Island Ramblings

[bevvyd]

I was going to supply links today, been sidetracked with too many thoughts this week.

When will I be over on the island, hmm could be in a week or two but not sure. I'll PM ya and let you know.

Here is a link to the Gulf Islands:

http://www.gulfislandsguide.com/

Hornby, Pender (Pender Benders), San Juan, Gabriola, etc. is all there for the peeking.

I just love the fact that BC Ferries (not that I love them cause I don't) will take you to almost all of them where you can get off and wander around and catch the ferry back. Other islands you have to go to another terminal for, but well worth the drive and/or wait.

 

[bogie]

Lived in Vancouver around '55 - was just 7 years old then. We lived on Point Grey Rd at Jericho Beach on English Bay (actually was waterfront property). But, I do remember the ferry trips over to Vancouver Island.

In '68 went out to North Surrey to work with a friend for afew months, and we went over to the island - again, enjoyable.

Friends of ours now live (retired) in Courtney, and love every minute of it. He's a golfer, so a few more days doing it out there than in Ontario!

Have an open invitation to go out and visit them, anytime. Looking forward to the day we can. Beautiful country!

 

[bevvyd]

Bogie,

My hubby's family in Ontario hates to hear he is golfing in November, December, January, February....

We hope you do come out for another visit.

Do you have any idea how much that property of yours would be worth today? You wouldn't be working, you'd be golfing.

 

[bogie]

Bogie,

My hubby's family in Ontario hates to hear he is golfing in November, December, January, February....

We hope you do come out for another visit.

Do you have any idea how much that property of yours would be worth today? You wouldn't be working, you'd be golfing.

That property became part of the Yacht Club and the house we had lived in (an old "small" mansion itself, divided into 2 homes, was torn down). It was right beside the RCMP property (old stone mansion, where the regional office was located), that is now a restaurant - or was, in around '92 when we were at the Pan Pacific for a convention, and went out for dinner (just to see around the old childhood stompin' ground).

I have fond memories of that place in the undeveloped area around Jerico beach. Fields and open spaces. Ahhh, to reminisce!

 

[peapod]

In the words of thoreau my weekend can be sumed up with the following quote by thoreau, "We are surrounded by the rich and fertile mystery"

The four of us settled in Toquart bay Friday night, after kayaking all
day, we met up with three newfies, who we took under our wing. We had
We had our motives, they had us rolling on the ground with laughter! I swear I can hardly move my jaw from laughing so much on this adventure. It takes a while to catch on to the language, expressions like cold as a dead nun, or a gravediggers arse. hungry enough to eat a bitch and 8 pups, or the arse-end of a skunk. Talk to you later now bun bye, which means talk to you later. Me nerves is rubbed raw. Just love the way they talk! :lol:

Around 8 in the evening, there was a seal down the beach eating a chinook he caught, the newfies run down the beach full throttle and the seal bee lined for the water. They got half a fish and returned with their highjacked dinner, and cooked it with some seaweed on the side. The poor seal watched the whole
procedure from his watery domain. It was one of the funniest things I ever saw someone do. They entertained us to the wee hours with their tales of their rock called newfoundland. I got to go to that place and meet more of these people. Islanders with a twist!

Next morning we head out to the broken islands, the weather was almost tropical. The scenery beyond words, the company the best! best moments, bald eagle over to the left, lazily gliding down and barely touching the surface and picking up his lunch with a one movement of his tallons. The family of sea otters on their backs in a bed of kelp eating clams. The bear on the bluff staring us down as we wizz by his domain. The living world up front and centre. How fortuneate can you be to live in a paradise like this.

We skirted the 100's of islands in the broken group most of the day, the newfies trying to eat anything that would not kill them. We meet up with my cousin, who lives in Ucluelet. He is what is known as a Ukee. We are going to his place for the night, we decide the newfies might as well come to, we have grown very fond of the little buggers. My cousin's wife decides she will take the newfies and everyone into the local taveren newfies meeting ukees. My cousin and I go out in his zodiac to check his crab traps. What a blast they are bounce...bounce....bounce....slam! the water is like glass, old growth forests, everywhere, just the sound of his zodiac in the solitude of the place.

