Expedition Canada

Blog Exclusive Tue Apr 26th  Royal Proclamation Sebastian Wilfred Dabous Cronk b. Apr 25th 2022 - 7lb 12oz Needless to say we are delighted with the arrival of the young fella which is the icing on the cake of our move to Canada.  Celebrations are likely to continue throughout the week!   Mum and baby (and Dad who has already lost count of the diapers he's changed) are doing great and we plan to head over to Vancouver at the end of the week for hugs and cuddles. In other far less important news .....  The ferry service to Vancouver is enjoying an hourly service this week as they can only use the bottom half of the ship.  The Langdale upper loading ramp is having some major work done so only the lower deck is available from the secondary dock.  One of the ferries serving Vancouver Island has been diverted on to the Langdale route to maintain capacity.  We rather hope that BC Ferries don't hinder our trip across to Vancouver later in ...

The Sun is Out Howe Sound from the deck Sun Feb 6th So a good day to be talking about the Sunshine Coast. Not so good if you are a Vancouverite heading back from your weekend on the Coast for work next week.   Sunday afternoon is the day when those with holiday cottages return to Vancouver.  It's also the day that BC Ferries decide to cancel two successive ferries - Langdale to Horseshoe Bay, (and the reverse sailings that got the ferry over here in the first place). Overflow car park  The cancelled 10.50am and  1.05pm (I prefer 1 305hrs - the 24hr clock got ingrained in the World Service!) left a long queue of cars in the overflow carpark and the main marshalling area after the resumed  3.15pm had departed back to Horseshoe Bay.  Some drivers were expecting a 4 hr wait, perhaps not able to get on a ferry until 7.40pm.  In winter the stalls selling food and drinks are closed and few will want to venture 10 mins back to Gibsons for refreshments and...

Happy New Year! Looking across West Howe sound to West Lion Mtn Fri Dec 31st 2021 Just as the road was becoming more passable after the snow on Christmas Eve, another 200mm fell overnight of the 29th/30th.  The snow-shoes came into their own Thursday morning, just for getting Jack down the road.  What a great Christmas present. With temperatures remaining below zero the snow is expected to stick around until at least Sunday when we have a couple of days when the forecasts suggest we will get up to a balmy +5c. Although the council snow-ploughs and gritters have been out, even the main roads still have some snow on them so we have not ventured far.   He loves it! A neighbour with a plough attachment for his tractor/lawn mower again cleared the road below us as far as the section where it levels out and I decided to take on the drive.   I wish now I had bought a snow-blower rather than a snow shovel, as it took me the best part of two hours to clear our steep...

Rail Services Restored Mon Dec 6th  Our current house in Gibsons The first snowfall of winter transformed the local scenery overnight and the house looked rather cosy nestled amongst the snow shrouded trees.    It's probably not going to be around long as rain is due to arrive later tonight.   The walk down to Hopkins Landing was quiet with the snow soaking up the usual morning sounds.  Some highways still have sections that are not passable because of the rain and land slips.  Canadian National (CN) Railways have resumed rail services that connect through to the port of Vancouver. Canadian Pacific had already resumed services within BC.  It'll be interesting to see which company will transport our shipping container across Canada.  A rail journey of 4,800km, compared to the 4,900km between the UK and Quebec, where the ship will dock. Speaking of ports, the container ship, Zim Kingston,  damaged by fire six weeks ago after los...

Black Bear Cub passes through Wed Sep 22nd Timber laden barge Thu Sep 23rd Skeins of honking Canada Geese are now in evidence as they ready to migrate to their wintering grounds.  At one time they would head off to southern USA.  These days they may not get as far if they find food and suitable habitat on route, especially around urban environments.    The Acers around the house are starting to take on an orange hue but have not yet reached that fiery red so typical of the species.  Their related large leaf Maple and other deciduous trees are beginning to turn,  some leaves already dropping though this is more to do with the summer drought.  Current temperatures remain mild, though there is a definite chill first thing in the morning and evenings.  During the day in the sun, it remains pleasantly warm.  North American Robins, the size of a UK Thrush but with a red or orange breast and Northern Flickers, a member of the woodpecker fa...

Running Creeks Sat Sept 18th Compared to Friday, Saturday was a beautiful morning Sun Sept 19th  Friday night's rain which took out our power, also took out the scheduled 18:55 ferry, which was cancelled.  So just as well Nick and Lizzie postponed coming over - it would have been a long wait at the ferry terminal.  With news reports during Thursday suggesting there could be power cuts, Fred bought a camping gas-lamp (the last one in the shop) and candles during her shopping trip on Friday morning.  Just as well.  At 5pm on Friday there was a loud bang outside and we lost power. We didn't anticipate needing them quite so soon. It felt quite cosy without electric lighting.  Fortunately the gas hob and gas log fire still worked.  We were comfortable, but turned in early not wanting to drain phone batteries.  BC Hydro engineers turned up just after 01:00 driving up and down the lane in the heavy rain using powerful lights to check the overhead ca...

