Week ending Oct. 7, 2001
This is our path to the beach, and the steps that I laboured on for many days. (The grey landscape tie was one left over from my planter box project). Actually, the path doesn't look that way today. It's covered with branches and twigs as a result of a tree pruning operation that Marit requested. Clearing up the mess will be today's project. This will be a major test of my new chipper.
The new lawn is developing well; a little too well. Parts of it appear to need cutting already. (Maybe I should invite the deer back in to browse.)
After looking at the lawn design for some time, we've decided to expand it into the entrance area between the steps and the driveway. Erosion control is one of the considerations. So it has been dug, mulched and seeded. Round paving stones have been embedded to provide a pathway through it. Now we just need some more rain to bring it to life.
And I just finished the best garden bed yet. It's raised 6 inches higher than the others, and amended with peat moss and seaweed to provide a good organic mixture. I just planted garlic yesterday in part of the bed. The other part is now sown with fall rye.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Marit and I took a day off and went to Mount Washington. Wow, very impressive. The ski area is developing like Whistler did twenty years ago. Lots of condos. And a new Nordic Ski Centre. But most impressive (to me) was the northern entrance to Strathcona Park; the Paradise Meadows trailhead. We went for a two hour hike through forest and alpine meadows, around Lake Helen Mackenzie and Battleship Lake, and among blueberry bushes everywhere that added their autumn colour to the landscape. Marit's knee held up miraculously for almost the entire hike. It's a beautiful area we hope to visit many more times.
Last week I neglected to mention the appearance of unusual birds in this area. A very large flock (well, several hundred I guess) of migrating sandhill cranes flew over. Apparently they rested for a day or two in a swampy area in the middle of the island. The same day, a pair of California Quails walked along the side of our house. I haven't seen them in years. I think a hobbyist nearby on the island has been raising and releasing them.
There was also a yellow warbler in the blackberry bushes out front. Not unusual I guess but the first I've seen this year. Probably migrating through. And one bird I still don't know what it is; looked like a very large Pine Siskin. It may have been an immature Red Crossbill, although I haven't seen any adults around.
We've had our Thanksgiving dinner a day early, on Sunday. We celebrated with two neighbours invited over to share the feast. (For the American readers, we celebrate Thanksgiving a month earlier here, on the second Monday of October. I guess the harvest is completed earlier here up north).
So happy thanksgiving everyone.
Week ending Oct. 14, 2001
Marit and I went for another hike in the south end of Denman Island. This is the view from the cliff at the very end of the island overlooking the lighthouse on Chrome Rock. On a sunny day this is a spectacular view. From this vantage point, my foot is about 20 cm from a shear drop of several hundred feet.
There's been periods of rain this week, and the weather is definitely cooler. The new grass seeds haven't sprouted. And we've had a fire in the stove each morning, plus a few in the evening.With the wet weather I haven't spent too much time outside playing in the dirt. But today I had to spend time and weed the lawn. The wild plants have self-seeded, and the fish compost in the lawn area are like steroids to them.
Slowly I'm getting back to the inside tasks. Trim and moulding. Currently I'm building a work area in the garage, starting with a work bench. The 2x10 lumber I saved for this purpose haven't warped too much.
A small flock of three California Quail seem to have permanently settled into our back slope, feeding on the winter rye that grew there. A Golden Crowned Sparrow has been serenading for several days out by the road. I don't know if it's going to stay for the winter or just passing by.
And a Ruby Crowned Kinglet, the first I've seen in over a year, decided to visit us. In fact, he tried to fly onto our dining room through the french doors. Unfortunately they were closed. (Marit keeps the windows far too clean.) This kinglet didn't seem as hardy as its "cousins" the chickadees. It didn't recover. After several hours, it was obviously dead. Deceased. Like Monty Python's parrot. So I interred it. The kinglet will reincarnate, or at least reconstitute as a clematis (at whose roots it was buried).
Later next week I'm being evicted for several days. Marit is having several lady friends up for a few days and I'd be in the way. So I'm going down to Vancouver to spend some time with my mom, and perhaps see a few old friends; a bit of shopping and perhaps even an evening at the Vancouver Symphony again.
Maybe the rest of the grass seed will have sprouted by the time I get back.
Week ending Oct. 21, 2001
The picture today shows a section of the front "yard" as it looked before I left for the big city; the grass which has subsequently been mowed, and the dark mulched area that has been seeded. When I came home this afternoon I found that the seed has sprouted and some grass has slowly, very slowly, started to grow on the new area. I suspect it will take a long time before the two areas look like one common lawn.