My cousin impresses me with his zig zags and circle 8's. He pulls into an island that has a nice beach, we get out to have a look around. He says to me, now peapod I have not given you your birthday present because I have not seen you since your birthday. Now I am nervous! I am out here on the ocean, in a tire, and I know my cousin very well! a gagster and trickster of the highest stature. Turn around he says. I turn around, I can hear him rummaging around in the tire, I try to peak, but everytime I make a move he says "I saw that". Then he says turn around, just as I turn around he hits the button on his tune box. Out comes full blast bruce springsteens " Dancing in the dark"! Well now you have to understand something, when that song came out, my cousin and I loved it! If we were together, no matter where we were, we would start dancing. We could not help ourselves. Once even in the drug store in Port Alberni, much to the delight of the other shoppers. Like I have said, we are islanders and we are nuts, and we ride our own pony. So there is she who is me and my cousin dancing on a beach in the middle of the clayoquot sound. The best birthday present anyone gave me this year. I love my cousin, he is just like me and I am just like him, must be the DNA.
We sit on a log after a few go arounds of dancing in the dark, one was not enough. He grabs himself a beer and we yak of days gone by and the beauty that surrounds us. It my turn to pick a tune, nothing like tunes and nature.

I look through his collection, I find something, yes this is a good one, it has everything needed for the moment as my cousin is bent down going through his tackle box. Chumbawamba! my pick tubthumping! god it does not get any better, as my cousins name is Danny.
I put the tune on, and I get ready for a kill bill move while he is bent over, one, two, three....he topples over! Oh danny boy....danny boy....I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never going to keep me down! What a great tune and how fitting...we kill ourselves laughing. Like I said the family is nuts, its scary that this stuff actually happens or is it?

We head back in our tire, heads bobbing to Chumbawamba. Life is good! Life is great! an attitude of gratitude for all the beauty in my life. We all eat crab and peaches and cream corn and listen to newfies tell us all about their rock. Next day back to the land of the drones. The newfies are staying on at my cousins for a few days, being a part of the family now. An open invitation to St. John's Newfoundland to visit my new friends. I will have to take them up on that, its one place I have to see. Before I leave my cousin shares with me some of the messages left in the Park suggestion box, they crack me up, but they are also kind of scary. Here are a few.

Escalators would help on steep uphill sections."

"The places where trails do not exist are not well marked."

A small deer came into my camp and stole my bag of pickles. Is
there a way I can get reimbursed?

"Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to
wonderful views without having to hike to them

My cousin gives the website of the local rag for Ucluelet, when I tell him about this board. Its very funny and will give you some idea of what Ukees are like. My cousin was part of the Rhodo protest on fraser day. He is in the photo of the demonstration on the left. So here is the link to the news to hot to handle for regular media outlets.

http://ukee_tattler.tripod.com/index.html

We also yak alot to, as you can see.
.

 

[peapod]

Yup! fishing is on peapods mind now that chinook are coming in. One of the things I love about fishing are the people you meet, especially salty old fishermen, they have the best stories. One in particular a titian as old fishermen go, told me the most amazing tale. Now I know old salty does not usually tell tall fish tales, this tale I had to check out for myself. I went to the archives and sure enough it was true. I cannot say I am happy with what he did, but I can admire the feat. I am humbled and admire the great killer whale. Here is the story.

The sturdy 14-foot Peterborough canoe rode lazily on the Puget Sound swells. Its occupant sat motionless but expectant, peering intently into the blue-green waters around him. An over-sized arrow was notched in a bow and held in readiness. It was a strange scene -- an archer fishing! Suddenly, and right in front of the canoe, a killer whale surfaced and spouted its jet into the Pacific sunlight.

Like a spring released, bowman Ralph Whaley aimed and quickly released his arrow at the adult orca. The arrow pierced hide and blubber as the whale submerged. His quarry was about 25 feet long, not especially large as orcas go, but the hunt added another episode to the saga of an outdoorsman, a long-time Seattle resident, whose real-life adventures make the exploits of the legendary Paul Bunyan seem tame.

Successful in business, one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's "dollar-a-year men" the President recruited to serve on the U.S. Shipping Board during the Second World War, inventor, graduate engineer, champion golfer, famed archer, trapper, cowpoke, a standout in baseball, tennis and rowing while attending University of Washington.

That very briefly describes Ralph Seth Whaley, perhaps the only white man who can claim to have killed a whale with bow and arrow. He has killed, with bow and arrow, every known big-game animal in North American except the musk ox, protected by law in the years Whaley was establishing his reputation as a bowman.

