We are Canadian!

Ceremony done. We are Canadian. Now to celebrate……

We are More!

Today we become more than British. We are Canadian!

Window Cleaning….with a difference

I saw this advertisement in a recent publication and the lengths some companies will go to to make their business stand out from the crowd is extraordinary. 

Presenting Men in Kilts.  Basically a window and gutter cleaning company and lets face it there’s plenty of those but none other offer the perceived ‘advantage’ (not sure you can really call it that) of their staff dressed in kilts. I’m also not sure if they’re ‘genuine’ kilt wearers given many have to climb ladders 3 or 4 storeys up !

Thank goodness Realtors in Kilts DOESN’T have a ring to it.

Hello ‘Missie’

On Saturday night we were treated to dinner at our friends Sig & Helens house.  They had a new member of their extended family for us to meet – a 9 week old Miniature Long-Haired Dachshund called Missie.

David gets the first cuddle

But I’m not far behind

She has a beautifully soft puppy coat and like all 9 weeks olds is a live-wire of chasing, jumping, nibbling and licking !

Sig and Missie

At that age everything needs to be explored, sniffed and preferably tasted.

Plus, on Thursday I have been asked to puppy-sit for a few hours in the middle of the day when the mum’s work schedules clashed and while she’s still so young and not fully settled with Buddy they didn’t want to leave her alone.  Sounds like a good job to me !

Hairy Head-Wrap

When Mojo was a puppy one of his favourite ‘moves’ was wait until you were sat on an armchair or the sofa and apparently paying him no attention, then leap up and over you until he was wrapped around the back of your neck and shoulders like a scarf. 

It gave him no end of delight to hear the squeal of shock from the poor unsuspecting human underneath.

While he has thankfully pretty much given up this annoying trait, just occasionally it rears its ugly head, as was the case one evening this week.

Only that ‘cute little puppy’ is now a 50lb beast…………….

Daily routine with a winter twist

This week has been a pretty typical week for the time of year – both of us busy with work and miserable weather.  Dog walks have remained pretty mundane as a result only helped a little this week by our dose of snow.

These few snaps from Tuesdays stomp along the Varley Trail at Lynn Headwaters.  We started the walk from the top of Lynn Valley Road rather than in the park itself as I had the Audi and not the 4x4 and didn’t much fancy digging it out if it got stuck.

Mojo can’t get enough of the white stuff – charging around continually after sticks.

The snow covered boulders in the river.

The handsome lad can’t hide his pleasure of a walk in the snow.

Although he struggles as the snow gives way under his great weight on the river bank.  Oh well, if all else fails, just eat it !

The BC Mills House

A most peculiar snowman in the picnic area – I think this guy needs some dietary advice.

  The park is very quiet while the trails are snow packed and icy.

Views up the river valley from the bridge

And back down over the picnic grounds from the trail returning on the East side of the river.

Who’s Been Walking in My Garden ?

The funny thing about snow days is that your tracks leave a print of your activity, there for all to see until it eventually melts away.  The same can be said of course for the hive of nocturnal wildlife activity we have and our front garden is a great example as there are no human or dog prints but plenty of others.

There are a maze of prints across the main flat area of the front garden which are clearly bird prints.  However, skirting around the edge of the open flat area are these larger prints.  Too big for a cat but most likely a racoon – the right number of long thin ‘fingers’.

Winter’s Not Done Just Yet

Just as the daffodils were preparing to bloom we had another burst of winter this weekend.  Around 10cms of snow settled at home on Saturday night and another 5cms or so fell during Sunday.  This was probably the largest delivery of snow we’ve had this season and it’s unusual for late February although we’ve still had a relatively mild winter and a lower than average snowfall in total.

I had appointments on Sunday morning so we needed to get up quite early to clear the drive.  A quick snap before we set to work shovelling…

The back of the house and the pretty snow covered trees surrounding the house.

Mojo of course enjoyed every minute of charging through the soft white powder both in the garden and his walk with David.  A brief clip of video in the garden.

At the peak of the snowfall the ploughs had difficulty keeping up.

The neighbourhood was beautifully peaceful and quiet early on the Sunday morning.  Views North up the street.

The snow was a nice little treat at the end of the winter and so good of it to fall at the weekend !

Ambleside Dog Beach

On Friday I needed to stay close to home for a deal I was working on with some clients, but I potentially had a couple of hours spare and the weather was beautiful.  We headed over to the Dog Beach at Ambleside.