Incidentally, the area in front of the new lawn-to-be is the driveway-to-be. I have dug a small ditch along the edge of the driveway to control rain runoff and erosion. The board is to bridge the ditch.
While in Vancouver, I had coffee with a several of my old friends from work. It was great to see them again, even though (no names will be mentioned) they have been derelict in not visiting here in the past one and a half years!
I visited mom every day for four days. She's wheelchair bound now while her broken arm heals. I hope she will be able to use her walker again when the cast is removed. If her legs have become too week and she's not able to walk she will be very disconsolate. But today she was quite cheerful as we took a drive in the rain.
Coming home to Denman, my arrival was delayed. The local ferry had to respond to a "mayday" call at the south end of the island. We had to wait until the emergency was over (I don't know what) before we could be ferried to Denman.
Tomorrow I'll have to review my projects. The work bench was not quite complete when I left, and I'm sure it hasn't changed. I hope I can find my "to-do" list. After my four day absence, I even need retraining.
Week ending Oct. 28, 2001
Some of the earlier pictures may have given the impression that landscaping was well underway this year. This picture, taken from a mound in the far corner of the yard, shows the magnitude of the development yet to be done. Most of the area is undeveloped pasture. The lawn by the house is a small portion. But, this is all next year's project.
This week, the rainy season has finally begun in earnest. Rain and strong south east winds. More is forecast for later next week. Still, there have been pleasant weather between storms. And outdoor activity has been dedicated to preparing the yard for winter.
Yesterday while down on the beach gathering buckets of seaweed, I found a large salmon lying dead. I measured it; 28 inches long, (that's about 70 cm.). Poor thing didn't even make it back to its home stream. It's now resting in the middle of the compost pile shown in the centre of the photo.
No great progress has been made on the indoor projects. Some minor moulding applied. And a little progress in the garage. Just haven't changed my mind-set yet to charge into the finishing carpentry.
But I did undertake one project that was due this month; cleaning my mason bees. I opened all the cardboard tubes and the hand-rolled paper tubes that have been in position for two years. I was very shocked to discovered that a high proportion of the bees had been attacked in the larvae stage. A small hole had been bored through the cardboard in many locations, and the hole extended through the pupa casing around the bees. I understand this was the work of a small predatory wasp.
Between the wasp damage and other causes of larvae death, I estimate approximately a 70% mortality rate. Severe. I managed to gather a couple hundred of what appeared to be survivors hibernating in their casings, and washed them in a mild bleach solution to eliminate any mite build-up. They've been dried and stored for next spring. I just hope the tubes that were installed new this spring have a better survival ratio. Upon cursory examination, they appear to have relatively few wasp holes.
Next spring I'll have to find a new site for my mason bee colonies. They have previously been located under the eaves of my old cabin.
Week ending Nov. 4, 2001
Meet Eddie! The newest member of our landscape family. Eddie is a dogwood tree; a hybrid between the local "cornus nutallii" and a "cornus florida". It's full name is "Eddies White Wonder". We're expecting this feature tree to grow to about 8 meters. This is actually a gift; an aunt in Norway sent money for a special plant in our garden. We selected this. Thanks Tante Gunvor.
Hey, notice the greenery? The second part of the lawn is becoming established.
Marit has seen a specialist in Nanaimo this week and found there is little that can be done for her osteo-arthritis in the knee. Ice, anti-inflamatories, and avoidance of weight bearing. We've followed the surgeon's suggestions and bought a brace and an exercise bicycle. In all, we've spent several days traveling, consulting, and shopping. (That's my excuse for so little progress in interior finishing carpentry.)
The weather has been pretty fine, considering all the passing storms. We seem to get most of the rain at night, or very late in the day. It's been sort of like Camelot. Our weather doesn't quite correspond to Vancouver. Today was sunny.
More dead salmon have been washing onto the beach. This is the fourth to appear. (I put my wrist watch on the rock to give some comparison for size). It's a "chum", one of the five species of salmon here. Locally it's called a "humpback", or "humpy". It may seem cruel, but only those individuals that are strong enough and smart enough will reach their home stream and propagate their gene into the next generation. (I guess my beach is the graveyard of the genetic misfits).
Week ending Nov. 11, 2001
The weather has been good for November; we've dodged most of the storm tracks. But today it looks like we're settling in to a long stretch of rain storms.
Ozzie is settled in one of her favorite places, in front of the fire. She spends a lot of time sleeping. Of course there's not too much else to do for a cat that's lost her sight, and now seems to be hard of hearing.