Born on New Year's Day in Berkeley, Calif., Whaley's reputation as an outdoorsman got its grounding when his family moved to Northern Idaho when he was four. The Whaleys' nearest white neighbors were 17 miles away but the Nez Perce Indian reservation was only 2 1/2 miles away. As a youngster, Ralph grew up with the Nez Perce, played their games, learned to hunt and think like them.

Zoologists from the Smithsonian Institute hired Whaley as a guide when he was 17. They were so impressed with the teenager's knowledge and intelligence the scientists urged Whaley to go to college. He enrolled at the University of Washington the following year and graduated as an engineer four years later, in 1911. He was as successful as in business as he was when hunting or fishing.

When Whaley retired from the business world in 1958, he held controlling interest in Inland Navigation Company, a West Coast shipping empire which was a complex of nine firms. Ralph and his wife left Seattle to take up residence in Victoria. It was a difficult decision, but love for Vancouver Island's beauty won over the many friends and business acquaintances in Seattle.

Whaley had earned considerable fame as an archer and his navigation company was expanding in the early 1930s when he was asked to hunt whale with his bow. The request was put to him by a Hollywood picture company that a few years earlier had recorded Whaley's prowess as an archer on a buffalo hunt. Whaley was never one to resist a challenge. He found himself in the canoe, in waters off Edmonds, WA. A speedy cruiser came along as support vessel and camera carrier.

The party quickly sighted a pod of blackfish, determined the mammals' course and left Whaley to manage on his own in the canoe. His bow had a mighty 102-pound pull. The arrow was specially designed for the occasion. As Whaley remembered in 1969, "we rigged it pretty good. A strong nylon line to the arrow head with a double lead that went through a ring in the bow of the canoe." Attached at the end of the line was an empty beer keg. If I was to run into any difficulty, I'd let the line go and the buoyant keg would enable our party to follow the whale.

"Darned if he didn't blow right in front of me," Whaley added. "A blind man couldn't have missed that shot . . ." Years of instinctive shooting made the orca an easy mark. As soon as the arrow found its mark, the whale took off. The Seattle sportsman, determined not to release the rope too soon, went on the fastest canoe ride of his life. Cruiser personnel estimated Ralph's speed at about 27 knots.

What should have been considered inevitable then happened. The killer whale sounded. Before Whaley could react, canoe, hunter and equipment was pulled into Puget Sound. By time recovery was complete, the supposedly-buoyant keg was no where in sight.

"'That,' I thought, 'is the end of that.' "

"Unfortunately, there had been some publicity attached to our little expedition . . . in the Seattle papers . . . "Well, sir, a few days later I was in my office when I received a telephone call from a little town up the coast. The town marshal, who must have read the Seattle papers, was on the phone. "He said if I didn't get that so-and-so whale off his beach, he would file charges.

"He knew all about it."

"It was my whale, my arrow, and my beer keg . . ."

"I sent a small tug to pull it off the beach."

 

[peapod]

galaniomama
Ya, the four of us headed to Salt spring island, heard some good reports about the catches going on over there. But you know nothing beats Port Alberni, fishing capital of the world. But the thought of being locked up in vehicle with these 4 for the three hour drive was just way to scary.

We did not have to go out far, 3 miles out into the straight In less than five minutes steve's reel was screaming as a large coho raced away, tearing across the surface, jumping and cartwheeling in the air, and then racing back toward him. What an amazing sight.

I had a few hits The first one even before I could sit down, a fiesty chinook, it almost spooled my reel, I had it near the boat twice. Each time it would charge back into the depths. Finally the last time it was close to the boat and net, rolled on its side, looked me square in the eye and spit out the hook. Chinook a whole lot smarter than peapod. But the andrenalin rush he gave me was worth it, in my excitment I forgot why they named single action reels knuckle-busters. Dam that hurts!

The best was fighting a 5 pounder on a fly rod. Real fishing without the heavy gear, I thought the rod might snap, but it didn't and you get to really feel and play the fish, you can feel their every move.

I finally got myself the fight I wanted, it was fiesty and spirited battle! as he was netted someone yelled out "bonk the bitch" wonder if they met me or the fish Back to the watery deeps he went, maybe peapod will meet him another day and we can do battle again :wink:

So what was your weekend adventure?

