Back on the Shore... She Roams

Back on the island, had time to sleep, party, reflect. Sleep because I needed it, party because I'm older and wiser (ha!) and reflect that I live in a magic place. I am very lucky.


Why do I think that? Here are some reasons...


It's so easy to just drive a few kilometers... to a magic place at low tide.

This is where the water has played tricks on the sandstone, creating free-form sculpture, abstract designs that fascinate me.

And if your eye wanders toward the ocean... this is the place where sea lions swim by... on the hunt for lunch.
Above: the Sun Sea Star (Solaster stimpsoni), a beautiful predator of the intertidal zone. To get that picture, I got down on some pretty slippery rocks, and paid the price. I am bruised because I stumbled and slipped. Rocks are very unforgiving... The dog had a look of concern... a tsk tsk look. Foolish woman.




But how could I resist? Look at that critter texture!

When I looked under that rock, I was blown away. The Creature from the Black Lagoon!!! Or just a Sun Star hanging out.

Above, the painted anemone, I think. The invertebrates are amazing creatures. You'd think that all these bright colours attract unwanted attention... but no!

I think I want to "re-learn" diving. Once upon a time, I used to dive - in very warm waters. The Pacific Nortwest is another world. But I am tempted, because the sea-life is really fascinating. Here's a video of diving at the Edmonds Oil Dock, to illustrate one experience. This is one of the diving videos produced by John J. and Frances Beslanwitch. The link leads you to a dive off Hawaii (I digress...) where the background sound is the whale song... NEAT.

Above: the "foot" of the Christmas anemone. Up close and personal.

Above: An Ochre sea star party.

There you go. Just an average outing on a Sunday afternoon. My island is a place of wonder.

Bright Lights, Big City

I spent a few days in Toronto last week, working at my day job. The contrast between the big city and my home couldn't be greater. Here are a few pictures to illustrate that point...

Above: the view from my hotel room at night. Train tracks, highways, the feeling that there is a lot going on around me. At 5:30 pm on the corner of Front Street and University Avenue, waiting for the light to change (I am one of those people who wait, sometimes...), I saw more people than the whole population of my island... Make that way more people. It's a nice contrast.

When in Toronto, one has to take a picture of the CN Tower. It's what the French call "incontournable": a must. Besides, the structure sticks out and is visible from everywhere. So here is my snapshot. I tried to brace my camera on a post, with mixed success. A little fuzzy, but still a pretty phallic symbol. Nice lights.

And here's my favourite Big Bird: a gargoyle on the Royal York Hotel, across from the office building where I worked during the week. The stone carver's art makes quite a statement against the modern windows of the opposite building.

I've returned to my island. It was a long travel day, with a cross-country flight, followed by a ferry hurry and wait routine that lasted just as long... I got home at 12:45 am, and I am grateful for the BC Ferries captain and crew of the Mayne Queen (the small ferry), who waited for the "boat people" at the transfer, and took us home - no matter how late!

An Ode to the Beaver

Today, I was voted off the island. OK, not really. I had to go to the big eastern city, to do some work. So off to Vancouver and its airport, and on to Toronto.

On the first leg of today's trip, this was my ride: the Seair scheduled flight from Lyall Harbour to Vancouver. It's a vintage De Havilland Beaver - and a very special one at that - the 1000th Beaver, out of the 1700 or so Beavers seaplanes that were built from the 1940s to the 1960s. There is an entire page dedicated to the story of the Beaver bush planes right here and Seair has a page describing this particular plane.

Today, exceptionally, I kept my camera handy because I wanted to record this 15-minute piece of airborne magic.

Two years ago, when I first sat in this plane on a similar trip to Vancouver, I noticed the controls. Those knobs are antique plastic! Note the shapes and colours. I assume they are different shapes so that the pilot can recognize which one he is touching without looking at it.

Today, I even got to sit next to the pilot, and wear the headphones so I could listen in to the air traffic chatter. You can see the prop is going and we are about to head off. I was like a little kid, this was a very joyful experience.

After crossing the Georgia Strait (10 minutes), we approach the mainland. Above, the view toward the South. In the distance is the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. I am not a religious person, but this kind of larger than life reflection of the sky strikes me as very awe-inspiring.

A few minutes later, we "round" the corner of the river. The seaplane base is up the river a bit, on the left. Around us, I could see three other seaplanes coming in, just like us, from other Gulf islands or from Vancouver island.

Water plays with mud in the delta of the Fraser river. Here is one of the many stunningly beautiful patterns that gleamed in the sun, this morning. Low tide reveals the patterns.

Arriving at the Seair base, right behind another commuter. After that magic bit of travel, I entered the world of ordinary big city stuff: airports, line-ups, security checks, crowds, you know the drill. Much less fun.

Now, on to a week of serious work.