OUR ISLAND HOME

Our  Island  Home

  




"The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began,. 
Now far ahead the Road has gone, 
And I must follow, if I can.
Persuing it with weary feet, 
Until it joins some larger way.
Where many paths and errands meet.  And whither then?  I cannot say.."  

From my favourite, nearly most read book, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS by JRR Tolkien.

And true to these words that went round in my head,  Charles and I went on a quest to find the newly opened Canada Trail, we went "on and on" till we came to a side road where we stopped for a coffee from a newly opened MA MAISON in Saltair.
The wind was fresh, the snow not quite all gone with seabirds wheeling and crying into the breeze that was still chilly with snow breezes.

Along the trail home many sights to be seen with the windstorm of December having felled very large trees! Old engines, tires and woodpiles were tidily stacked and waiting for use NEXT winter.
Some of the blow downs were gigantic.. and the surprise was that hardly any damage that happened to homes.. just outbuildings or cars....

The views this March 30 day were breathtaking.  The spring bulbs and flowers were beginning to peep out of the undergrowth and the air was full of song...the hum of the bees and the purr of cars passing below us.

We had gone about 45 minutes down the trail when we really wanted to stop for a coffee.
We skittered down the slope onto the bridge that crossed the moat and went into the DAYLINER...Woops... not the DAYLINER any longer!

 We were about to leave when we heard that the new owners weren't ready to welcome guests until their grand opening the NEXT day.. as we turned to go one of the girls called..."we can make you a coffee!"  We were quite thrilled, as it HAD been a long trek and going back to 49th would have taken another 20 minutes....
So we stayed and chatted and watched the crew as they made ready to open next day under the new name MA MAISON.  We talked with Lauren ( new owner) and found she was an Island girl, and had come home to open a new Bistro and special venue location for locals to eat the same fine food that Europeans enjoy...  Lauren learned her skills in Europe and had restaurants before settling in to her home town with her kids.  Lucky Us!!

Will, Brayer,Lauren and Laurie

 Lauren and Will prepare the food, while Laura and Brayer
 ( pronounced "Briar") waitressed skillfully and cheerily.  Much laughter filled the air as coffee machine instructions were given and the girls tried some out on us.  It was truly delicious and very worth the trek! 

Food for lunch was being prepared but the goodie cabinet was full enough and we got a REALLY good ENGLISH style scone.. it was heavenly.



I assured the laughing bunch I'd be sure to tell our Community all about it...especially when it comes around the time you want to sit down and rest!!

On March the 15th we had our annual St. Patricks Day potluck at the Pavilion.  Such a variety of food and treats!  
It is always amazing what comes in the way of entrees whether vegan, gluten free or "regular"...our women are wonderful cooks!!

Pauline

 If you are new to the Park, do drop by the Pavilion and look at the calendar there for events.  It is ALWAYS a good idea to come to whatever is going on...meeting friends and neighbors in a congenial atmosphere!

Donna, Lynn,Jack, Kaye, Hildie , Ursula, and Chris

Corina, Trevor, ?, Sonia, Doreen and Colin

Richard, Brian, Elaine and Norm

These photos are from Carlo Bezio.  He, like me, likes to quick grab a camera for a good shot at the wildlife.  He has a better camera..





This eagle was caught as Carlo and Sharon drove into the new driveway at Kolleen and Gerry's new home.  What a lucky shot!!

Meet "Yogi"

Yogi was caught sitting near Carlos house! There are a new variety of duck now on Laughing Pond:  The American Wigeon.  They have a white stripe on the head and different colors on the rear and on the wings in flight.
 

View from our Porch

These shots are all from the area around the 49th Parallel grocery off the Canada Trail.
It was such a pretty day, even though later it rained.  I actually love the rain...unless I have a pet.  Then it is just difficult, as fleas, ticks and spiders get on the fur and voila...in the house!!


 

Sharon and Chris start windows

On the 6th of April many of the residents responded to the call to Spring Clean the Pavilion.  

Barbara blasts from outside

Pauline, Elaine and Leslie ( me)

Sharon starts inside windows

Charles sweeps the mezzanine

Diane does windows

Pauline gets rid of junk

All windows clean

Sharon and Trevor do rugs

Doreen dusts dirty stools

The whole place was dusted, swept, mopped and it looked wonderful by the end of an hour or so,
many hands make light work!
Oh, and did I mention fun?

Joanie sweeps for mopping

sparkling inside and out...

I encourage new folk to stop by the Pavilion to read, write, play games, do puzzles or join a group that does activities that you'd like to join.  If you're interested in Bridge Diana Mossman, a new resident, would love to join in.  Please contact me and I'll get you connected.  Another group would like to walk together.
I try to warn newcomers that this area does have cougar, bear and racoons and rats.  Please adhere to policy on wildlife feeding.  When the little birdies use feeders predators come.  Whether in the form of a feral cat or cougar or deer or bear....food on the ground attracts and we are well advised to follow the Rules of the place.
To walk it is best to walk in groups.  Cougars usually attack from above and look for small things first.  Like your little dog. Eagles and owls are known to swoop from above too.  Your pet is NOT safe outside off leash.  Go back in the blog Archive for photos of bear scat ! They usually are seen at dusk coming from the forested areas.  

The best part of this blog is seeing the Road being done.  It's been 9 years coming and I've got to say I enjoy seeing it finished.  No more tripping at night into fresh potholes!!

 

 Always walk if you can there is no substitute to good old fashioned walking.  Choose a time and a partner and go rain or shine.  Sometimes snow impedes and then you just shrug and wait for our usual Rain...I have, in this blog, set out a couple of hikes that are easy through the Hermits Trail and onto the Canada Trail.  I've put in photos for ease of navigation.  

 

Hildie, Dian,and sister Carol

 
 Please join us in welcoming all the new residents in phase #6!  Hildie and I met newcomer sisters, Dian and Carol from Langly. They were happy to find that some of the things that go on at the Pavilion are open and cost free.  In particular Hildie shared that the Chair Yoga was beneficial for those with balance problems.  Liz and Agnes are heading that up and the schedule is flexible for your needs.  Help your neighbors to enquire and find out what is available for them.  Is there a walking group?
is there a bridge group?  Would you like to start one or both? or are there resources you know about in Chemainus that would benefit newcomers?    Share and help others to find Chemainus is the BEST place to live, bar none.  

For now....happy Spring!

Cheers

Leslie