#142 Mar 2017 Murals and Raptors

Mid March we headed “up island”.

North of Victoria is a notorious stretch of highway called The Malahat. The highway goes into the mountainous interior of Vancouver Island where the weather can be cold and snowy in the winter. We were fortunate to experience a beautiful, mostly sunny day.

From the Malahat Viewpoint we could see across the Saanich Inlet to the Saanich Peninsula where we had just spent two months.

We could see Saanichton and almost identify Oceanside RV Resort where we had parked.

The Victoria Airport was clearly visible.

We setup in Chemainus for a few days. Once again we could see that the birds knew it was spring. Several whistling swans were feeding in the fields and along the shoreline preparing for their trek north for nesting season.

 

Chemainus was established in the 1850s when the logging industry was served by a small sawmill.

In the 1980s a smaller, more efficient sawmill replaced the original one. That left the town without a major economic focus. Something had to be done.

The town was rejuvenated when artists began to record the history of the community with over 40  murals adorning buildings throughout Chemainus.

This portrays the arrival of HMS Reindeer at Chemainus in 1860.

Logging with oxen.

 Celebrations amid historic buildings.

The first public school.

Emily Carr painted in Chemainus in 1924.

This Arbutus Trees mural was inspired by Emily Carr's "Chemainus Bay". Look for a face in the clouds and leaves.

The Sacred Cedar mural was inspired by Emily Carr's "Blunden Harbour".

Chemainus is no longer only known as "Canada's Largest Outdoor Art Gallery". The community has grown into a first-class music, art and performing arts destination. The reputation of the Chemainus Theatre has grown dramatically as some of the best stage actors and stories are brought to life in the theatre. 

The Pacific Northwest Raptors facility provides up close and personal glimpses of majestic birds of prey. The birds are free of restraints and participate in daily demonstrations of their natural feeding habits.

A bald eagle waits for his cue.

A Harris Hawk patiently waits while his trainer explains the bird's habits and capabilities.

I don't usually think of owls as birds of prey but look at this Great Horned Owl's talons and hooked beak.

A Gyrfalcon aggressively waits for his cue to catch his snack.

The daily flying demonstrations feature local birds of prey. There are also birds on display from other parts of the world such as the Kookaburra from Australia.

#141 Mar 2017 Victoria History

For Ralph and I traveling is about learning and understanding the area we are exploring. What better place to start than museums.

CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum is a treasure trove of information and exhibits about the British and Canadian Navy and Canadian Army.

Esquimalt harbour is one of the finest natural harbours on the west coast of the Americas. It has a well-protected natural entrance opening into a larger basin with deep water extending to the shoreline.

In 1865 the British Empire established the Royal Navy’s Pacific Fleet Headquarters in Esquimalt near Victoria.

There was a great need for a dry dock in order to make the naval base fully functional.

As a condition of British Columbia joining Canada, several layers of government agreed to fund a dry dock.

In 1910 the British Navy withdrew from Esquimalt in order to deal with the emerging naval arms race with Germany. At that time the Royal Canadian Navy was formed in order to protect Canada and support the Royal Navy if required.

In 1939 King George VI presented the King’s Colour to the Royal Canadian Navy. A Colour is a ceremonial flag that is considered a symbol of the sovereign, and is treated with the same respect.

For every day of the week the Navy has ceremonial toasts.

Some of the toasts have been updated.

The museum also has an exhibit about the Canadian Women’s Army Corp. The recruiting posters certainly made signing up sound like fun.

 I scanned the displays very carefully as my mother trained as a dental assistant in the CWAC.

The Esquimalt Naval Base is an integral part of greater Victoria employing over 6,000 military personnel and civilians.

We took a Walking Tour of Quirky Victoria during which we learned about many colourful characters who were part of Victoria’s history.

 

 

As part of the tour we were introduced to the story of John Tunstall who worked at his father’s general store in Victoria. In the 1870’s John moved to New Mexico where he bought a ranch and set up a mercantile store. It was, however, in direct competition to another store operated by the  Murphy-Dolan gang.

When the gang murdered John his death was avenged by a friend and employee, William Bonney. William Bonney was better known as "Billy The Kid".

Peter and Lorraine directed us to a quirky part of Victoria they had discovered.

 And I finally found some flowering trees.

The Wee Book Exchange is an invitation to neighbours and passersby to stop and perhaps take a book they might not have considered otherwise.

#140 Mar 2017 Spring is for the Birds!

On Southern Vancouver Island spring usually arrives in February - not this year. 

Only the birds seemed to know springtime was here. We went searching for spring flowers and only found a few tiny little flowers hiding in the sand.

At least the moss is a bright green on the driftwood.

This red-winged blackbird was singing his heart out.

Island View Beach Regional Park is a short drive from Oceanside RV Resort. The path along the beach is popular regardless of the weather or time of day.

Ralph and I were very much in the minority without a dog to walk.

The endless driftwood invites the imagination.

These Barrow’s goldeneyes are frequently seen coasting close to shore.

This immature Cooper’s hawk was perched on a railing at the entrance to Mayfair Shopping Centre in Victoria. Many hawks have adapted to the urban environment but this one looked particularly out of place.

March 6^th we had snow AGAIN!

The next day the wind was coming in sideways creating impressive whitecaps and pounding the beach on the spit.

James Island is directly across from Oceanside Resort. It is a privately owned island that was listed for sale at 75 million dollars in 2014. Apparently there were no takers since the listing was removed from Sotheby’s.

This view of James Island is from Island View Beach.

This is taken from Malahat Drive across the Saanich Peninsula towards the cliffs of James Island.

The daffodil field in Saanichton was about a month behind.

This Anna’s hummingbird looked like he was trying to stay warm.

From the RV we spotted bald eagles almost every day. This one was sitting on the power pole patiently waiting for supper.

The cherry trees finally started blooming mid March.

Spring was slow to arrive but the birds came anyway. Watching nature from our site can’t be beaten.