FRUITCAKE WEATHER....

"Snowflakes swirl down gently in the deep blue haze beyond the window. The outside world is a dream. Inside, the fireplace is brightly lit, and the Yule log with orange and crimson sparks. There's a steaming mug in your hands, warming your fingers. There's a friend seated across from you in a cozy chair, warming your heart. There is Mystery unfolding...." -Vera Nazarian

"Poetry is a fireplace in summer or a fan in winter..." -Robert Hass

"I think people who come into my home feel comfortable and welcome and loved....." -Julia Roberts

                          "I light candles every single night in my home..." -Evangeline Lily

"There was a fire in the fireplace and peace in my heart......

                                             and everything was quiet.." -Veronica Roth

"Arrives the snow ....the whited air  hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven..." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You're lying on the floor  ( in front of the  fire), with all the lights off and listening to the silence of the snow falling outside. For that one instance in time, everything is good..." -Francesca Zappia

"Imagine a morning in late November. A coming of winter morning more than twenty years ago. Consider the kitchen of a spreading old house in a country town. A great black stove is its main feature; but there is also a big round table and a fireplace with two rocking chairs placed in front of it. Just today the fireplace commenced its seasonal roar. A woman with shorn white hair is standing at the kitchen window. She is wearing tennis shoes and a shapeless gray sweater over a summery calico dress. She is small and sprightly, like a bantam hen; but, due to a long youthful illness, her shoulders are pitifully hunched. Her face is remarkable—not unlike Lincoln’s, craggy like that, and tinted by sun and wind; but it is delicate, too, finely boned, and her eyes are sherry-colored and timid. “Oh my,” she exclaims, her breath smoking the windowpane, “it’s fruitcake weather!" -Truman Capote ( my mother's favourite expression for  this time of year!)

"In the soft quiet of the days before Christmas , we find warmth not from a fireplace, but in the close embrace of loved ones. The true magic of the season lies in simple acts of kindness, shared laughter, and the heart's gentle whisper that the best gifts are not under the tree, but in the moments we create together..."

                                                                                                                   -Michail St. Fountoulakis

Photographs Mt. Washington Range, Campbell River, B.C.  2024

 

BEYOND MT. WASHINGTON RANGE....

"It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves..." 

                                           - Sir Edmund Hillary ( first to reach Mt. Everest in 1953)

These are the mountains I see, every day, from our hill. From Campbell River, B.C.

And this is from the other side, in summer. On the trails scaling the mountain slopes. Drive from Campbell River, B. C. on Hwy 19 ,  takes about 45 minutes to the Strathcona parkway up to the Alpine Resort. It's about 50 kilometres from our house. Give or take.

We've also driven the  Oceanside Route, Hwy 19A. By car, return, is easiest( If you opt for a taxi , it can run you anywhere from 120-150$ CAD.) BUT, there are also shuttle buses running. Great choice!

So this is the big mountain I see from my front window. In winter it's dripping with snow.

From the Lookout on the other side,  ( the Chimney) , it looks like this.

In summer the scenery just stretches away to infinity. You forget you're on an Island.

"Mountain top: the place where life finds the purest meaning of freedom.." -Vinivius Montgomery

From the top, looking down as the ski lift goes up and down and down and up...

You can hike up to the top and take the lift down, or ride it up and down both ways.

Looking down at the valley below with the ski village/resort  to the left.

"Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery..."

                                                                         - Ruskin

Smokey haze from the B.C.fires raging in the interior. The smoke drifts down into Vancouver Island and  curls around the range.

"Don't pay attention to the size of the mountain in front of you. Rather, think about the view from the summit will be like..."

                                                                          -Craig D. Lounsbrough

From the top  of the trail up from the valley, near the lift.

The Village below. Seen from the Ski Lift chairs.

There is also Ziplining by appt, Mountain biking all summer long. Skiing all winter, snow tubing, snow shoeing, snow everything......and everything snow....

"Snow was falling, so much like stars, filling the dark trees, that one could easily imagine, its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness..." - Mary Oliver

Zip line tour, called the "Eagle's Flight" , rips here and there at  about 100km,  275 ft above ground  with a 132 metre vertical drop. Snow shoeing over 25 Kms, Cross country 55 km,  plus Full Nordic , Outback, Bike trail maps available. Some trails are dog friendly as well. 

Paradise Valley

You might even see an endangered Vancouver Island Marmot,  on these 1700 acres. Supposedly , there are 303 living at 30 sites. I've never seen one. They're quite elusive. But I read that during the past few weeks  more have been released  .Keep your eyes peeled , while climbing those 505 vertical metres, and look up, look way, way up to the top.....

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds..." -Edward Abbey

Photographs 2024 Mt. Washington, Courtenay B.C. Canada  

                                  ( all seasons/ winter,spring, summer,fall)

 

WHISKEY JACK

"Whiskey is liquid sunshine.." -Bernard Shaw

 M.W.

WHISKEY JACK.....also known as Grey Jay, or ( my favourite) Camp Robber! 

Up in the Mt. Washington Range. Along Paradise valley  walking trail. They come for blueberries and peanuts

They are found in the forest, Rocky Mountain Zone all the way down to New Mexico and Arizona. 

M.W.

They wear a striking grey and white tuxedo, and are more related to magpies than to Blue Jays.

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And they LOVE humans. They have no fear of  them. And often ask for hand outs. They love sunflower seeds and will perch happily on an outstretched hand.

In 1760 the Grey Jay was described by a zoologist (M. J. Brisson) as a songbird.

He called it by its French name "Le geay brun de Canada"

"In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence..." -Robert Lynd

M.W.

Whiskey Jacks hear humans on the trails and come flying in.  

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Smaller than a regular Jay, but large for a songbird.  It's wingspan is about 18 inches.

They build nests and lay eggs in  February  or March when their world is deep in snow.

Canada Jay is its official name, but the  slang name of "Whiskey Jack" is from the Cree and Algonquin name "Wisakedjak". 

It means:  "trickster" and is a  hero to the Cree and Algonquin nation.

The name is also in the Menominee culture.  A collection of legends and stories about how things came to be...(Worth looking up and reading)

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In North America the Tlingit people know the  Whiskey Jack as taat'eeshdei

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The Mi'kmaq of Nova scotia  depict the Big Dipper seven stars each as a separate bird.  

In the night sky, the star Eta Ursae Majoris is the Canada Jay "Mikjaqoqwej"

But we call it the Whiskey Jack. Humourous, happy thing, who loves humans and will fly for blueberries  or peanuts.....

"When the sun of compassion arises, darkness evaporates, and the singing birds come from nowhere..." -Amit Ray

M.W.

With thanks to Morgan Woods (M.W.) for the contribution  of the Whiskey Jack pics

Photographs 2020 .