Oh deer!

The animal kingdom and other things of interest as viewed from the comfort of our picture window or deck:

One day this week we were kept busy as we sat and had coffee by the picture window...five deer came by in a group and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in our front yard. The deer are daily visitors.

By the time I got the camera, they had
left to have dessert across the street
(and yes, I know, only 3 here).

Then we spotted a cruise ship (the Norwegian Pearl) passing across the mouth to the bay on its way to dock in Nanaimo Harbour for the day. It was the first one of the season and we almost missed it!

Looked so much clearer to the naked eye.

Recently our morning coffee entertainment was a couple of rabbits (sorry, only pix of one) who were breakfasting at Chez MapleGum - they were funny because one kept coming close to the other one and it jumped in the air each time. Very odd. They are also now regular visitors.

Wascally Wabbit!

We've also seen our raccoon again (don't you just love that word, especially when said with heavy emphasis on the first syllable and dragging out the second one).

And for something new in the mix, two quails. They were also entertaining as they scuttled to and fro - I thought they were cute until one of them started digging like a dog at the base of one of my plants.

Silly quail with its goofy looking topknot.

And the other day we saw a huge new house being towed across the water on a barge - not sure where it was off to but it looked quite amazing.

I took this photo a few weeks ago on a visit to Home Depot to pick up some things - Brian is working way too hard as he has proven his value to them and they think he is a full-time employee. He's now advised that he won't work as many hours as it's cutting into our fun time.

Isn't he the cutest?

When sister Elizabeth was visiting a few weeks ago, she was talking about doing crafts with her granddaughter - so, of course I had to be helpful and do some online searching for inspiration. During the search, I was inspired myself and ended up making these.

They're artichokes in case you are wondering.

They are like little sampler balls with
pieces of fabric from previous projects.

As our weather continues to improve, my garden endeavours are proving to be promising with almost everything now poking its head above the soil. I feel like I am the responsible mother of thousands of little green babies.

I know I take lots of flower photos, but
it's hard to resist when they are so
colourful.

We have been doing lots of talking about things we want to do in the yard as far as landscaping, maybe a gazebo, etc. etc. It's hard when you are starting with basically nothing and of course we are impatient. Anyway, we are trying to relax about the whole thing and slowly the ideas are coming - all modified by cost and time and effort.

In the meantime, the maintenance crew at MapleGum has been very busy with repainting the patio furniture and redoing/repainting the deck railing - both rather tedious and painstaking jobs but it is all looking much nicer.

Alerted to the fact that we would have a super moon a week or so ago, I made sure I got some photos - I've realised I absolutely need a tripod if I'm to be successful at this sort of photography - hopefully you get the idea with this less than brilliant exposure.

The reflection pointed right
at us - is that significant?

With a big breeze this past week, the heavily laden cherry blossom tree next door has given us a snowy effect and the lawn is just covered. As I drove by an elementary school, I saw a young boy having an absolutely joyous time chasing the blossoms coming out of the trees in the school yard. Would have been an awesome photo.

I was out shopping recently sporting my t-shirt from the AC-DC concert in Sydney a couple of years ago...and I heard a voice say "Great T-shirt"! I was stoked.

And big excitement - we have been talking about getting some kind of "boat" for years now...gradually deciding maybe it should just be a kayak...but not being able to decide on what we want/need. Anyway, the local adventure store just got these cool ones (Point65 "Martini") in so we took it for a test paddle.

We were still smiling at this point!
There were some slight directional challenges
as the rudder wasn't working and we did a
few circles before leaving the dock area.

It comes apart for easy handling and transport and also can convert from a tandem to a single which is very practical. Lots of fun ahead exploring - not the ocean, just nice calm safe water!!

After we made the purchase (along with tons
of apparently necessary accessories), we
went out again at nearby Neck Point Park.

It can even fit in the back of our car if
necessary - and with the modular design,
we don't have to be trying to lift it on
top of the car or truck thank heavens.

Last night we had our Quilt Guild Annual General Meeting - I was coerced into running as Co-President so no doubt that will fill up a bit of spare time over the coming year. We had a guest speaker who brought along these quilts made by his great grandmother in the USA - around the mid-1930's - apparently in anticipation of a marriage proposal which didn't eventuate. The quilts were put away and have been passed down in the family but never used. What a treasure trove!

It was difficult getting good photos as the ladies holding them kept moving them. They will be on loan to us next year for a special display for our quilt show in May.

I'm including all the photos as I think they will really interest my quilting friends. I'm off to a quilt show at Parksville tomorrow with a couple of ladies from the guild so that should be fun...and more photos!

The strips in this one were 1/4" wide
and made from silks/satins, etc.

And I so wish I had managed a better photo of this - we played euchre with our new buddies at their home the other night - their house is very high on the side of a mountain not too far from us with the most amazing views of the Strait of Georgia - we saw a cruise ship passing but it was too small to photograph - we think it might have been the one which Aussie quilting friend Joan and her husband were on - en route to Alaska. We'll be catching up with them next week as the ship makes a stop in Victoria on its way back to San Francisco.

This was from the street below their house
- their view was a lot more expansive. 

Again, not a great shot but this is from
their front door - steep drop-offs all
around so need to be just a bit careful!
The view from their living room upstairs
was to die for.

And just one more thing...at our Newcomers meeting this past week, the guest speaker was the Public Affairs Officer from a Canadian Forces testing range about 1/2 hour north of Nanaimo. I'm going to just include a cut and paste below with some information - it was so interesting. There is also a link to a short article describing further what they do. Our friends with the house above have seen the torpedoes dropped into the water and the other planes, helicopters, submarines and frigates all in action around the range. In a Nanaimo neighbourhood, there is apparently a waterfront house which has been converted into a spot to operate a high resolution telescope with video attached to record their activities - very James Bondish.

Click here for More information on the Nanoose Range.

The Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges (CFMETR) is a maritime test facility located on the east side of Vancouver Island, at Nanoose Bay.

The ranges operated by CFMETR are located over an area of the Strait of Georgia—known as Area "Whiskey Golf"—that is several hundred metres deep, several dozen kilometres long and several kilometres wide over a seabed composed of soft mud and free of underwater obstacles. The facility employs a 3-dimensional sonar tracking system for monitoring the performance and position of objects in these waters for real-time tracking.

Equipment tested at the facility consists of a variety of devices, including sonobuoys, sonar systems (ship and aircraft), torpedoes and the repair and overhaul of the dipping sonar used on Canada's Sea King helicopter fleet. No explosives are used.

This facility is unique in the Canadian Forces as it staffed by active military personnel from the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and DND civilian employees, as well as a small number of U.S. Navy civilian employees from Naval Base Kitsap. The facility is operationally controlled as a field unit of NDHQ. There is a joint funding agreement between the Canadian and United States Governments.

And, that's your blooming lot for this week! (don't we miss Peter Cundell on Gardening Australia?)