Summer Days

 The lazy days of summer are winding down and I'm looking forward to transitioning back into our regular rhythm and picking up our school books again :)

We have packed our days full of camping, exploring, playing and enjoying the special moments that summer provides with nights spent on the beach in our cozy camper, collecting buckets full of shells and other treasures that I know we'll find a use for somehow, watching little ones fall asleep in front of the campfire and become brave little swimmers at the lake, trips to the aquarium and special dinosaur exhibits, watching our baby calves grow and making wishes on every dandelion gone to seed in sight.

I think we made good use of our days *grin*.

Hugs,

Rosina

Summer Beach Bums

So where have we been hiding?

Why at the beach of course with nature as our personal playground :)

We've been to a couple of different lakes but I just love being near the ocean and I definitely wasn't disappointed when we found a spot right along the beach.

 

 We enjoyed sunshine and welcomed the cloudy days to recover from the heat..

played with giant bull kelp...

swam in the ocean while tug boats, barges and fishing boats chugged by...

 

scrounged under the rocks at low tide catching crabs and seeing who was brave enough to hold the big ones that threatened to pink our fingers...

dug for clams...

 

watched the cruise ships float by each evening and slept so deeply after each day of play to the lapping sound of the ocean with the rise and fall of the tides :)

Oh how we are counting the days until Hubby comes home from work again and we can do it all over again *grin*.

How is your summer going? What makes you smile during the summer months?

Hugs,

Rosina

Yarn Along ~ Playing around

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I was hoping that I was going to have at least one completed Lepidoptera sock to share with you but when we went camping just after last weeks yarn along I forgot to bring my pattern! Oh I was so disappointed :(

Not for long though. I still had a ball of yarn and a bunch of needles so I just sort of played around trying out how to knit cables. I'm not sure if I was doing it correct but I definitely got the cabled effect that I had been hoping for and all was not lost as I sucked up the amazing scenery and lounged at our oceanside campground while the kids played in the water :)

For my book this week I had finished Eating Dirt which was sooo good and I spent the week perusing magazines and especially enjoying my new copy of the Living Crafts magazine. Hopefully next week I'll have something much more interesting to share with you *grin*.

Happy knitting!

Rosina

Storm Watching & Video

We had storm warnings all along the east coast of the island today with winds reaching upwards of 90 km/hour at its peak, ferries between us and the mainland were cancelled and poor Hubby and the kids spent the whole day without power. Lucky me I was further down island where the power was still on *grin*.

On the way home I stopped to catch some of the action after the wind had slowed down a bit but the waves still towered way above me as they crashed over the sea wall in Qualicum this evening. I managed to stay dry but at there were a couple of times where I thought I was going to be soaked for sure as the water rushed upwards in front of me :)

I took a little bit of video on my camera while I was there to share to :) It's only about 10 seconds long but really cool to see how the water just rockets along the wall as it hits. If you are reading this via email or google reader you might have to jump over to my blog to see it :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Snow & Winter Storms

Wind storms, power outages and snow are back as winter creeps closer :)

On our way into the city for swimming lessons this morning I creeped along through slush and a mini blizzard for nearly an hour before it finally turned to rain again. Thank goodness we were behind the snow plow for part of the way so that we had a somewhat clear lane. I am so envious of those of you who have squeaky dry snow for traveling on. It seriously makes such a big difference *grin*. If hubby could run his tugboats on the prairie I think I'd head eastwards LOL.

As we traveled further south the snow and slush disappeared and the white gave way to dark gray clouds, wild wind and waves.

We stopped at one of the rest stops and joined in with some other storm watchers to snap a few photos but we weren't brave enough to actually exit the car to catch the perfect shot of the waves though. We barely managed to keep the window down as the rain blew in sideways and soaked us immediately LOL.

It was beautiful to watch the waves crash against the beach spraying water and sea foam into the air and we managed to miss the power outage that was going on at home to :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Breathing in Beauty

Being by the ocean has to be my most favorite spot to be :)
Yesterday I had one of those rare moments when it was just me, myself and I so instead of catching up on housework that I probably should have been doing I surrendered to the call of the ocean *grin*.

