full moon rising...

a few shots from a glorious evening paddle the other night, a beautiful night with two friends exploring the estuary at high tide (and then paddling against the current of the outgoing tide to head back up the river to our start point). the moon was beautiful rising up as the sun set. it's full tonight, i think - might have to make a point to go look at it again.

other things on a monday morning:
• i've already been to the beach, where i snapped some shots of my Plush You pieces. yay, i'm done! now i just need to write up descriptions to email to Schmancy, and package them up to send to Seattle this week.
• the beach was beautiful, although the sun was already high in the sky at 9:30, and the heat building fast, so i didn't snap too many more photos before leaving.
• but i did stop again just a short way up the road to pick another bucket of blackberries - i think i'm closing in on 10lbs so far.
• further along, since i was already way out that way, there was another short detour to pick up acorns where they had gathered below the massive garry oak trees in a local park.
• i also made another stop and finally bought a small chest freezer at a really good price, so i have lots more room for berries and other things, to store up during this harvest season to carry us through the winter with goodness.
• i'm really eager to start using the freezer, but think i have to wait for A to get home from work later, to help me carry it from the truck to the house. it was hard enough to get in the truck by myself.
• until then, if you should need me, i'll be hiding in the house or in a shady spot outside. our heat wave is slowly easing back into more seasonally appropriate temps, but it still looks like a pretty hot, sunny day out there. so for now, i will make a lunch smoothie, with a few of those blackberries i just picked!

hope your week is starting well!

a winner & little snow scenery...

*first up, thanks so much to all who entered my giveaway! i really appreciate your support of my work. while i wish i could send something to each of you, the recipient of the "my heart is with the sea" piece is...kimber! please send me your address at fogandswell [at] gmail [dot] com so i can get it sent off to you.*



my friend M and i went up to play in the snow on sunday. the mountains got lots of fresh stuff over the weekend and into this week. it was fresh and powdery, like icing sugar really. perfect. hardly a groomed run to be seen.



it snowed steadily all day, and the wind picked up as the morning turned into afternoon. so although the snow was great, my face froze as little pellets pelted against it on the downhill and back up on the lifts. still, carving across the runs felt good in the fresh air, riding atop my "surf" board (note the swirling ocean wave art). when the skies are clear, the mountain and ocean views are incredible from up here, but i also love when the clouds hang low and the world is mostly just shades of grey and white. makes me forget about the world below and be lost in the clouds for a little while.



...and hi. a random shot of me. i don't include those often here, but figure i should check in once in a while. like my new red helmet? it matches my red face, so cold in the wind.



happy tuesday!

snow(shoe) day...

welcome to february! it looks like it might be a sunny day here, but it's cooooold out this morning.



back up to sunday, when a friend and i headed up to the hills to do a bit of snowshoeing for the afternoon. there is lots of snow up there (upwards of 4m/13ft), although it hasn't snowed much for a week or two. with a bit of rain on and off, and some freezing in between, the top layer of snow is rock solid, and it was debatable whether we even needed the snowshoes. i'm glad, though, that we decided to snowshoe instead of snowboard on the adjacent ski hill - all that crusty ice would have been unpleasant, despite the sunshine.



when we first started out, the whiskey jacks (grey jays) were out in full force. a cross-country skiing mother and son were feeding them little nuts and seeds, so a crowd of little birds had gathered. the whiskey jacks are not shy in the least, and happily landed on the young boy's outstretched hand and head to get their treats.



although the sun was bright and warming, a layer of low cloud obscured the surrounding snow-capped mountain peaks. the lower hills were green with trees that have lost their snowy blankets as the changing weather has moved through recently. while we spent some time in amongst the larger trees, most of the time we were out in the meadows, amongst what seems like little trees. it's easy to forget that these are just the tops of those trees, with the rest buried under all the snow! the tree branches were covered in tiny little icicles that glistened as the sun shone through them.



i never tire of the whiskey jacks. sometimes i feel a bit sad that they are so tame, almost not wild animals at all; the way they swoop in to have a peek at anyone passing by and see if you have food to share. but they have such cheeky personalities, as many jays do, that i always come out smiling from an encounter with them. even when you don't have anything to offer, they just say hello and then dart off on another adventure.



