After a warmer than usual winter on Vancouver Island, moss and green 'stuff' had a great time to grow for months and months on the outer walls of the house. House and patio have taken on a somewhat green grunge kind of look, and it is time now to get rid of it.
Bing located on a steep hill side, windows above ground level are 'out of reach' for anyone shorter than 15 feet high. So one hires a cleaning outfit, to do the whole enchilada, inside and out for the windows. Vinyl siding walls suddenly appear white after a micro garden of green things is removed, and gutters and eaves-troughs are cleaned of twiggy obstructions.
Patio bricks show their colour again....and wear out two power washers in the process of blasting off the microscopic moss.
Every rhododendron bush in the garden is competing for attention. This one in my 'back yard' is an 'afterthought', already given up 'for dead' some time ago. Well, it isn't dead yet, as a matter of fact it is covered in blooms...
The Azalea is still winning out over the rosemary bush, which thinks it owns the place and grows as if on a speed contest. However, the peach coloured flowers of the Azalea look pretty attractive against a background of blue ocean and azure sky.
All my neighbours are tempted to put lipstick on my 'welcome' mask beside my entrance door. Notice the clean white wall....no more green grunge....
To keep my newly started equine connection going (I started to ride again) I have volunteered to clean the 'night paddock' for the horses a few mornings of the week....with three horses doing their thing through the night, one has one's shovelling task lined up....here is my high tech equipment. Beats weight lifting in a gym...
The fruits of my labours.....looks pretty impressive, but a leisurely 'shovel' to the sound of bird song and the quiet and peaceful murmur of horses munching at grass, a few rabbits hopping around, squirrels chatting in the pine trees, fresh air.....who cares, how much poop there is to shovel or how high the pile grows...
And one is always under scrutiny by the locals...here is the judge...
and here is the jury....
A large uncluttered flat sandy arena provides a safe and quiet place to train one's mount or just enjoy a leisurely ride....the beach down the road still awaits. I haven't made it there - yet.
A round lungeing pen is there to work the horses if not under saddle
Clio enjoying a morning snack in one of the large fields...
A romantic spot, with scenes just asking to be painted
A little golf cart, Zamboni for Sand, smoothes the arena in the training ring each day.
Horses love it, especially the mini daisies....green succulent grass all around...
Lasha, La Gordita, the mare that I am riding, is surveying her realm. Her parentage is half Mustang and half Arab. Her head takes after her Arabian heritage, but her ample belly must be from an illegal parent of the cold blooded kind - she is huge!!!
A kind and friendly face...La Gordita.
Judge and jury - pictured above - lay enough eggs each night to keep a small road side stall supplied with fresh brown eggs. The honour system works just fine - just drop $3.50 in the slot....some neighbours even drop little notes of appreciation in addition to their coins. I find it comforting to eat eggs, whose 'parents' I know personally...
Road side stand beside the ranch....
Streamlined birdhouse at the ranch...
Spring Lamb anyone...they are frolicking all over the neighbourhood. I find it hard to imagine, how one can butcher one of these cuties to roast them on a spit and serve them up with mint jelly.
And my front garden....what can I say.....it surprises me with cascades of colourful blooms every day..
Azaleas at the side of my house have finally burst into flower
White apple blossoms....
....and pink ones blooming on the same tree
Clouds moving in around Mount Baker
visiting finch resting on an apple tree branch
AND THERE IS TANGO
Another friendly milonga at "La Gatita" the magical garage in Nanaimo, this time with a special surprise: Robert Mari of Shawnigan Lake Vancouver Island (composer, pianist and conductor) enchanted the dancers with an impromptu performance of a tango of his own composition. He had written it to honour his wife (who can be seen sitting at the far side of the Grand Piano) on the occasion of their wedding anniversary. Needless to say, all tangueros enjoyed the last dance of the evening to Robert's special gift to us.
Resident deer can't wait until fall for the real thing, apples, they have to decimate the flowery crop right now. One of these lovely spring days, one of these constant gardeners will finish up like Rudolf with a red nose, from too many bee stings....
Pruning the California Lilacs...
