Vancouver Island is such a beautiful, magical place. I’m going to let the pictures do the talking, mostly.
It is filled with lovely souls – such as Donna, from Retirement Reflections who generously filled me in on the Island’s wonders.
Always a treat to meet bloggers you follow in real life!
Donna and her charming husband Richard also took the time to show me a lovely walking trail between Qualicum Beach and Bowser area.
A very accessible trail designed to accommodate as many community members as possible.One of 1,000s. A gorgeous tree on this trail.
And Donna lent me some great books to read up on Vancouver Island fun attractions, facts and figures!
I learned a lot about the history and attractions of the Island from these!
On Mizz J’s day off work, we hit the road to do some exploring.
First up: Little Qualicum Cheeseworks at Morningstar Farm. A “dairy/berry” farm, and a delight for agri-tourists, like us!
Love the no smoking sign.Helpful signs everywhere explaining how the farm works for us non-farmers.Robot pushing the feed closer to the hungry cows.Curious goat says hi.Miss Thing from the maternity pen also says hi.Potted flowers blooming outside farm store entrance. Complete with painted mandala stone. This is February 1, people! In Canada!!!Lovely treats brought home from the farm store.
Entrance to CentreIt was tough to get a good shot of the many birds housed there (including eagles, hawks, and ravens) through the wire mesh of their enclosures. So here’s a resident turkey, for your viewing pleasure. 🙂There was also a garden area, showcasing native (and some non-native) plants to be found on the Island. Seen here: oregon grape, heather, and kinnick-kinnick.
After a delightful visit, it was on to the next: Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park, Parksville.
We were delighted to come across many bunnies on our way to the beach. They let us get quite close.Beach view. Overcast but still lovely.As with most places on the Island, we were in awe of the beautiful, giant trees.
After such an attraction-packed day, it was time to head back to Mizz J’s for a well-deserved soak in the hot tub.
Exploring the beauty of Vancouver Island with these two rascals.
I’m on Vancouver Island at the moment, visiting with Mizz J and her man, who moved here last September.
So, instead of just more of December (colder and with more snow and ice), I thought it would be nice to show what a west coast January looks like.
Well, it’s kinda GREEN. Here’s some shots of Cathedral Grove, which we visited on Saturday.
On the short trail around Cathedral GroveNothing to see here. Just another damn tree hugger. Just kidding. K volunteered to be used for size reference. He’s over 6 feet tall.Crystal clear mountain-stream fed waters
After Cathedral Grove, we went to Englishman River Falls.
Lower FallsUpper Falls. Once again, K volunteered to stand near for size reference. Better him than me!The lushness of green growth on the Island
Yesterday we went to the Medicine Bowls, near Courtenay.
Water rushing down the road to the BowlsCan confirm. The rocks were super slippery. I was pretty uncomfortable since I couldn’t trust my footing. It was slow and careful going.Upper Bowls areaLower bowl. Apparently people swim (and some die!) here in warmer weather.
When the sun went down, it was time to meet up with K’s mom and stepdad at Royston Towne Pub (“The Roy”), where they were hosting open mic night.
K’s mom and stepdad. Wonderful musicians. So talented.Unleashing the Kraken and getting in shape for all the rum punches to come in Barbados. 😉The best reason to be on Vancouver Island in January or any time.
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge, hosted by Su Leslie at Zimmerbitch. Go check her beautiful blog out!
The first weekend of August was reserved for the Mill Race Festival of Traditional Music.
I enjoyed listening to the world music brought to this festival. This year, I listened to an artist from Afghanistan:
Qais Essar getting ready to play a 2500 year old instrument – the rabab
And one originally from West Africa, now based out of Montreal:
Zal Sissokho playing the kora – an African harp. It was magical.
