Got back to the warmer west coast last weekend after a brief and chilly (but chilled) eastern Canadian trip, and hoped to see early spring signs – nope, not for now. Hmm…
A very short placeholder this week, before getting back to more complete posts next week, once we’ve defrosted/dug ourselves out!
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend – I’ll leave you with a taster and unsubtle hint as to where we were for a few days last week:
…stepping away for a week or two, and heading out of town for a week or two for a change of scene and some time to recharge and refresh.
Before signing off until March, here are a couple of photographs from a wonderfully welcome almost warm and very sunny spring day we enjoyed earlier this week.
Looking forward to a few more days like this as we transition into a hopefully early spring!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
It’s a kind thought, and thank you, but no, not a post about me. Oh ok, if it is, as well as wild and undaunted, we were also very brave. That’s brave enough to get up close to a water dragon the other day and stick around to see a bear on the roof. Hmm. After that muddled build up, I’d best mention now that it’s all far less exciting that you might imagine…
Carrying on from where January left off, we’ve had grey and rainy days interspersed with some dull and wet days, with the occasional stormy and windy interlude thrown in. Can’t remember how many sunny spells we’ve had in the past week or so – I think there were one or two – but perhaps that’s faulty grey matter or wishful thinking. Or an overactive imagination. Speaking of, we really did see a large bear on a roof – honest! – but I have to admit it was less real than you might think. Or than I might have wished. Still, we were undaunted.
Where were we? Ah yes, the bear. Here it is (totally unreal, but still, pretty wild?):
To the dragon then. I’m totally surprised, what with my heightened observational skills, that I hadn’t spotted the water dragon before. I mean, I’ve seen it most days when out on our walks, but it just hadn’t fully registered. Here it is:
So, to wrap up, perhaps all rather less exciting than it might seem, yet pretty good overall? Undaunted, wild, a bear on the roof and a water dragon? Given this has been a quiet and maybe even slightly dull week, can you imagine how things might hot up when it starts to hot up?! With spring just around the corner after the next corner, my imagination might become dangerously fevered. Whatever happens, I’ll take it all in stride, undaunted and so on…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We took a short trip to Victoria last weekend, hoping the forecast for sunshine and blue skies might actually be accurate, and would you believe it, it was!
The days weren’t the warmest, but they were certainly the driest we’ve experienced in a little while, so it was all good. Almost forgotten how great it can be to tilt your head up and feel a touch of warm sunshine (ignoring the chilly breeze!) on your face. Almost smiled…
For various reasons, January this year has been a real drag, grey and gloomy, and not always just the weather. What a relief then to finish the month on a bit of an uptick.
I’ll keep it brief this week, and end by sharing a couple more photographs showing a highlight or two or three from the past weekend. Farewell January and hello February – you’ll give us a sunny day or two, won’t you?!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Exhilarating though it is to be (safely, and from a distance) facing into the teeth of powerful storms, or pretending to do so just after they pass, it is also quite exhausting. Nature’s noise and frenzy is exciting for sure, but sometimes it’s nice to wander on the quiet side.
This is what we did last week, heading out in a different direction for our morning walk, on an almost dry day, stepping away from the coastal trails and across town to the inlet side.
It’s rarely entirely calm, being so maritime, but on the inlet side it can get close to almost quiet. The rain had stopped, and the wind was barely there, as reflected in the still water. We saw a few ducks – my eyesight and identification skills aren’t up to positive naming – but they were fun to spot. One flew below us, past where we stood overlooking the inlet, a long graceful swoop and glide along the top of the water, a slight skimming wake created before setting down. Nice landing!
Although the day was muted and grey, we enjoyed the pops of colour from the floats on boats and the bright paintwork on the wooden and metal harbour railings.
We’ll head back out on the wild side for sure, but it was very pleasant to have the option of a walk on the quiet side!
Thanks for reading, and we hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Could be a nursery rhyme, could be what we chant as we head along the shore, and it could sum up our recent outings.
