The River

Our eponymous river.

Furling His Jib

The skipper of the Scorpius furled his sail before heading in to

the South Harbour to take on fuel. And he didn't have to leave his cockpit.

Turkey Vultures

A summer bird here, the Turkey Vultures will be heading south in short order.

They look much different on the ground, and while the above photo is recent,

I have to go back to 2011 to get a good photo of a grounded bird.

Ladies of the Market

Juhli, the Market Manager

The ladies of the Farmer's Market, these, and others, without whom
there probably wouldn't be one.

Looby's Pizza Dough and Sauce

Grandma Rose's Pies

Huber Ink

The Life Of A Boat Owner

Non-stop maintenance.

Though he did pause to give me a shot of that tee-shirt.

Black Oystercatchers

I noted 5 Oystercatchers off the Seawalk earlier this month, 3 of which cooperated by giving me a group photo.

Raising The Spinnaker

Raising the spinnaker sail, for what was, I think, the first Saturday of the Yacht Club's fall Keel Boat Race season.
The Seance was one of 6 sailboats on the water, all becalmed, waiting for the wind.

Market Shopping

This weekend marks the last of the summer market season at
McLeod Road for another year.
Where does the time go.

Beach Access - Broom Road

This beach below Broom Road is #10 on the Regional Districts' map of Beach Access points.

Though as it is a mere stones-throw from the beach at Donkersly Road, I think
traffic here would be sparse.

 

 

Eye-To-Eye

Our local eagles have left the area, gone north to chase the salmon runs,

and won't be back till early October at the soonest. But that doesn't stop me from

posting an eagle photo taken in May. A near eye level shot like this only happens when you

catch an eagle perched atop a sailboat mast in the north harbour on a day with a

very, very low tide, and you're standing on the ferry walkway.

The Frayja

The Frayja - tying the fenders on while swinging her about,

into the wind, and preparing to dock. At #11 float of the South Harbour.

She is a very nice wooden schooner, cedar on a white oak frame. The Frayja was designed
by Bill Garden, well known in the boat world, with over 1000 boat designs to his
name. She was built in Coombs, in 1975. The current owners have the pleasure since 2009.

The Fall Fair

Random photos at the Fall Fair

Dip Net

Ready for the big one.

Least Sandpipers

Another of the migratory birds making their way south. The Least Sandpiper is the smallest

of the shorebirds, the photos make them appear larger than the 4-4½ inches that they are.

Females leave the north first, and they can be seen here as early as July, with males

and young coming through in late August and September. These I caught at Willingdon last year.

The Tee-Shu

The Tee-Shu - for the 35 years from 1979 she was the papermill's harbour tug. Through

all the corporate changes that involved - MacMillan Bloedel, Pacifica, Norske and now

Catalyst - she remained the Tee-Shu. Come 2014 she required a very expensive refit,

money, apparently, that Catalyst could ill afford, and in early 2015 she was sold

to a company in Prince Rupert. They changed her name to W.Pearce, and

the name Tee-Shu is no more.

This photo was taken 6 years ago today, September 16, 2010.

The Van Anda Cairn

The cairn overlooking Van Anda Bay that commemorates the sinking

of the Union Steamship Cheslakee at the Van Anda Wharf in 1913.

For those with eyesight like mine, the plaque reads as below :

UNION STEAMSHIP CHESLAKEE TRAGEDY

Here the Union Steamship Cheslakee docked in the early hours of January 7, 1913. She started out for Powell River but fierce southeast winds made her list, causing deck cargo to shift and seas to enter open midship ports. Captain John Cockle returned to the wharf and put 90 people ashore, some heroically rescued by himself. The ship sank rapidly, drowning the cook, two loggers, a mother and her child, and two schoolteachers who would not leave their cabin improperly dressed. Some believe that anonymous loggers were also drowned, confined below deck.

The Cheslakee was salvaged and become the first west coast vessel to be “stretched” with a new centre section. It was renamed Union Steamship Cheakamus, served as a troop transport in W.W.II, and was scrapped in the late 1940’s.

Search and Rescue - 2

A CH-149 Cormorant stationed at Comox with what is now the 442 Transport and Rescue

Squadron. They fly over Westview regularly, and with their noise are hard to miss.

Fresh Veggies ...

 

... at the Meat Market.

The Flats At Brew Bay

I went to Brew Bay looking for photogenic birds, of which there were none, so I settled
for a scenic photo.

Taken at the tail-end of August, and already the leaves were starting to turn.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums and a driftwood post, on a property

facing the beach at Donkersly.

The floral season is winding down, unfortunately.

Short-billed Dowitchers

This time of year - the fall bird migration - is an opportunity

to see birds not normal to this area, as they "pass through". These

Short-billed Dowitchers at Willingdon Creek, last September, were on their

way to the southern States, with some going as far south as Brazil.

On The Rock - Three Views

Three photos taken on a recent day trip to Texada Island, AKA : The Rock

Above : at Van Anda Bay

Middle : at Erickson Beach

Bottom : the Queen of Burnaby on Algerine Passage

from the Texada ferry parking lot