finally...

everytime i walk on the beach to meet A. after work, I pass this tree. as the leaves have turned to gold, it glows against it's dull surroundings. each time, i try to take a picture, but everytime am disappointed by the results - blinding white sky; dark, flat green background, and a non-appealing house nestled on either side. but the other day i was rewarded by one more rare sunset, and took a chance to capture the vibrant leaves against the blue sky.

four more sleeps and we are moving yet again - it seems we have been doing this a lot lately. but now it feels like a good time for a change, and our upcoming climbing trip is also foremost in my mind. but before then, a weekend of packing and cleaning awaits - oh joy!

Skook 2...

had meant to share these a little while ago. A. and i went up to skookumchuk rapids again to see a few friends who had popped over for the XL tide running that weekend. this trip was definitely more rewarding photo-wise than our last hike out there - or perhaps i just had willing subjects!

some day maybe i'll be a hardcore paddler too...until then will have to settle for watching in awe.

fall projects...

it seems both me and one of our many spiders are in a crafty mood, feeling the need to weave, knit and sew. i keep forgetting to take photos of my projects, but here is a little sample of what i still have at the house - a soft and cozy poncho for my sweet 3-year-old niece, a merino toque with a fleece lining around the edge for extra softness and warmth, and some "sort of" gloves inspired in part by Carola at Sheep and No City's kolenya.


These have been especially rewarding, as i constantly have cold hands but find full gloves a little tricky when out taking pictures and doing just about everything else. I have made mittens in the past, but this fall have ventured into gloves. I made a wonderful blue-green pair for my mom for her birthday, but again, forgot the photo. am now working on an off-white pair.
the days are passing quickly as we approach the changing time (daylight savings on the west coast, oct 29). the fleeting days are especially worrying as we approach our moving day, and shortly after, our departure date for our vacation. we are moving off the sunshine coast and back to vancouver island at the end of this month. but before we settle in for a wet coastal winter, we are going on a climbing road trip to california for the whole month of november! yippee! posting may not happen much while i am gone, but rest assured i will have many a picture when we return.

blank slate...

the fog crept in today, damp fingertips tickling the rocks on the beach, an ethereal ghost riding in on the backs of the gray waves marching steadily to the shore. the first taste of the november southeasters, a gentle one to get you started and in tune with the rhythm of the storms that make their home on the west coast for the winter. the colour seemed drained from much of the world today, as demonstrated in the above photo. on clearer days vancouver island makes a sizeable appearance across the strait, but today it was just water and sky, a solid bank of gray.

so i went in search of colour. when the world is blanketed in a fog, the trees of autumn seem all the more bright, glowing underneath their cloaks of mist. the same too applies to the fallen leaves stuck wetly against the shining gray beach rocks. in the stillness of this october day, fall shone with gold leaves on a blank canvas, and i was one of the few who ventured out to see it.

friday the 13th...

the days continue to wane, but the colours around me get more intense, saturated. i am constantly amazed by the blue of the sky, the golds that spark from the trees. here on the west coast, we don't get the vivid array that appears in ontario or new england, but i still appreciate every tree that glows in between the predominant douglas firs, cedars and hemlocks. time soon for black cats and pumpkin smiles, but on this freaky friday everything is bright and sharp.

the air is cold, but the sun hasn't left just yet. we are getting ready for our move off the sunshine coast, so i am trying to get my fill before we are gone. we are moving to much the same environment, just across the straight, but by that time the season will have nearly changed and the rains of winter will have moved in. a whole new phase of fall to relish, but i will take my time with this one first.

sunshine and blue skies...

did i mention that fall is my favourite season? for confirmation, please refer to exhibit a, photo at left. after a late holiday monday start, and breakfast out, we went to browning beach for a bit of bouldering with friends. well, i didn't do much climbing, but was certainly in full photographer mode. the boys cooperated with a full show on the clean, tide-washed boulders that line the rocky shore.


in the summer, the light flattens during the day, but now even in midday the light is sharp and the sky is bluer than blue, and the colours everywhere impress. you may note the silvery white tree in the photo - at first it appeared to me to be in blossom, but of course that couldn't be right. rather, the wind was blowing the leaves so intently that the silvery undersides were shining up to the sun.


at home again, i peeked outside in time to see the the sun glowing orange through the trees. i got down to the water to see the last few minutes of the flaming orange orb sunk down to sleep for the night.

giving thanks...

happy thanksgiving, at least here in canada. the day started out grey and wet, but the sun is determined this autumn and keeps making appearances.

i am dogsitting this weekend and so took to the beach with a bundle of white fluff in tow (or rather towing me). a havanese like karina's joey's max (gluten-free goddess), but her name is cotton. she's not quite my style, but she is pretty amusing and full of energy. it's good she is so small, as she accosts every person we meet with uncontrollable energy.

so today am giving thanks for beautiful weather, a dog that makes me laugh, and my family even if i won't see them today. instead, A. and i are thinking of having a tradition thanksgiving feast (hah) - sushi!

still...

today has been a day spent quietly about the house. A. has gotten my cold, so now he is letharic and has spent much of the day in bed. i guess i can't blame him, but i have been restless to do something all day. finally, late this afternoon, i took a short walk to the store for a chocolate fix. the weather has shifted so abruptly, i am still coming to terms with the cold that chills my nose and the many layers i find myself wearing. but there is a certain stillness to overcast autumn days that i like, when the wind is not rattling the dry leaves and the rain has not yet started to fall.

squash obsessions...

autumn appears, and i start having dreams of squash, all kinds, all shapes. this fall in particular i have been mixing up some unusual creations. above is the pizza i made a few days ago, with thinly sliced yukon gold potatoes & acorn squash, along with portobello mushrooms, garlic and spinach. yum. although despite adding some chili flakes and thyme, i felt it lost a bit of flavour in cooking, so would recommend piling more on later.

however...i have a new squash fantasy. i just picked up an orange kobacha squash from the health food store - looks similar in size and shape to a buttercup, but orange (although i understand there are green ones too). i have this theory that i could cut the top off, take out the "guts", and fill it with something and bake it. i've heard a vague recipe of doing this with a stew, whereby you also get a nice chunk of cooked squash when served your stew. has anyone done anything like this? i was also contemplating trying to cook a chicken pot pie inside, possibly with in a pastry crust top. am i completely crazy?

northwest chill...

october arrived (or shall i say blew in?) as a cold northwest wind skipping across the water to find me on the beach. the sun is shining, and clouds are sparse in the blue sky, but there is a hardness, a sharpness, that separates the day from summer. the chill of the wind confirms the fact, reminding me the last of the warm and dry days is near at hand. even back in the house, my ears still ache from the cold.
the days are getting appreciably shorter, both in terms of daylight, and in terms of hours where i'm functioning. i still am awake much earlier than A., but the dark that stays in the bedroom till nearly 8 keeps me curled beneath the covers. again at night, our cabin tucked in the trees disappears into the dusk much earlier, and i find myself cozy with a book, or knitting, or some autumn project.
next weekend is thanksgiving (canadian thanksgiving anyway), but this year we are far away from friends and family who we would normally meet for a feast. we may invite a friend or two, but the odds are it will be just the two of us. i am thinking of attempting a roast chicken...