The second weekend of August was KW Bluesfest, starting on Thursday night with Rik Emmett (formerly of Triumph):
Rik Emmett and RESolution 9
And then it was Jonny Lang’s turn:
Jonny Lang
Saturday afternoon, I watched Magic Dick (of J.Geils Band) work his harmonica magic:
Magic Dick and Shun Ng
Saturday night it was the Ghost Town Blues Band – highly enjoyable – so much so that I forgot to take any pictures!
Sunday morning it was gospel for breakfast:
Quisha Wint at the Gospel Breakfast
Then my daughter and her guy left for BC and I fell apart, and into a frenzy of cleaning:
Washed and resealed the slate floor in my bathroom. On my hands and knees. Ouch.
The third weekend of August was set aside for Riverfest Elora.
Friday night, July Talk hit the stage:
Leah Fay of July TalkMore July Talk, a really great band
Riverfest has gained popularity. It was quite crowded this year. Grrr.
The Beaches’ set at RiverfestDear Rouge – another great Canadian band I was privileged to see.
The final weekend of August was for connecting with friends and recovering from all the festival action.
Then a few days ago, I took some time during the week to go to Stratford with Joanne of My Life Lived Full, to catch Rocky Horror at the Avon Theatre:
Waiting for Rocky: Let’s make silly faces, she said. OK, I said.
The next day we got even sillier on the Speed River. Not really, although I did get baptized in the river when my kayak entry went awry (first time, ever!). Thankfully no undignified pictures were snapped because Joanne is a FRIEND first and blogger second. 🙂 Check out her kayaking photos here.
And that pretty much wraps up the month for me.
The Changing Seasons is a monthly blog challenge hosted by Su Leslie of Zimmerbitch.
August is a great month. Fresh corn, peaches, and tomatoes are all available. I have music festivals lined up for each of the first 3 weeks. I’m seeing The Rocky Horror Show in Stratford during the last week of August. It’s my son’s birthday next weekend and I’m throwing him a birthday dinner to celebrate.
What is not to love?
Well, my daughter, who has been living with me for the past 2 years while pursuing her MSW, and her boyfriend, who has been living with us for the past 6 months, are pulling out of Ontario mid-month to start a new life out on the west coast, in British Columbia.
I’m very happy for them. This is the right move for them, for many reasons. And I’m a wee bit envious of their grand adventure. But I’m also going to miss them like crazy.
My place is going to feel very empty for a while. I am going to have to deal with coming home every day to an empty house, again.
Don’t get me wrong – I love living alone.
I want to live alone.
I deserve to live alone.
But every time I have people stay for a length of time, when they leave I have to get used to living alone all over again. And having a child not only leave but move 3-fucking-thousand miles away is going to multiply my alone-feeling exponentially.
I don’t want this to happen:
Hehehehe…the opening of this movie continues to crack me up every time I watch it.
But seriously, I don’t want this to be me.
So I am drafting a bit of a plan, to adjust to being alone again.
Instead of eating or drinking my feelings (a real fear, people), I plan to exercise them. Instead of moping around the house, I plan to clean and organize it. Instead of being my introverted, antisocial self, I might actually call a friend and make a plan to go out.
OK, maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch. 😉
I feel good that I’m anticipating my sadness and have a plan to deal with it.
Today’s post was supposed to be about what a great time I had last Friday at the spa with fellow bloggers Karen and Joanne, and then the continued birthday celebrations at home Saturday, and then meeting lovely Karen The Unassuming Hiker (another blogger I admire) and her equally lovely husband for lunch on Sunday, and how bagged I am from all the socializing and then having to do the job of 2 people at work all week, and my need to recover from all of the above. Whew.
But instead this is what I really need to write about.
July started off with a bang. Canada Day (July 1) is also my daughter’s (Mizz J) birthday. I made a fabulous trifle, using local berries and sherry, and of course plenty of local, growth-hormone free, high quality dairy.
