Summer's Here...Again!

After a week or so of weather with an autumnal chill in the air we suddenly had a reversion to summer weather with temps in the high 20s. I figured it was a good time to take a last look at the beach in its summer dress. Above is what Willows Beach looked like yesterday.

Bodhi Frog

I mentioned a few days ago that Oak Bay has some sculptures on display at various public venues and that I proposed to feature a few here. So far however, I have only had time to photograph one, pictured above. It's called Bodhi Frog by Doug Taylor and it is currently installed on Willows Beach. The wheels whirl in opposite directions and sparkle in the sun making it a very eye-catching piece of beach sculpture.

Beach Pianos

The first thing I saw when I arrived at Cattle point yesterday was this gaily painted piano. It's one of a set of five painted pianos that are part of the Oak Bay Arts Alive Program. There are also a dozen sculptures scattered around Oak Bay. We'll have a look at one of the sculptures tomorrow. Shortly after I took the above photo a man came along and sat down and proceeded to play, really beautifully. Later on my drive around the shoreline I came across another of these pianos, this one on Willows Beach, pictured below. To find out more about the Arts Alive Program, click HERE.

Great Beach House

I took a spin around the the eastern side of Victoria today to Cattle Point and Willows Beach. I had to stop and photograph this beach construction - now that's a beach house!

Willows Beach

The carnival ride photo I posted yesterday is located in Willows Park where the rest of the Oak Bay Tea Party events also take place. We'll have some more photos of the Tea Party events this week. Today's photo is Willows Beach, probably Victoria's most popular ocean beach. When the busy bustling midway became a little overpowering it was nice to take a stroll along the beach.

Beach Days - Willows Beach

Our coolish summer turned hot last week so I decided it was time for my annual tour of Victoria's beaches. Above is probably the most popular, Willows Beach in Oak Bay.

Beach Burial

One of the things I love about beaches is that people (especially kids) feel free to engage in positively useless, silly, inane activities, such as burying yourself in sand. There is a problem, however. How do you bury your arms and shoulders when they are doing the burying? The answer to this and many other problems is below: with a little help from your friends.

Willows Beach

I like Willows Beach best of Victoria's beaches, mostly because it has everything a good beach should have: sand, water, a nice view, a pleasant scattering of people, great refreshment stand (best fries in town), lots of places to sit down and finally, a lazy ambience you can feel in the above photo. There is also a nice sidewalk just above the beach for those of us whose aging ankles are not up to trudging through the sand. In the photo immediately below you can see the beach proper. That's Cattle Point in the background. In both these photos we are looking roughly northeast.

In the photo below we are looking in the opposite direction, southwest, towards the Oak Bay Marina whose sailboat masts can be seen in the distance.

Paddle Fest

Yesterday on Willows Beach, Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) hosted this event down on Willows Beach and what a glorious day! It was an opportunity for people try out everything from canoes, kayaks and stand-up paddleboards. There were races and even floating yoga. I took an introductory course on how to stand-up paddle board and felt quite proud of myself for standing up without falling in. No mean feat for someone who has two left feet on land! - Fern

Meanwhile....

Crowds came to Willows Beach on the weekend for the Oak Bay Tea Party, the midway rides and the junk food. Some people even came to drink tea. But many just came down to sit on the beach and do those beachy things, like...dig. I figure the Bald Eagle on the right showed up to take part in the air show but since he was snubbed, he flew elsewhere. As for junk food, there was lots of pink candy floss and burgers, hot dogs and chips of every description, but there was some other good stuff too - I had a vegan tofu wrap from the purveyor below that was as delicious as it was nutritious.

Beach Time - Willows Beach 2

People go to the beach for a lot of reasons but let's face it, beaches are mostly for aimless play, loafing and goofing off. Among the many activities available are balancing on a log and framing a volcano.

Beach Time - Willows Beach

Now that summer's definitely here everybody's looking for beach time. This is one of the more popular urban beaches, in Oak Bay, called Willows Beach. Victoria's sea beaches are never very crowded, perhaps because many people prefer swimming in some of the numerous local lakes. The lake water is often warmer than the Pacific. Thetis Lake and Durrance Lake are two lakes much frequented by local people.

Willows Beach Project

This is a stretch of beach that I pass everyday on my rounds at work and I am always so intrigued by the constantly shifting light and variable weather and how it affects the scene. These are a few of the pictures I've taken from the same spot over a couple of months but I'm sure you could stand here and take a picture every hour and have it be just as interesting. - Fern

Willows Beach

Another one of Victoria's favorite places for a stroll is Cattle Point, where these photos were taken looking towards Willows Beach. The sun bathers and sand castle builders are gone but there are still lots of folks out walking their dogs in the crisp November sunshine. - Fern

Beaches 3 - Willows Beach

This is generally the most popular beach in the Greater Victoria area, Willows Beach. It's a long, sandy beach and closer to the city center than either Cordova Bay or Cadboro Beaches. It's got a food stand with a terrific summer menu - french fries and hot dogs and all kinds of other fast food. But you can also sit down and have a nice cup of tea if you like. This is Oak Bay, after all.

Sand Castles 2

As well as concentration (scroll down to yesterday's post) building castles in the sand may involve cooperation. Most of the constructive social skills we value were on display while these kids were building their castle.

Who Could Resist?

This morning, just before dawn we made our way to Willows Beach, cameras in hand. We got there just in time to witness the most beautiful sunrise so you'll have to forgive me for today's very cliche picture, but I couldn't resist. -Fern

Willows Beach

Willows Beach Sunrise II

Cattle Point, where I took yesterday's bird and animal photos, marks the northeastern end of Willows Beach. It is the point of land jutting out on the left hand side of the above photo.

Willows Beach Sunrise

I've been thinking that I might get some better sunrise shots if I rode over to the eastern side of the city so I did that this morning. Though the mornings are getting chilly, it was well worth the trip. Here is the first of a series of photos of sunrise at Willows Beach in Oak Bay. Here we are looking towards Oak Bay, facing southwest.