Welcome Aboard

We recently took a trip into the Cariboo and of course that means leaving the island via BC Ferries. On a sunny afternoon it's quite nice to go out onto the deck and for the younger crowd, run around. - Fern

Top of the World

At dusk Mount Finlayson is a favorite spot for Victorians to come and gaze out over our little city. There isn't a dramatic skyline like some big cities but I think the natural beauty of the ocean and mountains make up for it many times over. - Fern

Bon Voyage!

Here goes the MV Coho on it's last trip across to Port Angeles. - Fern

Gonzales Beach

Another sure sign that September is here is that the dogs now rule the sandy shores around town. - Fern

Whiffen Spit Park

Just up the coast, past the busy little town of Sooke lies a lovely park, although very long and skinny! A spit of land that runs 1.1 km, it shelters the Sooke Inlet from the open waters of the Strait of Juan De Fuca. A well spent afternoon. - Fern

The Sun!

So after a week of fog and rain the sun has emerged for the weekend but with it has come the wind. It was crazy down at Fleming Beach but the views were well worth it. - Fern

Ogden Point and the Juan De Fuca Strait

Can you feel the weight of those clouds? I can. - Fern Long

Outrigger Canoes

These folks were really going fast when they passed the rocks at Macauley Point this morning. After a rainy week it has been a lovely weekend of sunshine and we soaked up the beauty knowing how lucky we are to live in this little corner of the world. - Fern

Mount Finlayson

The weather cooperated and so for a nice way to start the new year we headed to Goldstream Park and hiked up to take in the amazing view. It's a 1.5 km hike and as you can see here, it's almost a vertical climb the entire way!

James Bay

Friends from out of town are staying at the lovely Oswego Hotel on the seventh floor and have this beautiful view looking out toward the Olympic Mountains. -fern

Strait of Juan de Fuca

Growing up in Victoria and always living a few blocks from the water, I have an affinity to the ocean and it's ever changing moods. -Fern

Good bye Victoria

On a blustery day last week we threw caution to the wind and boarded the Coho ferry to Port Angeles. From the cafeteria I would run out onto the deck, snap a few pictures and then scurry back inside to my hot tea. This was taken from the starboard quarter (thank you Google) looking back at Victoria.

Winter

Last night on a national news broadcast about lots of snow in Calgary the announcer mentioned that winter had still not begun. She, along with the rest of the world, seems to think that the seasons begin and end on the solstices and equinoxes. I don't agree. It seems to me that the solstices and equinoxes generally mark the middle of the seasons, not their ends. Take winter for example. December 21 is the solstice that ostensibly marks the end of autumn and the beginning of winter. I don't know where these people live but here, by December 21, it has been cold for some time. November is not exactly t-shirt or bikini weather in Victoria. Another problem with using the solstices and equinoxes to mark the beginnings/ends of seasons is that winter, spring, summer and autumn are not the same length. I'd say winter here is about 5 months long, spring is about 3 months long, summer is about a month long and autumn is about three months long. So, those of you who are slavishly devoted to the calendar can think of this as autumn if you will. As far as I am concerned, this is winter. Above, taken while I braved the icy northern blasts of Pacific gales, is a photo of the strait of Juan de Fuca. The large ship is a container vessel and the smaller ship is the Victoria Clipper, a high speed catamaran passenger ferry that operates between Victoria Harbor and Seattle.