Uh-oh, here comes a rant:
Fuck you Trump. I support Canadian Dairy and Canadian Dairy supports me, literally. It’s my day job, to work for a company that supports this industry, which I love. So yeah, fuck you, Trump. As a dairy insider, I can tell you your milk is not up to Canadian quality standards. Most of it would not be allowed in this country even if the borders were wide open. And you can thank the Canadian supply management system for making sure Canadians get the highest quality milk for their money. Rant over. (Aren’t you relieved?)
Strawberry Trifle. It was delicious. Note to self: next time don’t be afraid to add more sherry. Yes, that’s real whipped cream on top, people. Thank goddess for my Kitchen Aid mixer. The berries are spectacular this year.
I got out for a Beach Day this month. To my usual haunt: Bayfield.
I usually park at the Marina but this year I went to Pioneer Park instead and took the stairs down to the Lake Huron shore.
There was plenty of beauty to see at home, as well.
Day Lilies in bloom down at the Mill Pond.I usually can’t get even this close to these wary birds. But this one was intent on fishing so wasn’t focusing on me in the kayak so much.Could be the same heron. Dunno. There are quite a few of them on the Mill Pond.There are a few swans as well, peacefully cohabiting with the herons, ducks, geese, and egrets on the Mill Pond.I love capturing the reflections on the Mill Pond throughout the day, and especially the approaching evening.The end of another beautiful July day on the Mill Pond. Taken from the village dock. Which shall forever more be known as The Sex Dock. I was trying to show it off to a visitor and we happened upon a couple banging away under a blanket…ON THE DOCK…IN EARLY EVENING AKA BROAD DAYLIGHT. Needless to say, we turned around immediately and left visiting the dock for another day. #VillageLifeA lovely weekend breakfast including the bountiful berries of July. The berries are spectacular this year, did I mention that? Banana oatmeal pancakes, Greek Yogurt, black caps, raspberries, maple syrup and back bacon. Nespresso latte macchiato – forget which flavour but probably Roma.
And finally, I haven’t mentioned this on the blog yet I don’t think, but I did purchase a new car. On May 25th I picked up a new plug-in hybrid vehicle, a Prius Prime. Forever to be known as Edward the Third, for being my third white Prius that sparkles in the sunlight. I got a full tank of gas with the car. Today, July 25th, I decided it was time to put more gas in since I am anticipating some long drives coming up over the next few days. I still had a little less than a quarter of the original tank left. Behold my dashboard, prior to today’s fill-up:
That’s right – 3043 km driven and I still have a bit of gas left. Today was my first ever fill-up of the car I picked up on May 25!
I’m very pleased with my new car. The range of electric driving for me is around 56 km. I was told the car had a range of 40 km, however the car learns how you drive trains you how to drive more efficiently and rewards you with more range. It takes into account the amount of energy you save with regenerative braking and also coasting and using the engine brake to slow down. So I’ve “earned” a range of 56 km by giving up my lead foot. 😉
Which means during the week I drive solely on electric power on any given day. I only seem to dip into gas power on weekends, when I take longer drives for Beach Days and such.
Uh-oh, I’m feeling ranty again…
I was planning on trading in Edward II later on this year, but decided to take advantage of the government incentive to buy a plug-in hybrid. And I’m glad I did when I did because the provincial government has changed hands and now this rebate has been terminated.
Ironically, the party now in power campaigned that they are for the little guy, yet they take away a rebate that could actually benefit the common person. They’ve told their base that electric cars are only for the elite and cost $$$$. Which is blatantly untrue. Clearly they are taking a page from the Trump playbook and the sheeple believe their gaslighting, as I’ve seen on Twitter.
Follow the money, people. Follow the money, to learn the truth.
It’s been 2 months of daily driving and all I’ve spent on gas is $32. Only just today. Just sayin’…
I go to a fair number of live rock shows and festivals, even at this age (almost 59). #stillnottheoldestpersonhere.
At least I try to get out there, because I love the energy of a live performance. And I love the energy of the crowd. And I enjoy most of them.
