Expedition Canada

Orcas off Camp Byng Fri March 3rd Our Bonniebrook Beach Day 18 post op, Fred's rehab goes from strength to strength.  Crutches have been cast aside and a hiking stick is only being used when out and about.  Whilst not rushing up and downstairs, she's now climbing up and down pretty normally, the one thing she could not do before the hip op.  The medical team from Calgary are keeping in regular contact and the local GP is impressed with progress.   Physio phase 2, as distinct from home physio exercises, starts Mon 13th, exactly one month after the op.    A long weekend of Sebby-time when we got back from Calgary was good Fred therapy. Camp Byng - Quite different to the other Hammersmith!  As I have been doing two walks a day with Fred out of dog-walking action, I've been varying the routes.  My local favourite is Camp Byng; a 210 acre Scouts of Canada campground.  Closed up this time of year and slightly overrun/rundown after Covid; it is...

Boxes Nil Fri Jun 3rd.  That's not strictly true.  We still have some stuff in boxes, but ones that were already boxed before we packed up Eastcourt House; books, children's toys etc.  They are unlikely to be unpacked any time soon, well maybe some of the children's toys! The last week has flown by.  I guess the busier you are the quicker time goes. Last Friday and Sunday, the choir had two concerts in Sechelt and Gibsons, which were both well received.  Rehearsals have now started for the next piece, 'A Little Jazz Mass' by Bob Chilcott.  We have until the end of the month to perfect it for its first airing. Some friends came in for a drink after the Sunday concert and it was warm enough to sit on the deck and  enjoy the setting sun.  "A bear has just gone down the road" said one of our guests.  I grabbed my camera and rushed down to the road, as a large Black Bear was ambling past the mail boxes, before wandering up into the woods...

Two Whales and an Otter Fri May 27th  Downstairs recreation room/bedroom It seems to take so much longer to unpack than pack.  We are surrounded by boxes and it has taken a long time to make a dent in the various stacks.  As we feared we have more possessions than we want or need,  but are about 50% of the way through our combined local and international shipped boxes.  The UK shipment arrived in a 'Tardis' on Monday. The seemingly never-ending stream of boxes and wrapped furniture took three fellas five hours to unload.   Since then it has been non-stop.  On top of that we have had to carry out a super-clean of our rented house, ready for a handover inspection on Friday 27th.  We are to say the least, weary. Garage now a temporary box store The new house already feels like home and it's lovely to sit in the living room or on the deck to take in the view.  You just block out the boxes in your peripheral vision.  The resident Grey Wh...

Shorts back in closet Friday morning Fri Aug 24th to  Sun Aug 26th Friday morning got off to a beautiful start with the mountains above the Sea to Sky Highway on the mainland clearly visible.  By sunset it was clouding over and it rained most of the weekend. The local rainfall for the Friday when we lost power has been revised up to 128mm.  It will be interesting to see what we get by the end of this week, with rain forecast to run through to Thursday before sun reappears. What a difference a day makes (colour pic!) Shorts have been returned to the wardrobe and I'm back in jeans that  have hardly seen the light of day in  six months.  Well almost six months, next Monday Oct 3rd will be half a year since we arrived in Canada.  It has flown by. I'm sitting in the office we've created on the mezzanine, looking out across West Howe Sound.  In the space of ten minutes the sun has lit patches of sea, only to disappear in a squall of rain and mist, ...

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...

Rain Sets In Sat Sep11 Sun Sep 12 It is around this time of year I would put my (unscented) dog poo bags to good use foraging for mushrooms on Salisbury Plain.  I had one spot where I was able to find a good number of a member of the Agaricus family.  I did get them checked by an expert to be sure I knew that what I was picking was safe to eat, but can't recall the name.  It was a type of field or horse mushroom.    Occasionally I'd find a puffball.  Even better! The mushroom season has started in BC and I've already spotted some Chanterelle and about a dozen other types which I don't recognize. We have a local chap in Gibsons who trades under the name of Shaggy Jack (aka Jody), who runs foraging courses, so I have booked onto an October course for a five-hour tutored forage. I've decided it's no longer safe to stick with the 'perpendicular test' when foraging for mushrooms.  The one where if I'm still vertical the next morning they must be ...

Another Perspective  Fri 3rd Aug  Fred catching up on gardening mag It is five months to the day since we arrived in Canada on Apr 3rd. The time has gone so quickly. The sticky heat of summer mornings has given way to cool autumnal early morning air, gin clear blue skies to cloudier days; days that are getting noticeably shorter and weather more variable, though still no significant rainfall.  Whilst we miss family and friends and our favourite haunts in the UK, we’re feeling very settled in BC. Canadians we have met have been friendly and welcoming and we are beginning to count a handful of people we have met as friends, including a few Brits!  The highlight of the day was the morning walk on Hopkins Landing Beach and watching three. Young otters playing on the rocks.  Whilst enjoying BC, I have been absorbed by events several continents away. The unfolding story in Afghanistan has been part of my daily reading. I still have fond and vivid memories of my t...