look? 

A Quick Friday Five

 

Summer is flying by and we're making the most of it. In the past 10 days we've taken the boat out to Portland Island, just an hour away. The first time we took family, the second time our tenants who came from a country in the Middle East where things look very different. 

A group of fat seals eyed us very closely and slid into the water just after I took this photo. 

Queen Anne's Lace is blooming everywhere - along roadsides and trails, and in the midst of clearings. It's such a pretty weed.

Our first outing was with Miss Iris and her parents. Here she is trying on Nana's hat. She soon took it off and handed it back to me. 

Dahlias are blooming in my garden, and tall stalks of white phlox. A parsley plant gone to seed provided some green in a bouquet. 

This Secret Rose slumbered for a few weeks, but is now covered with large, beautifully scented blooms. 

And one extra photo - of a quick bouquet in pink and white clipped this morning - phlox, rose, cosmo, zinnia, snapdragon. 

Have a most wonderful Friday and a good weekend ahead. It's supposed to get hot here, for two days. We could do with some heat. I have not yet had one ripe tomato and I'm beginning to wonder if I will get any at all this summer. It's rather discouraging, but I'm trying to focus on the good in the garden - wonderful zucchini, beets, carrots, blueberries. 

In the Mountains

 

Have you noticed that Blogger keeps tweaking things on their new edition? Little things, but I think it means they might be listening to bloggers. 

We've been away for a week, not far from home, camping in our little trailer/caravan. Our site was a short walk from the ocean, but we spent most of our time in the mountains, a 30 minute drive away. 

Strathcona Provincial Park is in the middle of Vancouver Island, and has delighted visitors since 1911, making it the oldest provincial park in BC. Many lakes and alpine tarns dot the landscape, along with rivers and streams, meadows and mountain peaks. 

Whisky Jacks, also known as Canada Jays or Grey Jays swoop down at the first sign of food to alight on outstretched hands. This Jay seems to be looking at Tim as if to say, "Where's the food?" 

The blue Stellar's Jay isn't quite as friendly, but forages on the ground and flies into the cover of trees for safety. They are the only crested jays west of the Rocky Mountains. 

We intended to do just a short hike to Lake Helen McKenzie, however, once there, we thought we'd go a bit further. The Kwai Lake Loop is 15.6 kilometres and although we'd begun our hike in the late morning, we estimated that we could do the loop and be back by 5:00 pm. The trail became more challenging as we went on with masses of roots and muddy patches to navigate.

We were surprised to see a ranger station on Forbidden Plateau. It's situated in a beautiful spot with an alpine tarn in front and meadows beyond. A view of the mountains would be visible on a clear day. 

In the winter, the cabin is covered with snow, and to access the cabin for inspection, the maintenance crews digs down to walk directly into the top floor. There are three bedrooms, a common area and small kitchen in the cabin. Every kilometre of the trails is walked by crews at least once a year to keep everything in good repair. 

We sat beside Kwai Lake to eat our lunch of crackers and cheese. A few campers had pitched tents alongside the lake. It's a peaceful and magical spot, full of quiet beauty.

From top left to right: Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), White Bog Orchid (Platanthora dilatata): Middle row: Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatas), Subalpine Daisy (Erigeron peregrinus): Bottom row: Arctic Lupin (Lupinus arcticus), Fringed Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia fimbriata), Menzie's Burnet (Sanguisorba menziesii)

Along the way I stopped to take photos of some of the many wildflowers growing in swaths in the meadows and beside the trail. They are mostly small and delicate, but en masse provide waves of colour in the meadows. 

Wild blueberries are just beginning to ripen and we picked a few as we went along. They grow singly, and it would take a long while to fill a bucket with them. 

Our return path on the loop was much easier than the ascending portion. The trail was longer, but smoother and easier to walk. We passed Lady Lake, Battleship Lake, and a multitude of unnamed tarns like the ones above that lie in natural terraces formed by glacial erosion eons ago. 

We were back at the car shortly before 4:30, quite pleased with our spontaneous long hike. We stopped and picked up food for dinner and enjoyed it thoroughly. Hot showers, a relaxing evening, and we slept well that night. Before retiring we walked out to the ocean once more and caught the evening light illuminating the waves on the point. 

Home again now. Tim is on vacation this week and we're puttering around home, enjoying the relaxing change of pace. 

Six on Saturday: Views, Tarts, and Garden

On these wonderful warmer summer days, I've been walking earlier than usual to avoid the intense sun. This week I climbed up Christmas Hill for a wonderful view over the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The mountains in the distance are on the Olympic Peninsula of the USA. The band of fog lies where the land meets the sea and is a typical feature of high summer weather. 

While up on the hill I watched a hummingbird whirring from blossom to blossom. She stopped for a few seconds and I was able to get this not-so-great photo. 

Some years I like to try growing different things in the vegetable garden. This year it was onions. They took little work. A week or more ago the tops fell over, all of them, overnight, it seemed - a sign that they were done growing and could be harvested. I pulled them up and laid them on a table to dry for a week. Yesterday I braided them and hung them for further drying in the barbecue shelter. I'm rather tickled with the effect. This amount of onions should last us for a few months, at least. 

