A celebration along Dallas Road

Just across the road from the shingled beach along Dallas Road stands what appears at first to be just a pile of stones and concrete slabs.A closer view reveals it to be a small monument that celebrates many of the things that make living here so special.This is the handiwork of Ivan, who was so impressed by the signage he saw during a trip to Leavenworth, a Bavarian getaway in the heart of Washington State, that he decided to learn how to etch his own celebratory graphics in stone.
After two years of work he's already created 11 stone pieces. But realizes there's still room for more on his monument along Dallas Road.

Dog of the Day

It was a chilly 8°C (46°F) on Cook Street, but this little guy was prepared with his stylish wrap:

Mind the trees

Trees, and their preservation, are a matter of great concern to Victoria residents. As a result, it's not unusual to see sidewalks snaking their way around, rather than cutting a straight line through, the trees that stand beside our roads .Arborphiles share their passion by spotlighting their favourite city trees, contributing information, questions, and photos on the Tree Watch Victoria blog HERE.

At rest in the Place of the Cradles

The establishment of Fort Victoria in 1843 may have marked European settlement on this southern tip of Vancouver Island but Aboriginals have inhabited this area for thousands of years. South-eastern Vancouver Island, where the capital city of Victoria is located, was the home of the Northern Straits Salish peoples and in what is now the greater Victoria area were 12 interlinked Songhee villages.

From time to time, during road works or housing development, an aboriginal grave may be unearthed. Once evidence of an ancient burial site is found, all work is immediately stopped and First Nations community representatives are called in.

In this case, on August 27, 2009, the excavation of a sewer trench along Dallas Road disturbed the remains of a young First Nations woman, “SLENI”, originally buried over 300 years ago. Following consultations with archeologists and First Nations Elders, a determination was reached to hold a reburial service close to the site of the discovery and a marker was placed to identify the spot.

SLENI's marker was placed along Dallas Road beside another one identifying the location of the unearthing in 1995 of the remains of another First Nations individual "HIWET."

The location of this site, now called "Camel Point," was originally called "Lekwammen" which means “the place of the Cradles.”

Snowdrops are in full bloom!

While much of Canada is in full winter, here in Victoria the snowdrops are in full bloom. We've also seen Rhododendrons in bloom but since we don't like Rhodos we chose to ignore them.

The house of stories

Some houses just have many stories to tell - like this one at 937 Caledonia Street.The first thing you notice as you approach it from the west is this wonderful bottle-based public rest chair.Then as you continue to walk past the house you see this structure:A pyramid of twigs and branches resembling a medieval shrine:Which on closer examination reveals itself to be a crèche dedicated to Sponge Bob Square Pants:

Free-range chicken - in the city

Walking up Cook Street from Dallas Road I noticed a dark form moving in the driveway of this heritage building...Yes, a free-range chicken giving me a wary "evil" eye.
Quite surprising to see it walking about so freely because there are still a number of eagles and hawks living in the city that would likely enjoy this fellow for a dinner meal.
Other city chickens that we've seen in the city are more cooped up like the ones in this earlier post HERE

Shingle Beach

The logging industry is a major part of Vancouver Island's economy. Logs that are floated down rivers and estuaries sometimes break free and end up on the shores around Victoria.The mature Western Cedar's soft red-brown timber is valued for its distinct appearance, aroma, and its high natural resistance to decay. It is extensively used for outdoor construction in the form of posts, decking, shingles and siding.Patrick is taking advantage of these wayward logs to shingle the roof of his house.He first uses a small chainsaw to cut the logs down to shingle size and then creates each shingle using a froe to cleave the wood by splitting it along the grain. He has so far cut 8,000 of the 10,000 shingles he needs.

A pole becomes a Totem

Over the holidays someone feathered this telephone pole turning into a strange Totem Pole.

The Mighty Coho turns the big Five-Oh!

