by last week’s trip
Husband and I took a lovely little trip to Vancouver Island this past week to see our family. Our middle daughter with husband and our dear granddaughters had moved in November from their lake cottage to a farm in the idyllic gentle rolling valleys of Saanich, north of Victoria. Though husband had been there to help with their move, especially with their chickens and coop, this was my first visit.
Being January it did rain on and off but on our first afternoon we were lucky to have a dry spell so we could have a bit of a walk around the farm (owned by their landlords) with its extensive herb plantings, vegetables, trees and most delightful goats, one producing delicious milk, a couple of astoundingly handsome guard dogs and egg laying chickens. I wish my photos of the animals were better but they just did not stay still.
The valley below is beautiful though I was able to only capture a wee bit of it to show here as the sun was lowering in the sky. The camera did not see much action, but there will be another time! We also had short visits with two sets of friends who used to live in our neighbourhood on this side of the Salish Sea. It was a happy week away and just what we needed after that most awful and long cold over the holidays.
Added later: you may be interested in visiting Elisa’s beautiful blog: appleturnover
January 25, 2016 in Canada and BC, Travel by Marja-Leena
Lovely photos capture time of day you’ve described just right.
Thanks, Naomi. It was challenging taking these against the light.
Sound idyllic to visit, and hard work to live in! It does look lovely in that clear still January light.
Olga, farming is indeed hard work but our family are just the upstairs renters here for a while but do have a space for their own chickens and some garden space and are sharing in the milking of the goat and her milk. The farm’s philosophy is very much in tune with their own so it sounds idyllic. I think they hope to find a small farm of their own in the area.
Lovely wistful light in these pictures, that polytunnel looks so lonely! Hope they settle well in their new spot.
Lucy, yes, that polytunnel does look rather lonely, so out of context with all the natural gardens around it which you cannot see in the photo. They seem happy there so far while still getting settled and they like the young family/owners downstairs. Being so much closer to other organic farms and their markets without all the heavy highway traffic that they had to navigate in their former place is a big plus. There is good bus access to nearby towns and Victoria which pleases the eldest granddaughter.
It’s wonderful to see your photos of this beautiful landscape. January there looks nothing like it does here but, happily, we’re having a respite from the severe cold.
I’m glad to know they’re happy in this new setting and I hope they are able to find a little place of their own.
I’m pleased you enjoyed these few photos, Susan. We have certainly had a fairly mild though wet (as usual) winter so far in the southwest here. Sorry to note the bitter winter and snowstorms in the east, especially recently in the US. I hope it will be a shorter one for all of you compared to last winter.
Thanks for joining in the hopes the family will find that place of their own after living in different ones including in the UK for quite a while now. They have moved from city to country living, and from one country to another and back. I think they are ready to settle down!
Oh, I loved going to Vancouver Island, so long ago now. And hope that you have many glad visits there, now that they are settled. Lovely images.
Thanks, Marly! The Island is indeed lovely, so much less busy than Vancouver and surroundings.
It looks enchanted there.
Hattie, the enchantment dial sure turned on with these photos, a lucky thing. Still it is a lovely region and I look forward to seeing it in summer clothing.
A symphony of tree branches in an interesting light … thank you for capturing these scenes, dear Marja-Leena!
Thanks for visiting, dear R!