Expedition Canada

Summer Solstice Mon Jun 21st Turkey Vulture - Stunning but not pretty! According to the Government of Canada Twitter account for the June 21st,  " I t'll officially be Summer in the Northern Hemisphere!  The #SummerSolstice means early sunrises, late sunsets, warm weather, and a whole lot of outdoor activities. "  I thought the whole point of a solstice, was that the days started getting shorter and the nights longer in June, or the other way around in December.    So as of today the days start getting shorter than the nights.  That said, as we are not yet Resident in Canada, I am not about to start being pedantic about the wording of their Twitter account. Yesterday and today had temperatures about 10c above normal.  An early morning dog walk was followed by a dip in Mixal. There was sighting of the rare Grey Dipper again!   It was amazingly warm.  The dockside thermometer was registering a water temp of 22c.  Five m...

Day Replanned Sat Jun 5th Mixal Lake John Henry's The morning walk down to Mixal Lake never disappoints.  A quick stroll in between showers, the lake was perfectly still and quiet.  The view may be the same but every day's scene is different.  The reflection of one of the island lakes, the mountains behind and clouds overhead was one of the best we've enjoyed. Beside the lake is Camp Burley, a scout 'wilderness' camp.  As a result of the Pandemic it looks even more of a wildness than usual.   It is an odd coincidence, but 500m down the beach from our rental at Bonnie Brook  near Gibsons, was Camp Byng.  Named after Julian Byng,  1st Viscount Byng of Vimy , a former Governor General of Canada who had previously led the Canadian Forces at Vimy Ridge. Camp Burley does not have the same UK connections but is named after an active and long-serving scout leader, Norman Burley. He'd had a lifetime involvement with Scouting in Van...

A Splash Attracts Jack  Mon May 31st Morning over Mixal Barred Owl Today was a water day and it started just after 10pm last night when Jack was put out to be emptied.  A huge splash on the far side of the lake startled us both.  I guess it could have been a beaver as they are resident locally, though it sounded bigger.  This morning there was a large log floating around.  Somebody having some fun? We shall be ready with a 'flashlight' and camera tonight! This morning I took my camera on our morning walk and not only captured a stunning view across Mixal Lake with the clouds illuminated by the rising sun, but the reflections on the still water. The local Barred Owl was close to a tree, I saw him on yesterday's morning walk and again was unperturbed by our presence, or the American Robins who were again sounding their displeasure at his presence.  It still has the bent wing feathers, but is able to fly. The morning was taken over by the g...

Beer in the Sun to Finish   Fri May 28th It was disappointing to wake to grey overcast day, as the forecast looked more promising.  No more scats in the garden and no overnight visitors. The early walk was a repeat of yesterday afternoon, primarily to try and find my Nikon lens cap that went astray between the start and end of the walk.  No luck - order placed for two more.  Not the first time I've lost one! The male Rufous Hummingbird pitched up again this morning and spent a large part of the day topping up on the homemade nectar (to BC's nectar standards!).  He was great to watch, though he moved pretty quickly to catch a decent picture.  In the end I used a feature on my camera where, set up on a tripod outside, I could control it through my iPhone inside in the warm!  This meant the camera was close and not me!   [For fellow Nikon users I was able to se t the mode, (A,S,M,P), and then speed, aperture and ISO as appropriate...

Sunny Day  Tue May 25th Today was forecast to be overcast and showery.   It was certainly moist on our morning excursion down to the shores of Mixal Lake, but by 10.00 it was brilliant sunshine and it stayed that way most of the day. Supermarket shopping this morning (new store - took Fred ages!), a quick visit to the Vet for an $80 (£50) tick/flea tablet (I thought they were expensive in the UK but this is just "1" tablet - though it lasts 12 weeks! Back home for lunch together with calls and emails to sort out a long-term rental and the next thing we knew if was the middle of the afternoon.   Ready to pounce Peace in the garden was shattered when a klaxon sounded overhead, which subsequently turned out to be a Great Blue Heron precariously landing on a rather thin tree branch right in front of us. Jack was perplexed! It then settled in to Trout Lake at the bottom of our 'yard' to go fishing.  Quickly rewarded with a small catch and the trout was soon...