Comox

Enjoying our visit in Comox!...

...with local produce at Seifert's Farm...

...and "climb-on" tractors...

...and gymnastic leaps on the trampoline...

...and experiments on one of the community pianos!!

Leaving Saltspring

On Sunday. our last full day on Saltspring, John went into the gym while I explored the town again. 

These gorgeous driftwood creations were on display.

I spent the rest of the day preparing salads...potato, kale, rice and Greek salads...all ready to share with our friends on their return last evening. Ingredients and herbs from their garden were mixed into the salads and chilled along with a bottle of Vino Verde.

This morning we had a quick breakfast before heading to the ferry...back to Vancouver Island.

A twenty-five minute ferry ride took us back to Crofton.

Driving north past Chemainus we spotted a small cafe and decided to stop for coffee.

The Dayliner Cafe is a "delightful little bistro".

The building was once a garage and Saltair's railway station.

Inside we found some memorabilia and lovely seating areas.

Outside there were tables in the garden.

Great food and excellent, smiling service!

In Qualicum Beach we visited our friend again and were thrilled to spend time with her daughter and grandson. After sharing many more memories and some good food we headed north again toward Comox, making a short detour through Cumberland, originally a coal mining town that is packed with old buildings. With a population of 3400...many live in company houses...reminders from the past.

After another day of travels...we are finally in Comox and ready for a rest.

Busy week

We have had a busy week. John signed up at the local gym and I have made trips to the Community Garden every second day to provide nourishment for the herbs and veggies. We have also been ensuring that the home garden is watered every evening.

Adrian arrived on Wednesday for two nights and prepared a delicious dinner for us. He also tried to teach his father the intricacies of using "Spotify"to select musical options on his iPad.

The results were hilarious....as his father refused to accept our song choices 

and kept interfering with the musical flow!

On Friday we took Adrian to the ferry at Long Harbour and welcomed my sisters to the island for a six hour visit. Barb's Buns supplied a delicious lunch before we attempted to find the cabin that we had occupied fifteen years ago. It wasn't until we returned to the house and checked online that we found the location...nowhere near our search area!

Saturday Market is a weekly event in Ganges that attracts hordes of islanders and "blow-ins" from the mainland. We headed into the town centre early this morning for coffee and John's gym session. While he was at the gym I wandered through the market stalls as they were setting up. Cranberry and white chocolate scones caught my eye...and...fresh, juicy figs! I also discovered Stephanie Denz...my favourite Saltspring artist in her stall. What a treat to talk with her about her process and some of her pieces. Unable to afford an original, I did purchase a print of "Tea Time"!!

From the market I walked across to Black Sheep Books and found a section on Saltspring Poets. "Anything but the Moon" by George Sipos looked like a gift that John would appreciate so I took it to the cashier who questioned me about why I had chosen this particular book. I explained that a brief overview of his poems struck a cord with me. She replied "Oh good! He's my husband! Now I can tell him that I sold some of his words today!"

Our friends are returning to Saltspring tomorrow so our housesitting will come to an end. We plan to ferry back to Vancouver Island on Monday for a quick peek at the freshly painted walls and new furnishings in Comox. From there we will travel across to Powell River and down to Gibsons for a couple of nights before returning to Cloverdale.

Saltspring has been wonderful!

Fulford Harbour and the eclipse

This morning we arrived at Fulford Harbour just before the eclipse. On the dock we talked with several people who had created inventive ways to view the eclipse. On Saltspring the eclipse was a very minimal experience but they were viewing it through binoculars held backwards and projected onto a white sheet...also through a pinhole in paper projected onto the same white sheet. Although only a small portion of the sun was eclipsed to us...we all experienced a lowering of the temperature. Looking down into the water it seemed as though the creatures below reacted differently to the change in temperature and the outdoor ferry dock lights came on at 10:21am.

A selfie... with the eclipsed sun behind!

It was interesting to capture the sun in a photo taken over my shoulder!

Funky coffee shop at Fulford Harbour.

So lucky!

Enjoying our view of the harbour

with frequent winged visitors.

