Friday, November 2, 2012

Week 8 - A Time of Change




Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the beautiful fall weather we had been enjoying, maybe I jinxed it or than again it is mid October. While some of you get to marvel at the brilliant reds and muted golds of changing leaves, our signal of seasons passing is the onslaught of rain. I'm sorry to see the warm sunny days fade into just memories but having lived in B.C now for a total of 11 years ( we took a break of 3 years to sail south ) we're pretty use to it.
I haven't done a really good beach walk and Saturday graced us with still yet another day of clear blues skies, a perfect day to wonder along the shoreline.
With camera slung around my neck, I head out down the boardwalk and who do I find taking a stroll himself...Sam.




Every season there is someone new making our bay as their base. This year a gaggle of Canadian geese have taken up residence. After the lonely cry of the single loon who comes around, the honking of geese ranks right up there with the calls of nature I love to hear so I am quite pleased that they have joined us.




What has surprised me the most about our beach is the amount of stuff or lack of, that washes ashore here. Before our arrival, the first year, I was anticipating unearthing all sorts of flotsam and jetsam that the currents would direct our way but the opposite has been true. Each year I find less and less. Now less garbage is good of course but the variety of shells or shells at all have been dwindling along with interesting bits of wood. I know it's quite early in the season but on this walk I came back empty handed. The motionless bay caught the attention of my lens instead.






What a treat I was given as this fellow performed an underwater acrobat performance. Soaring through the water at amazing speeds, doing rolls as he went, he'd dive under the dock, keeping me guessing where he'd pop up.





They must have a sixth sense. I quietly opened the patio door from the upper deck of the lodge and slipped out to stand behind one of the posts but the moment I stepped out they took flight.





So that was the gorgeous day on Saturday, this is Sunday......and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday. Oh what a difference a day makes.





Birds of a feather flock together...especially when the wind is howling and the rain is coming down in sheets.





Wednesday 3pm – This is what you call “waterfront property”






Gloomy wet weather hasn't dampened my spirits this week mainly because I've been so busy. After mentioning my apple crisp experiment last week I received some tried and true methods from my uncle Dolan on how to use up all the apples we still have but won't last much longer. Setting Mike up in his favourite chair armed with a knife and an afternoon movie, we peeled apples and a small case of pears that were beginning to be past their prime.





A portion of sliced apples will be vac packed for pies or crisps to be enjoyed in the middle of winter when I know our 'fresh' supplies will be a thing of the past, some will be made into pies to be frozen before baking and a mix of pears and apples will make an interesting apple-pear sauce.
Something I haven't made in years is apple jelly and with a mound of peelings that would otherwise be a wonderful treat for Sammy I scoop them up into a pot and look to the internet to refresh me on how to exactly make it. Actually super simple.






Looks like there's a new girl in town. Once or twice we've seen her from afar but maybe after seeing the 3 amigos hanging out at the back door she's become curious.





Till next week,
Heather & Mike

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