Friday, August 30, 2019

THIS MIGHT BE OUR LAST MOOCHDOCKING ON THE ISLAND THIS YEAR

Summer is winding down quickly and next week we will head up to Seal Bay for the fall Escapees RV Club rally.  We have been covering lots of ground since we came down to Duncan.  We went to Nanaimo for the RV group lunch one day.  We've been to Victoria three times.  The first one was to take Bev D out for her birthday lunch.  The second to Victoria was to meet Richard and bring Georgia back to the motor home for the night as this was moving week for them and then we took her home yesterday and had a peek at the new house.   On Monday, we drove to Port Renfrew via Lake Cowichan and spent some time at Botany Bay and Botanical Beach.  We had perfect weather at the ocean and it wasn't too busy either.   We picked up four geocaches in the park and another twenty five on the way home.   And then, on Tuesday, we drove up to Parksville for my sibling's supper.  All eight of my brothers and sisters attended with their spouses.  No mean feat in these busy days.
We don't have formalized plans yet but after the rally ends on September 7th, we will stick around a few days then head for Salmon Arm for a short time before going to Penticton just after mid month.  Aileen will stay there in the motor home while I attend the PSA photo convention in Spokane.  After the convention, we will have a little over two weeks to do something else before we can cross the border and head south for the winter.  By the way, moochdocking is what I call parking in family or friend's driveways.

Some waterfalls in Harris Creek alongside the road between Lake Cowichan and Port Renfrew


My siblings, that's me on the right.  We are lined up by age.

With our spouses

Cowichan River estuary

An Arbutus tree along the ocean shore


Great Blue Heron, Cattle Point, Victoria

Michaelmas Daisy and bee outside our motor home door at Neil and Carol's

Peeling Arbutus bark in evening sun

Steller's Jay at Botanical Beach

Botany Bay

Growing in a crack on the rocky bluff beside the ocean

Twisty tree on the path

A window on the seashore from the forest path

Botanical Beach



These rocks embedded in the sandstone were intriguing



The infamous Fairy Lake Hemlock in the lake.  I have seen photos of this little tree from all over, mostly on Facebook but in other media as well.

The monstrous Harris Creek Spruce.  I am standing even with it for perspective 



Thursday, August 22, 2019

ANOTHER MOVE

When Charlie and Sheila returned from their holiday, we moved back down to Duncan and are parked at Cousin Neil and Carol's.  We have more things we want to do in this area before we leave the Island in early September. 
We had a great visit today from Aileen's cousin Lorene and her husband Tony.  They are at the point where they are starting to think seriously about an RV and rented a 23 foot Class C to get a feel for it.  Not surprisingly, the corner bed is a no go.  Renting is a good way to separate some of these issues before spending a pile of money then having to trade up fairly soon.
We had Georgia for six nights.  We got her out hiking several times and even saw some new to us spots, courtesy of John R and my sister Sue.  Blackberries are ripe everywhere and Georgia loves her berries. 
Yesterday we had lunch in Nanaimo with our RV group of friends.  It was nice to catch up on what's happening.  Just a week and a half now until our Fall RV Rally at Seal Bay.  This will be our last rally for a while if our current plans to not bring the motor home over to the Island next year follow through.  We want to do some travelling in the rest of BC and the north.  It seems once we get to the Island, we are here for the duration as there are so many things that we want to do.   It is too expensive to use the ferry more than once a year, although we have done it before.

While walking at dusk the other day we spotted this bumble bee hunkering down in a Hibiscus flower.  It is one of those things you don't really think about.  Where do flies and bees etc. spend the night when it is damp and chilly?  We watched several others selecting their bedrooms too, though most were going into flowers that were already closed for the night.

Closer

I have seen this spotted horse/spotted dog combo going past the motor home numerous times but always the other way so I didn't have time to get a shot.  This time they were going the other direction and I spotted them across the field as they approached Charlie's driveway giving me enough time to grab my camera and run out into the yard.

While out on a walk I glanced up and saw this hornet's nest right above us.

A fungus on a log during one of our walks

Three shots of a little waterfall


Side view

Monday, August 12, 2019

FARM SITTING

Farm sitting is like house sitting but more to keep an eye on.  One cow had calved several weeks ago and another was expected but didn't seem to getting with the program.  I checked her yesterday before we went for a drive and she was in the field with the others.  When we got home last evening and I went to give them a few flakes of hay, she was missing.  I finally found her in the bush alongside the barn with a new little red calf.  Since it was pretty rough and getting darker by the minute, I took her some hay and a few buckets of water.  She was very thirsty.  This morning I was able to push and lift the calf over the low fence and Momma followed.  As soon as the calf got into the softer grass of the field, she took off bounding and wobbling across the meadow.  It was interesting to watch the other animals meet the new one.  There was great excitement and curiosity with the new Mom being very protective of her baby.  Things settled down after a bit and all went back to chomping grass.
Yesterday we went to Campbell River to visit our friends, Gay and Doug.  We hadn't seen them since Bill's funeral and there were a lot of people there so not much time.  It was nice to sit and catch up on things.  Gay also reminded me that I hadn't put a blog post out for nearly two weeks.  Now it is two weeks.  I remain impressed by those bloggers who manage to post every day.
We have been doing a bit of geocaching on our evening walks as well as finding some good blackberry patches.  There are gardens to water and once in a while lawns to cut.  I hauled in the winter's firewood as well.  We've also been gathering food for the rally meal that Aileen is in charge of preparing.  We don't have any problem keeping busy.
Our summer and time on the Island is rapidly winding down.  When Charlie and Sheila return, we will go back to Duncan for a few days as we have more things we want to do down that way.  Richard and Georgia were to have come up last week but they came down with colds and cancelled.  They are planning to come tomorrow and Georgia will stay with us for a few days.
We will be moving up to Seal Bay for the fall RV rally September 2 -7 then we will probably chill out somewhere for a few days before leaving the Island and going to Salmon Arm for a while.

Immature Chipping Sparrow.  I took this out the window from my computer seat.

I'm thinking this belongs in the fungus family.  It is a short growing, bright yellow slimy creation that is quite common further up island.  This was here in the dry belt at Little Qualicum Park.

Little Qualicum River, hand held, but braced on a fence, with my Canon SX60, fully manual exposure

Little Qualicum River, hand held, but braced on a fence, with my Canon SX60, fully manual exposure

Little Qualicum River, hand held, but braced on a fence, with my Canon SX60, fully manual exposure

Hairy Woodpecker taken through the motor home windshield

When he started in on the new paint job, I honked the horn to stop that.  Just part of the job protecting the property!

While we were walking a shady forest path the other evening, I noticed this Bull Fern illuminated by a tiny ray of sunlight.

While checking the gardens one morning I noticed this spider so went and got my camera, which is where the rest of today's images came from.

Inside a rose blossom



Gladiola


Lily


Roses

Roses

Lily

Lily

And Lily

Taken with our i-phone, the calf is less than a day old