John made his first visit to the local gym this morning while I went with Pat, Jane's 94 year old mother, to their community garden plots. My idea was to water Jane's plot while her mother tended to her own plot...but...I was soon put to work with a pitchfork...digging up her potatoes and freeing noxious weeds from the valuable soil! I didn't have the heart to tell her that my shoulder and neck would suffer later....ibuprofen can work miracles!

We soon had a bucket full of potatoes, several tomatoes and a couple of 40 pound beets! Another gardener donated some beautiful stalks of swiss chard for our dinner that we will add to eggplant and zucchini from the house garden...a bounty of fresh produce!

One of Pat's sons gifted us with a package of smoked salmon...caught and smoked by him. We will enjoy this treasure with a glass of wine before dinner! Are we lucky????

Purple tomatoes

We arrived on Saltspring Island at 8:30pm last night after a short ferry ride from Crofton on Vancouver Island. Our friends greeted us with open arms and a tasty bottle of red wine. Today we toured the island in an effort to orientate ourselves for the next 10 days of housesitting. The island is home to about 10,000 year round inhabitants but swells close to 20,000 during the summer months. It has become a haven for artists, musicians and creative pursuits.

On our tour today we visited the community garden

where gardeners (including our friends) 

have the opportunity to rent a plot for a nominal annual fee 

and harvest their personal crops of organically grown produce.

This was the first time that I had seen purple tomatoes!

One of our housesitting chores will be to visit the garden

every second day to water the tomatoes, onions, kale, potatoes, etc.

Chemainus murals

Travelling down the island from Comox we stopped in Chemainus to see the murals.

Busloads of tourists arrive in this small town every day during the summer. 

When we arrived around 5:30pm...the streets were empty.

With a population of around 3000, this small town is dependent on the tourist industry

that brings thousands to view amazing murals depicting the area's history.

August plants the birds

Before we left Comox yesterday August planted two garden decorations 

that my sister (Grauntie Dee) had sent for him...

...one bird in his favourite colour of green...

... and one bird in her favourite colour of purple!

A move to Comox

Yesterday morning we boarded the ferry to Vancouver Island. We were accompanying our daughter and her family with their move to Comox, a small town on the island.

It was very exciting to arrive at their new home!

The backyard has a lovely water feature and pathways.

There is also a "meditation" bench.

We spent some time touring the house and inspecting the garden shed. The previous owner left behind a couple of valuable ladders and miscellaneous useful items. It will be a challenge for them to find each other in this vast new expanse of indoor and outdoor space! Their bedroom is at least double the size of their apartment bedroom...more like a dancehall!

Their belongings would not arrive until the next day 

so we all spent the night in "The Garden Cottage".

It is rustic, quaint and very comfortable.

After a simple deli dinner the "boys" has a cribbage challenge

on the coffee table/crib board. Who was the champion?...again!

This morning we joined Augie for a couple of hours 

while the movers delivered belongings to the new home.

We visited Marine Park and The Filberg Park.

The Filberg Park is home to the annual Filberg Festival.

The Filberg Lodge, an example of Arts and Crafts architecture, was not open today.

Augie entertained us with some inventive piano compositions!

Luxury cars

Touring the Luxury car outlets with our grandson.

Quiz: Can you identify the makes?

Clue: We visited Jaguar, Ferrari, Bentley, Mazarati, Lotus and Range Rover display rooms.

Smokey walk

We had a smokey, muggy walk along the Westminster Quay this morning with our grandson.

My eyes were weeping from the smoke.

August skootered along ahead of us for most of the river walk,

stopping occasionally to examine the love locks.

There are hundreds of love locks along the river fence.

Wednesday and Saturday

Hungry babies!

My sister and I made a trip into downtown Vancouver today.

Because we were early for my hair appointment, we "enjoyed" a smokey walkabout!

A smokey view across to North Vancouver from Coal Harbour

An attempt by the city to rejuvenate Vancouver's downtown lane ways.

Pride weekend at the Odyssey!

Will these lovelies be on a parade float tomorrow??

Yummmhhh!

This morning's harvest

Blackberries line the roads in Hopkins Landing!