all in all it was a beautiful afternoon, filled with fresh air and exercise (which seems all too forgotten these days for me). we returned back to the car as the sun was dipping below the distant hills, and the once full parking lot was now nearly empty. my cheeks were rosy all the way home. hope you did some exploring this past weekend too!

sunday sunshine

yesterday was a gorgeous day, but cold. i met up with a friend for a long walk through the woods and along the beach in the bright sunshine, soaking up the vitamin d. just a few shots from the day. we spotted a pair of sea lions just offshore moving north at a fast pace. too quick to get a decent photo. the coast mountains posed nicely though.



hope you enjoyed a little sun this weekend, even if you had to make your own!

the white stuff

perhaps inspired by margie's beautiful frosty and snowy photos, we decided to search out a little winter of our own. up the mountain to the paradise meadows, where we headed out snowshoeing in an overcast day. a few good layers of snow have fallen up in the mountains, but the ski hill is not open yet so it was quiet and we were alone for our walk.



it didn't take long for a whiskey jack to come and say hello, and i marvelled at his aerial acrobatics for a moment before he moved on. he landed gracefully in a tree high above me, and then plummeted in a dive straight down so that i thought he would head right into the snow. at the last moment he pulled up and alighted on this little tree in front of me, posing for his portrait. later on i heard a raven croaking across the meadow, and saw little birds flitting above us and the telltale "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" of those little ones.



it felt good to escape up into the world of white, even if winter hasn't made it's way to us at sea level just yet. down here it is damp and chilly, rain making regular appearances and piles of leaves rotting back into the ground. it's not our most scenic time of year. but up in the hills it's clean and pure with the snow. a rough trail had been stamped through on top of the regular boardwalk that was hidden underneath, but the meadows around us were mostly untouched.



i found myself concentrating a bit on the stark scenes that are created by the snow, focusing on the shapes and simple vignettes rather than the bigger view around us. the lakes were frozen over and some of the creeks, but moving water could be heard and seen here and there, sinewy black shapes moving through the winter wonderland.





i'm kind of hoping for a white winter around here. how do you feel about the snow?

saving daylight...

...before daylight savings ends this weekend.



i made sure to get out on a walk today, knowing it could be the last clear evening before we change the clocks back and it's too dark to go out after work. i can't believe it's november and we haven't had a frost yet, although days like this are certainly crisp. i would almost think there would be a frost tonight, but clouds are supposed to move in before morning.



the sun seemed quite high in the sky as i was driving home, but once out walking it sunk quickly through the trees. i had to be fast with my camera to catch glimpses of light where i could.



this little creek was moving quickly down through the ravine, before joining the bigger river below it.



the river was fast flowing below my perch on the trail winding through the woods about a 100 feet above the water. i saw one fisherman in the water just off a bank where the river swings around a corner. lower on the river more fisherman are to be found, trying their luck with the late season salmon still trying to move upstream.





hope you are enjoying some fresh air too, whether you still have the bright colours of fall or if winter might be already setting in (or spring if you are down south!). the mountains here are boasting fresh coats of snow, and will only get whiter as the days continue. november already? the days move so quickly, especially when they are so short.

weekending*...

just a few shots from this weekend. first a walk with family out to elk falls, through the forest of massive douglas fir and cedar trees down to the viewpoint.



the river above the falls has still pools here and there, but the rocks are slick and the falls so close, so it's always good to pay attention. not a place you want to lose your footing and end up in the river. peaceful amongst the trees, with the rain just starting to fall. later in the evening it came up quite strongly, with lots of rain.



this morning again dawned clear and bright, and so A and i headed out for a quick walk before another system moved in. even as we walked through the trees we could hear the wind beginning to gust through the treetops and the blue sky quickly disappeared. there were lots of mushrooms to be found everywhere we looked, but no chanterelles today. we glimpsed some mushroom hunters with buckets far off through the trees, but we don't know if they were having any more luck than us.



home again now as the sky continues to darken and the wind picks up. another storm tonight they say, strong winds and lots more rain. unfortunate for the trick-or-treaters, but seems fitting weather for a spooky night and the ushering in of november. i think i will go make myself a cup of tea, and settle in with my stitching (on an owl - also fitting for halloween!).

