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| Grasses along Qualicum Beach |
My longtime friend from Alberta, Charlie, (herein referred to as two-legged Charlie to differentiate him from a certain dog) has been visiting us this week. Our friendship goes back about forty years, and we last saw each other when he visited in December 07 . At that time, I was still on the mainland, fostering piggies, caring for an alpaca, and sharing my home with Belle, Charley, Caleb and Allie. So he hadn’t met Sadie yet.
Sadie thinks he is A-OK:
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| Hey, Georgia, I'z got my own Cushion! |
Allie is rather resentful – last visit, she flirted shamelessly with two-legged Charlie and even curled up with him, something she rarely does with visitors. This time, she watched him with Sadie and sent evil thoughts his way:
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| Stoopid dog, hogging all the attention! |
Four-legged Charley didn’t care much either way, as long as she still got her short little walks through the pretty fall leaves that cover the ground:
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| La-da-da-da-da just walkin' in the leaves... |
Two-legged Charlie arrived Monday night, and Tuesday dawned sunny, crisp and beautiful. Sadie and I had a frosty walk on the seawalk:
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| Frosty Crofton Sea Walk |
Then we headed up to Qualicum Beach so two-legs could say hi to some relatives there. Four-legged Charley has not been at all well lately, so she stayed home with my friend Else coming over to keep her company (Thanks, Else!). Sadie, however, came for the ride and while two-legged Charlie visited, we went for a walk on Qualicum Beach. By mid afternoon the sun had dipped behind the hill casting grey shadows over the beach. Still, I had fun playing with the camera and took a few ho-hum shots:
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| Kingfisher (left) and heron (right) |
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| Rocks in the ocean |
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| Hey, what's that?........ |
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| Birds, birds and more birds! |
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| Colourful grasses |
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| Grasses by the ocean |
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| Bird on a rock |
Wednesday, the weather took an about-face, and while our plans were to tour the Cowichan Valley, the grey skies and rain turned to snow when we reached Duncan. We slogged on, out to Genoa Bay and Maple Bay, where we had a very nice seafood lunch at the Shipyard Restaurant and Pub in Bird’s Eye Cove before heading home. It was too wet and yucky for me to bother with photos, though two-legged Charlie took some which I shall nag him for. In the evening we took in Countryside Christmas at the Chemainus Theatre Festival.
Today I awoke to rain at 5:30 AM, snow at 6:00 AM, beautiful sunshine at 9:00 AM, cloud at 3:00 PM, and on our way to an AMAZING dinner at the Stone Soup Inn near Lake Cowichan, we ran into snow again. Walking the dogs just now, at 10:00 PM, there is a cloudless night sky full of stars and a brilliant moon. And it is cold – very cold. The forecast is for 10-15 cm of snow tonight on the east coast of Vancouver Island, where we live, so I guess there must be more clouds coming in.
During the day today, I put two-legged Charlie to work fixing all the problems with my computer (thanks, Charlie!). Yay - I can now post comments on my favourite blogs again, and access Shaw and Rogers websites, and I have a new-to-me piece of photography software installed so I can mess with my photos in more complex ways once I figure it out (thanks, Judy!).
Tomorrow two-legged Charlie returns home, flying out of Nanaimo – so I’m keeping fingers crossed that the snow doesn’t materialize. Who knows, with our crazy weather this week he could be grounded by a blizzard.....hmmmm, on the other hand, where is that “To Do” list I’ve been meaning to show him??????
11 comments:
Lol at the "To Do" list.
We've been hearing rumors of snow in my area too, but so far it hasn't gotten cold enough for me to believe them.
Nothing "ho-hum" about those photos, Jean, except maybe in the overwhelming feeling of peace and serenity they convey!
We love that you are calling him "two leg Charlie"! Allie does indeed look like she is sending evil thoughts. What a wonderful thing to have a friendship for 40 years!
Your pictures are never ho-hum. I'm sure I must have said this before...what a STUNNING place you live in! Of course that weather is something else. Snowing already?! It''s only mid November!
Sorry to hear about Charley 4 Legs not feeling well. I thought about all my senior dogblog friends while on holiday. Sadly, 2 passed on while I was away. Sadie looks in fine shape though!
Georgia is over cushions for the moment. She's discovered the floor ;p
Have a great weekend x
Oh. And that picture of Allie - priceless.
Allie's resentful face had me in stitches!
I'm glad to hear that you had a nice visit with 2 legged Charlie, and that they weather held of so you could show him "your neck of the woods"
Else
As EvenSong noted, Jean, these are not ho-hum pictures. And, as Pauley noted, it's a wonderful thing to maintain a friendship for 40 years. The grass shots are excellent, and Allie's was indeed priceless. I also thought you did really well to capture a King Fisher and a heron in the same frame. There was something about the small to larger movement in both the mountains and birds from left to right that I liked.
Glad you had a good and productive visit! Poor Allie, so unhappy :) Lovely pics as always.
Oh, how I miss the Pacific Northwest (and its unpredictable weather). Your photos capture the beauty of the natural landscape perfectly! Looks like it might be an early winter this year. Hope all your critters love snow :)
It speaks volumes your maintaining a great friendship over 40 years. So wonderful you two had a good visit!
Lovelove the grass photos Jean! You have quite the eye for depth. And no way are the others ho hum...they are quite lovely. :)
Glad to hear you and most of your pack are all well. Gentle hug to Charley.
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