 

[bevvyd]

Holy moly girl, you are one tough momma!

Those pesky fish always seem to get away only to be caught bigger and bettter on another day. So don't you worry, your fishy will come back, and then you can "whack the bitch"

Well my weekend was nothing compared to yours. I ate too much, I drank too much, I didn't sleep near enough and it rained like a waterfall was overhead, much needed rain I might add, so no berry picking, heavy sigh. The blackberry jam will just have to wait until next weekend.

But I did learn that we have not only 1 but 6 bears living the neighbourhood. Now I know who broke one of the plum tree branches and left them all over the ground. Are you supposed to play dead with a bear? I can't remember what you are supposed to do cause it's the opposite of what you would do if it were a cougar.

But I noticed the fire hazard is down to mild from extreme today. That's a good thing.

Oh and Hello Galianomama, we are a dying breed us islanders. But GDI we are good!

 

[galianomama]

Oh and Hello Galianomama, we are a dying breed us islanders. But GDI we are good!

hi girl! yeah, we sure are a dying breed. victoria has changed so much since i was just a young one. but i still love it! now vancouver..........we were there on the weekend, waterfall rain you say - you got that right, it was downright scary driving down the freeway in that stuff. warm rain though, and you are right, we really did need the rain.

hey bevvy - with bears you play dead. cougars you make yourself larger than life. :wink:

 

[peapod]

AH! bevvy I am just a itty bitty thing with a big mouth :lol: You know living on the rock some of us born and bred to fish. My father always had boats and made sure all of learned the philosophy of fishing, and to love and respect all things nature. He made sure I learned how small I really am, but at the same time connected to it all. Its a good fit for me, I love this place and all the powerful beauty on it.

I am sure you could put up the good fight againist the fiesty chinook, I know you are a fiesty island girl, you just need some practice runs.

I heard they had a real down pour this weekend in Vancouver. Best thing to do about the bear is get rid of the fruit. A cougar 8O
man who can answer that, it does not matter what they tell you to do, when you see one, your life is flashing before you, and I was in the vehicle at the time. Pictures do not do justice to them. Did you hear about the guy in Port Alice that was jumped by one on the way home from the bar? now talk about DT's 8O he killed the thing with a pocket knife. Can you believe that! Now there is one tough cookie. He was pretty chewed up tho. Still a pen knife! Will have to see if I can find the story on the net and post it for you.

Somebody dumped off about 50 pounds of pears on me last week, oh great I will can them. Shit what alot of work! never again. When you coming over to the rock? galaniomama and I will party with you :lol: Watch out :lol:

 

[peapod]

Bevvy found it here is the link. I am staying away from Port Alice and Gold river, way to many cougars up that way, although they do have some excellent fishing!


http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/mj04/feature.asp

 

[bevvyd]

G & P

Thanks for the info about the bear and cougs. Play dead and as Peapod likes to say "puff up like a prairie chicken", gotta keep that in mind. I do pick up the fruit and I lock away the garbage cans in the garage and all bird feeders are down. Last summer we spent it re-fencing 2 acres (that is alot of board feet let me tell ya) and it was my job to stain the boards and posts. Well I get all 600' (2 x 600' actually cause there was 2 boards) out back done and here comes this bear and he climbs up over my newly stained fence boards to get out, like was there a problem with the gate or the fence you jumped over to get in, sheesh. So if you see a white footed bear give him a piece of my mind will ya!

As for coming over the island, hmm I'm hoping it is going to be soon. Probably by the end of September. I'll PM you both and maybe we can get together for some....

 

[bevvyd]

Too bad I just can't play dead if I run into a cougar. Cause I'll probably just either die of a heart attack or faint from fear, and my luck they can smell fear.

 

[peapod]

That will be a "hoot" bevvy I am sure. Galaniomama want to talk to you, you families are old timers from the same town. Told her to send you a PM. Well I cannot believe this I finally have some work for the afternoon! I will catch you later island girl Galaniomama see you at starbucks tonight @ 7. Later island mamas

 

[peapod]

Bevvy do not ever play dead with a cougar! chances are you will never see one. If you go into the woods make sure you got your bear spray, a knife to, bigger than a pocket knife, I don't know if they can smell fear, but they can smell fresh meat It would be nice to have a gun, but they are more scary than the cougar. Port Alice sure seems to have its share of cougar attacks, they are around Port Alberni to. One more hour to go! I am falling asleep here. Here is another one from Port Alice.

