How Much Wood Can A Wood Chuck Chuck?

Remember this?
This was the pile of logs cleared from our lot and unsuitable for milling.
Without a person for scale it doesn't really look like too much, but it was a big, nasty pile of gnarly old cedar, maple and alder stacked more than six feet high.

Here it is - a work in progress.

And here is that pile today.
Roy worked and worked at it -cutting it with a chain saw and splitting it all with an ax, mauls and wedges. The pile measures 47 x 7 x 5 feet tall which works out to about 10 cords of wood, enough to keep us going for the next 5 years.

In addition to the firewood - Roy split some of the cedar into rails to be used for fencing.
That pile was daunting. I'm still proud & amazed that Roy was able to finish it.
With a sigh of relief - thankfully that job is done
All of this is leading up to landscaping. The pressure was on to get the logs out of the way of the grading, filling and leveling that should begin next week.
OK, we're ready - bring it on!

Port Renfrew

Brother Bob with wife Regina and son Brandon paid a visit to Vancouver Island recently, arriving the same day as Ralph, a very dear friend from our old neighborhood in Scarborough. We all grew up together so it was pretty cool to meet up in Qualicum Bay and do some reminiscing so many years later.









Bob and family planned to do a little salmon fishing over on the Pacific coast so Roy, Dad and I drove over to Port Renfrew (about a 3 hour drive) to spend time with them, join in the fishing and do some exploring. The guys were up and out early to try their luck with the fish, leaving Reg and I with a car and a few visitors pamphlets. Where to go...?


Port Renfrew is one of the gateways to the West Coast Trail, one of the toughest backpacking trails anyone would ever want to take (more on this later), and home to some very beautiful beaches, scenic woodlands and lots of wildlife. We decided to visit Botanical Beach early while the tide was out and hit Avatar Grove after lunch.




It was foggy and quite surreal when we first arrived at Botany Bay and the sea fog lifted and returned several times during the few hours of our exploration.


A trail through the woods linked Botany Bay to Botanical Beach and wound through some stands of really contorted cedar trees. What forces of nature could cause them to grow like that?




Botanical Beach stood in sharp contrast to the jagged black shale of Botany Bay. It was all worn rounded boulders, tidal pools, carved sandstone and bleached driftwood.


After lunch we headed out in search of Avatar Grove, a stand of old growth trees in danger of being logged, hence the Avatar reference. Although this attraction appears on some of the visitor guides, the directions are vague and the logging road access is unmarked. The logging company that owns the land really doesn't want tourists and the potential for liability so persistence is necessary in order to actually get there. Can you say "U" turn?


We did find the trees and yes they were huge. The ones above may not look so big, but look below: there at the bottom right, that's Regina dwarfed by the size of that gnarly old cedar.

And since we're on the subject of grand old trees, here's one more:


This one is well marked, close to the road and well traveled so it has a fence around it to protect the root system. Scale is off because Roy is well back from the tree. Look up, way up and you still can never see the top. Last but not least, let's move from the very large to the very small. This little fellow took root on a submerged log in the middle of a lake. Drought is not a problem here.

Bon Voyage

We sold our trailer this week.
It has been sitting in our front yard since April and has become an irritant, blocking the path to our next project: LANDSCAPING!
Not that it didn't serve us well, it did. It was home from May of last year till the big deep freeze in November. For 6 months we lived in less than 160 sq ft. Mom would have said: "not enough room to swing a cat" but we were just fine. It was like one long summer camping vacation. I'd do it again in a heartbeat...
Bon-voyage little trailer.

Checking on the Kelp Beds

Last year the Nile Creek Enhancement Society (NCES) undertook a little experiment. They planted kelp where there used to be expansive beds, but where it no longer exists. This year I was invited along as they went out to check on the progress of the new plants. Aboard the boat;
a skipper, an assortment of member/volunteers, some NCES Directors and a diver. I almost want to start to sing " 5 passengers set sail that day for a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour....


We departed from Deep Bay and headed south along the coast to the first bed. Buoys mark the place where the concrete blocks and "seeded" ropes were planted and yes the kelp is flourishing!
Kelp provides a habitat for fish and other invertebrates, part of a healthy ocean and ecosystem.



Difficult to see much from the surface. The Bull Kelp is in 12-15 feet of water at low tide and would probably not be visible at high tide. The diver assures us that it is all looking good so off we go to Hornby Island and the site of the second bed. The pics below tell the story. Success!


Leaving Hornby Island headed back to Deep Bay we pass the rocky shores of Denman Island and the Lightstation on Chrome Island. I have often photographed this lighthouse from Deep Bay, so what a treat to see it close up.






Apologies if I drag out the light house. It's too hard to choose.... fast forward if you must.


It's a very small island with the most incredible rock faces.




Leaving Chrome Island we head for Deep Bay and home. Poor me spending a sunny afternoon out cruising the islands. This volunteer stuff is tough :-)