My Garden – Mon Jardin – Mi Jardin – Mein Garten – Daily Adventures & Thoughts

No matter the language, my garden is my paradise. To watch the lovely birds that nest in the trees and bushes. The bees, butterflies are such a joy to see.

Tag Archives: Walking


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A lovely long walk on a sunny day! Saw some planes along the way. And I made some earrings too!

Last Saturday was a lovely sunny day and so I decided to walk downtown .. I was looking forward to an earring workshop at the most lovely Bamboo, Bead and Bling shop downtown on Fisgard Street.  Normally I drive there but .. I really do love long walks so I decided to do that and proceeded happily on the Galloping Goose Trail.  Here is a section of it, closer to downtown.  Lots of shrubbery for the birds to hide in!a02

This section is parallel to Douglas Street, behind the Red Lion.  I love this stately portion of the trail . .these trees were planted many years ago.  When I worked downtown and biked to work . .this area was one of my favourites.  When the trees are in full leaf, it is a nice shady section and feels so European with all the greenery.
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This is near the Burnside area of town .. there are paths that lead to neighbourhoods.  More brush for the birds.  There weren’t many people walking here in the early afternoon.a14Paths are so interesting .. leading to areas unknown, adventures …mystery ..

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Just had to stop and admire the play of light and shadow on these young Arbutus trees .. warm and cheerful on this sunny day ..lots of leaf mulch on the ground.a11Nests can be seen, hidden away in the trees.  So much work was done to create these little havens for the spring-time babies.  a09Lovely surprises tucked away up high …when the leaves emerge in the spring, who would ever suspect that this nest is there ..a07

I often wondered, who is this man “Tom Arkell” and why was this side trail named after him??  Well, I discovered that he was an amazing man who worked hard for his community and here is one link that shares some information about him:  Tom Arkell

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And along that lovely trail flows a stream of water .. curious as to the name of the stream, I discovered information on  Cecilia Ravine .. (my middle name so this appeals to me!) a13

And a reminder, in all this marvellous beauty that is Victoria .. the waterways are work places for many.  See the high-rises in the background.  It is a growing city.  Vital, beautiful and welcoming to all!  a06

The Selkirk waterway … lots of activity.  Looking forward to those funky ferry boats that will soon be here.  So much fun to take a little ferry around the harbour and up the Gorge Waterway.   This is one of the boarding places.  We’ve taken the ferry to the Flying Otter and you can also stop near the Spinnaker Brew Pub.  Great food and the beer .. what can I say!!  Yum! a10

This is nearing the downtown area .. lovely native plants all nestled in at the base of these rocks.  Beautiful.  a05Benches provide a place to stop and rest.  Admire the view.  Sip on a delicious coffee from one of the nearby cafes.  Relax. a04

A tribute to one of our Best!  This is near the Burnside section.   a15

Up above …gentle sky-art that graced our city .. how lovely is this.  a03

On my way home .. looking up .. what did I see!  Two Nanchang airplanes setting out to play .. that was a treat.  I think there are at least 4 now … so impressive to see the group in formation and I count myself lucky when I see them.   Nanchang

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So I had a most lovely 2 hour walk on that day.   Blue skies.  Some birds.  Peace and quiet.  Saw some planes.  And I made some earrings!!  Not a bad day at all.    This is what I made at the workshop:  a20

And I liked them so much that I just had to make a few more pairs when I got home!  a21

And these!   a23I haven’t worn earrings for years but now that is going to change!  Lovely sparkly bling to accompany me on my walks!

Another fun day in my life!


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More happy pics from a lovely frosty morning ..

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Yesterday was another beautiful sunny day!  And a busy one!   Went for my lovely long walk, taking various routes, walking as briskly as possible.  Breathing in the crisp fresh air .. sturdy walking shoes gripping the pathways along the way.   Started earlier in the day … fewer people out and about.  Lots of birds chirping.

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Frosty covered boardwalk … not slippery at all!  While on my walk, spoke with several other walkers who kindly warned me about slippery patches!  I was feeling so confident that I wouldn’t be affected.   And both times I thought this very thought .. well … I happened to be on icy patches and found myself gliding along and flailing my arms for balance.  Coincidence?  I think, perhaps, maybe.  So I stopped thinking about slipping and guess what!  It didn’t happen again.  The power of the mind!05

Saw the lovely Cormorant .. the one who escaped being the eagle’s lunch yesterday.  Noted that the Cormorant kept looking upwards at the sky.  Survival.  And he didn’t perch on the rail for grooming and he didn’t go for a flight .. at least while I was there.06

Love this stand of trees .. birches, I think.  Their silvery silhouettes were very striking and cool looking.07

Still waters .. watery reflections of the earthbound formations gazing down .. 09

And this Arbutus makes a willowy shapely form .. with the side branches outstretched, it appears that the tree is dancing very gracefully.

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Little birds quickly taking advantage of quiet to take a little drink of water .. so I stopped to let them enjoy a few minutes without interruption.

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This stately willow never gets tired .. always beautiful in rain, sun, all seasons .. magnificent.

