A New Hike!!!

 A few weeks (months?) ago... we got to try out a new hike! It's been on my LBBL (Little Bear Bucket List) for a while... so we are doing pretty good on checking things off of that...

Let's go!!

It's a beary pretty hike through lush forests. There is a creek off to the right which we can hear babbling away. 

Ah... there it is!

It was fairly low water... but it's beary calm and peaceful here.

And it's a salmon bearing stream too... although we didn't see any.

We did see some Maiden Hair fern - beary pretty.

The local area has been doing some restoration work on salmon bearing side channels...

Always good to see that! Keeps the local bears happy!

Oooohhh... red huckleberries!!!

Quite a few actually. A bit tart but packed with flavour. YUM!

The thimble-berries weren't even thinking of being ripe yet. They would have made a nice mouth-combo with the huckleberries.

OK... this trail does have some uphill sections... ugh!

Ooooh... a Deer Fern... don't see this all that often. It's beary pretty with it's fertile fronds coming up in the middle (compared to the flatter sterile fronds down below).

Oh. My. Goodness... Do you see what I see?

That is a beary steep slope down to the creek with a lot of wet seepage spots and... I see...

Some devil's club!!! I haven't see ANY on Vancouver Island ever... this is the first. We know they really well from Gramma's... so this is cool to see some here.

Seee... they are nasty but also have some good medicinal properties...

Onwards!! This old cedar would make a great bear condo...

And those lower hollows could use some fairy doors.

So beautiful... soooo green!

We heard the creek again and took a side trail to check it out... beary pretty.

And then we picked our way upstream a bit and around the corner...

We found this uber cute waterfall!

We just have to dance across the stream boulders a bit more...

Oooh... ahhh... with a beautiful deep pool.

Rose might like this for swimming... although it's a good 2 km hike from any parking spot soooo... maybe not!

I'm going to sit and enjoy the waterfall and the peace and quiet for a bit...

Sunrise at the Lake

 We went up to the lake for a wee hike one morning. When it's cool out. And the hordes of mosquitoes (and people) haven't yet descended on the place.

You can see the sun kissing the top of the mountain.

It's been a beary dry summer and all the grass is already done doing it's grass thing and going to seed.

So pretty.

We are going along the lake to check on the new beach and change rooms set-up...

It's a huge expansion project... but it's not done yet... so we won't show anything to you yet.

I could sit here for hours and just watch the shifting patterns of light and shade.

Maybe one day.

Here's the swimming area... It looks the same. Rose is coming at some point in August (we hope) so that we can do the "How Many Swimming Holes Can You Do in a Day" Challenge...

On our way back we found a feather!! It looks like it might have come from a... flicker? Maybe...

Yep... it's from a Northern Flicker! We found this picture on Pinterest... looks like our feather close enough. Those are smaller ones...

Mail Call!!

Hullo!!! I know... it's been months since I last shared a mail post... 

Fun Fact: Did you know this little bear gets more personal mail than the humans?? It's true!!

Alright, first up is a beary nice bear card from Jerry & Ben... Beary nice... I particularly like the bowl of blueberries the bear is munching on...

But then I read the card and... J&B are going to ICELAND in August!!!! Without me!!!

But, but... Iceland is on this little bear's Bucket List!! Oh wait... it's called... the LBBL (Little Bear Bucket List)... anyhow... they better take lots of pictures...

Then we have a card from Ajdin!

Ajdin has a bit hit-or-miss with posting to his blog but we all know he's been struggling with a slacker of a sekrebeary for years! Good help is hard to find (don't I know this!!).

Ajdin sent some temporary tattoos (bear tattoos!). They are from Kodiak Cakes. 

Never heard of them but they do make a Double Dark Chocolate Muffin Mix which sounds yummy... Thanks for the mail guys! Now... if I could only get my sekrebeary to write some mail for me to send!! Although we might be heading into another Canada Post strike. Sigh.

 

A Waste of a Good Beer

 Hullo! This post is from the spring. I know... it's a long story... anyhow... you might think from this picture that I am sitting at the campfire ready for a campfire... with my beer in hand... Well. No.

See... firepit is not in use right now...

No... the beer is for something far less fun and appealing...

See this pot... do you see any nasturtium seedlings?? No!!!

Why, you ask? Because the slugs ate all the leaves and left a few stalks and that's it!!!

And the dahlia???

Munched clean... argh!!!!!

It's not a good scene... soooo many plants and sooo many munched off!

Even in the greenhouse...

And yes... we have tried eggshells... they just roar right over them. Sigh.

Sad little stubs of plants...

So we are pulling out the heavy guns...

A beer trap! Slugs love beer (who wouldn't) and if you sink the container so it's level with the ground and fill it with beer... the slugs slither in and happily drown.

Or at least that's the theory...

we are also spreading more eggshells....

Gardening is hard work you know... Between deer, raccoons, rabbits, slugs and goodness knows what else... 

But it sure is pretty.