I wanted to give you a snapshot of some of the nicer things in my yard this time of year. Now, I am NOT showing you the sad-looking roses the deer got to, nor the overgrown former flowerbeds near the driveway, nor the mess of construction debris (from last year) still sitting in the driveway. No, in this imaginary garden, only the pretty, nice things exist…

The entry garden, with the bright red geraniumns set off by the yellow zinnias and a single yellow wood poppy.

A view of the unmowed “orchard” with my lucky dog looking for the deer that sleep under the trees…

The dahlias on top of the mound…

The blueberries! Ripe and sweet… mmmmmm

And my pirate kid, who took these lovely pics (and who, though tall, does not actually scrape the ceiling when indoors).

Waking up Saturday morning to a lovely view out Hetty’s living and dining rooms, I had a leisurely breakfast, then woke up stidmatt and he had a lovely porridge made by Alan.

Dropping by Jill’s to be sure stidgrant was ready to go, Alan took the boys on a walk while Hetty and Jill and I headed into the “big town” of Ganges to walk in the farmer’s market, see the library (they both volunteer there) and have lunch. First stop was a lovely performing arts center where the “Fiber Festival” was taking place. We didn’t walk about much, but I was intrigued by a quilt display. So many ideas!

People are wonderful and creative… there is much beauty in this world if we only look for it.

Next stop, the library, where we parked. Here are pics of the library and of Hetty and Jill inviting us all to read. Don’t miss the posters up for the Harry Potter party from the previous evening!

A quick jaunt then across the main drag toward the harbor, and to see the dozens of really great stalls for the artists, artisans and farmers on the island. I didn’t take pictures of them, but… imagine yourself in a medieval bazaar: people changing money (yes, Salt Spring Island has its own currency); offering baked goods — including some vegan cookies and cakes which I promptly snapped up; displaying their garden’s bounty (garlic, greens, root vegetables, potatoes) in many colors, shapes and sizes; potters with mugs, plates, bowls and platters; an armorer — yes, a chain mail specialist from whom I bought a small ring for one of the boys; clothes from scarves to dresses to shirts and hats; art; and musical instruments – I bought a clamshell ocarina for the other boy. Good smells, pretty sights, and never enough money in the pocket!

Close to the market, we stopped at an Italian-style restaurant for lunch. Looked like they had good food, though most of it had dairy in it so I just had a green salad (which was excellent). Waiting for our table, I snapped a quick pic of the ladies:

And then back to the car with another small stop at Mouats, a century-old store to get pirate T-shirts for the family and for the boys’ penpals. Car rides on this island are fun. There are so many great views — old farmsteads, forested areas, quaint clusters of dwellings, curious remnants of old places, a mix of new and old architecture that tells the story of life on the island over the last 150 years. Of course, habitation on the island goes back much longer than that, but most of the structural clues are left by non-indigenous peoples.

Supper that evening was at Jill’s place — rice, broccoli and a great chicken dish; dessert was chocolate cake with ice cream, and fruit salad with meringues. Wine or soda with supper, coffee or tea with dessert. By the time we left Jill’s cozy home with instructions to stidgrant to help with finishing clearing up… it was nearly 10 pm!

Sunday’s report in the next post…

Without wanting to sound like an advertisement for tourism… British Columbia is one of the prettiest places on earth. From the many islands off the west coast, to the mountains, to the lakes and cities, each spot seems to hold more and more wonderful things to discover. The people are (for the most part) friendly, the air is clean, the wildlife abundant. Though I am familiar with only the area around downtown Victoria and some of Salt Spring Island, I think it is reasonable to extrapolate a bit… so here is a narration that may encourage others to visit!

On Friday last, the children and I took the MV Coho (a privately-owned ferry) across the Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles in Washington state to Victoria in Canada. We went as foot passengers, leaving our car near the dock and saving about a hundred dollars in ferry fees! It was also nice to board and disembark first…

A view of Victoria from afar..

The view from the ferry coming in (or going out)

Victoria, on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, is a real gem. The seat of the Provincial government, and the major port city on the island, it retains a small-town feel in many ways. This was my first major trip alone with the children, and despite not having the right amount of money for the bus fare once we got ashore, and then having my debit card (that I had been using to get cash as needed) stop working briefly two days later… we managed to have a super time. Most of the people were very helpful and friendly, and the children were delighted to be having such a grand adventure.

Of course, Victoria was only a stop for us this trip — our real destination was Salt Spring Island, the biggest of the Gulf Islands just east of the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

So once we caught the bus in Victoria, we rode it up to Swartz Bay, catching the ferry again as foot passengers across to Fulford, a small harbor town on the southern end of Salt Spring Island.

Stidmatt above, stidgrant and me below, on the ferry to Fulford…

We sat by the window on the ride over, and I couldn’t help noticing a young firefighter across the isle, wearing her uniform, but carrying a pretty dress and an instrument case. As we were coming in to the dock, I asked if it was a violin, and we had a nice (though short) conversation about violins and fiddles.

We were walking off the dock, when one of the children said, “Mom! Mom!” and I heard from somewhere behind me, “Stid? STID!”

It was Flosey, a babblefriend who had come to meet us for supper. She was first to arrive, followed soon after by Jillibus who had brought Dilly — and Hetty and her darling husband Alan (and aptly named poodle, Perky). We had supper at the restaurant at the top of the ferry dock.

The men at one end of the table…

The women at the other end of the table! (L to R: hetty, dilly, flosey)

I wish I had taken some pics of the place inside, the main seating area was defined by lovely abstact stained glass panels, and the windows looked out on the harbor — and a heron perched on a rock stained by lichen and lit by the afternoon sunlight. We ate, and babbled, ate and talked about babbling, ate and enjoyed the company. When the food was gone, Alan took the boys and the dog home, while the rest of us had coffee and talked on…

And before we got in the car, a pic of us all together, with thanks to Gladys (a complete stranger) who offered to take it for us! (L to R: Jillibus, stidmama, flosey, hetty, dilly)

Finally, we delivered Flosey and Dilly to their homes, and Hetty and Jill and I went on home ourselves. I stayed with stidmatt at Hetty’s house, stidgrant stayed at Jill’s house each night, and during the days we had grand adventures and fun times. We were really only with them for two complete days, which I will outline in the next post. But, for only two days, we made a tremendous quantity of memories!