Yesterday morning had the sort of weather that could ruin your hair do, but with a toque and rain hood protecting my hair don’t, and Scout happy enough as a high shedding short hair, we didn’t let the start of a storm stop us from looking great as we headed out.
Definitely a high energy nature turning up the power kind of a morning. Gulls were wheeling and swooping, seemingly just for the fun of it. Waves rushed in, sporting wind blown crests and crowns, and the noise was almost overwhelming – rain on hood, wind through trees, screeching gulls, the lighthouse foghorn, and the scrunch/crunch gravel sounds of the tide running up and then down. What a blast!
Earlier in the week, we’d trotted back up the trail to see if our favourite little cove was accessible, knowing full well it wouldn’t be even after the bulk of the storm had passed. We could hear the thump and thud of logs in the surf before we got there, and when we reached our little viewpoint just off the trail, we were met with quite the sight. I even took a short video:
Anyway, we’ll keep it fairly brief this week as we need some time to towel dry our hair, see if we can’t get ourselves halfway presentable. Although, why bother, as rumour has it there’s another big one rolling in this weekend! Ready? Log, rock, wind and rain…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
The turn of the year has brought a fair number of blustery days, and these have been good for blowing away any cobwebs and waking us up.
We’ve stuck to the coastal trails after each storm, excited to see the waves and admire the churning waters. One of our favourite little beaches has been off limits due to high tides and strong surges. On a calm day you can sit beneath the rocks and look up at the enormous logs, marvelling at how big the weather must have been to wash them up there.
We’re looking forward to calm day so we can scramble down to the beach, see what’s been washed up – Scout is convinced there must be a decent chew twig or two – and we wouldn’t mind a few quiet minutes with a cup of coffee and waving at the resident bald eagles drying their feathers out (the two wet blobs in a couple of the photos this week are the said eagles – they are stoic!)
Looking at the forecast for the next couple of weeks, those calmer days are still a little while off, but it’s been pleasant to notice and enjoy an extra daylight minute or two as the days slowly lengthen…
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Power on, power off, power back on, snow, wind, freezing rain, heavy rain, and more rain. We’ve been enjoying some big and breezy weather the past few days, but haven’t been hammered as hard as other places. We hope all is well with you, wherever you might be. Keeping it brief, and wishing you all the best for the year ahead!
Hopefully a less turbulent year, perhaps drama free and a little more calm, be that politically, economically, environmentally and in all our interactions. I know, but it doesn’t hurt to hope…
Thanks for reading, always appreciated, and we hope you have a wonderful weekend!
We’re just past the solstice and enjoying the winter light and the promise of more daylight hours. Hello winter!
We’ve had rainy days, snowy days, grey days and a few golden days the past little while, all pleasant enough, and illustrated here in the accompanying photographs.
I’ll keep it very brief this week, as we send warm wishes to you for the season if you choose to celebrate, and hope you have a great time with family and friends, perhaps close to a forest, lake, beach, mountain or other preferred natural environment!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Scout and I enjoyed a couple of almost warm and mostly sunny walks one day earlier this week. We rounded the last bend of the street just before home and found we liked the way the smoke from a nearby chimney was wafting through and across the treetops.
The second of our two walks that day took us along the coastal path to a sunny little spot that is often warm in the sun even if the overall air temperature is low. It proved to be so that afternoon, and we enjoyed a pleasant few minutes in the sun. Never one to be still too long, Scout was soon pushing for us to move on.
I was surprised by how low the sun was, although I shouldn’t have been given we’re approaching the shortest daylight hours very soon. The next photograph was taken before 2pm but seems later:
We hurried along the path for a few more minutes, wanting to enjoy more of the sun and sparkling water before darkness fell and winter returned. Yes, the rumour is that we’ll be experiencing a little more snow sometime next week. I’m trying not to get too excited, but please let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, as somebody once sang. Not me.
Almost home! Not too bad. I’ll leave it here this week, and wish you a wonderful weekend ahead!
PS For anyone excited by the baking adventures I’ve been having as prompted by Nigel Slater, I had a go at his banana and cardamom cake, and it was pretty good. Banana and cardamom cake
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