Expedition Canada

Canada Day Sat July 1st 2023 Returning to the Coast from Vancouver last Tuesday Canada Day falls on July 1st which means Monday will be a public holiday, giving Canadians a long weekend to the start off school holidays.  Ferry services are full and the summer population of the Coast is set to double.  BC Ferries is taking some stick at the moment because of the high level of cancellations.  Staffing is the biggest issue, a common problem in global shipping at the moment, according to the newly appointed CEO.  Ferries to and from the Sunshine Coast are heavily booked through July and into August meaning many travellers are having to turn up on spec.  Delays are frequent.  Apart from the first ferry of the day they have problems 'loading and unloading' ferries ... they do however, have to unload them first before they can load them and operational errors compound the problem.  Last week, a ferry was being moved at our local Langdale terminal, from the ri...

And Other Wildlife Sat Jun 11th A few minutes after this picture was taken and 100m further down the road, this Bald Eagle zoomed down to a group of Otters on a rock getting ready to enjoy a large flat fish for breakfast, sending the Otters diving into the water and making off with their food.  I had no time to set up the picture and fortunately the camera was on an automatic setting.   The highlight of the week was the arrival of the Kitsilano branch last Friday and young Sebastian.  We wondered what Jack would make of somebody else getting much of the attention.  He was curious,  gentle and wanted to be part of the action.  We think they are likely to be good mates.  This time he didn't cry as soon as I picked him up!  Great fun. On the Admin front, I finally managed to switch my Apple Region from UK to Canada.  Not an easy task.  Several calls to Apple support, Music and Apple TV subscriptions cancelled and residual subscrip...

Global Warming? Ribbon Cloud in front of the mountains Fri Jul 16th The title is not meant to be flippant.  With disastrous floods in Western Europe, heatwaves in BC two weeks ago and forest fires still burning in BC 's interior and Western North America, we were not expecting to have to break out sweaters today where local temperatures only touched 20 C. The idyllic setting we have painted is not without its own problems aside from the forest fires that have received international attention. A number of local beaches around Gibsons have been closed due to E-Coli levels that exceed the minima.  See news report .   We are based just north of  'Langdale' on the map, just where the grey band stops. Some of the regular swimmers are still taking their morning dip, but fewer of them.  The Hopkins Landing and Langdale areas north of GIbsons are quite spread out and the majority of properties will be on septic tanks rather than mains sewage systems. ...

Exploring Mon May 10th  I have been struck on my morning walks along the shoreline by the distinct absence of rubbish of any kind.  Seaweed, discarded crab and occasional sea shells and wood, a lot of wood, but no plastic bottles, general rubbish, fishing lines, or the general detritus so often found at the high-tide mark. Some days I'll see nothing to photograph, other days i'm stopping every few metres.  Today, two new birds to add to the list and a young Bald Eagle who obligingly sat still while I snapped away, plus a raft of 8-9 sea lions.  We are very fortunate to be living amongst such a rich natural environment.  Spotted Sandpiper Our plan to organize various visits to properties up for sale was slightly dashed to find only one was still on the market.  So I went for a run and Fred continued to check out more property options. The afternoon was spent checking out local trails on the mountains up behind Roberts Creek.  We have missed the long Nor...

Raining on the Sunshine Coast Mon May 3rd Vancouver Island in the distance .....possibly in sympathy with the weather in the UK.  Though the view was not bad as the sun started setting yesterday evening.  The Sunshine Coast faces Vancouver Island lying in a South Westerly direction, so large parts of the coast enjoy stunning sunsets over Vancouver Island.  Our area of Bonniebrook is a shallow cove and at the top end we are facing more a southerly direction, so do not see the setting sun.  Nevertheless a rather nice view.   Our local Otter was back on the rocks this morning, though the overcast morning made photography difficult.   Seeing an unusual bird fly in to a nearby dead tree, followed by a similar but smaller version had the binoculars out.  A quick scramble through the bird book and they were identified as a pair of Belted Kingfishers.  An absolute delight, though I had to avert my eyes as they demonstrated their joy of spring! T...