Fortunately her bird chasing days are over. Bird watching is a great pastime here. The different species have been flocking together. Oregon Juncos, chestnut backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, golden crowned sparrows, and golden crowned kinglets. A winter wren was checking out my garage yesterday and didn't really want to leave. A flock of red winged blackbirds is hanging around for the winter and often sits in the maple tree beside the house.
Out on the water we have quite a few mergansers, both hooded and red-breasted. And buffleheads. The loons are back too, but I haven't been able to see them well enough to identify the type.
I've never been able to tell the difference between a fox sparrow and a song sparrow; until two days ago when one of each appeared on the beach trail. Then it was obvious. This may seem trivial to anyone else, but for me it was a highlight of the week.
Development inside the house has been slow and unsteady. Notice the white trim along the stair treads? And the white baseboard on the floor? I'm proceeding with the baseboards throughout the front room and dining area. Then out to the kitchen and hallway. Progress would be faster if all the corners were square (90 degrees) and there were no posts jutting slightly beyond the wall, and the drywall was flat, not curved, and...etc. But it's interesting and gives me challenges to meet.
Next Sunday is the Leonid meteor shower; I'm hoping that the rain clouds will dissipate for that night. It would be interesting to see. We have a great view here of the stars since there's no street lights around. Apparently there's a significant chance of some satellites being damaged by the storm. I hope it's not the Star Choice satellite. I'd lose my TV reception.
Week ending Nov. 18, 2001
It's been a different kind of week. Days and days of storm; heavy rains and heavy winds. Exactly the way it is supposed to be here on the west coast in November. Great!
But occasionally, in between, we were treated to these moments of beauty. During these quiet moments I had the chance to clean up the minor wind damage, and fix up the wood piles.
Now that winter seems imminent, I've erected a bird feeder just behind the house. A chestnut-backed chickadee was the first to discover it, and then the "whole gang" showed up almost immediately. It's interesting, the species have their priority. House finches seem to hog the feeder, yielding only when a towhee (which is larger) flies in. The others only get their turn when the finches are satisfied. So I decided to put up a special finch feeder with their favorite food, niger seed.
They ignored it.
This morning the feeder was mobbed by a gang of 18 red-winged blackbirds. There's now enough seed spilled and scattered around so it doesn't matter who is on the feeder. There's enough available for everyone. Even the pheasant comes around just before dusk to get his share.
This weekend the sky has cleared and we've been treated to some really fine hard frosts. Colder weather. In the mornings I'm really appreciating how well this house is insulated.
The sky was clear last night for great viewing of the Leonard meteor shower. I bundled up in 3-4 layers of clothes, took the lawn chair outside, and watched. The largest I saw was just after 1:00 AM, well before the main burst of activity an hour later. It seemed to be lower than most large planes fly, and it left a large smoke trail that stayed a long period as it slowly distorted and dispersed. At 2:15 I had enough. I was freezing. Not enough layers of clothes. It was below 0 degrees Celsius. Marit wisely had watched the meteors through the window while remaining comfortably under the bed covers. She's smarter than I am.
On Friday there had been a different great show on the island; a piano concert. It had been originally scheduled for two months ago, but the events of September 11 prevented the pianist from leaving New York to start her tour. Fortunately she was able to reschedule, and the performance was well worth the wait. If anyone has the opportunity to see and hear Francine Kay I recommend you Do so. She is a gifted player and performs marvelously.
Back on the home front, my viewpoint recently has been closer to floor level. Today "Rocky" has been watching me extend the baseboards down the hallway into the guest room (until I ran out of material). Rocky was created by my niece, Gillean, who is very artistically gifted. Rocky the raccoon is actually a large painted rock. And over the past year it has inflicted more pain on me than any other animal. Socks are no protection when a toe is stubbed against this solid floor level mass. And I don't seem to learn, no matter where we place it.
Incidentally, any of these pictures can be enlarged by just clicking on them, (just in case you haven't discovered that yet).
Week ending Nov. 25, 2001
The weather has been better this week, but we still need a fire twice a day for warmth. This house plant seems to enjoy its close proximity to the stove; it's the first time it has ever flowered for us.
The birds have responded to my feeders. In fact, the back of the house now often resembles a chicken coop. We have six hen pheasants visiting regularly. Three cock pheasants periodically show up too. A flock of over 20 red-wing blackbirds make sure there is enough food scattered on the ground for them. And the rest of the menagerie fits in where it can.
Tides have been very high throughout the days. In winter the real low tides only occur at nights, which makes life rather difficult for the shellfish farmers. Sometimes I can hear them filling their plastic buckets in the dark.