I took my mom with me, a steaming hot cup of coffee, my camera and we just sat and sucked in the beauty around us. Can you truly ever tire of the sound of the waves lapping at the wooden pilings under the wharf, the smell of salt and seaweed or the brisk wind that blows stray wisps of hair around?

When we arrived we were blanketed in a thick bank of fog but as it rolled further away we were greeted by the passing splashes of a pod of dolphins and the cries of the gulls as they soared along the air currents.

The surrounding mountains and islands appeared again...

and the tug boats and fishing vessels became more than just moving gray shadows and echoes of diesel engines.

Definitely a truly wonderful way to spend an afternoon :) How about you, where is your favorite place to relax and breathe in beauty?

Hugs,
Rosina

Ocean's Day Fun

This weekend was Ocean Day. All about fish and creatures of the sea :)

Oh my goodness was it fun! There were all sorts of tanks and buckets along the dock for the kids to investigate like this up close view of an octopus' suction cups :)

It was actually quite comical when the octopus showed up. We were standing there watching a big halibut when a fisherman zipped up in front of us and dumped a giant orange blob of jello into an empty bucket and starting to fill it with salt water. Well the octopus was less than amused and shot water out in a big gush at all of the little kids peering in :)

My youngest screamed and jumped back. If I hadn't caught hold of him I think he might have flown right off the edge of the dock finger we were all standing on and plunged into the ocean LOL. He wanted absolutely NOTHING to do with it anymore *grin*.

Other kids found it absolutely fascinating and would pick up his wayward tentacles that tried to escape the bucket and would put them back in!

A more docile lingcod allowed them to pet it and feel it's slimy scales...

there were all sorts of different sea stars to be picked up...

and of course there were stranger specimens like this spiky sea cucumber...



and this very interesting Nudibranch which I think is actually a member of the sea slug family. Ewww LOL.

Just a little further down the dock we found a large box of frozen fish. At first we weren't sure what they were for since nobody was there but we quickly found out what to do with them when we noticed a very large harbour seal swimming down below the dock :)

Each time we tossed in a fish the seal would come out from under a boat and take the fish to eat. So neat!

There was lots of fresh fish to be bought as well. This fishermen had lingcod, snapper and rock fish for sale by the pound. Some of it was frozen in the hold....

others were still alive and being held in little net pens off the sides of the dock like this one full of lingcod :)

Once we were finally all finished oohing and ahhing over the fish and getting our fill of touching them we headed over to the tents to pick up the fish prints that we had made when we first arrived.

Each of the children got a chance to make a print of a salmon...

and this very interesting China rock fish. Just look at that giant eyeball and mouth!

I just love how they turned out :)
After two hours, mild sunburns and a handful of stickers and posters each we finally called it a day and headed home. For the next hour as I drove us home the kids relived each and every moment so it must have been a great day *grin*.

Hope you all had a great weekend to!

Hugs,
Rosina

Taking In The Beauty Surrounding Us

Talk about disbelief this morning! This was the scenery that greeted me when I looked out the kitchen window as I made breakfast. It didn't last long but it has brought below zero temperatures again despite the gorgeous sunshine that graced us today :)

I wanted to treat the kids today so we went down to the little corner store and they got to pick out a little candy and we drove the end of the road where it narrows and stops abruptly...

where the wooden planks and rocky edges join as one with the Johnstone Strait :)

The hues of blue welcomed us and the icy wind whipped around the car but the view was divine. We are so blessed to live only minutes from the ocean. It has to be my favorite place on earth to be :)

So while the kids munched on their treats I enjoyed the weekend edition of the paper...

and they all took turns using the binoculars to look for ships and signs of whales and seals. We had an amazing experience of seeing one of the young bald eagles testing out its hunting skills as it swooped down and attempted to snatch a fish from the ocean's surface! It missed but still very cool :)

Crew boats heading out to the nearby camps had a bit of a bumpy and lumpy trip today as they crashed their way across the strait through the white caps and I was just happy. Oh so happy taking the beauty in around me and listening to the giggles in the backseat :)

Hugs,
Rosina