Up Above and Down Below

The sky above my floating cabin on Powell Lake in Coastal BC gives me lots of opportunities for spectacular cloud shots.

Right in front of my cabin is Goat Island. This time of year the sun rises in the middle notch at about 9:00 a.m. Here you can see a mackerel sky just after our sunrise. When the lake is calm, we get a mirror reflection of the sky. Here's the mackerel sky framed by the brow log of our cedar log float structure.

Whether it is up above, or down below, the sky at our cabin home is always picturesque. -- Margy

"Starting Out in the Afternoon" by Jill Frayne

As I've mentioned, I like reading books about the regions I know and love, or places I would like to explore. Recently I was exploring Kindle books online and found Starting Out in the Afternoon: A Mid-Life Journey into Wild Land by Jill Frayne.

I selected her book for some additional reasons: Jill took the journey on her own (inspiring to me), and she is a female author writing a memoir (something I hope to do in the future).

Jill was coming to changes in her life including an ending relationship and a daughter coming of age. She takes this time to strike out on her own to explore her own desires and abilities. She packs up her car with camping gear and heads out on her own to Northern British Columbia, Alaska, and the Yukon. I call my solo excursions "freedom trips," but I've never dreamed of or done anything quite as extensive.

Jill first camped her way across Canada from her home in Ontario. Her first destination is Haida Gwaii for a grueling two-week kayak adventure. Then it's up the Inside Passage with only a bike for transportation. On this portion of the trip, she takes a side excursion to Atlin. Jill falls in love with this isolated, rural small town and returns many times over the next ten years. I can relate to that. It's almost like our accidental discovery of Powell River and instant attraction.

Jill is both adventurous and cautious at the same time. She puts herself in situations that stretch her abilities to the max. She enjoys the solitude of the wilderness, but desires human interaction along the way. Her story struck many common threads in my life. That made it even more enjoyable to read.

You can purchase Starting Out in the Afternoon in both print and Kindle formats at Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: The photos come from my travels and are used as examples only. -- Margy

Vancouver Airport Floatplane Facility

I regularly make the trip to and from Vancouver International Airport (YVR) to travel to and from Powell River, or to pick up Wayne. The Canada/US border crossing time is hard to estimate, so I build in extra time just to be safe.

Last week I arrived 45 minutes early, so I walked across to the float plane portion of the South Terminal. Float planes (seaplanes) take off and land in the Fraser River. That can be a bit tricky with tides and currents working either together or in opposition. Mix in some wind, and you really have to give a hand to the professional pilots.

Several airlines serve passengers at the private and public portions of the YVR Floatplane Facility. They include:

• Saltspring Island Air
• Seair Seaplanes
• Tofino Air
• Harbour Air Ltd

If you like plane watching, there are lots of benches along the riverside path. Here are two of the planes I saw.

If you are at YVR and have some time to spare, head over to the South Terminal. Park in the free day use lot and walk across the street. If you get hungry while you're there, head into the Harbour Air terminal and you will find the Flying Beaver Bar & Grill. They have great food and drink, and a high flying view. -- Margy

Clean Sucia Island

Boating in the Pacific Northwest has been a lot of fun. First there is the 2452 Bayliner we purchased last Spring for US boating. We keep it in Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham, handy for overnight stays and quick trips to the San Juan Islands.

There are lots of choices for cruising in the Pacific Northwest within easy reach of Bellingham. And I am amazed at how many marine parks are maintained by the state. Most have mooring balls in addition to places to anchor. Some even have docks for shore access and exploration if you don't have a dinghy like us. Last Friday our destination was Sucia Island Marine Park.

Sucia is north of Orcas Island and just below the Canadian border at the southern end of the Strait of Georgia. It is horseshoe shaped with six bays to choose from. For our first stay, we selected Echo Bay. It is the largest and busiest of the anchorages. All the mooring balls (fee based) were taken, so we opted to anchor and swing in the warm evening air.

The bay contained lots of boats, but it didn't feel crowded. Lots of people were heading to shore for thr wooded hiking trails, camping spots, and picnic tables. We put up our chairs on the back deck and enjoyed a picnic dinner with a great view of Mt. Baker.

I speak a bit of Spanish and wondered why they named such a beautiful place Sucia (dirty). It has no bearing on the lovely land, it's because of all the rocky reefs that were dangerous or "foul," another use of the word sucia. I can imagine old sailing ships not wanting to get anywhere near those outer shores.

Check out some of Washington State's marine parks. Here are some guides we use to help:

A Dreamspeaker Cruising Guide: The San Juan Islands
Exploring the San Juan and Gulf Islands
Gunkholing in the San Juan Islands

Margy

My Floating Garden in Our Canada Magazine

This has been quite the year for my floating garden media-wise. First it won a Sunset magazine Facebook gardening picture contest prize and had its picture in the June 2011 issue. Then my garden was highlighted in an article on Duane Burnett's Sunshine Coast website. This month I am very proud to announce that Our Canada magazine has chosen to run a full-page story in their August/September 2011 issue.

I love Our Canada and More of Our Canada magazines. They are completely made up from articles by Canadians about Canadian topics. How great is that? Three years ago, they ran a story by Wayne about our float cabin home. Then they included several of our pictures in their book Our Canada: Picture Perfect. Now the story I wrote about my floating garden has been published.

You can click on the image to make a full-screen image to read the story "A Moveable Feast: Ingenuity keeps this unique garden afloat." Or check out Page 44 in the August/September 2011 issue for the real thing. Subscriptions are available through their website, or you can purchase an online version here.

If you would like to read more about my floating garden here are a few links:

Vegetable Gardening with a Twist
Container Garden Hits and Misses
Double Barreled Watering
All Gardening Topics

Thank you so much Our Canada magazine. And if any of my readers have questions, please let me know. -- Margy

Angel or Devil

Our good friend John shares his wonderful lab named Bro with us when he comes to visit. Bro can either be a bundle of energy doing his crazy-man dance, or snoozing in a soft spot.

But I think he may have another side that he only reveals to the camera -- devil dog.


Want to read more about this amazing dog? Try these:

Bro the Labrador Retriever
Snow Dog
Bro Drives to the City
Night Watchman

Bro is also an important character in Wayne's Coastal BC Stories books. I don't know how many times we've been out together and someone says, "Isn't that Bro?"

Do you have a special dog in your life? Tell us about him or her. -- Margy

Logs on Fire

Logs floating along my boom capture seeds from the wind or birds stopping by for a short rest. The result is a natural floating garden.

I call this log Bede after the Bede Corporation kit jet airplane. If you go to their website you'll see the resemblance. Here Bede is sporting several tall fireweeds. You usually find them in disturbed soil such as log slashes. But Bede's sunny location is a close approximation I guess. Plus, there's plenty of water for the roots growing down through his cracks and crevices. -- Margy