photography – OldPlaidCamper

Old stuff, new stuff (yes, this is a terrible title) and a big green space

We really enjoyed our recent visit to Quebec City, such a friendly and lively place, with an enticing mix of the old and new existing comfortably side by side. Where to start? We have so many highlights. How about outside? One large space that we grew to love very quickly was the Plains of Abraham. Such a delight to wander, a place that has always held a fascination for me since childhood. Boredom alert! Not so interesting pieces of my past are shared below. Old stuff.

I remember as a child reading about General James Wolfe and how he was victorious in battle on the Plains of Abraham against General Montcalm and his French forces. Those childhood primer history books were old even then, written and first published when Britain still clung to notions of greatness based on empire, and were British biased to say the least. They did not go into any great details beyond the triumph of Wolfe. Not much mention of the intricacies and dubious presence of two empires busily exporting their European wars to far flung places and messing things up there. Hmm.

Anyway, younger me wasn’t too concerned or aware of missing nuances – I mostly liked the maps showing how opposing forces were arrayed. Yes, I was a nine year old armchair general. Such a strange child… Getting back to the battle on the Plains of Abraham as told in my history book, I was always bothered by the thought it wasn’t much of a personal victory for Wolfe, given that he died in the battle. Come to think of it, older me still isn’t convinced that’s the best way to win…

Bloody history acknowledged, today the Plains of Abraham are a vast green space providing city dwellers and visitors quiet places to overlook the St. Lawrence River and the town of Levis on the far bank. It’s a busy waterway down there, so if watching boats is your thing, there’s always something moving.

Along with the rolling fields of grass and areas of military significance, there are hundreds of leafy trees, dozens of welcoming benches and tables, as well as planted garden areas where a person can sit and stare, or sit and doze. Or both, one after the other…

We did stay awake long enough to visit the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) which is situated overlooking the park, and if we were slightly sleepy before heading in, the collection of contemporary Quebec art dating from 1960 to the present certainly woke us up. What a vibrant and thought provoking array of work it was. New stuff! Highly recommended if you get the chance.

These stairs lead up to a wonderful contemporary collection!

I’ll leave it here for this week, with my head mentally, if not geographically, still wandering the plains, and feeling much relieved my bloodthirsty battlefield map loving younger self grew up into a pacifist. What a site, though. Did I mention how much we enjoyed it there? Here are a couple more photos:

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

On our travels…

On our travels and with indifferent/intermittent internet connection, so I’ll keep this very short. If you want to play along, feel free to hazard a guess as to where we’ve ended up – maybe not so hard to work out from the photos provided?

We’ve had a delightful time eating and drinking more than usual, and trying to walk some of it off as we wander around this small(ish) and very friendly city. Anyway, low bars on the wifi indicator, and more bars requiring our attention, so I’ll leave it here this week.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Chill early fall or late summer morning

Transition time! Scout and I enjoyed a chilly walk yesterday, a bright fall morning shot through with mists and spells of sunshine. Fall foliage is beginning to show, mornings are cooler, but for now we’re still just about hanging on to summer, with at least a hint of warmth most afternoons…

A rather brief post this week as we prepare for what feels like our first longish distance trip in a number of years. Excited for that, and more to follow when we return. Where are we going? Let’s find out next week. Oh, the tension…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful late summer/early fall weekend! (Any Southern Hemisphere readers will be looking forward to spring – hope it’s a pleasant one!)

“Tell me again how good I look – I’m all ears…”

Calm

Wandering through town in the days following the recent long weekend, we sensed something of a turning point, both in the season and how busy things seemed. After a summer seeing long lineups morning, noon and night for popular places to eat, this week appears quite calm. Business still looks pretty good for proprietors, but the lines out the door have disappeared. Phew! Maybe it’ll be easier to snag a seat up at the brewery in the next little while…

The coastal trails are certainly quieter, and with some late season sunshine, the black rocks have been a pleasant place to sit with a cup of coffee and think calm thoughts.

Mrs. PC startled a bear, or was startled by a bear the other day, as a tree Scout was exploring turned out to have a small bear heading up the other side of the trunk. A quiet and calm retreat ensured all was well, but it reminded me to look up more often, pay a bit more attention the next few weeks. Bears are filling up on berries, as evidenced by piles of purple poop deposited along the trails. So, make that looking down, as well as up, and left and right while we’re at it.

All in all, a calm and fruitful time of year in this corner of the PNW. We know the rain is coming, so we’ll enjoy the golden days while we can!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Fogtember

If Fogust is a thing (and it is out here) then why not Fogtember?

We were out on the coastal trails, remarking how sunny and warm it was for the first day of September, and how the sun sparkled on the distant water.

We decided to stop and soak up the warmth on the black rocks, sitting above hundreds of beached and bleached logs, and watching the boats bobbing up and down just offshore. What a pleasant afternoon!

I clambered down to take a closer look at the logs – I like the texture and faint aroma, but don’t tell anyone, they might think that’s odd… Anyway, when I rejoined Mrs. PC up on the rocks, it was still sunny, but the afternoon was about to take a cooler turn. No, nothing I’d said, but a fog bank had rolled in pretty swiftly.

We sat for a few minutes more, and the fog swallowed the far off boats, the sun, and then the trees further along from where we sat. Fogtember had appeared!

Deciding it was distinctly chilly, we set off for home, with the regular warning blasts from the lighthouse for good company. The start of September, cooler evenings, with hints of rain later this long weekend? Hmm, whisper it, but I think summer, such as it was in this little corner, might be drawing to a close…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful long weekend! (Oh, and I almost promise not to try and make Fogtober a thing!)