There's lots more dead fish washed up on the beach. Some are getting rather smelly. Apparently these are fish which have spawned and died in the local rivers. The heavy rains have washed them back out into the ocean, and up on the beaches. A lot of other material has been washed down from the rivers too and is floating in the sound. "Flotsom and jetsom" is the proper description. Junk and debris is the term we less poetic individuals use.
Apparently the provincial government is reviving their attempt to force the expansion of the shellfish industry in the waters surrounding our island. The intertidal shore line is already entirely under lease. They now want to surround the shoreline with rafts and suspend cages. And they are suggesting using the ocean floor to farm sub tidal species. They don't seem to accept our previous unanimous rejection of the ideas. Their approach will be another consultants review of the collected environmental studies which have all indicated that severe caution is warranted. In my cynical estimation, they are continuing to review it until they finally get someone to give a favorable interpretation. Last Tuesday there was a full house at the community hall for a meeting with government project members. Interesting times.
As to developments in the house, most of the effort has been in the garage. I've been gathering all the remaining scraps of lumber and building a storage facility. My splendid cupboard with shelves will look a lot better when I finish mounting the doors, and clear out some of the articles that are scattered on the floor in front of it.
After that, I'll be back on the baseboards in the guest room.
Week ending Dec. 2, 2001
My apologies to everyone! Somehow a virus infiltrated my defenses, infected my system, and spread itself to every e_mail address it could locate in my system. It turned out to be a variant of the "Badtrans" virus; the "Worm_Badtrans.B" virus. It plants a Trojan in a Windows system file, and has to be removed in DOS mode.
If anyone received a blank e-mail last week from me, with an attachment of 0 length you may have been infected. But only if you use Microsoft Outlook Express.
That virus had me sharing a feeling that many of "my" birds have regularly. They keep forgetting there's glass in my windows. Every morning at least one feathered creature thumps the window and flutters off with a sore head. Usually it's a Junco. I wonder if it's the same bird every day; a really slow learner?
Here is my bird feeding area last week. There were three pheasants visible, but one ducked behind another as I took the photo. Three more are just outside of the picture. The smaller birds are the red-winged blackbirds. You may have to click on the image to enlarge it to see the detail.
The weather is obvious. But the total snowfall was only 4 cm.
It's good weather to do inside work. I finished the cupboards in the garage. (There were a couple design flaws, but they're not critical). And the baseboards were finished in the guest room and the upstairs bathroom. Now I've started in the computer room.
But progress has not been great. The virus has taken a lot of attention. And I spent a few days in Vancouver; for dental work, and to attend the yearly Christmas Fair at mom's rest home; Normanna. It's a big sale of Norwegian foods and crafts. Well attended, in fact, extremely crowded.
Back here on Denman Island this has been the weekend of our annual Denman Island Christmas Craft Fair. This is really large, filling both the community hall and the seniors hall. It's becoming quite renowned. Marit contributed some baking for a fund raising activity. And unfortunately it was entirely sold; no leftover scraps for me when I picked up the plates at the end of the day.
And a final item to end this weeks recap on a high note. For those of you who know my son, Erik is now engaged. He and Sara have not yet decided the date. Exciting times. We hope to hear lots more about it when they visit at Christmas.
Week ending Dec. 9, 2001
This little corner of the world seems to have the best weather. We escaped the snow that hit the mainland earlier this week; it fell a few hundred meters higher. We have the beauty but not the inconvenience. This picture shows the view from our sun deck. There's been wind and rain later this week, but I don't have to go out in it.
Marit has had her knee brace adjusted, and it seems to be helping a bit. The knee has not been as painful this week, (knock on wood). We both went on a hike in the woods and gathered material for Christmas decorations. We found a stand of wild holly trees on the far side of the island; (the result of starlings eating domestic holly berries and later "planting" the seeds under their roosting site). She's going to make a wreath next week.
She's been having lots of fun unpacking all our Christmas ornaments that have been in storage for the past three years. There are many things she'd forgotten she had. I put up a couple strings of lights on the house. But next year we think we should have a better display.
And in the house,... more baseboards. Here's Ole (pronounced oh-l-eh) the house troll inspecting the baseboards in the second upstairs bedroom. (Click on him for a bigger picture). The only room left now is the master bedroom and its walk-in closet. But Marit wants that left until after Christmas. Too much mess.
Incidentally, I think Ole has a cousin somewhere in the house; a gremlin that keeps hiding my tape measures. Both of mine are constantly disappearing. Week ending Dec. 16, 2001
We have had rain. Lots and lots of rain. And wind. But the really destructive storm of last Thursday seems to have bypassed us. It hit Quadra Island. It pasted Vancouver. But we were somehow sheltered.