Using garden produce is the theme of meals around here. I made a zucchini tart - pastry with goat cheese spread on top (mixed with herbs and lemon zest), then thinly sliced zucchini that had been salted and left to drain for an hour. Brush the top with olive oil and bake for 50 minutes or so. Sprinkle with more fresh herbs. Lovely for a light meal. 

The figs are ripe! We don't harvest huge amounts of them - but we're learning how to prune to increase the first harvest and hope for more in the future. We will get a couple dozen this year. Mary, from A Breath of Fresh Air posted a recipe for these lovely fig tarts yesterday and I immediately pulled out some frozen puff pastry to thaw. Crispy, not-too-sweet, and a perfect dessert. 

We enjoyed them with a daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter last night. They signed up for Disney Plus over the summer and invited us to watch the musical Hamilton after the 8-year-old went to bed. We enjoyed it very much, but I've been doing some research about the historical accuracy, just to keep things straight in my head. 

A work colleague invited me for an outdoor visit this week. She clipped a beautiful rose for me as I was leaving. Orange and blue make a striking pair. And I leave you with the words of our Provincial Health Officer, who closes each update with "Be kind, be calm, be safe. 

Books, Beach, Flowers, and Cool Drinks

"There are few pleasures like really burrowing one's nose into sweet peas."

Angela Thirkell

Every few days I snip another modest bouquet of these fragrant flowers. They move from the mantle to the table to the windowsill so that I can catch a sweet whiff as I move around the house. Just now they are outside on the patio and that's where I'm headed. 

Last weekend we went on a little jaunt to Sidney Island, no more than 30 minutes from the boat launch. Our local families joined us for a wonderful day of sand, sun, and sea. These littles spent all of their time in imaginative play - creating a civilization because they were stranded without adults! I loved listening in on some of their conversations. 

When we returned, the boat launch was very busy and we had to bob about for awhile. The children were thrilled when a curious seal came within a metre of the boat, looking up at the children dangling their feet over the deck. (No need to worry, one would have to have extremely long legs to be in any danger.) Then, a fat fried egg jellyfish showed up and drifted by so that the children could see tentacles pulsating. One grandchild was heard to say that the wait on the water was the best part of the trip!

Some of my recent reading material. I have just begun The Salt Path, and just finished The Beekeeper of Aleppo. I keep mulling over the story of the Beekeeper - a Syrian refugee. Such horror and tragedy, yet the human spirit finds beauty where it can. I recommend it. 

The other books are light fare, easy reading for summer. 

Shrub: - a fruit syrup preserved with vinegar and mixed with water or alcohol to make a refreshing beverage.

There was a container of blackberries leftover from last summer in the freezer, and after reading about shrubs in a magazine, I filled a jar with berries, apple cider vinegar, a cinnamon stick, and let it develop in the fridge for a week or more before straining it, and mixing it with a simple sugar syrup. I add 1-2 Tablespoons to a glass of cold water for a very delicious and different drink. 

One hydrangea bush branches through the patio railing in a friendly manner. Sitting so close to it, I noticed the golden tipped stamens and delicate blue veins. Such intricacy of creation. 

I had another close encounter the other day. While working in my garden I heard a loud buzzing sound. Not ten inches away from my hands, a pretty Anna's Hummingbird fed on a pink zinnia flower. I stayed very still and watched her circle the bloom with her long pointed beak. She then moved to the next flower. I could see her heart beating furiously and hear the buzz of her wings. Amazing!

These are beautiful summer days. I hope that you are enjoying them, as well (or autumn days if you live in the southern hemisphere). Let's enjoy the seasons as they come, for they change all too quickly. 

On a Still Summer Afternoon

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time."

John Lubbock

The quiet stillness of a warm summer afternoon settles around me as I sit on the patio. I see a white butterfly in the flowers across the garden, and bees are busy in the roses and oregano that has come into flower. I wandered around the garden with my camera this afternoon at 4:30, a time not recommended for photography because of the harsh light at this time of year. Come along with me anyway. 

The first dahlia is opening - a Sweet Violet. I lost most of my dahlias last winter and when I went to purchase new ones there was little available. 

I am always surprised at the pure whiteness of the phlox that springs up each summer, and I would love to see an all-white garden one day. Purple coneflowers are a relatively new addition to my garden and I'm pleased with their performance. I'm looking forward to dividing them in a season or two and multiplying their effect. 

Tim built a climbing trellis for the squash plants this year. I'm not convinced of its success yet - time will tell. 

Here is one of the Hubbard squashes hanging from the trellis. I'm concerned about the weight and wonder if I should create a bit of support for it - a mesh bag or something. Have any of you grown squash this way? 

I do like the way the trellis provides a bit of shade for the cucumbers and zucchini underneath. 

Oregano is in flower now and the bees are loving it. I counted three types of bees just this afternoon, all so very busy flitting from blossom to blossom. What amazing creatures they are, and so important to our food supply. 