PORT ALICE, British Columbia (Reuters) - Wildlife officials were hunting for a hungry cougar near this small community on northern Vancouver Island Friday after it attacked and tried to eat a man riding his bicycle.

John Nostdal told police he heard a clicking noise behind him as he was riding down a dark road Thursday evening, but did not realize it was a cougar chasing him until the cat jumped on his back and knocked him to the ground.

``The cougar probably saw the bicyclist leaned over with a pack on his back and thought he was a deer. He saw him as fair game,'' said Constable Randy Freeborn, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

A motorist spotted Nostdal, a visiting tugboat crewman from Seattle, fighting with the cougar, and used the bicycle to knock the cat off him. The men then jumped inside the vehicle but the cougar refused to leave until the car drove away.

``He wanted his meal,'' Freeborn said.

Freeborn said wildlife officials believe the cougar was injured several days ago by a car. It may be the same animal that confronted another person in the area recently and is believed responsible for killing several cats and dogs.

Vancouver Island has one of North America's largest cougar populations. Four of the cats, which can weigh about 200 pounds, have been shot in Port Alice in the past six months. This is the first attack reported on a person in the area.

Children in Port Alice have been warned not to play outside until the the cougar is caught. Authorities believe the cat's injury prevents it from hunting deer, its usual prey, and that it has lost its fear of human, Freeborn said.

``Cougars are opportunistic ... they hunt because food is available,'' Freeborn said.

Nostdal's injuries were not life threatening, but he remained hospitalized Friday with bite and scratch wounds to the head and shoulders. REUTERS

 

[peapod]

[quote}Holy moly girl, you are one tough momma!

Bevvy,
:lol: I did not bust my knuckes, its just an expression, but I can see how could bust them. I really only ocean fish when the chinook are in. To much gear, don't like using a downrigger, its not real fishing (to me). Mostly I do lakes and rivers. Like to travel the ocean tho, carefully, very carefully, you have to know something when you travel out there, thats why I don't go alone :lol: [/quote]

 

[bevvyd]

Last summer while staining the fence in the pasture I had to keep reminding myself to hum or talk to myself just in case a bear was coming up behind me. See the neighbours who side onto my property are about 4 country blocks away (10 acres) and all the land if forested, plus in front of my house there is 5 acres of trees and a tree farm on the other side. There have been reports of cougs in the area before but not usually until the fall or if its really dry out they will come down for water. Our house basically backs onto a provincial park (Golden Ears) so I always assume that there are animals out and about. I love my office cause I can sit and watch deer meander through the front yard. They like to sleep at the tree farm.

I've never been a fishing person as someone has to be skilled enough to cook them babies once caught. And that's my job.

 

[peapod]

Well bevvy it takes great skill to cook fish properly, my favorite, fresh halibut, dipped in smashed BBQ chips, done to perfection in some butter...yum yum make sure the chips are organic tho, no nasty trans fatty acids

sounds like you live in a awesome place! ya the deer come right into victoria here, strange driving through a city and you look over to your left and a couple of deer are grazing on somebodys flowers right in their front yard.

I heard something funny about a cougar story last year right here in Victoria. It happened in colwood. Someone called the police and said there was a cougar sitting on somebody's front lawn. The police rushed out, and sure enough there was a cougar on the front lawn. they approached guns drawn and shaking in their boots! Turns out, the guy who owned the house was a craver, and this was his latest work, nothing like free advertising via city cops. When seating at starbucks and they would come for coffee, alot of people would meow, and things like that.

 

[bevvyd]

yummm halibur, yummm butter.

There was a report yesterday about some girl who ate 12 lobsters in some sort of lobster eating contest. Step aside little girl, I can do that NO problemo. I'm off to Maine next time they hold that contest cause I know I can win, and bare handed to boot, no crackers or picks for this girl.

 

[peapod]

:lol: just gonna rip it apart with your bare hands are you. One of my brothers fishes prawns. Talk about yummy! some are the size of small lobsters. Some times I go out with him to check traps. You otta see the messages he leaves for people who raid his traps! 8O Did you hear they were gonna try lobster farms out here, right next to the alantic salmon :x