Fortunately everything appears to be remaining stable so far despite the heavy rains. No washouts or land slides. So we can remain comfortably sitting in a recliner by the fire. That's Marit on the right of the above picture.
Actually Marit has been very active, unpacking all her Christmas fixtures and creating a seasonal atmosphere in the house. She tells me that's a Santa sitting beside the stove watching over the cat. I think he's a little too rugged to be Santa; maybe a Christmas elf who's been out gathering wood.
Here's some more of our Christmas characters just outside my computer room; a shelf full of happy little people.
And more yet, at the end of our dining nook.
Yesterday while trying to extend the table with an extra leaf, I discovered the table had broken and was in danger of collapse. This presented me with an interesting challenge; a woodworking project with fine furniture. So I've been screwing and gluing and clamping and cleaning. It's now more solid and serviceable than it was when I bought it. In all honesty, I was amazed to discover that I seemed to know what I was doing.
In other activities, there's been a bit more trim and baseboards that needed installing (areas that I'd forgotten). And more progress in the domestication of the garage jungle.
One last activity; today was Bird Count Day. I was able to report 97 birds of 16 different species just from my yard. Of course, a well stocked bird feeder helped.
PS. Marit says "Merry Christmas Marilyn and Sylvia"
Week ending Dec. 23, 2001
Continuing storms, high winds and heavy rains, started the week. But finally the storm track has changed and we have some calm and partly sunny days.
High winter tides, together with strong winds regularly change the appearance of the beach. Here's a picture of the shore this afternoon; my stairway is just behind that massive set of roots that has washed ashore.
A new bird made an appearance near my feeders. A large hawk swooped down and sat on a fence post. It was an immature hawk; either a Sharp-shinned hawk, or a Northern Goshawk. It didn't stay long enough for me to study it. Neither did any other bird in the area. They vanished. Instantly.
I just asked Marit "What have we done this week?" And she said "Shop, bake, shop, cook, shop, clean, and shop". In short, we've been getting ready for Christmas. When we designed this house, we forgot about the Christmas tree. But we've managed to fit it in, but the room is smaller.
The rest of the island is preparing for Christmas too. Here's the community tree in "downtown Denman" beside the Anglican Church.
We've just come back from the local "Olde Time Christmas Party" at the community hall. Turkey dinner with all the trimmings provided free by the local store keeper, Mike Comeau. We participants provided either a potluck salad or desert. It was an enjoyable event.
Tomorrow we'll have a full house for Christmas Eve. Yesterday Erik and Sara flew from Toronto to Vancouver. Tomorrow they will join Lise and Gary and drive here together. We're really looking forward to sharing our first Christmas in this house.
Week ending Dec. 30, 2001
A great Christmas. The "kids" arrived in the afternoon on Christmas Eve (loaded with presents). We had the traditional Norwegian dinner of a pork rib roast; (special cut with a layer of rind left on top). As you can see, we all enjoyed it immensely. Then, after the dishes were cleaned, we sat around the tree and exchanged gifts.
On Christmas Day we reverted to the Canadian tradition; stockings stuffed with (more) gifts in the morning, and a turkey dinner. We had some neighbours join us for the dinner.
And of course Christmas baking and special foods constantly available. Marit really put on a super season; food decor, and atmosphere.
Unfortunately, I think all my pants shrunk in the last washing; they're all too tight. She must have used water that was far too hot.
Here's Lise and Gary, relaxing and listening to Christmas carols on my stereo.
(Incidentally, I've started creating true "thumbnails" of the these pictures to minimize the loading time of this page. Clicking on these pictures will provide an expanded photo with greater detail).
And Erik and Sara.
Hmm. I should have used a touch-up program to eliminate the red in Erik's eyes. They really were not bloodshot.
One more family photo just before they left on Thursday.
The last couple of days have been back to normal, whatever that is. There's more birds than ever at my feeders. The free seed has been discovered by the pine siskins and they are now swarming like wasps on a syrup bottle.
Birds continue to thump into the window, despite the ornaments hanging there. I think they're trying to fly into the Christmas tree they see through the glass.
And another new bird; yesterday while walking down the path to the beach I saw a small hawk close by in the brush. It was either a Coopers hawk or a Sharp-Shinned hawk; my best guess is an immature Sharp-Shinned hawk because of its smaller size. Something new every day.
So, another year almost completed. Happy New Year everybody.
And kids, it was great having you for the holidays. We appreciate your coming.
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