But every once in a while along comes an event that just blows all the others out of the water. A perfect concert for the ages.
One that exhilarates and drains you at the same time.
One where the crowd (whatever size) and the band come together as one in such a feeling of intimacy and joy and love of the music.
One that you still remember and think about months and years later.
I can only count a handful of them out of all the shows/artists I have been privileged to see. Those that come to mind that I have seen in the past decade are: Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Arcade Fire, and now the Foo Fighters/The Struts/The Beaches Show on Thursday night.
Rock and Grohl. Dave Grohl and band bring the love of rock to 50,000 souls at the Rogers Centre Thursday night.
It’s been 2 days since Mizz J and I attended the Toronto Foo Fighters show and I am still bagged. It didn’t help that I hadn’t slept since 2 am the morning of, and didn’t get home till 2 am the next morning – meaning a full 24 hours without sleep. And that I had to go into work the next morning despite having booked the day off, because I knew my staff needed help to get through an unexpected workload.
I purchased these tickets last October (!!!) so even though work was already crazy on Thursday morning, I WAS GOING. Even though there was increased security/police presence around the venue due to an unnamed threat to public safety, I WAS GOING.
What the hell?
No one….no crazy incel or terrorist or looney with a beef was going to stop me from getting to this show. Fuck all of you creeps, I AM GOING. (And I DID. AND IT WAS FINE. THANK YOU INCREASED POLICE PRESENCE.)
For months I had been watching the @foofighters twitter feed, and seeing individual posters for and before each show being tweeted. I wasn’t sure if this was fan art or actual legit concert posters, but I was hoping…oh, how I was hoping…that there would be something for sale at the Toronto show, and that it would be wonderful.
And it was. Like it was made specifically for me.
One of two versions of the Toronto Show poster. Already framed and hanging on the wall. If you come to my house, it will be the first thing you see when you exit the bathroom. Yer welcome!
I know allmost some of you are thinking: Eeewwww. How creepy!
But for me, this is the perfect rock poster, for where I am in my journey. I see in it the Triple Goddess and the Queen of Wands (rock and roll version)…and it looks like the artist was stylistically channeling an absinthe-drinking Alphonse Mucha – on a bender. In other words, plenty of the symbolism and artistic inspiration that I am already attracted to, for this badass widow and wanna-be artist. Plus skeletons don’t bother me at all. I think they are beautiful. I am not afraid of death because it is part of life, and I love life. I believe you can’t fully live if you are afraid to die.
This was the other version of the Toronto show poster, for sale:
Foo Fighter alternative Toronto Show poster – Meh. Although, it IS cool Dave is wearing a Rush image on his shirt. He did mention Rush during the show and thanked Canada/Toronto for giving the world Rush. And Taylor (drummer) wore the same image on the back of his tank that night. Très cool homage to another great band.
I’m so happy thrilled I experienced this show, and got the poster, and a couple of t-shirts too.
I wonder how many more extraordinary concert moments are still in the cards for me. For sure, I will be taking advantage of any that I can, even if I have to go solo.
What about you? What would you not miss for the world, even if meant you had to go alone?
Today is stinking hot but at least it’s not raining. Most of June consisted of rainy weekends, like this one:
Polebean Buddha stoically endures all the weathers.
Rainy weekends are good for the gardens but piss off those of us still working Monday-Friday.
2018 Polebean crop finally takes off.
After a slow start (completely the fault of the gardener), the 2018 Badass Rooftop Garden polebean crop is finally making progress.
Flowering! Can taste the beans already. Mmmmm.
Earlier in the month, I took part in the annual 4 Day-Evening walk at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. This was held during the week, so no rain, natch. I also wrote about it here.
Blowing the horn to signal the start of the walk each of the 4 evenings.
This is an event brought over from the Netherlands, by Dutch-Canadians, and a whole lot of fun.
The Bruce Trail runs through the conservation area.A doe, just off the trail.
