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Published: September 22nd 2013
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My Boys
Ganges Harbour, Salt Spring Island, BC September 20, 2013
This morning Steve gets up in time to see the sun rise in more or less the same place as the moon rose last night. Maybe I should make more of an effort tomorrow morning but on the other hand the bed is so comfortable and, well….
The boys do some maths and then we sit at the kitchen table painting the scene we see before us.
Matthew paints in a lovely heron sitting on a buoy out to sea and Sam paints in a couple of orcas in the hope that it will come true. I’m really impressed with both their pictures (and glad the watercolours have come out at least a couple of times since we’ve been here).
After the joy of exploring another grocery store (sadly I’m not being sarcastic) we take a variety of delicious looking things to Ruckle Provincial Park for lunch.
As it’s dry for now we set out on a good 8km hike with some elevation to get the heart pumping (and to justify the cinnamon buns we bought at the store and are looking forward to consuming later).
As is usually the
Can I take him home please?
Roughskin Newt, Salt Spring Island, BC case, we’re rewarded in more ways than just the exercise and the views, as today we find quartz in abundance (which includes, as an added bonus, a geology lesson from Steve 😉 ), see a deer with its fawn who stand still, contemplating us as we stare at each other in silence for a few seconds and finally, Sam spots a river otter out to sea. With the use of binoculars we can see it’s caught a fish. Obviously intent on devouring its catch on land it heads towards the shore and at Sam’s insistence we dash back the way we’ve come. We all see the otter briefly on land but Sam particularly is rewarded for his decision to run back, for he gets there in time to see the otter on the rocks just a few metres in front of him, eating his fish before returning to the water.
We return to our house just as the rain starts to fall and enjoy our cinnamon buns while finishing our painting and periodically glancing at the view in front of us.
September 21, 2013
It’s Saturday and Market Day in Ganges Village on
Cute!
Roughskin Newt Salt Spring so we head over to take a look at what the fuss is all about. It’s got itself quite the reputation, selling a variety of island made crafts and island produced foods and is a bit of a tourist attraction for the island.
We enjoy a wander up and down the few rows of stalls but must admit are a little put off by the prices. I’m not keen on spending $10 for a small pat of cheese, even if it is homemade with local goats milk and I’d rather not spend $8 on a tiny loaf of bread, even if it’s more interesting than your standard white sliced. The jewelry is attractive but again expensive so we head instead to the coffee shop next to the bookshop, buy a very nice latte and hot chocolates for the boys as well as a few snacks to share while Steve checks out the bookshop. Steve’s a big fan of local bookshops and likes to do what he can to keep them in business!
After picking up food supplies we decide to head back to the house for lunch but try to get out and about quickly afterwards
Ganges
Salt Spring Island, BC while the sun is still out.
We find a variety of trails at the top of Salt Spring Island (the Channel Ridge trails area) and link a few together to make a very nice walk.
The boys, a little reluctant at the thought of “yet another walk” are once again satisfied when we discover a dear little newt (which we later found out to be a Roughskin Newt), which crawls over the boys’ hands while we snap a few pics. Tiny and brown with a warm rusty orange underside, he blended so well into the path that I had nearly stepped on him. This fact unfortunately slows our walk down considerably for at least a little while afterwards as Matthew is adamant we don’t step on any by accident. The conversation then turns to cute little lizards and the possibility of keeping one as a pet. The usual discussion whenever we see any appealing new animal.
That morning we’d also spotted a stripy Garter Snake but thankfully there was no talk of owning one of those.
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