Waiting for dinner

A few days ago I cut down part of a vast ivy growth and, to this day, I have yet to discover whether there is a tree trunk at its centre. Over the past few days, the cuttings have been progressively devoured to the point where all visible leaves had gone.

On my arrival home this evening there was a young deer looking hopefully for some dinner. I pulled a branch from the heap and flipped it over so the leaves were on top. They obviously tasted good, as I was ignored completely as I walked past four or five times collecting things from the car.

I love the expression - it's either "yeah, that's good eh?" or "just clear off and let me eat in peace"

Bad weather defeats BC Ferries

High winds caused the cancellation of all BC Ferries from Tsawwassen from 3pm today. The 9pm sailing from Horseshoe Bay was also cancelled.

The Bowen Queen has continued in service, though delays are being experienced on the Nanaimo-Gabriola route.

After the storm....

......the sun comes out, and there's time for a coffee pot walk.

Hummingbird's brook is babbling

 

The high tides that have threatened flooding to parts of Vancouver Island

and you start to see just how much lumber has been set adrift by the combination of heavy rain, wind and tide.

mmmm - fir cones, deer droppings and fresh mushrooms.

Coffee's brewed now - it must be time for breakfast!

Island Drywall Solutions

After much cursing and swearing, Island Drywall Solutions has come pretty close to handing over the space to Island Kitchen Solutions.

The window shelf is 30" wide and 25" deep.

Windows on the world

The second window is now in, next to the kitchen door

-  here's the view of the ocean from the kitchen sink

....... and the view out of the side window in daylight!

New Delivery!

It feels a little like a furniture store right now, but the kitchen cabinets are finally here. 

If only I was ready for them!

It's amazing how much light the new window lets in (when it's not dark, of course)

Foot passengers present safety risk for BC Ferries - or do they?

At the recent Ferry Advisory Committee, it was reported a risk assessment had been conducted on passengers leaving the Gabriola ferry and a decision taken that would mean foot passengers and cyclists disembarking after vehicles have left the ferry at both ends of the route.

In a letter to BC Ferries, Island Blog has pointed out some of the weaknesses in this proposal:

• No representative of the FAC appears to have been invited to contribute to the risk assessment
• Allowing cyclists to board first puts them in conflict with vehicles as they are still on the car deck when vehicles are being loaded
• Foot passengers are already safely managed at the Gabriola terminal, to keep them away from vehicles leaving the ferry
• Delaying foot passengers leaving the ferry at Gabriola will result in a greater hazard from the many cars that await the arrival of friends and family on the ferry, clogging the area as cars are unloaded
• Foot passengers leaving the ferry at Nanaimo are allowed to wander into the vehicle lanes because BCF staff follow them off the ferry, instead of leading them off as they do at the Gabriola terminal
• Pedestrian barriers and gates at the Nanaimo terminal need to be refurbished and supervised by staff, as they are at Gabriola. 
• Since there is a member of terminal staff on duty at Nanaimo, there is a "spare" member of crew who could ensure these procedures are followed
• With up to 150 walk-on passengers aboard on busy crossings, there is a serious risk of an accident aboard the ferry as they wander onto the car deck while vehicles are being unloaded
• During the summer months, many walk-on passengers stay on the car deck during the crossing - especially on Quinsam. These passengers will be at serious risk while vehicles are leaving the ferry.

Have BC Ferries taken these issues into account in their Risk Assessment? We must wait and see. 

From the floor up

After much ingenuity to achieve a (comparatively) level floor, the work continues....

Gabriola in the dark

One of the first things I was told when I came to Gabriola was to be prepared for power outages. In fact, our housewarming present from Cousins Robbie and Mary was a delightful hamper containing all that was needed to survive just such an event.

Gabriola's electricity comes from Vancouver Island along a rather tired supply line that is reputedly on the verge of overload or collapse much of the time. Power outages are frequent - sometimes it's a tree falling over a line and blacking out part of the island; sometimes it's the whole island plunged into darkness - maybe for hours on end. And, being an island, there's always the potential for the outage to occur too late in the day for BC Hydro's repair gang to make it over - and back again - before the last ferry leaves. In which case, you just wait till tomorrow.

Travelling late around the island, it's sometimes difficult to tell whether there's a power outage or not. With only 3 streetlights, all within a short distance of the ferry, you can drive for miles without seeing another light - especially after curfew  (generally somewhere between 9 and 10pm) when all good folk have retired for the night. Arrive on the last ferry at 2315 and it feels like you could be the only ones here.

So far, I've not experienced a prolonged outage here after dark - but earlier this evening it seemed like that might all be about to change. Lights flickered a couple of times and then went out. Complete and total darkness under a cloudfilled sky without even a star to break through.

Where's my torch, I wondered? I've been using it every day in and out of the crawlspace under the house, where much of the plumbing and wiring lurks in constant darkness. Did I plug it back in when I'd finished, so that it would come on if the power went out? No, of course I didn't.

Tonight's outage lasted less than a minute - but it was a reminder that maybe I needed to pay more attention in future to the little things. Where are the candles and matches? Hmmm, I think I saw them last week.

Despite the very brief interlude without power, I just happened to have my camera at the ready and was able to capture the full effect for posterity. I thought I'd share it with you while I go look for the matches.

G'night all!

Space is growing

Here are the latest photographs showing progress in clearing the space for the kitchen.

This picture shows the joist which provides extra support to the ceiling. A second joist will be put in about 6" this side of it, so that the void in between can be used for concealed downlighting. The whole thing will then be encased with stained boarding.

The one remaining piece of studwork from the old wall is actually held up by the wiring - it's not fixed to anything else at the top.  As soon as the wiring is moved, the studwork will come down.

...and there it was, gone! The two cables that disappeared into the ceiling both ran right across the front bedroom, so there is a bit of work to do there tomorrow!