visitors from Hawaii

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left to right: Terry, Marianna, Marja-Leena and Fred by False Creek, looking north at Vancouver’s condo towers

Yesterday’s highlight was a wonderful visit with blog friend Marianna (of Hattie’s Web) and her husband Terry who are in Vancouver for a family reunion and their almost annual visit to the Vancouver Folk Festival. Marianna and I met the first time two years ago so this time our husbands were included. We all felt at home together and enjoyed much stimulating conversation and laughter over lunch at a longtime favourite restaurant overlooking False Creek. Terry took a great photo of us so do check it out over at Hattie’s post.

The weather here is usually in its best summer mode between mid-July and mid-August but this year it has been absolutely awful in all the Pacific Northwest the last few days so we were lucky there was a suitable break in the monsoon-like showers. We hope they were able to catch a few of the FolkFest events without getting soaked and cold. Hope to see you again next year!

beach walk, Victoria

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I’m so glad to have my blog back after the server problems – strange how it broke my rhythm in writing. As I’m thinking of what to post, I remembered that I’d not finished describing the latter half of our island getaway in May, after we left Gabriola Island and headed south on Vancouver Island. So to recapture the rhythm, I’ve gone back into my photos and jumped into a series I took on Cordova Bay, in Victoria. We stayed with dear friends in the area who took us for a long walk along this beach in low tide. What beauties to be seen there, even these bluffs dripping with algae and seaweed.

raccoons’ morning bath

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It is 8:00 am and I am sitting at my computer preparing a blog post when at the corner of my eye by the window I see some movement outside in the backyard. Lo! a family of raccoons having their morning bath in the kiddie pool. I squeal in excitement calling husband and daughter to the window as I grab the camera. How delightful, a momma and four healthy looking kids.

We have not seen raccoons in our neighbourhood this year, in fact last time may have been three years ago. They must be coming back again, joining the regular skunk family visitors that walk along our back shrub border every evening. Too bad our granddaughters are away for a few days but these photos are especially for them. Enjoy!

happy July 1st

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It’s Canada Day here and a holiday long weekend also for our southern neighbours. Wherever you are, have a good weekend!

weekend’s wildlife

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Oh my! a not-too-shy hummingbird in the catmint next to our table and chairs in our daughter’s garden, and turtles sunning on logs in a pond in the woods where the wedding was held

Related:
a recent hummingbird visitor
a raccoon
Hornby’s wildlife

sensuous rocks

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Still sorting through photos of our little Gabriola vacation, I’m enjoying revisiting the excitement of many discoveries. Each beach we visited had amazing rock formations, with some similarities in their rough weathered hole-y textures, common also on Hornby Island, but with some differences as well. Who would have thought rock can be also be sensuous and almost silky looking, like the folds of human flesh? The marble sculptures of Michelangelo and Bernini come to mind, with Nature as sculptor. And look at those colours! These shown here are on the beach below Berry Point Road at the point where the historic Entrance Island Lighthouse can be seen, the sight of which for me became greatly eclipsed by these amazing rocks.

Gabriola Petroglyph Park

Back to our visit and explorations a month ago (already!) on Gabriola Island. I previously featured a few images taken of some petroglyphs we found on one forest trail.

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The next day we visited the Gabriola Museum. Though closed mid-week we enjoyed a stroll on the grounds, named Petroglyph Park with its numerous reproductions of many of the petroglyphs found on the Island, with the aim of preventing further erosion of the originals as well as showing less eroded images than those originals are now. Most are flat stones and some are upright, all placed in a natural setting with spreading moss and lichen.

The Museum’s pages have information about the history of the petroglyphs and about the background on the reproduction project.

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Some years ago, when I became interested in learning more about BC’s own native petroglyphs and pictographs, one of the books I acquired is Gabriola: Petroglyph Island by Mary and Ted Bentley. The back cover states that the Bentleys have explored and recorded the rock carvings of Gabriola Island since 1969. They discovered a major site of over fifty carvings in 1976, then thirty more glyphs at four more sites. They are committed to the preservation and to promoting an understanding of the native culture that produced these and have been very involved in the reproduction project at the Museum.

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I’m so thrilled to have at last seen even a small fraction of these works on Gabriola, both the original and the well done reproductions. Perhaps one day we’ll go back to see more.

on Pilot Bay

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Too too busy** to write more about Gabriola Island’s petroglyphs but I will as soon as able. Instead, here are a few of my favourite photos taken on the beach of Pilot Bay on Gabriola. I do love these amazing rocks!

** Family arrived safely from the UK yesterday, and tomorrow more family coming from the interior of BC…

Gabriola’s petroglyphs 2

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Learning of our interest in petroglyphs, our excellent B&B host on Gabriola Island told us of one accessible trail to one collection of them. We were warned that many are so worn that it is hard to spot them so were pleased to find several though not all photographed well. The best photo of the lot was featured in the previous post. Here are a few that I was able to digitally but gently enhance in order to see the carved images. The last photo is of a glade that we came upon on that trail. We could just imagine a group of long ago First Nations doing a spirit ceremony here, in the quiet stillness in the middle of the forest.

More information to come on Gabriola’s petroglyphs soon…

Gabriola’s petroglyphs

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a Gabriola Island petroglyph

I have more photos plus notes to share on the petroglyphs we saw on Gabriola Island, along with many more rock photos…. when I have some time.

I’ve been quiet on this blog for we have good friends visiting this week, former Vancouverites who will soon be moving back here after over two decades living in other Canadian cities. We are very pleased since many other friends have moved away over the years. Then next week our middle daughter and her two daughters will arrive from the UK for a two month visit. Busy but happy times….