The first sunflower. I wondered if any sunflowers would survive the onslaught of the bunnies earlier in the spring. I replanted several times and netted the tiny plants to foil those pesky critters. Four of the sunflower plants survived and are doing well. 

We are shrinking our bubble again. After being Covid-19 free for a couple of months, cases are now popping up on our Island, likely due to increased travel as people get out to enjoy the summer weather. It's disheartening to read of some people who put their individual desires above the safety of others. We are in this together and it's by acting together and thinking of others that we can get through this. 

I find great solace in my garden. The natural world of God's creation offers space away from the problems of the world, and plenty of work to keep me occupied. Where do you find respite from the hurly-burly of the world these days?

Days of Zucchini and Roses

"What a lovely thing a rose is!"

Arthur Conan Doyle

Outside my window clouds cover the sun and a light breeze stirs the leaves and ripples through the garden. A couple of cooler days are here before the temperatures warm up to summer weather on the weekend. The first flush of rose blooms is over, but some, like Boscobel, are producing more beautiful blossoms the second time round. This soft pink colour is such a delight and the scent simply amazing. 

From my garden I pick a several slender, dark green zucchini two or three times a week. I spent a couple of mellow hours one morning making ratatouille. Each vegetable is sauteed separately, then combined at the end with fresh basil and a bit of lemon juice. We enjoyed it with a grating of Parmesan as part of our dinner. I froze three containers of it for a quick hit of summer when it's raining and cold outside in a few months. 

When we were in Wales four years ago, we enjoyed a delicious Courgette, Garlic and Stilton Soup in the tea room at Newton House. I found the recipe on the National Trust website and made it exactly as it reads for a simple tasty meal. I hope we'll be able to return to the UK one day. For now, I'm finding contentment in reading my travel journals and reliving some of the wonderful trips we've taken. I'm enjoying this quieter summer and have been spending more time in the garden. 

To serve alongside the soup I made a sourdough focaccia bread that turned out well. There is really nothing like fresh bread and soup for satisfying the tummy. 

"...it's a blessed thing to love, and to feel loved in return."

E. A. Buchhianeri

Who are these kids? They thought they were all grown up 43 years ago. I'm so thankful to God for my husband and for the life we've spent together. We're venturing out to a restaurant to celebrate this anniversary. 

Last year we celebrated in Leonding (Linz), Austria. How the world has changed for all of us since then. Still we live and love, and try to make the most of each day. 

The days pass, a mixture of the sublime and the mundane. Beauty exists in both. 

Summer Along the Coast

I am so pleased to announce that summer has finally arrived in our corner. Temperatures this week will be between 21 and 25 degrees Celsius (70-77 F), with sunshine everyday. The good weather began over the weekend, while we were out for a short jaunt on Solitude. 

As we slip away from shore we leave behind the cares of land and focus on the moments. We're in our own world, an enormous expanse of sea, our small boat bobbing on the waves, with rocks and forest still visible. 

We normally prefer anchoring out in a small inlet or cove away from civilization, but for this trip we visited Ladysmith, a small town on Vancouver Island, and stayed in the marina there. It was very quiet.

One of the delights of boating is that there is nothing to call one's attention away from the main business at hand - relaxing and observing. On both evenings, as the light softened, a heron picked its way along the logs for a little preening and fishing. Doesn't he have amazing balance?

Solitude is a slow boat - we go about 7 knots - leaving plenty of time for conversation and silence, for wandering through my mazy mind. I noticed a large crevice in the rocks and I fancy it looks like a silhouette of a bird, beak pointing right, carved there on the hill. Do you see it? 

Lately, people have been recommending podcasts to me. I signed up for a couple, but can't bring myself to listen to them. I'm sure they are most interesting, but I'm quite content with the interior monologue that goes on inside my head. Do you listen to podcasts? With earbuds or headphones or broadcast from a computer? I also hate things in my ears. 

The heron in the photo above looks not at all concerned about the slug-like seals nearby. 

The coast of Vancouver Island is very much a working one. Pulp mills along this coast have ramped up their production of  medical grade soft red cedar pulp for use in masks and other personal protective equipment during the pandemic.

I always enjoy watching the tugboats at work. They are so mobile and can turn on a dime. Not visible in this photo is the worker who stepped off the tug and made his way along the log boom, looking as if he was walking on the sidewalk on land. 

For dinner one night we walked up the hill into town and ate at the Fox and Hounds, touted as the place to go for British pub fare. Outside, a red telephone box clearly indicates the British vibe. Inside, dark wood floors, Tudor-style beams, a long wooden bar, and lots of British knickknacks lining shelves and windowsills contributed to the traditional pub feel. The food was great - I had a seafood pot pie that was scrumptious, and Tim enjoyed a burger with fat chips, as hot as can be. Fewer tables and other procedures let us know that care was taken regarding the pandemic. 

Next to the marina was a sawmill with log booms where seagulls hung out, mostly keeping social distance. 

Home again now. Tim's off to work and the laundry is churning away. As for me, a little gardening, some cooking, and some sewing today. There will be time for reading, too. A perfect summer day! I wish the same for you!