Living on an island one becomes quite enamored of the ferries that link us to the mainland. The M.V. Coho, filled with 1950s character, not only provides a link between Victoria B.C. and Port Angeles, Washington but also provides a link to the past.The Coho was built in Seattle at a cost of $3 million - privately financed by Black Ball Transport.Since 1959, the Coho has transported 21 million passengers and five million vehicles over the 22.59 nautical miles between Victoria's inner harbour and downtown Port Angeles.A 2006 study showed the Coho, which can accommodate 1,000 passengers and 120 vehicles on any one sailing, ferried more than 205,000 return passengers and brought $123.7 million into the Victoria economy.And as a a deckhand explained to us before boarding on a very stormy day, "Oh, yes we're sailing. There's no seas rough enough or waves high enough to stop this ship."

Happy Holidays from parking enforcement

Oh, no – what's that ticket under my windshield wiper?
It's not a ticket at all, but some interesting poetry and holiday wishes from Victoria's parking enforcement - considered one of the quickest to ticket in the world. Click on image to enlarge.

Niagara Falls, Goldstream Provincial Park B.C.

Yes Niagara Falls is its proper name and is not to be confused with that little trickle of water somewhere back east. If you are traveling north on Highway 1 you need to stop at Goldstream Park then walk north towards the interpretation centre from the parking lot. The access to Niagara Falls will be along the path and through a tunnel under Highway 1 - assuming that the water level is low enough. When we went there, quite a bit of ice had accumulated around the base of the falls.

Tuba Christmas

Tuba Christmas is an international event that began with a concert in New York City's Rockefeller Plaza Ice Rink on Sunday, December 22, 1974. In Victoria, this annual event brought together over 50 tuba players from across BC and the Pacific Northwest to play traditional Christmas music at the old Market Square downtown.

Google Street View Victoria is online!

Finally, Google street view Victoria is online (http://maps.google.com/)! Google appears to have done some retouching though since most of the views appear as if the weather was sunny.

Salmon run at Goldstream Park nearly over

It's a bit gruesome to witness. The salmon run at Goldstream Park is nearly over. Hundreds of salmon carcasses scattered along the river's edge will now provide food for seagulls, wolves, raccoons, and eagles. And after they've been dragged into the woods to be eaten their remains will provide nitrogen to fertilize the soil.

The Garage Sale-A Lesson Learned

After weeks of purging, from attic to basement, I recently held a garage sale. Once the sale was over it was time to count the proceeds. While emptying my pockets of collected coins and bills, I discovered half a ten dollar bill. My initial reaction was to search for the other half thinking that it had probably been folded so often that it had weakened and fallen apart. I searched but didn't find the other half. It took me a while to realize what had actually happened. Someone had given me that half bill in payment. I am glad that deceit was not my first assumption. I am trusting and want to stay that way, but everything that happens has an effect and I have been trying to understand what this has taught me. I found a helpful quote.

Master Kan speaking to Grasshopper in the Kung Fu TV series:
Those who deny evil in man remain weak and defenseless.
Deal with evil through strength - but affirm the good in man through trust.
In this way, we prepare for Evil, but we encourage Good.

So I will continue to be trusting and I suppose somewhat naive, but when given a folded bill in the future, I trust I will always unfold it.
Susan

Memorial wreaths in Uplands Park

In remembrance - the poppy house

Salmon run at Goldstream Park

This year we finally arrived at Goldstream Park in time to see the salmon run that we missed last year (HERE).

The chum salmon are almost impossible to see (or photograph) since their colouring is so similar to the river's gravel bottom.


This short video makes them a bit easier to spot:


Click arrow to play video
In the end, after spawning, they will end up as food for seagulls, bear, and raccoons.

Once whatever's left starts to rot, the eagles pick up the scent and will swoop in for the leftovers.

When you've got something to say...

...it might be a good idea to write it out and edit before publishing otherwise, as in this case, the message may get lost.