Handy Sandy and the Shed Roof...

 Alright... it's looking pretty good so far... I think...

Oh, hullo!!! I have been helping with the replacement of the shed roof!! The old metal panels were really beat up and had so many screw holes, it was like swiss cheese... so we go the old panels off, put down new underlay, and then bear-handled the new panels up into place...

Now, let's get the new panels fastened into place... up the ladder we go...

Oooh... I almost forgot!! We got a Bee Barn!!! For mason bees!

And look!! Some of the tubes are clogged with mud... that means that there are little bee pupae in there, ready to hatch next spring. Cool!!

Of course, mason bees don't make honey but... they are super-pollinators...

Alright... back to the roof...

And I'm up!!

Right then... what next... well, we have the fancy grommet screws to use...

The panels were only 12 feet long and our roof needed 12'8", so we had to get some extra bits to cover the overlap.

Ready to fasten!!

And of course the driver's battery died... and then the spare battery died so we need to wait for them to charge...

A perfect time for some liquid refreshment...

And we're back!!

And that didn't take long at all... It always goes quicker when you have fully charged battery packs... speaking of which, this little bear's battery is running low...

Oooh... a treat!!? For moi??

I kind of think my sekrebeary is trying to improve her score for the end-of-the-year sekrebeary evaluation...

Is it a bribe? Mmmm... I don't think so...

It is a delicious pain-au-chocolat though!!!

Yum!!! 

A Day at the Beach

 Hullo! Today we are going on adventure... all of us!!!

First... we stopped in Qualicum Beach and... went to the beach!

Now, if you remember... Cocoa and Navy had quite an experience last year when Navy took Cocoa out on his "boat" (a generous use of that "word") and a storm swept them far away and well... it wasn't pretty...

So... Navy... no plans for any boating activities today, right? We are all staying on terra firma?

Oh, absolutely!!! And... I brought a life preserver in case anyone gets swept out to sea...

Umm... Sandy... I don't know about this expedition... that life preserver won't fit any of us... let alone you!!!

Right then... we are duly warned... stay away from the tides and don't get swept out to sea!

 

There are some nice flowers here...

And a wave tail!!!

The tide is quite far out and you could walk for miles here.

But we are just having a little poke around... to see what we can see...

We found a tiny little crab (deceased)...

And an upside down sand dollar (possibly still alive...)

We flipped it over... so it was right-side up.

Hope it makes it!

This is a dead sand dollar... 

And we found a much bigger crab (also deceased)...

This one was quite large!! Wouldn't want to meet a life one... those pinchers could take off a stuffie's ear if we weren't careful!

Well, that was fun!! But we aren't done yet... we have another adventure nearby... stay tuned!

A Hike through Harewood Plains

 Hullo! Today we are headed off to the Harewood Plains to see the spring flowers... I love this area!

See! What's not to love about this colour palette... purple camas, pink sea blush, yellow spring gold and monkey flowers... gorgeous!

They've put some signs up... wonder how they knew I would be coming?

These are helpful signs, for people who might not know the flowers in the area...

We spotted a white camas flower!!

The sad thing here... is the Scotch Broom is starting to invade these meadows... you can see it enroaching with it's yellow flowers.

Broombusters was in doing one area, and we really noticed the difference there...

Did I mention I love this trail?

We found a late patch of violets!

This was the big meadow with no scotch broom... well-done Broombusters!

We saw this little flower everywhere... 

We looked it up and it's Western Starflower... beary cute!

Some strawberry plants are blooming too...

And the wild roses!

Don't even talk to me about the broom along the power lines. Ugh!! Who do we have to thanks for this invasive scourge... Captain Walter Colquhoun Grant... that's who... First non-Hudson's Bay Company "settler" of Vancouver Island, who planted some seeds to remind him of his native Scotland. Stupid eedjit...

Anyhow... we are here to check on the rarest of the rare... the Lotus pinnatus flowers... also known as bog bird's-foot trefoil...

This little area is the one we know where it regularly grows and... there's some!!

They are just starting to open up... little cuties...

Although even here, the broom is threatening...

We might need a category for Environmental Criminals... mister Captain Walter Coloquon Grant would be top of the list. Hmph!!

Let's continue with the hike!

I do have to say... this is a beary pretty area...

With a nice view... I hope it never gets developed for housing.

You know humans and their desire for "views"...

We had hoped to spot some chocolate lilies but... they are done now. 

That's OK... we'll have to come a titch earlier next year!

This split rail fence is designed to reminder ATV'ers not to drive all over these meadows...

A little bear would never do that...

Hope you enjoyed the trek!