Sunshine Coast - Day 2

Our holiday was only four days, but we established a morning routine that was most enjoyable.  Sleep in Sechelt, rise fairly early, drive to Gibsons, stop on the way to buy some fresh blueberries and bananas, and have our porridge and fruit on the outside deck at Molly's Reach.  

The waitress brought Black Jack water, let her sit on our laps, and thought we were quite inventive to bring our own fresh fruit.  I took this shadowy picture of Bill and Black Jack while we waited for our porridge to arrive.  

On Day 2, we decided to check out the totems in Tsain-Ko Village in Sechelt, so that was our first stop after breakfast.  This is the first of five totems placed at the entrance to the shopping centre, and the figure you are seeing at the top is Thunderbird.  Each figure of the totem has meaning, so I felt a bit guilty focusing on a small part of each one.  If you go to this link, you can read a bit more detail about the various figures.  This one was carved by Andrew Puglas and Patrick Hunt in 2007.    

This one is at the centre of the five.  The top figure is "The Eagle" and just under is "The Welcome Figure." This totem was carved by Matthew Baker and Richard Baker in 2007.

This is a side view of the above totem.  As you can see, we had perfect weather, and I thought the bright blue sky made a wonderfully dramatic background.  

After lunch, we went to Coopers Green Regional Park.  Bill and Black Jack explored the beach,

 while I watched some oystercatchers.

When Bill sought shade near the entrance to the park, Black Jack began making a huge fuss. Bill tried to point out the cause of her excitement to me, but it took some time to see it.  I was looking straight into bright sun, and only managed to get one useable photo.  It was quite a small creature, and at first, I thought it was a chipmunk.  Checking out some sites, I've learned that chipmunks have stripes on their faces and also that the resident squirrels on the Sunshine Coast are Douglas Squirrels, so that would be my best i.d. guess.

After it ran off with its loot, I spent a bit more time watching the oystercatchers,

 and they were most entertaining, especially when they spread their wings.

  This was almost lift-off.  I wonder if they may have been juveniles.  

We decided to explore a logging road after that, just a short distance down the road.  The only wildlife we saw during the walk was, I think, another Douglas Squirrel.  It was very annoyed with us and with Black Jack, and told us so in no uncertain terms. 

Again, getting any sort of decent photo was quite a challenge, but it was fun trying. 

We were very conscious as we walked that we were in bear and cougar territory, and I kept up a steady, and somewhat too loud, conversation with Bill.  If I remember correctly, we even sang at times, or at least, chanted nonsense in an effort to make sure we didn't surprise any beings along our path.  To be honest, the large trees, a few painted with orange numbers, were about as exciting as it got, and we decided, finally, to turn back.  This yellow horseshoe caught my attention.  I have a little one that my mother gave me years ago, and she insisted that the open end always face up. Otherwise, the luck could fall out.  For some reason, I love that memory of my mother's instructions.  She would have approved of this horseshoe.  

After our walk, we rested and then decided to explore Roberts Creek.  The experience started happily for me when I spotted this young eagle in a tree at the entrance to the town.

I never tire of watching birds spread their wings.

 Black Jack took Bill for a rock-exploring adventure.

 Most of the pictures captured were of her hind end.

 Bill finally convinced her to accompany him along the path overlooking the water.  

 There were some of the friendliest, and least-shy birds I have ever seen along that path. I haven't been able to identify them,

 but they sure were cute!

I had read on-line about Gumboot Restaurant and we decided to try it for supper.  The food was so, so good!  Bill loved the curried perogies, and I loved the Buddha Bowl.  The vegetables traveled only 100 feet from the garden to our table.

After supper, we walked again with Black Jack.  The sun was just beginning to set.  I love this shot of Bill walking towards me across the Mandala, with man and nature-made colours blending beautifully.  The Mandala is a community art project begun 14 years ago.  Each year in July, it is "erased" and a new one created. You can read more about it at the link.  

We spent quite some time enjoying the various contributions.

Only a few are shown here.

It seemed that every possible theme was represented, as children and adults, amateurs and professionals, brought their artistic visions to life.

As we focused on the art, another painting was developing behind us.

We hardly knew where to look first.  This dragonfly, a photo theme over the past couple of days (see previous post), felt as though it had been put there for us alone.

Music, flowers, light, and a key to unlock their secrets.

I took this last sky shot through the car window as we headed back to Sechelt for the night.  

I am doing my best to hold onto the magic of that day, as Black Jack goes for what I hope will be a small, non-eventful surgery this morning, to remove a growth discovered yesterday in her right, hind foot.  Here's to a steady hand for the vet, good news on the biopsy front, and a quick recovery for her.  Happy Monday, everyone!