When the rain stopped on the weekends (usually late in the day), I was able to walk around my own stomping grounds as well.
Post-rain view across the Mill PondDuck family enjoying the Mill PondAll the rain made the growth on the trail extra-lush.And it brought out this little slug. I usually don’t see these on the trail.First time noticing a Michigan Lily on the trail.Below the dam. The sun did eventually come out during my weekend walks, but usually quite late in the evening.
On the concert front, I was treated to Mother Mother and Little Destroyer on June 25th, as a Mother’s Day present from Mizz J.
Little Destroyer. Yes, those are eyes on her bra top. Hey, my eyes are up….uh…never mind. I enjoyed this band.3rd time seeing Mother Mother. Will try to see them every time they are in the area. So much talent.
One benefit of all the rain: I was indoors more than usual and was able to work on a painting (not finished as yet).
No title yet. Inspired by the number of months in a 90 year life span.I dotted all the months I have been alive (so far) with pearlescent white paint.
Another benefit of all this rain, I think: has anybody else noticed the Ontario strawberries are exceptional this year?
And also very photogenic!
Have a wonderful July and a wonderful Canada Day tomorrow (and a fabulous 4th of July to my US neighbours!).
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge hosted by Su Leslie, of Zimmerbitch.
Today is super hot. Since I was sick earlier this spring (here and here), I haven’t been able to get out on the kayak so I just had to get on the river today. Had to.
Today’s weather
I opened my eyes, rolled out of bed, filled a Contigo cup with Earl Grey, got dressed and was pulling Smokey Robinson out of the shed in about 15 minutes flat. On the river by 7 am. While it was still relatively cool out.
Tiny island on the Mill Pond. Love the early morning stillness on the river.
I got as far as here, going against the current (slight, but still there):
Black Bridge Road. About 2 km from where I began.
Then I turned around and kicked off my sandals and relaxed, to sip my tea and let the current slowly, peacefully, take me back home.
This is the best way to spend a Sunday morning, without leaving town, that I know of.
I made a short video of my drift, so you could hear the riot of birdsong that was the soundtrack to my morning. But WordPress says it is too big of a media file to upload, so please check out my Facebook or Instagram (right hand side of ye olde blogge) if you want to view it. And turn the sound up please!
While I drifted, I kept thinking about a website I was directed to, in one of Alastair Humphrey‘s newsletters. I highly recommend you subscribe. His newsletters are full of interesting tidbits and links related to adventuring. After all, this life is our biggest adventure, isn’t it? And I am a huge fan of his coining of the term “micro-adventures”. I try to have micro-adventures whenever I can, for now…mega-adventures to come once I have more free time!
In one of his recent newsletters, Alastair shared this link – Your Life in Weeks – which he calls a terrifying firework up the bum to get on in life. So of course I had to click on it. Go ahead and check it out, I’ll wait.
It can be sobering to count out the weeks or months to a 90 year life span. And more sobering to realize that there is no guarantee one will even make it to then. But, I also think it is a great and necessary reminder that life is quite finite, and every week or month (or day or hour for that matter) that passes brings us closer to the end. It helps to remember this for better decision-making, I firmly believe.
And far from feeling morbid, it makes me feel so damn grateful instead – to be able to savour these happy moments like this morning on the river. I doubt I’ll be hauling a kayak down to the river when I’m 90. More likely my kids will be saying something like “Mom would have been 90 this year.” (I know my genetics ain’t the greatest…just sayin’).
I am so inspired by this graphic of a lifespan in weeks, I am going to translate this idea into a painting. But I will go by months (moons) instead. Something to hang up to remind me not to waste time or my precious life.
Do you find it comforting or terrifying to look at your life in this way?
Here in Ontario we have elected our own mini-Trump as the head of our provincial government, in the form of Doug Ford. Remember Rob Ford – the late, infamous crack-smoking mayor of Toronto? Beloved of late-night talk show hosts? If you don’t, feel free to Google him.
