BC Faces

Took my niece to the Royal BC Museum and captured these dramatic shots. Who knew the museum would be such a great photo shoot location?

 

Cougars, Bears, Oh My!

I seem to recall writing a post about this a few years ago, but I can't find it. It was one of Kje's first weeks of school in Victoria. I asked him about his day and he mentioned digging for worms in the dirt pile, catching snakes and a salamander in the snake pit,crawling through blackberry bushes to the cougar pit  (sorry if you have heard this story before & I'm boring you) and then getting stung by a bee after he put his hand in a bush too close to the hive. It was then I knew Victoria was the right place for us.

A school with snakes, salamanders, bees, blackberry bushes and cougars was better than a school with needles, broken glass, homes for the homeless and used condoms.

So... guess what Kje said about school today? He was going to play on the rock pile (you know, the one with the mosquito pools) and his Principal told him he had to go inside immediately as a bear was spotted on the rock pile this morning. Yep, a real live bear.

So, I said, what happened to the bear?

Nothing, he said, they just let it do its own thing.

Hmmmm...... just another day on the island.

Scrimp or Splurge?

Personally, I prefer both!

A good friend Anita launched a new website, scrimporsplurge.ca, which I love. Being a relatively new Victorian (okay, it's been a few years now, so not that new) I still have much to learn about the ins and outs of where-to-go, what-to-do and who-to-buy-from about town. Cool tips and tricks from Anita? I'll take them gladly!

Oh, and check out the photo gallery of Victoria scenes, featuring little Hugo Spence, not to mention a few other Susan Rybar photos.

This was once my favourite photo

I thought I should retire these spring shots from my home page before the snow falls... any...day...now.
This is one of those shots that melts your heart... "here mommy, this is for you."

Food around the clock

Local, organic tick-tock

Local veggies

Paris and I went local farm hopping on Sunday. Here is some of our bounty:

Just another reason...

...to visit Victoria.

Hide and Go to Sleep

Guess who we found hiding in our garden?

I guess this is my version of newborn photography.



To think we were outside for hours before we spotted her (no pun intended).



So sleepy. So fragile. So glad Mom came by later.

Swiftsure

An event is always better when you know someone in it. In the cast of Swiftsure, my brother is sailing on Mad Max, a well-known Vancouver-based vessel. I must admit it was exciting to see the boats off from the marina and then see them again offshore. Almost made me want to be on one... almost.

Here are a few of my favourite photos from the morning:

Mad Max getting ready to leave the Inner Harbour:

Motoring out:

Reflections:

Mast Flag:

Sails offshore:

Looking for Mad Max (uh, binoculars would help):

According to the Race Tracker, Mad Max is estimated to finish today around 10:55 am.

Bliss

Bambi crept into our back yard while I was in the tub. Sheer bliss as she bat her eyes at me and proceeded to munch on the leaves from our apple tree.

Getting ready

I'm getting ready for the big photo weekend next Sat. So far, it looks like it will be a 14-hour marathon of clicking shutters. And then there is Sunday....

To warm up my clicker finger, I hit the local horsie-home I pass on my way to work. These are a few of my favourites.

Shout out

This is just a little shout out to the teenagers that spent the weekend at our house. Thank you for:

• coming to the birthday party of an eight-year-old
• being polite all weekend, even without your parents to remind you
• playing Halo and Runescape and Warhammer all night
• joining the younger kids in a game of tag (next time you're it first!)
• being quiet and respectful (but I must admit I missed the loud rowdy pillow fight)
• helping the birthday boy with his computer games
• giving hugs when you arrived and leaving hugs when you left
• inviting me to tag along as you wondered around the ferry
• bringing your dishes into the kitchen when you were finished
• going outside when I said you should get some fresh air
• leaving behind your tags and marks on our garage door (are you finished?)

Come again, anytime!

5 out of 6

I have now been to the ferry terminal 5 times in the last 6 days.

It's official.

I'm an island girl.

Hoot

Last weekend I woke up in the wee hours of the morning, and heard this sound: o o o o o ohhhh ohhhhh....... o o o o o o o ohhh ohhhh ohhh ohhh.

Upon replicating the sound for a friend she realized that we had heard a Screech-Owl.

Check this out.

Sounds a bit better than me.

Now imagine standing outside in pitch black on a deck high enough you feel you are in the canopy of a forest. You hear the harmony of one owl in the protected heritage cedar on the right, one owl in the protected heritage cedar on the left, and another off yonder a little ways.

A symphony of Screech-Owls. Call and answer.

Peaceful. Natural. Breathless.

And... the Western Screech-Owl is an endangered species, federally and provincially. How amazing it is to have an endangered species take refuge in your yard!

First deer, then hummingbirds, then raccoons, and now screech-owls. I think I am ready for a cougar showing up. I also hear there have been grizzly spottings on the island. Hmmm...

Old sunken bottles of life

Last weekend, the guys headed out for a dive, while I stayed on shore and played with the camera lens. Fast forward an hour and a half, and our friend Al came out of the water with an old ink bottle, covered in life, looking beautiful as only old sunken bottles can. Covered in sea fir hydroids, like a little sparse forest all on its own.



First, a baby octopus came out, red all over and eager to sneak back into the waves. Slithered in the palm of Al's hand, squiggly and wiggly, then swam away.

Then, later, when I as taking photos of the bottle (see above), I noticed a tiny red thing on the rock. Looks like a shrimp (but I can't find it in our reference book, so don't quote me on that). Upon further notice, the bottle (see above) is home to quite a few of these little things. Check closely (see above) and you can see them too.

Bluffs

One of the best things about our new neighbourhood is that we live on a hill and can hike up pretty quickly to the lichen-covered bluffs above us. Come with!

Hike up...



Keep going...



Enjoy the view... but don't get too close to the edge...



Ah.... nice view! (Yes, that would be the USA you are looking at in the distance.)



Back down through the forest path.

Home sweet home

I know I am about...oh...six months late on this...but here are a few pictures of the house when we first moved in. Not the deer. Not the waterfall or the frog. Not the hammock. The house. Enjoy.

Walk into the kitchen (see that big empty floor - that is where the drum set is!)

Turn behind you and enter the dining room and living room. The fireplace is on now!

Close up of those beams. (I know I showed these already, but really, they are the best part of the house. Except for maybe the windows. And trees. Um... fireplace?)

Open the sliding glass door in the dining room. Walk out to the deck. Nice trees!

And here is a sliver of the view from the deck.

So cute

Here you are - photos of our deer.

There really is a herd of about 8 that roam the neighbourhood. Big antlers and everything. They stop traffic.

We're thinking of building them a shelter for the winter. Kinda like the North Pole. Without the Abominable Snowman. Or elves.

You will notice the obvious omission of strawberries in these pictures.

Insight into a teenage mind

"It's really beginning to feel like home around here. TV, XBOX and even a new tea kettle."

Pictures Part 2

Check it out! Retro....

Gotta love the glow of the washroom light on the wallpaper... All those hearts are sooo romantic!



In the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki room...



Every good 70's home has a rock fireplace...



Beams, beams and more beams...



Our formal office, complete with gold stamped wallpaper and faux wood walls...



Rag rugs, rag rugs, red rum... (say that 5 times fast!)