Our Favourite Trail, Edith Point

We like to invite our guests that visit Mayne Island to come on our favourite walk out to Edith Point.

There are three trails that go out to the point... all on private property.  We all went out on the Middle Trail, which is wider with gentle ups and downs.

Geoff caught this cute photo of Marci and Shirley in a fun pose.

As we got near to the Point we went off the Middle Trail to the Outside Trail and walked the last few minutes beside the ocean where we often can watch sea life.  The tide was out... and a sea gull was looking for opportunities.

Marci was happy to get to the Point and welcomed the chance to sit down... where she slid into laying down for a little rest.

This massive rock at the Point looks a bit like a natural sculpture of a sea lion with it's head missing.

There are lots of huge rocks, worn with the wind, water and storms... and with a little imagination one can see many different natural sculptures of animals.  Do you see the smiling face?

I always enjoy exploring around on the weather worn rocks.

Shirley visits with Geoff and Marci Paynter as they sit around on the rocks... solid comfort!

The owners of the Edith Point property built their house at the point by bringing in most of the building supplies by barge... there is no vehicle access to the house... just an ATV wide trail.  The sub-trades had to walk in to work... or bring some tools and stuff by ATV and wagon.

As we were leaving the Point an Arbutus tree provides a colourful background for a photo.

Several Garry Oaks struggle to survive at Edith Point, where the exposure to the winter storms takes it's tole.

On the way back we left the trail to explore in the rocks along the shore line.  I always try to look for messages in the rocks... I think the little holes contain a code to decipher.   This almost looks like a map of the Unites States and the border between Canada, with major cities shown by the holes.

Marci and Shirley went back on the same Middle Trail we came out on... but Geoff and I went back on the Inside Trail... which goes past the owners entry gate and follows the shoreline about 80 to 100 feet above sea level.

Close up photos of house number and fish on the gate.

There is certainly an abundance of arbutus trees along the trail.

We took several photos of the seals and sea lions basking in the sun and playing around on the rocks and in the water.  I think we counted 10 to 12 of them.

A couple of seals enjoying each other.

When we got back from the Edith Point walk we took our friends to the lighthouse at Georgina Point... and got another chance to take photos of seagulls and seals.

TGIF Grateful List

What a week!  I have so much to be thankful for... and besides that it's Friday!

I am thankful for my sweetheart!  Shirley Ann is the happiest person I know... and she is always so encouraging to everyone.  She can find something good in almost any situation.

I am grateful that Shelby and family were home last weekend... we had such a good time together.  They had never been to Edith Point, which is one of favourite places to go hiking.  It was cute to see how Lucy could use a sore elbow to negotiate a free ride on her dad's shoulders!

I am always grateful for a picnic lunch... and on this sunny but chilly day we found a sheltered spot at Edith Point where we made almost all the food disappear.  Even Beatrice helped... with her longing eyes she wooed us into compliance and was generously rewarded.

I am grateful for photography.  Isn't it wonderful how today everyone has a camera.  If you have a phone today, you almost always have a camera.  And it is so easy now to share our photos.  Here Shelby is doing a semi-professional photo shoot of his eldest daughter, Maizy... while Beatrice is nudging up with her request... "Take my picture too!" For more photos and humour check out Shelby's blog.

I am grateful for Maizy, our eldest grand-daughter.  She is growing up so quickly!  And what a talented artist she already is.  I bet she drew a dozen pictures while she was with us last weekend.  There were so many on the floor at one time we considered how nice it would be to paper the floor with them.

I am grateful for Lucy, who is now seven years old... and so full of life and energy.  There is never a dull moment when she is around.

I am grateful for the snow... grateful that it was on Mt. Baker and not on Mayne Island.  This past week I was able to use the power washer on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to take the moss off the driveway.  Wednesday my power washer was frozen and wouldn't start, so I just pulled it into the workshop and put a little cube heater on to it for an hour while Shirley and I had our walk.  When we got back it started with no problem and in spite of it being minus two C. I power washed another section.  

Meanwhile just 18 miles away in Victoria they got six inches of snow and traffic was snarled up on the Pat Bay Highway.  We never got a flake!  Mike at Trio Gravel Mart told me today it took him two hours to drive six miles to work yesterday. 

