August 20

The morning ferry line-up of people wanting to leave SaltSpring. We are heading to Victoria to attend Fibrations - a local fibre festival.

The festival was quite large - with lots of great vendors and groups including the local spinners and weavers, and embroidery guilds. The venue was very lovely - a local park behind a community centre and school.

One demonstration was of cotton spinning on this charming spinning 'book' - a portable cotton spinning device like the one used by Ghandi. The girl demonstrating it was very skilled and made it look easy - although I know that spinning cotton is very difficult because of the shortness of the fibres.

The venue was gorgeous. Garry oaks, lovely rocks to sit on, warm sunshine. 

There was a woman weaving baskets from kelp! I got quite excited about finding some kelp and doing this - but apparently I'll be unlikely to find any on the island. The baskets were very beautiful when they were dried.

After the festival we had lunch at a converted 1950's gas station. Quite unique.

Then we went to the Abkhazi Gardens. These gardens are so beautiful. These trunks are rhododendrons.

Walking in a rhododendron garden.

Garry oaks. So lacey and beautiful.

Cyclamen grow wild here. Sigh.

The shapes and colours - so lovely.

A charming bench that invites you to sit - or lie - and enjoy the garden.

A stone bench shouldn't be this comfortable!

The trunks of a huge pine.

Rock outcroppings and steps up to the house.

The ponds were created in the natural depressions in the rock.

Just look at these Japanese maples!

From the top of the garden, you can see the ocean and the Washington State mountains beyond.

These gardens were so lovely, and very worth visiting. We did not have tea there, but it looks lovely. If you're visiting Victoria, I'd recommend this - it's free to visit. The famous Buchart Gardens is $35. Of course it's much, much larger - this garden is a large city lot.

A lovely day!

August 17

Ganges Harbour

Beautiful double masted sailboat came into harbour while I sat and watched.

And then there were the sea plans - three of them.

A HUGE yacht anchored in the harbour.

SaltSpring Island Cheese factory.



You could look through windows and see them making the cheese.

Monday August 12

Visitors to Tannice’s garden.

The deer are frequent visitors and there are lots all over the Island. While they are lovely to watch, they are a driving hazard and certainly drive the gardeners crazy!

We've been driving over the Island looking at all the artist's studios and finding the best swimming and kayak launches. It's tricky to launch the kayak. There are few places where you can launch and park in any reasonable way. I've had to learn to let go of 'city' parking - you know - the part where you actually get your vehicle off the road. Apparently having most of the vehicle off the road is sufficient. The roads are narrow and winding and the locals driving them at break-neck speeds. I've just gone down a driveway that was so narrow a branch left a lovely scratch down the side of my truck!

I spent Saturday afternoon resting and doing needle work including this homage to the mosquitoes in the Interior. I had taken the protective cover off my pillow in order to wash it when I whacked a mosquito which had obviously just bitten me, leaving a spot of blood and a squashed body. Since the squashed body soon disappeared I decided to embroider one to remember him by.

One of our stops was at the Salt Spring Shine company which makes various kinds of hard liquor. They only have four products, but I had to have these two. The gin is lovely and the Apple Pie Moonshine will be fabulous in the evenings - they recommend mixing it with tea!

On Sunday I did a course in Creative Journalling at Ocean Arts Studio. Daina is a super teacher and has done lots of her own journalling so she had some fun examples to show us. This was the first time I'd used watercolours and I learned some new techniques. 

Finally on Sunday night, Tan and I went to the Legion to hear this band - swing jazz. I sadly did not note their name, but the music was good, the beer was cheap, and there was dancing! All the musicians were locals and were really good!

Monday was more studio touring - checking out the local farms etc. Tuesday we went to the dump with all the construction material from the demolished shed. Even the dump is unique - there is an area called 'the mall' which contains stuff the dump employees felt was salvageable - and is there for the taking.

Today (Wednesday) I did a weaving workshop with Terri Bibby from Salt Spring Saori Weaving. It was really enjoyable and I met some nice women from the main Island and from as far away as New Zealand. The looms are lovely and very thoughtfully crafted and I was able to create a sampler of techiques. At the end of the day I sat at the wharf in Ganges and watched the boats come and go. A busy harbour. My photos won't upload at the moment, so I'll add them later.

Saturday August 10th

Tannice's campground affords a wonderful opportunity to get laundry done, clean up the trailer, and shop for more seafood! Not sure I'll ever get topped up.

Friday night we went to see a play. It was an open air venue at the lead actor's home.
https://saltspringmarket.com/salt-spring-island-event/grace-jordan-shirley-valentine/

Tan and I went for a walk in the Burgoyne Bay park, then appetizers for dinner at the Rock Salt Restaurant  in Fulford Harbour. Had a lovely Pinot Gris from Gerry Oaks Winery, which was just next door to the play venue. Then we drove up to the play and found our seats around a raised stage. Wine and Greek tapas were being sold to raise money to fight the pipeline, and people were taking full advantage, including myself.

The play was super! The performance certainly professional and the audience enthusiastic. It was a lovely evening under the stars.

This morning I donned the wetsuit and went for swim at the end of Beddes Road where there is a lovely beach access. It was so good to taste the salt water and feel the buoyancy. Now for some tea and lunch, a quiet afternoon, and a musical performance tonight at the Treehouse Restaurant.