(as always, more pics over on flickr.)

* borrowing a phrase from amanda.

respite

i guess i shouldn't have been so quick to lament november's coming arrival. the day brightened up slightly in the afternoon allowing me time for a quick walk after work. in the waning light i tromped through the trees, my feet quiet on a thick bed of maple leaves. the creek rushed by and the steady hooting of an owl far off in the trees reminded me that halloween is just around the corner. bundled in my thick sweater i returned home with rosy cheeks and a chilly nose, my head a bit cleared. happy october to you!

mountain high...

i woke up this morning to crisp blue skies, and knew i wanted to go to the mountains. a chest cough and stuffed nose seemed to preclude any real exertion, so i planned for a sub alpine walk instead. a half hour's drive and i was at the local ski hill, which also offers easy access to the east side of strathcona provincial park. paradise meadows is the start of trails into the remote backcountry, but also has some shorter loop trails to explore the sub alpine environment. i obviously wasn't the only one with this idea on a gorgeous october day, as the parking lot was packed. i rarely venture up to this little corner except when the hills are blanketed with white and i'm ready to strap on my snowboard, but i was happily rewarded with beautiful fall colours across the meadows. i always forget that it's here, that within such a short drive i can go from sea level to over 1,100 m (3,600 ft), without all the legwork (although there are days for that too).





even with the sun shining bright, it was colder up in the mountains, and any spot not yet touched by the light showed a dust of frost. a skim of ice across the small lakes and creeks reminded me that winter is just around the corner, and it won't be long at all until there is snow up there and not just on the higher peaks.



i explored up the trails to battleship lake and back, wishing in fact that my chest wasn't aching, and that i'd brought more suitable hiking clothes and a snack, so that i could venture further into the alpine. but today wasn't the day for that, and that was okay.





on my way back i paused at a bridge to change camera lenses, and sure enough, a couple of whiskeyjacks (grey jays) came to visit. they abandoned me quickly upon realizing i had no food to share, but it always enchants me how comfortable they are moving well within reach of my hands, hoping to sneak a treat. there were other small birds flitting through the trees, and many squirrels trilling away as i moved along.





now home again with the light fading, i think it's time for another warm mug of tea, and to curl up on the couch with my stitching.

catching up...

I have a little pre-occupation with outfitting myself in all white when snowboarding. It probably won't happen - I'm likely to get a red hard shell jacket (in line with the two other red jackets I already have - for other uses), but I do have white boots, bindings, pants, and so of course I needed a fluffy white toque.

Another quick hat (are they ever not quick - such fun, instant gratification projects hats are) knit up in superwash merino, and the last little bit used to make a pompom to top it. I kind of wish the pom was bigger, but alas, that was the last of the 2nd skein. For more details, check out my Ravelry project page.

The fog has been heavy upon us lately, thick and soup and rarely providing a glimpse of the supposed clear sky above. It is finally starting to thin, but yesterday we decided to escape it for a little while and check out the temperature inversion going on.

Foggy and 2 degrees C at sea level? How about sunny and a balmy 13 degrees high on the ski hill? A bit ridiculous, and the slopes certainly aren't in much condition for downhill action. So for a change of pace we went cross country skiing with a few friends. Haven't done it in many many years, but I enjoy the swish swish through the snow (okay, nearing slush in late afternoon), and may try to get in a few more tours this season.

Returning home again, the fog will still thick over the water. This shot was taken just a few blocks above our house in late afternoon. But just a short shot down the hill into our own yarn there wasn't much to be seen, just thickening grey and the sounds of fog horn, ferry horn, and other vessels trying to find their way.

And I've got one more FO to share. Again, deets are on Rav. I knit up these "Boyfriend Socks" for, obviously, the boy, but I kind of wish they were for me. This yarn is yummy and squishy, aptly named "Foot Loose" and the cabling was addictive. I adjusted the pattern a bit as usual - either everyone else has really wide feet, or more likely I am just a looser knitter than everyone, but by removing a few stitches they fit A perfectly.

Now I want to make some 2009 socks for myself, but there are many projects in the works (and in my head). Currently I'm plugging away at a Baby Surprise Jacket, for my brand new nephew born last week.