I am grateful for the curiosity of young children.  Would it be that we would never lose this quality.  Here our grand-daughters are peering with wonder into a hole in the base of an Arbutus tree, wondering if Mr. Racoon or Mr. Rabbit might have it's home there... careful if per chance they might fall in and have an "Alice in Wonderland" experience.

I am grateful to have my MacBook Pro now operating with Windows 7!!!  Rob, the Apple rep at Future Shop help me with the install today.  When we finished I was so happy to see the Windows log come up on the screen... but the Rob didn't want me to make to big a deal about it... he didn't want me drawing the attention of nearby customers to see such an aberration in their store. 

So why did I do it?  The stock trading platform I use is only available for a conventional Windows operating system.  The final straw in making the decision to go with a Mac this time was it had to be able to run the trading system software.

I am grateful for the way MacBook handles photos... and now that I have got used to it I am just delighted how slick and quickly one can crop, straighten, edit and fix little things on the photos.  Anything with photos is a dream to work with now... it makes doing slide shows a delight.  As my kids would say, "I've been drinking the Kool Aide too long."

      

I am grateful for a delightful afternoon in Victoria.  After getting my computer set up with Windows, Shirley and I went to IMAX for a double feature Arabia" and "Horses."  Since we have seasons passes, we just have to get our money's worth, right?  Both were awesome photography and interesting stories.

There was just enough time to go out for a special three-course dinner before catching the last ferry home.  This was our first Groupon Coupon that we have used... and at a very nice place... the Black Olive on Pandora Street.  

The trip home was longer than usual... the route tonight went to Galiano first before coming to Mayne.  But the time went fast when you can spent it on the computer.  I am very grateful for having 3G sticks... both Shirley and I were able to do a lot of blogging as we travelled home.

The Quote of the Day:  

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." -Marcel Proust

Tell me... what are you grateful for today?

Hike to Edith Point

This past weekend we had some friends visiting, so we invited them join us on a hike to Edith Point.  It is one of our favorite places to hike, but since it usually takes us over two hours round trip, we save it for special times with friends.

"Sounds of the wind and sounds of the sea
make me happy just to be."
-June Polis

We usually go out along the ocean trial, where we often see more birds and sea creatures along the shoreline.

And it is a sunny side to walk on in the early morning... with an excellent view of Mt. Baker due east in Washington.  Three men were also enjoying some time in the sunshine in their small fishing boat.

"The day, the water, the sun, the mountains, the clouds... I do not have to purchase these things with money."

It is interesting to see the erosion pattern of holes in the sandstone rock.

"Delight in the beauty that surrounds you."

There are endless opportunities of subjects to take pictures of... which makes it hard to do this hike in less than two hours when you take a camera along.

Since the tide was out, we could go down to where the starfish cling to the rocks.

"I think it annoys God if you walk by the color purple and don't notice!" Alice Walker in "The Color Purple"

A wooden starfish?

Let your imagination loose. Things are not always as we first see them.

In a couple of pockets driftwood accumulates, making an interesting pattern of large "pick-up sticks."

"The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

These moss covered rocks are not usually visible unless the tide is out. I love the fresh green color.

"Delight in the beauty that surrounds you."

The owner of the property, Don and Betty Graves, live in this really cool house, which was built primarily from materials brought to the site by barge, as there is no regular road access to the end of Edith Point.

In all the years we have hiked out to this point, we had never met the owner... but when we got back to where we parked our car, Don was on his bicycle and he stopped to visit with us.  We told him how much we appreciate him allowing us to hike on his property and enjoy this little part of paridise.

"Discovering this idylic place, we find oursleves filled with a yearning to linger here, where time stands still and beauty overwhelms."

"All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness within." -Horace Friess

The colorful, stately Arbutus tree.  It is starting to lose its leaves already.  By mid-August all of its old leaves will be on the ground... and new ones will survive until next summer.

"Nature is the art of God."

We take the Middle Trail back from the point... it is wider, a little more level and we find our return takes about half the time as it takes to go out to the point.

"Be a gentle friend to the trees and they will give you back beauty, cool and fragrant shade, and many birds singing."

And if the birds are not singing, they are pecking... like this Flicker woodpecker.

Shirley and Maureen walking and visiting along the Middle Trail.

More Arbutus leaves, like confetti cover the ground.  Just like after a wedding.

 

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I... I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference." -Robet Frost