Well, and after all that work they want to join you on the terrace for a little glass of wine to recover from the strain of too much gardening....
Low tide at Crofton...awaiting the ferry to Saltspring Island to join a Sunday Milonga
Welcoming Committee on Saltspring Island
Saltsprings own Little Meermaid watching over Ganges Harbour...with a designated look out in the crow's nest
One swings one's booty in the church hall to the strains of the tango classics...
and one dances until the sun sets over the hills of Saltspring Island
to catch not only the last rays but one of the last ferries back to Vancouver Island. One has to be keen to do island hopping for a few hours of milonga - but it is worth it...
Romantic ending to a pleasant afternoon.
with a short visit to the famous Saltspring Saturday afternoon market to stack up on something 'organic', breads, cheeses, jams, spreads, vegetables, pizzas, flowers.....
Connection and embrace....that makes tango so addictive
Meanwhile, back in the bush...
.....my apple tree blooms it's little heart out; three different kind of apples on the same tree result in three different kinds of blossoms...here are two of them.
To finish the weekend, dancing of course, Luciano Brigante and Alejandra Orozco (Argentina & Mexico) treated the tango community not only to a series of great lessons, but also to a couple of examples of their own lovely dancing. Scene of the event: Crofton Community Hall in a little sea side village, also location of a ferry terminal to Saltspring Island, as well as a great pub offering live jazz jams.
So there is life in many ways and forms in our secluded neck of the woods, namely Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Beautiful British Columbia living up to the motto on it's vehicle license plates.
Adjustment time made easy here on Vancouver Island. The change from hectic cosmopolitan life in Buenos Aires to a slower pace of 'Island Time' is easy, with spring bursting out all over, nature showing itself at its most irresistible, and enough tango in the offing to keep the addiction to it under control.
My Apple tree is LOADED this year. Hundreds of thickly amassed blooms giving hummingbirds, bees and various other insects a smorgasbord of delights.
The azalea bush is biding its time....a couple of days of warm sunshine, and it's peach coloured blossoms will burst forth as well
The Globe Hotel in Namaimo, location for almost weekly milongas, which are very popular due to their welcoming and friendly atmosphere. One would have to be a brick cemented into a wall, not to dance lots of tandas (sets of tango) during the course of a late afternoon.
Enjoyment is as deeply felt here as in Buenos Aires.
The Globe has a pleasant historic bar to help the ambiance along. The Globe, by the way, has a chequered history - it used to be a house of ill repute a few years ago. Now, it could not be more 'respectable'. Apart from tango, it hosts events for salsa and a number of other dances and musical events.
A Milonga of a different kind 'La Gatita', the 'Little Cat', named after the house cat, which tolerates that her owner puts on a 'private' milonga evening - complete with not only music, but appetizing snacks and libations. Some of the differences to Buenos Aires milongas are not that hard to take....
La Gatita milonga takes place in a skillfully and tastefully converted garage of a private house in a beautifully secluded wooded area near Nanaimo. A smooth hardwood floor makes dancing a pleasure, a little woodstove keeps the chill at bay (it was a little cool that evening), mirrors along one wall allow self appreciation, and the overhead garage door will be open during summer milongas to expand dancing to a patio outside...
Meanwhile back at the home-front, spring brings out the local flotillas of sailing vessels, shipping vessels, coast guard vessel, and ferries on practice runs.
Rhododendron in my garden are covered in heavy blossoms
Waking up to a view like this, makes the morning coffee taste even better.
Even the humble 'ground cover' lights up with white flowers
Farms in my vicinity a 'greening', lambs frolic in green meadows, and fresh asparagus is being sold at every corner.
I found myself a pretty little (very fat) horse to lease, and enjoy life from five feet up instead of six feet under - definitely the preferable alternative.
Not only the 'real' White Headed Eagles' soar in the skies again, but Duncan's Totems seem to shine with fresh colour and totem tourism is starting up again
Mount Baker, the grand volcano on the 'mainland' glitters in the far distance.
Life in Laid Back Vancouver Island turns out to be a new 'vacation' time...
