I’ve got a bunch of catching up to do on the web site! Work lately has been crazy, which has meant no time to even look at photos, or get to processing videos and such. Hopefully I’ll start to slow down a bit, and get to some of these long overdue projects.

The first week of September, just after Labour Day I decided to take a week off work and spend it at the island. I was hoping the weather would stay nice, and that following weekend our friends Katie and John were coming to spend the weekend with us. For me, it was a chance to tackle a bunch of projects, as well as try and relax and enjoy myself a bit.

I don’t have a lot to write, so I’ll share a bunch of photos and provide some commentary through them. Hopefully the next time I get back will be a bit more creative.

Most of the week was spent doing projects around the property, so I didn’t actually take a lot of pictures. We were also getting a lot of smoke from the forest fires in the US that week, so when I got a nice sunset on one of the first nights, I had … — Most of the week was spent doing projects around the property, so I didn’t actually take a lot of pictures. We were also getting a lot of smoke from the forest fires in the US that week, so when I got a nice sunset on one of the first nights, I had to take full advantage.

Home sweet home for the week.

You could see the haze from the forest fires, later in the week.

The sun rises were also quite spectacular a few days.

On the way over to the island, I bought a proper chainsaw to fill up the little wood shed that Justine and I had previously built. Sadly, in barely took me a couple of hours to cut up a few of the logs I had sitting around to fill it up. I’m sure th… — On the way over to the island, I bought a proper chainsaw to fill up the little wood shed that Justine and I had previously built. Sadly, in barely took me a couple of hours to cut up a few of the logs I had sitting around to fill it up. I’m sure the saw will get much more work in the future.

One of the more relaxing things I did during the week was get in the water a lot. Earlier in the summer, we “discovered” morning beach. As it’s quite close to the golf course, my morning routine become to go and play 9 holes early in the morning, th… — One of the more relaxing things I did during the week was get in the water a lot. Earlier in the summer, we “discovered” morning beach. As it’s quite close to the golf course, my morning routine become to go and play 9 holes early in the morning, then head to the beach and go for a quick swim. The water changed temperature quite a bit but I generally had the place completely to myself. It was a nice little routine.

One morning I came out of the tent to discover that I a couple of visitors just outside my door. They were not overly concerned about me…

As I was leaving the golf course towards the end of the week, an owl flew across the road in front of me and landed in a tree near the road! Of course I didn’t have a camera with me, so I had to use my phone, which is why you’ve ended up with this c… — As I was leaving the golf course towards the end of the week, an owl flew across the road in front of me and landed in a tree near the road! Of course I didn’t have a camera with me, so I had to use my phone, which is why you’ve ended up with this crappy photo. Sorry about that…

You new some birds pics were showing up !

As mentioned, on Friday Justine, Katie and John came to join me for the remainder of the weekend. Sadly the smoke from the fires was still really bad, so we had no views. Still we planned to make the best of it.

When they arrived Friday night, we had a welcome drink ad relaxed for a bit. It was already dark, so getting tents and such was a bit more complicated, and it ended up being a fairly early evening for us all.

We didn’t have a lot planned, but we went out for a bit of exploring during the day on Saturday. We also had dinner at Tranqillo at Bodega Ridge Saturday night, which made for a great day.

Katie practicing her stone skipping on Active Pass.

Driftwood on the beach - such interesting patterns.

A heron flying over Active Pass. The smoke was so bad that even in here where it’s protected, you could barely see across the narrow channel.

You can really see the smoke in the air - this was mid afternoon.

John had brought his bike over to the island with him and wanted to go for a ride, so Sunday morning we got geared up and I suggested we ride to the north end of the island to Dionisio Point Provincial Park.

It was actually a little nicer up at the point, with less smoke, still relatively few people and the spectacular views that come from the park.

We didn’t spend a lot of time up at the park, and soon turned around to head back home.

We had a good ride, and it was good to show John a part of the island you can’t easily access.

Sunday we were all heading home, but we still wanted to get out and do something in the afternoon, so we picked a short hike along the shoreline around mid-island that Justine and I had not done, but had heard was good. We took our lunch with us, planning to stop part way and enjoy the scenery.

This is pretty typical, but still very cool, of the sandstone along much of the Galiano shoreline.

These rocks were a little different! They formed almost a tile pattern and had some interesting colours.

The smoke was so bad all the turkey vultures were grounded. This tree near the water was covered in them!

Despite not being able to see anything on the water we had a nice hike.

I’ve never quite seen anything like this - a tree growing out of a tree, a good 50-60’ up in the air.

After the hike, Katie and John headed out to meet up with another friend of John’s who also lives on Galiano, so Justine and I headed back to the property to do a few last chores and get the place closed up. On the way back north, we spotted a pileated woodpecker along the side of the road.

Before heading to the ferry, Justine and I made a quick stop at Bellhouse Park as we had a little bit of time to spare. While we were there, we managed to see a new bird species to add to our list - the Horned Lark. During breeding they are much more interesting, It seems that during the fall, Horned Larks lose their "horns," They are rare visitors to the coast during migration and prefer open grass areas along the coast, and this little flock was foraging in the gassy area in the park.