Expedition Canada

Jazz by the beach Wed Aug 31st Fierce guard dog keeps watch from deck There is a definite autumnal air first thing in the morning and at my normal waking time of 0530 - 0600, it is dark.  The autumn equinox is only 21 days away, and it feels like it.  Daytime it is still warm, in fact this week we have a mini heat-wave (29 degrees yesterday) returning to normal over the long weekend.  It’s Labor Day on Monday - a public holiday, but no rain is forecast!  The long range forecast is for a wet autumn, though not as bad as last year when roads and rail lines were washed out, cutting BC off from the rest of Canada.   Warning of Black Bears going into their hyperphagia phase - eating as much as they can before going into hibernation in Oct/Nov, means they are more likely to be around potential household food sources.  There have been reports of bears entering houses and unlocked cars in search of food.  The cars haven’t fared too well (you should see the siz...

Coyote Skulks in Cliff Gilker Sat May 14th  After several abortive attempts , usually arriving after it was long gone,  to find the local Grey Whale (Gray in the US) which has achieved celebrity status, I finally managed to track it down. It's been around for a couple of weeks wandering between Bonniebrook Beach and Davis Bay.  Often no more than 100m off shore, delighting a small group of followers and now me!  I spent an hour down on Roberts Creek beach Friday evening snapping away, while Jack explored the beach.   It is a good job digital technology has replaced film as 270 images later I was able to head home with, I was sure, a few decent shots.   After some heavy duty editing and exposure correction (I shoot in RAW not JPG) I got it down to 30. They spend their summer in the North Pacific off Alaska and the BC coast but during the winter they breed in the warmer waters of the Mexican Coast (I looked it up to save you the trouble)....

Christmas Lights Go Up Fri Nov 19th We have rather developed a taste for these! Today we completed on the sale of Eastcourt House, the end of an era and bringing to an end 33 years of Cronk stewardship.   A period that has seen the house brought back from a state of dereliction, with water and power cut off, holes in the roof, creepers growing through the windows and brickwork and damp coming in from all directions.  Thirty three years which saw the children grow up and fly the nest, lots of dinner parties with fabulous friends, a couple of huge parties in the garden (a 21st for Nick and a joint 21st/50th for Ros and Fred) and a cottage garden restored to its former glory by the head gardener, Fred, a nd opened in the National Garden Scheme in 2010. The end of an era, but the start of a new exciting adventure. While we have been focussed on getting our house over the line, many BC residents have sadly been trying to save theirs.   The house in the picture i...