Easter Egg Hunt

We took the boys to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at Willingdon Beach Park. Then continued on our walk along Willingdon Beach Trail when we saw the Heron waiting for his dinner to come within range.

Slow But Sure - SPRING IS SPRINGING

                                                   Mini Rhodo

                                             Primrose

                                             Rhodo tree

                                            Rhodo Tree

                                            Rhodo Tree

                                             You can never have too much garlic!

                                            Beauties!

                                                Heather likes the cool weather.

                                       

While it is not very warm at least it's not freezing overnight and we are getting some warm sunshine during the day. The results of Helen playing in her garden every day are becoming more visible.

Sea Lions & Sea Gulls on Parade

Over the past several days a large number of Sea Lions have gathered at the log sorting pond near the hulks at the Catalyst paper mill. We went to watch them and found that a large number of Sea Gulls had decided to join the Sea Lions and live in harmony. Some local human residents living nearby are not so sure about the "harmony".
If you go to http://www.prpeak.com/ you'll find a Video and information about the Sea Lions. Here's some pics we took yesterday.

Thanksgiving Brunch

Thanksgiving Brunch with Ken and Audrey, Ken G., Nora Lea and Richard. Helen was behind the camera, having just moved from behind the stove!

Caught Napping

Otis and Rascall get caught napping together under the coffee table!

Harbour Upgrade

Our small boat harbour, known as the North Harbour, is undergoing a major overhaul. All the pleasure boats had to be out of their berths by October 1st and there's now boats of all shapes and sizes parked in driveways, alleys and on lawns all over town. In the past week a lot has been done starting with the ripping and lifting of the old "fingers" onto barges to be hauled away. We will follow the progress.

TV Stars

We left Red Deer Wednesday, September 29th and after landing at Comox we drove to Victoria to keep a medical appointment on Friday. We stayed at the Inn at Laurel Point that has a gorgeous location on the banks of the Inner Harbour. On Thursday we saw a TV crew in the hotel lobby, along with a Chocolate Lab pup and his handler. We learned Cliff is the newest hotel employee who will have the job of greeting guests to the hotel as soon as he finishes his training. The TV folks were there to introduce him to the community. Of course, we didn't need much coaxing and Grandma was soon down on the floor scratching his ears and rubbing his belly while the cameras rolled. The tape aired on CHEK TV's Island 30 show this past Friday evening. Follow the link to CHEK. He is soooo cute!
http://www.cheknews.ca/
Once you get the CHEK web site you'll see a button for Island 30. Click it choose October 1st to click to see the program where Helen appears with Cliff. That segment starts at 17:25 so you don't have to watch the whole 25 minute program. There should be an easier way, but there seems to be a faulty link on the CHEK site.

Steveston Sockeye Salmon

We were in South Surrey August 28th when the news of the day was about the incredible number of Sockeye Salmon making their way from the Ocean up the Fraser River to spawn. They say this was the biggest run in at least 100 years. The news broadcasts also told of the fresh salmon being sold right off the fish boats at Steveston so Kevin, Jared, Helen and I, at my urging, decided to check it out. Not necessarily as good an idea as I thought. We got clogged in the traffic from the Massey Tunnel to the village, the crowds at the village and the return trip! Then there was the fact that by the time we got there the Sockeye were all sold out! We did pick up a flash frozen 10 - 12 lb. Coho that we took to Kelowna with us where it was polished off in good order. Here's pictures to give some idea of the crowd we encountered. It's sure a good thing the docks at Steveston are in a lot better shape than ours in Powell River.

Hockey Dads and Moms

Does anyone out there have young hockey players in their family? Are these future NHL'ers looking for ways to raise money for tournaments, extra ice time, etc.? If so, check out the link for    Fundraising Ideas: Hockey Spirit Fundraising Calendars, listed at the right side of our blog page.

Smoke 'n Sun

Here are pictures taken at about 7:20 this evening as our sun begins its descent into the horizon. The air is filled with smoke drifting in as the result of a large number of forest fires burning inland and "Up Country". The weather people also say we have a "marine layer" system caused by heat and high humidity. It's quite different than we're used to.