When You Come to a Fork in the Road...Take It

On days when I am not doing the cardio walk/run thing, I'm off on what I call "taking the camera for a walk" walks, which turn out to be long strolls with many stops to take pictures of whatever catches my eye. When I leave the house I may have some destination in mind - through the forest, down to the beach perhaps  - but invariably I end up somewhere new, somewhere unexpected. I'll pass by a road I haven't seen before, make the turn, and the next thing I know, I'm looking at something extraordinary. I take a lot of pictures.

I'm taking a series of pictures of hidden backyard cottages and structures in the neighbourhood. This treehouse was a delightful surprise; from its perch it has a fantastic 180 view of the Strait. I want to live in it.

The other day I was exploring a new road down near the water and came across a short beach access path. Among the things I find so intriguing here on the Island, are these public access points, which turn up in the most unexpected places. When I spent those summers in Victoria at Royal Roads, I used to go for a walk every evening, usually around Cattle Point and the tony neighborhood of Uplands. Tucked away between the waterfront mansions are these little public beach access pathways - fantastic "I can have the same view as the rich folk" places and I explored them all.

On this particular day last Friday here in Qualicum Beach, I found a new road and a new access pathway and walked down to the low tide beach. No one was there except for a large black dog going for his own solitary stroll. Even cloudy and wintery, it was beautiful. Lots of sea birds, fresh air, a breathe deeply, soak it in kind of view.

A new road to the water

Public Beach access off the beaten path so to speak

The Beach in winter

My cell phone rang. My son, calling from Ottawa. We started talking and then he said, "Wait a minute, did you say you were on the beach?" "Yes I am and it's wonderful". "You are so annoying", he replied. "There's a blizzard going on here." "Well perhaps you should move to BC". "I'm working on it", he says. Whatever that means.

However if I was inclined to gloat, and I'm not saying that I am although it's tempting,  that all changed in a hurry. When I woke up on Sunday morning I pulled the drapes open to find...

The Horror, The Horror.

I loathe snow. I'm spending these snow days either in the GreenHouse where it's warm and beautiful, planting seeds and watering plants and dreaming of springtime or in The Bunkie studio where I'm costuming the actors for the Carnevale Theater. It's all good. It's snowing again today and I've announced that I'm not leaving the property until the snow melts, which should be in a few more days.

I see the news of winter mayhem in other parts of the continent, January snow and ice storms and weather that will persist for months. Here in coastal British Columbia, where the forecast is for this to melt by Saturday, I may just gloat after all.