Wednesday August 7th

I spent the Sunday of the long weekend with sister Barb and her partner Chris, Barb's daughter Meghan and her partner Leon. Meghan and Leon organized a craft brewery tour - we went to four breweries near False Creek in Vancouver, walking between each one to counteract the effects of the beer. Each one had a different focus and different snacks to accompany the beers. It was loads of fun! After we regrouped at Meghan and Leon's apartment for a lovely dinner.

Sunday was a visit with my friend Erika. Erika and I met when she lived in Guelph, and our kids grew up together - they were best pals. It was so nice to catch up with her. We explored the Pitt River area - I wanted to find the dykes I had seen on the cruise. We did find them, and had a lovely walk. If you're spending any time around Vancouver Pitt River and Pitt Lake would be 'go to' places, particularly if you have a bicycle. The dyke paths are long and flat - the scenery is gorgeous. I wish I had discovered this area on Saturday with my kayak - it would have been easy to put in for a paddle since there are access points at the end of each road.

After lunch we went to the trailer so that Erika could see it in person, and then I delivered her home and was fed a lovely meal by her partner.

Tuesday I headed to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

There was a haze which I discovered was not smog, but the smoke from the wildfires which are currently burning in the south Okanogan. It made the mountains even more beautiful!

A short drive down island from Nanaimo is Crofton, which has an operating sawmill so the harbour is a working harbour.

Caught a small ferry from Crofton to Vesuvius on Saltspring Island, and friend Tannice's place was only a short drive away.

Ever since I made plans to stay with Tan on Saltspring, I've been a bit anxious about how I was going to be able to get the trailer up a fairly steep, curved, and narrow driveway into a sloped area big enough to accommodate a small trailer. By the time I arrived, I'd worked myself up into a fairly good sweat about it.

My message to Tan (who was travelling back from the main island herself) when I saw the driveway again was "OMG". I decided I wanted to approach from the other direction and in the process of trying to do so turned the wrong way and found myself back at the ferry landing with very little room to turn around. I dreaded turning around so much that I half considered getting back on the ferry, but I did manage to pull it off with much too'ing and fro'ing. I headed back to Tan's from the right direction this time.

When I got there I just took a deep breath and gave it a shot. The pictures do not really show how hard this was and when I finished up, I felt pretty darn good. The trailer was in, leveled, and I didn't jack-knife once.

I'm snuggly tucked in now, hooked up to water and with some electricity available (we're working on it). Unfortunately Saltspring has no sani-dump available and I'm going to be here a while, so will be using the house. When Tan arrived from the ferry I had appetizers ready in the trailer and we toasted long friendships and talked until we were both ready for bed.

This morning we worked at tearing a shed off the side of her house. She has painters coming on Saturday and wanted this shed gone. I also helped prune weeds (and Tan's prize tree as it turns out) back from her rhododendron bushes.

After a busy morning, it was nice to relax on her deck.

A family of deer came for a visit - doe and two fawns still with their spots - enjoying the blackberries which are ripe.

Saturday August 3rd

Lovely sunny warm Saturday of the August long weekend. I had planned to paddle in Buntzen lake - I'm only 2 minutes from the park entrance - but a dawdled too long, and by the time I turned towards the park, it was full and closed! I cruised around the inlet looking for spots - all were full or I would have to drag my kayak too far, so I gave up the pursuit.

Next to pick up a bottle of wine and some seafood - an appropriate response to the lack of paddling. As I drove to the store, I saw a woman fall on the sidewalk. It was quite shocking! She went down and did a complete face plant. I stopped the truck and jumped out. She didn't think she needed an ambulance. I retrieved my yoga mat from the back of the truck to put under her damaged knees so she could make her way up, but I was not strong enough to help her. I helped her off with her backpack and retrieved her phone. Her husband was only a few minutes away.

He arrived and was rather unceremonious about hauling her upright. I helped walk her to their car. She thanked me - but he didn't. It was odd. I hope she's OK.

Back at the truck - flashers on in the middle of the road - someone had picked up my yoga mat and put it in the truck. I threw it out - it was covered in blood - and drove on to pick up my treats.

Why oh why do older people who are unsteady on their feet wear such foolish shoes? She had on flip flops! And crocs are just as bad! Get some decent shoes people!

Went for a walk and then did some stretches. This pulled muscle is taking an annoyingly long time to resolve. Yesterday's massage, while it loosened some things up, made last night a wee bit miserable. So I walked, did stretches, and then settled in to read and enjoy a local craft beer.

Just completing my read of "From Truth to Reconciliation: Transforming the Legacy of Residential Schools". I've learned so much. And now I hear of a book club launched by Pam Palmater dealing with this subject. See her YouTube channel for more info if you're interested. She posts a reading, and then a video discussion of the book each month. I'm going to follow it.

Also reading Krishnamurti "On Living and Dying" and in the front it indicates that he collaborated with David Bohm on two books - "The Ending of Time" and "The Future of Humanity". Everywhere I turn, there is David Bohm again. Looks like I have a great deal of reading ahead.

Well, the folks are back from wherever they spent the day, so the campground is getting rowdier. I'll make my supper and sit out with headphones listening to podcasts and knitting. I love these lazy days!