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Here is the shadow me .. taking a photo of the shadowy bench .. talk about another dimension!12

Way up in the tree sits a little grey squirrel.   Softly nestled on a bed of moss, the branch is high enough to avoid close encounters of the human kind.13

Ok, he’s seen me and really wants me to continue on my way .. so he crouches down to wait till I do.14

Saw a flock of tiny birds feeding away at the little pine cones.  Their cheerful chatter was quite delightful as they frolicked about the branches .. eating delicacies.   Don’t know what kind of birds they area .. but very sweet.   Felt very fortunate to see them.15

Back home .. Mrs. Downy Woodpecker is nibbling away.  Don’t know what was in the air yesterday .. maybe the birds thought it was spring or something.  Noticed some huge Robins having flying altercations and tumbles in the trees.  Then I saw the Downy Woodpeckers going through a troublesome patch also.  Think there were 4 of them ….they seemed to choose a feeder then change their minds.  In the end, though, peace and quiet.16

Sigh …17

The bulbs are emerging … the weather has them fooled into thinking that spring has arrived.  No such luck.18

And here they are .. delightful little Bush-tits …. there are quite a few this year.  And I think that they are slowly getting used to me.  19

Love them …20

Wonder who is in the plane .. where is it going …

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The consensus is good for the new feeder.  03

And my garlic .. growing greens up through a very thick layer of ground oak leaves and seaweed….02

And on this note … that’s it for the day .. 01


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If I hadn’t gone for a walk, I would have missed seeing so many beautiful things, and met some lovely dogs along the way.

Monday, October 22, 2012

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The other day, I decided to go for a little walk, to catch some of the sun’s rays before evening set in.  And I am so glad that I did.
Otherwise, I would have missed seeing some beautiful cloud formations way up in the sky.

And I would have missed seeing more dogs … this is one of my favourite rewards on my walks.

Lovely happy dogs!  The first one, Mojo, was a rescue from the Mainland, Vanderhoof, I believe.  What a sweet gentle fellow he was!  I asked his doggy parents  if I could take a photo for my blog and they were happy to oblige.  He sat obediently when asked.  His trusting gaze looked up at me.  My heart melted.  I felt so happy that someone, somewhere, found him and others who were badly treated and enabled them to have this safe life.

And I thought again, for the zillionth time, how could people mistreat such loving animals.  Dogs, well treated, give their entire beings to people.  Actually, even if not treated well, they give their trust to those who care for them.  I’ve seen that, and wonder how this happens, but it does.

Dogs provide such true companionship.   I think back to the wonderful dogs that I have had the great fortune to have in my life and I’m extremely grateful for having them.  Such love.  Unconditional.   I miss them all.  Each one unique.  Each one wonderful beyond compare.

I truly believe that each dog comes into our life to teach us a specific lesson.  The main lesson, of course, is unconditional love.

And they give us a reason to go outside and discover the great outdoors and to have long interesting conversations with other doggy people.

Anyway, this all flashed through my mind as I left lovely Mojo and continued on my way.

I’d decided to walk along the path which led between the highway and the local allotment gardens.   I’ll have to go for another walk and take more photos.  This year I don’t expect them to flood, as there have been some repair done to the drainage systems  in this area.  Fingers crossed for the gardeners!

There were still gardeners happily working away.  Fetching loads of yummy oak leaf mulch to cover some areas.  Some were making sure that plastic coverings would be firmly attached to little greenhouses.   I felt that I should be at home, working away, but it was nice to just get out and walk.

Met another happy dog walker and stopped to chat about the pathway.  I normally don’t walk along this particular route and was surprised to discover such a winding walk just in our neighbourhood.  How lovely.

Anyway, now the path divided into two so I had to decide which one to take.  A decision to go left was made!  So I found myself in a lovely little cul-de-sac with a bit of a sidewalk that led up to the greenhouses on Glanford, near the corner of McKenzie !  In all the years I’d lived in this area, I realized now that I had never entered this particular neighbourhood.  Too busy driving to work or shopping.  Well, no more excuses.

So then I decided to go on this walk again yesterday.  And this time, I took the path that went to the right.  And I discovered another little neighbourhood tha led to the first one!  Gollee … see what happens when I venture out into our neighbourhood instead of walking across town.

I discovered one dead-end street that had quite a hill to walk down and then back up.  A good workout for my legs.  I marvelled at the tranquility of this neighbourhood.   And saw that little auto with the skeleton in it.  Now, this wasn’t real, ha ha . .it was for Halloween!  (At least I think it was!)
There was a lovely bit of marshland at the foot of this street, which added to the feeling of calm… and I hoped that there wouldn’t be townhouse developments built there to ruin their country atmosphere.

Anyway, I have begun my fall walks and, combined with renewed exercise sessions three times a week, I’ve begun to feel my old zest for life and energy returning.  Feels great.

Besides experiencing the beautiful outdoors, discovering new places in our neighbourhood, I’m also getting to meet the most lovely, happy dogs and this brings me great joy.

Mini-adventures available for free.  No tickets to buy.  No planning to make.

Lovely!