Expedition Canada

Two Years in Canada  Monday April 17th T087 Harbeson  A stroll down to the beach on Wednesday evening was rewarded with the sighting of a pod of Orca, about 4-6 of them, splashing around about 200-400m off the beach.  It is the first time in nearly two years on the Coast that we have seen Orca from this beach.  A year ago Fred had spotted a pod just 50m off-shore at Hopkin's Landing beach when we lived in Langdale, we have spotted them from afar on one of our ferry rides a year or two back and I've seen them from a distance when out sailing, but never this close and this active!   You can just see the water spout from the smaller whale They had been seen earlier during the day further up the Coast and two were identified as T087 Harbeson and  T06A5  Indy, but what species of Orca? According to a website that covers Salish Sea Orcas  there are only about 73 Southern Orca remaining in the Salish Sea in three distinct pods, JPod, KPod and LPod a...

Bob Woodward; the Seb Connection Sunday April 9th  Sunset over Van Island rarely disappoints What is he on about you might ask?  Well, ever since I first saw the movie 'All the President's Men', and later read the book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, I have followed Bob Woodward's writing.  Both his political analysis in the Washington Post and his books. I read his three recent books on Trump, 'Fear', 'Rage' and 'Peril' .   Seb, during his Easter visit was close to devouring 'Peril', literally. I thought it important he developed his breadth of reading material!  I snapped a picture which was posted to Instagram with the appropriate hashtags, including #bobwoodward. One of the 'likes' was from a name I didn't recognise.  A quick Google search later and it appears that it was Bob Woodward's wife; columnist and writer Elsa Walsh.  So young Seb has made it into the Woodward household.  The surprising connections of socia...

One (Not so) Careful Owner Mon March 20th It is a popular spot for locals wanting to sell a vehicle though one owner might rue the day they parked up along the highway with a For Sale notice.  The wreck has been there a week and some wag has now added a new For Sale sign "Fire Sale - $15,000 - No low bids".  A tad optimistic I feel. Fred continues to make strides in her recovery, up to 2km of them a day, and was even spotted in the garden last week.   She can't drive until Monday 27th so I remain head chauffeur until then, much to her frustration and mine! The local birdlife thinks it's Spring as drab winter plumage has given way to brighter colours in support of mating rituals.  We have been visited in the garden by Steller's Jays, Pileated Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers (also a member of the woodpecker family) and the Hummingbirds are back.  The Bald Eagles are doing some housekeeping on their nest high up on a Douglas Fir along the beach road.  Bird...

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...

Home Sat Feb 18th Made it down to breakfast 2 days after op Our one disappointment from our trip to Calgary was that we didn't see one horse, cow or cowboy/girl.  The closest I got was a visit to Lammle's to buy a pair of jeans as the ones I flew out in developed a split where a fella doesn't want a split.  Lammle's stock everything 'cowhand' including tack for your horse.  More designs of boots than a cowhand could wear in a lifetime. I resisted the temptation. The taxi who took us for Fred's x-rays on Sunday, certainly had 'the knowledge' of the city.  Thirty five minutes south of the hotel, he knew the street numbering sufficiently well to correct the address we gave him.    Quite a coincidence, but t he following morning he was at the front of the taxi queue to take us north of the city to the former maternity hospital for Fred's op.  An early start as she had to be there for 0700 Monday.  I decided to walk back which is always a better way ...

Winter Woollens Packed Sun Feb12th Calgary from 5000' Friday 10th we arrived in Calgary, aka Cowtown.  The largest city in Alberta (not the capital which is Edmonton) and in the middle of Canada's largest beef producing area.   The journey out worked well.  The ferry was on time, little traffic through Vancouver, a quick stopover to drop off a tray table for Seb's high chair in Kitsilano, then on to the airport.    The flight, just over an hour, offered clear views of Vancouver at dusk and patterns of an illuminated Calgary on arrival.  Vancouver Departure A ccording to Calgary tourist sites,  Alberta as a whole has the largest cattle herd in Canada. A lthough now a cosmopolitan city, it retains a solid core cowboy culture.  The summer Calgary Stampede which takes place in July, is one of the biggest rodeos in the world, attracting around 1mn visitors.  Think agricultural show (Bath & West show circa 140,000) with lots of horses,...