Monday 4 September 2017

Long weekend in the 'hood

I stayed around the neighbourhood this weekend.  But what a neighbourhood it is!  And fortunately I started a few days early on the long-weekend draw-a-thon.
First, a rare blustery day for a mid-week trip to Maplewood Flats, my local birding area.  It was so stormy that I thought it might actually rain, but it didn't.

Then a view of the North Shore from Stanley Park on a Thursday ride.  This could be the most viewed painting in (my) art history - I'd guess about 50 people watched me painting while I sat on the Stanley Park seawall.
Friday was a hike up Mts Strachan and Hollyburn, first passing by the 1963 crash site of a T-33 navy training jet.  All the torn-up pieces of the plane are still there.  It's fairly shocking to come across the wreckage along the steep path in the forest, and it's a more striking memorial than a plaque or monument could be.
One of the three groups of people I saw all day were on the summit of Mt Strachan, but they left soon, giving me the whole peak and its fabulous views all to myself.
On Saturday, we went to nearby Gambier Island for an annual Labour Day event with the inlaws.  We traveled via gill-netter, conveniently slow enough to allow sketching on the way.
Some views from the island: morning, mid-day, afternoon and evening:



And cousins of various ages playing volleyball with a watermelon-themed beach-ball.
Finally today, back up Hollyburn Mountain for another hike with friends and a swim in the lake, which supports a diverse marsh at one end.
That's the sort of busy long weekend that you need a long weekend to recover from!






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