Access to the beach is along part of the newly developed Spirit Trail.  When completed the Spirit Trail will provide a predominately low-bank pedestrian and cycling route from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. 

The Spirit Trail running between Park Royal Mall and the Capilano River.

Views North up the Capilano River.

Once in the officially designated off-leash dog park there are large grassy areas for the hounds to race around in.  We have to make the most of these facilities while they are here as the Squamish Nation who own this land sadly recently announced plans to develop condo buildings here, potentially ending decades of enjoyment of this small waterfront park.  As the municipality of West Vancouver have no jurisdiction over how the Squamish Nation land be developed it is highly likely this jewel of a dog park won’t be here for future generations.

The seawall trail is always busy, often more dogs than people.  It’s a very social place to stroll for both the dogs and their owners.

Views towards the South West

And back towards the Lions Gate Bridge against the morning sun.

Mojo takes in the view

From the far end of the beach we get views West along the shoreline with the residential towers of Dundarave and then Lighthouse Park on the far left hand side (the lighthouse itself just visible on the tip of the park).

The view North West from here across the beach towards the British Properties and Cypress Mountain in the background.

The recent snowfall make the North Shore mountains particularly impressive.

Finally a view of Grouse Mountain from the Ambleside Dog Beach.

A great spot to have a quick, easy walk and superb socialisation for the dogs.

I was busy working much of the weekend when the weather was even better – not a cloud in the sky for either day, We are forecast some wintery weather for the next couple of days, but a clearing towards the end of the week.  Hopefully we can get out on some more scenic walks then.

Jug Island Beach

Yesterday my diary was free of appointments so we took the opportunity to venture off the North Shore for a walk somewhere a little different.  We settled on a walk to Jug Island Beach in Belcarra Regional Park.

The village of Belcarra and adjoining park flank the East side of Indian Arm.  It is a slightly tedious 45 minute drive through North Burnaby and Port Moody to get there – and we end up a stones throw from North Vancouver where we set off but across the water.

Belcarra Regional Park has a couple of parking areas, one is at White Pine Beach on Sasamat Lake and the other is the Picnic Grounds which is where we are headed to begin the walk.

The road into the park is a pretty, winding country road.

We reach the Picnic Grounds area of the park.

The Picnic Ground is a very pleasant park area by itself, big flat grassy areas, loads of picnic tables, a couple of small beaches and nice views across to Deep Cove on the other side of the inlet and little Boulder Island sat in the middle.

A pair of Canada Geese enjoying a few rays of sunshine.

The jetty and boat dock.

Our destination today is at the end of a peninsula that sticks out into Indian Arm.  There is a bay formed to the East side of the peninsula called Bedwell Bay so we take a short detour to the natural beach at the South end.

Views up Bedwell Bay.

Mojo gets lots of swimming in the calm clean waters.

With great gusto Mojo races into the water after sticks and pieces of driftwood, you wouldn’t catch me swimming here in July, let alone February !

We retrace our steps to the Jug Island Beach trail and head along the quiet trail which starts as loose gravel but soon becomes the natural forest floor. 

In the forest we pass a dead tree trunk with extensive damage presumably from a woodpecker.

Another trunk nearby is much more recently attacked, with the chippings still on the floor below.

After another kilometre or so of weaving up & down through the forest we reach a small clearing with a pond, a great spot to refuel.

Further on we climb up through another small hill on the peninsula and the trail is dominated by giant pieces of moss-covered rock.

At the top of the second small hill we get some views across Bedwell Bay to part of the village of Belcarra.

Homes here enjoy private jetties.

Eventually we reach the steep decent of the trail down towards the beach.

A short distance into the bay is Jug Island, the beaches namesake.

Jug Island Beach is a small, isolated pebble beach no doubt a great place to sit and watch eagles, seals and other wildlife.

Views across to the communities of Woodlands and Sunshine on the North Shore.

From the beach there are great views up Indian Arm.

The outlet for the BC Hydro plant, the inlet for it is on McCombe Lake at the North end of Buntzen Lake behind the mountain ridge.

Views back across the inlet to the North Shore with Deep Cove on the left hand side and Mt Seymour rising up in the background.

Finally a video panorama of the views from the beach.

A really nice walk and a change of scenery from the North Shore.