And yes, this is his brother, who is going to get rid of sex education but give us cheap beer. (What could possibly go wrong?) On the bright side, this week the Canadian Senate voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
Who’s with me on spending the next 4 years high and drunk on Ford’s Buck-a-Beer?
Just kidding. I only drink craft or imported beers. 😉
On the bright side, I enjoyed a riveting talk yesterday, put on by the Fashion History Museum, on providing clothing for the film industry. Ian Drummond regaled us for over an hour with his tales of working on film sets such as Chicago, Hairspray, Dark Shadows and the Rocky Horror Picture Show TV reboot. He brought along a couple of outfits worn by actors, that now belong in his “hall of fame”. I asked for permission to take and post these photos:
Top half of pantsuit, worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in Tim Burton’s Dark ShadowsSweater worn by Tim Curry (!!!!) in TV reboot of Rocky Horror – adorned by film set IDs Ian has collected over the years
Also on the bright side, I am going to see The Rocky Horror Show in Stratford later on this summer. So excited! I may or may not dress up. I have a concept for an outfit gelling in my brain which I can pull together practically entirely from items in my closet. Which tells you something about my closet. Which might scare you, actually. 🙂 However it will be age- and body-type appropriate, I can assure you!
And finally:
Way back in April, when I was slogging through the A-Z Challenge as well as a heavy month at work, I received my DNA results from MyHeritage. My intrepid genealogist friend recommended I take another DNA test from this company, as it apparently has more European customers and information.
Here are the results:
And here’s a link to my previous results, from Ancestry: Here
I find both the similarities and the differences between the two sets of DNA analysis very interesting. The mystery Jewish grandfather is still very much in evidence! And unfortunately, I am still no closer to finding out who he is was. (I have to keep reminding myself that he is almost certainly no longer with us by this time, unless he is still kicking at ~100 years old.)
I was really intrigued to see the Central Asian component pop up. It makes me wonder: could I have some of Genghis Khan’s blood in me? Apparently the man really got around.
And it gives me an excuse to provide a link to this song and video – both of which I absolutely love. Indulge me please:
Not only sick, but had 3 events to attend. This is my desk calendar for keeping track of exercise/step goals. “One Mile Walk ‘n Talks” are You Tube exercise videos I start my days with.
I almost never get sick so I’m not very good at recognizing OR dealing with it as it happens. And boy, did it happen to me! When I wrote about it here, I was thinking I was on the mend already.
First, it started off as a stomach bug which when it passed, lulled me into thinking I was better. Only to be struck down yet again, this time by a head/chest cold/flu. Whatever. I don’t really know if I was hit by 2 separate bugs or one extremely evil one.
I even had to be driven home from work one day because I was so dizzy that I was told I could not drive myself home. (I think this was a bad reaction to the cold medication I was taking, rather than the evil virus itself. It was embarrassing, to say the least.)
Anywho, this time I REALLY AM on the mend. Still coughing a bit, but ambulatory at last.
And, being ambulatory, I got myself out on my local trail this morning. So many lovely things to see. Behold:
I found these Ladyslipper Orchids for the first time last year and was so hoping I’d come across them again. Looks like it’s a colony and it’s growing. More flowers than last year. Squee!!!!The fungus among us.Woodpecker “sculptors” hard at work at one point…Forget Me NotsClump of Yellow Flag at riverside. Nature is the best gardener, doncha think?Close up of Blue Flag flowerNot sure what this is, and my Audubon guide was no help either. A type of dogwood, perhaps? Maybe not even a wild shrub, but a leftover from a previous homestead? (Addendum: According to the iNaturalist app (thanks Joanne!), this is a Mapleleaf Viburnum).Audubon says this is Common Barberry.Wild-type rose (?) planted in city garden. Smelled lovely. Captured on the way back from my walk.
So wonderful to be able to get out and ENJOY once again. Good health is so under-rated and taken for granted!
