Green Wellies

Sand, snow and seaweed...

Yes, it snowed here on the Sunshine Coast on Monday night and already I can imagine some of the joking remarks that friends in Ontario would just love to say about it!  I heard them last winter, too.  Because we're not just fair-weather beachcombers, the dogs and I went for our morning walk, the sun was warm and the sand glistened.  Indy and Casper were like kids in the snow and they seemed more intent on running about than chasing sticks.  I was left to wander.

And if that's all the snow we get from here on in, that suits me just fine.

Mother and son weekend...

I booked time off from doing respite with a foster child, so that I could free up the weekend to spend with my son.  Robb came up on Saturday and after a quick lunch, I donned my new arc'teryx beanie that he brought for me and we took Casper and Indy to the beach.  I still haven't quite got the hang of using the Chuck-it thingy with the tennis balls, so Robb gave me some pointers and captured the moment, while Indy waits up ahead.  I think more practice is in store, but the dogs are game for anything...

It was raining on and off all day, so that morning, I made a good thick soup of yams, potatoes, carrots, onions and rice for dinner to have with foccacia bread and brie and look at this, the rain stopped and the sunset through the trees was an incredible golden light reflecting off the ocean...just before we sat down to eat...

Later that evening, we decided to rent a movie and chose Fido, namely because Billy Connolly stars in it and my son-in-law was involved in the filming of it...over the top and good fun.

On Sunday morning, Robb made one of the best omelettes for breakfast that I've ever eaten...with finely chopped shallot and red pepper. Then on went my new beanie, the dogs were loaded into the car and we drove to Porpoise Bay Provincial Park.  We walked the beach, the salt marsh and followed a trail into the woods that ran beside a stream.  Here's a sampling of the photos he took as we tramped along...

This photo of Indy running through the reeds at warp speed is one of my favourites...it looks more like a painting than a photograph and captures the spirit of this little terrier...

And finally, Robb had to head home to Vancouver and while visits with my kids never seem long enough, we certainly made use of every minute together and I loved every one of those minutes...

* Credits to Robb for the photographs, with thanks for a super time!

Whenever a good nor'wester blows...

...Casper and Indy are certain of sand-between-the-toes (with apologies to A. A. Milne and Christopher Robin).  We had quite the gale blowing for two days with the waves pounding the beach and trees cracking in the forest behind us.  The wind howled, the rain pelted down and we had to walk along the top edge of the breakwater or we'd have been washed out to sea.  Today, we were blessed with blue skies and sunshine and I couldn't wait to head out for our morning walk.  The beach had been totally rearranged and massive logs had washed ashore.  The dogs and I spent over an hour just wandering along, checking out the latest offerings of flotsam and jetsam, taking photos and leaving our footprints on the fresh sand.

This little boat didn't fair too well and ended up with a heavy load...

Indy is crazy about large sticks, but he met his match with these ones...

The ramp at the far end of the beach met its match, too and was completely washed away...

Even though they run ahead, here's two good dogs waiting for me to catch up...

And last, but not least, it's shadow woman...

 

With thanks...

Mom and dad...we are grateful and we shall remember.

Turning over an old leaf...

We've been blessed with some sunny afternoons and I've finally managed to get the leaves raked before they became a thick soggy mess.  They've been dumped into the bin where they can work their magic and turn into good composted material.  The bin is a real makeshift combination of pieces of wood, some wire fencing that my neighbour gave me and two boat or dock markers that I found washed up on the beach after a storm.  By spring, this pile will have shrunk by about three quarters in height and I'll be hauling it back again to dig into the garden...a wonderful leafy cycle.

Whittle away...

The dictionary meaning of whittle, at least according to my old frayed pocket Oxford that I've had since my high school days, is reduce by repeated subtractions and that's exactly what's been happening to the little corner shelves on either side of my kitchen window.  They were crammed to overflowing and now look like this...

And this...

And this...

And this...

I like the sparse look better.  It's all because I started painting everything white and can't get enough of it.

* The original title was Whittle While I Work, but it made it sound as though I sit around carving little wooden whistles with a penknife while washing dishes or folding laundry.