Super-Visas Approved  Lone Heron on a diving platform Hopkins Landing beach Thu Aug 26th BREAKING NEWS Having written all about bear encounters and rain, our lovely immigration advisor rang early afternoon to say out Super-visas had been approved.  We're over the moon. It means we can now stay for 10 years in 2 year chunks, longer initially if our visitor extension gets approved.  Should be enough time to get residency sorted!  Earlier in the day ..... Having complained in yesterday's blog about the risk of bears being attracted by people not taking their green food bins in at night, a large male black bear interrupted my dog walk home this morning.  One hundred yards from home he ambled down the entrance drive from one of the neighbouring properties and disappeared in the bend in the road.   Dilemma, he's between me and the house, proceed or 'phone a Fred'.  As it was a local walk I had no bear spray or bangers.  I opted for the ph...

Things not to do Naked Tue Aug 10th Sunrise Wed AM Wed Aug 11th Our local radio station, CKAY Coast FM, ran a feature this morning on things one would not want to do naked.   Picking blackberries was one of the suggestions.  Not that it would ever cross my mind. I mention this as two young Black Tailed deer, worked their way down the steep bank of our front garden grazing on the still plentiful supply of blackberries and young shoots that grow throughout the summer. They must have very thorn proof lips and mouths.  I was going to pick those same blackberries tomorrow morning - dressed! What did you think my reference to nakedness was going to be all about?   Coast FM serves the Sunshine Coast and eastern side of Vancouver Island, particularly around Nanaimo where many of the advertisers seem to be based.  They are a bit like Planet Rock in the UK, but do a good local news bulletin at the top and bottom of the hour as well regular updates of t...

Jack to Vet, Toads on the Move Fri Jul 30th Sat Jul 31st Friday Today it's a 34 C day and no sea breeze.  Tonight it will cool to 23 C.  We have another day of it tomorrow before the weather returns to seasonal norms, whatever that is these days.  Threats of rain and lightning over metro Vancouver will probably not reach us.  The rain would be welcome, though lightning brings with it a greater  risk of forest fires, a double edged sword. This  sign adorned the vet's surgery.  We think Jack might score 10.5 out of 15 on the attached.   He loves rolling in the mud, the forest floor, beach/foreshore, carpet, lawn (dry and brown) and in recent days to 'scratch' his ears.  Hence the visit to the vet.  A yeast infection in both ears, common in dogs that like swimming!!!  You try keeping him out of the water Dr Vet!   I'll leave you to judge the 4 - 5 fails!  He rather took to the vet, which is unusual.  She had hi...

No Rain Forecast Sun Jul 25th Mon Jul 26th Morning light - Hopkins Landing The last rain in Gibsons (and this end of the Coast generally) was six weeks ago and everywhere is bone dry.  The creeks that run off Mt Elphinstone behind us provide some relief and at the bottom of the garden, alongside the road, there is a gully that is still trickling with water.  Most of the Coast, apart from the Pender harbour/Garden Bay area are under water restrictions.  In Langdale, we are Level 2, so no sprinkler use, trees and shrubs two days a week for two hours, fruit and veg allowed.  The bulk of the rest of the coast is under Level 3 which is even more draconian.  Leaks and poor water supply planning and management are behind most of the problems.  The water is there.  The warm weather has been good for the blackberries.  The bushes on the roadsides and large parts of the 'yard' around the house are full.  I have never seen so many bushes and such a hug...

To Wildlife Cherry stone laden bear scats Thu Jul 22nd Early last week Fred saw a mother bear and cub on the bypass going down to the ferry terminal.  They are known to be living in the area, though we have not seen them near the house. They have been around though and on this morning's dog walk I snapped evidence of their presence two minutes from the house.  They clearly have a liking for cherries which were evident in the deposit along with other plant material.  The blackberries are coming in to season but I decided not to investigate for blackberry seeds! Fred was out playing tennis first thing, so I spent the morning sorting out the lathe kit in the workshop.  I think I have now managed to get all the different accessories in their correct groupings even if I have not worked out what all of them do yet.  The ornamental cutter, is a hugely complicated piece of kit and I'm not sure I'm going to get much use from it. I did manage to find instruction...