Fogust

You wait all summer for it to be summer, and then when it is (at last!) Fogust pops up! To be fair, we had quite a lot of Fogust in July, when July wasn’t being March. Is it safe to say by the time this is posted, we’ll be back to full on summer? One can hope…

Yesterday afternoon was a warm and sunny one, so Scout and I dressed appropriately for the weather – sunblock and pants for me, fur coat for her (what was she thinking?) – and off we ambled about town, looking good and looking for a shady spot to sit and keep looking good.

“Yes, I look good, but if you’re done, I’m heading under that bench behind you!”

With the sun high, if not quite at the midday zenith of high summer, empty shade was in short supply, so we settled for a favourite spot, a small platform in front of the inner harbour. Scout, quite sensibly, sought the shade under the bench I was sitting on, and wouldn’t move over to let me under.

We lasted about ten minutes before the relative heat got to me, protected though I was by sunblock, sunglasses, a baseball cap and the aforementioned good looks. We headed home, almost wishing we’d get a short spell of Fogust to break the brief warm spell. Be careful what you almost wish for…

I’m off to put on an extra layer. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Playing out on bikes

I’m not sure if I’ve been having iPad issues or WordPress issues, but I’ve certainly been having technical issues the past few days. Let’s see if this one gets posted…

Instead of staying indoors and fixing the technical issues, I did what’s best and went outside to play on bikes. That’s what we used to say back in the day. We’d tell our parents we were going out to play on bikes and then use them as getaway vehicles as we terrorized the neighbourhood. Astonishingly, in that particular group of friends, there were no broken bones or arrests made, so let’s leave that in the past and say we were good kids really.

Present day, I like to pedal (assist) my way slowly and carefully around town – when the sun is shining. My small combined mission to not fall off and do all errands in Ucluelet by bicycle or on foot has proved successful so far. A friend has an e-motorcycle and likes to tell me how fast it “could” go, but we’ve resisted the need for speed, and I’m not going to push my no broken bones from a bike record for a midlife crisis and curiosity about could an e-bike make that jump? (I think it could, but I’m not succumbing to peer pressure or forgetting to act my actual on the outside age…)

“After speeding down a ramp I took off, flying through the air before landing right here, narrowly avoiding crashing through the barrier and plunging into the water!” Oh, alright, I rolled to a slow and gentle stop and then sat quietly admiring the view.

Anyway, the sun is shining again today – we’re getting the second half of summer, even if we didn’t get the first half, or any spring, not that I’m bitter about it – so I’ll end this now and head back outside. I noticed some local youth have set up a ramp, made from a few bricks and planks. Looks safe to me…

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

UBC

UBC? Would that be the University of British Columbia? Well, yes, but no, not in this case. UBC is a fine institution, a seat of learning where several of the post secondary students I work with are studying, but all that is far too highbrow for this particular post. That said, although it is summer, with less focus on education-related work than usual, important research has to continue. (If you’re still with me, thank you, but be warned, this post has absolutely no point – but there will be a pint…)

The header photo already gives it away, but my learning in recent weeks has been more focused on the other UBC here in Ucluelet. Yes, the Ucluelet Brewing Company! Since throwing open (and then closing, due to pandemic) their sturdy wooden doors almost three years ago, I’ve really hankered after enjoying an unhurried pint on the outside patio overlooking the water – and my office across the bay! (I think doing so demonstrates my deep commitment to things I love – learning and beer – how professional is that?)

I’ve completed some worthwhile research here

We’ve enjoyed several evenings inside the converted church, but timing or weather hadn’t allowed us to get outside. A few weeks back, one Saturday afternoon, I happened to be out and about running some essential errands. I was heading down the hill about 2pm and glanced up at the brewery, thinking it was bound to be busy. An empty patio?! Goodness.

Bearing in mind I’d set out to complete some essential errands that could not be delayed, I did the right thing, which was why, a few minutes later, I was sat up on the balcony overlooking the water, a lovely pint of Harbour View Hazy Pale ale close to hand. Did someone say essential errands?

Almost summer, and can almost see my office from here (it’s out of shot, to the right, and no one’s in right now)

What a happy hour that was! Good things are worth the wait, but I hope it isn’t another almost three years before it is repeated… And those errands? Time for those later, if I can remember what they were…

As stated at the start, a post without a point, but it did have a pint. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Putting my feet up

Not all the time, and not entirely sloth like – it does take a bit of a walk to get to our preferred haunts. This photo was taken early July, on one of the rare sunnier days we got to enjoy.

We’ve read and heard a good deal about how many places are experiencing extreme heat and very little rain, and after the hot weather events of last summer that occurred even in this often damp and foggy little corner, we appreciate our overall good fortune.

So, here’s to a few more summery weeks, by the calendar if not always the weather, and we’ll take any excuse going to seek out quiet spots to put our feet up!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Summer!

We’ve finally had a hint of summer, and it feels good! As with spring, June 21st was a total washout, but the couple of days since, and the next few ahead have been/will be of a more summery nature. Phew!

A very brief post this week, as end of academic year activities, celebrations, and wrap up tasks take up most of our time. We’re looking forward to a warm and sunny weekend, and will be sitting outside drinking a beer. Might be a pale ale – just saying… And as we sit there, we’ll be hoping for more of the same. Beer? Sunny weekends? Both!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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