Author: Mark
Me on the new deck
- by Mark
Me on the new deck Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. some more progress
Read MoreBarney & Sam
- by Mark
Barney & Sam & Snow in JulyOriginally uploaded by thesnodgrass. We went camping with Amber & Ryan at Miracle Beach and lost the camera somewhere in our enormous tent, so didn’t take enough pictures.This is one of the few which was taken after spending the morning on the Beach. I have said it before but…
Read MoreGrand Poobah of the leopard lodge
- by Mark
Grand Poobah of the leopard lodge Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Whilst camping for the long weekend at Miracle Beach we went to the Campbell River Canada Day parade.
Read MoreTwo naughty deer in the garden
- by Mark
2 deer in the garden Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. these blighters have eaten all the flowers off the plants Wendy was growing. They even chewed the chilli peppers which were supposed to be deer proof.
Read MoreBarney smashing a boulder wears the correct safety gear
- by Mark
Barney smashing a boulder wears the correct safety gear Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. This was taken yesterday. Today it is so hot Barney has filled his welly boots with water to keep cool. Smart eh?
Read MoreMy view from the car on the way into Victoria each day makes the journey worthwhile.
- by Mark
My view from the car on the way into Victoria each day makes the journey worthwhile. Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
Read MoreSimon, Sofia and Jackie
- by Mark
IMG_1024 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. click on the picture to link to a slideshow of picture from their visit.
Read MoreCedar plank cooked salmon
- by Mark
PICT0095 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Cooking for Jackie & Simon in the local tradition, on a cedar plank that has been soaked for a couple of hours in water. It was delicious.
Read MoreBit odd this
- by Mark
IMGP2301Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. I was looking at a new website of maps that anyone can edit, called wikimapia when I saw that somoene called Matt had added a note about their house to it, only 20 hours ago. They live just down the road. I thought I would try to freak them out by…
Read MoreLuxton Rodeo
- by Mark
Luxton Rodeo Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Barney & I went to Luxton Rodeo for some redneck action. Yee haw.Actually it was very good.
Read MoreMe on the deck in Ucluelet
- by Mark
IMGP2262 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. We went to Ucluelet & Tofino with Simon, Jackie & Sofia who are on a visit from the UK.We stayed in the Captains Quarters and had a deck overlooking Terrace Beach.
Read Moreplatform takes shape
- by Mark
April 007 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. this will be the platform to which the steps will go.
Read MoreSnow but sunny
- by Mark
April 006 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. How mad is it to be able to go to the beach, get sun burnt, yet there is a snowy mountain always in view?
Read More- by Mark
The deck build is postponed for a weekend when we went skiing at Mount Washington which is about 3-4 hours drive North, but still on Vancouver Island. Here are the skiing photos on Flickr On Saturday there were small carnival type floats slipped down the ski hill over a jump and smashed to oblivion. It…
Read MoreMark digging
- by Mark
Mark digging Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. The newest project is to build some steps up the side of this rock. From the top of the rock you can see over the roof of the house to the sea. Im digging the foundations for some concrete pads to build upon. My next door neighbour-but one, Trevor,…
Read MoreMalley Canada
- by Mark
Malley Canada 340 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Lucy, Jack, Barnaby and Sam.
Read MoreThis tree was floating
- by Mark
Malley Canada 245 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. A father and son dare to walk to the end of this floating log on the beach at Whiffen Spit.
Read MoreFather Christmas (and his husky)
- by Mark
Malley Canada 180 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
Read MoreDave and I both both got hip flasks for Xmas.
- by Mark
Malley Canada 199 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
Read MoreFishermans Wharf
- by Mark
Malley Canada 117 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. If you jump on the wharf a seal pops up in case you have any fish for him. He wasnt playing today though.
Read MoreWhale watching (without whales)
- by Mark
Malley Canada 089 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. They went whale watching and saw seals, eagles and sea weed. But no whales.
Read MoreGinger Cake
- by Mark
Ginger Cake Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. the kids made a ginger bread house.
Read MoreMalley visit Canada
- by Mark
Malley Canada 357 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. The Malleys came to stay for Xmas and we had tropical weather, and a great time.
Read MoreFun at beach
- by Mark
Fun at beach Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Monty had a play date with a friends retriever, Journey and they went mad on the beach. Journey can swim out in the sea but Monty is too nervous so far to go beyond paddling.
Read MoreSilver Spray East Sooke
- by Mark
Silver Spray East Sooke Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Michael, Wendy’s second cousin at Silver Spray right on the tip of the island.
Read MoreDouble dared.
- by Mark
Double dared. Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. The kids double dared me to jump on this tree trunk from the beach. What i didnt realise was that it was still floating so I quickly had to jump back using another piece of driftwood as a stepping stone. Phew only just made it.
Read MoreWendy and I
- by Mark
IMG_0433 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Wendy and I with Monty taken by Michael, Wendy’s second cousin who visited last weekend.
Read MoreSalmon running
- by Mark
PICT0043 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. At the Sooke potholes salmon are returning upriver to spawn in the hundreds. They take up to 12 days to swim upstream, find somewhere to lay their eggs and then die. There are dozens of rotting salmon floating downstream where seagulls await a free meal.
Read MoreWrinklies visit
- by Mark
PICT0033b Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. My Mum and Dad have been visiting for the past 2 weeks which has coincided nicely with a 2 week teachers strike. The kids went back to school on monday and the wrinklies departed by float plane yesterday.We have been all over the island with them, and as far North…
Read MoreChicken Shed
- by Mark
IMGP2049 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. It took 2 days to make and I am very proud.
Read MoreChicken Shed
- by Mark
IMGP2051 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. There is a perch, a box to lay eggs in and a ramp which can be retracted by a rope mechanism to keep them safe. The danger around here is raccoons which will kill a chicken. Ours we intend to be free range and we will need to round them…
Read MoreChicken Shed
- by Mark
IMGP2055 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. The hinged roof demonstrated by my glamorous assistant.
Read MoreChicken shed to be.
- by Mark
IMGP2048 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. I bought a dog kennel from the lumber yard and some extra wood and plywood sheets to make a chicken shed.
Read MoreBez lives in Sooke
- by Mark
IMGP2023 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. spotted by a paparazzi this candid pic of Bez was taken as he emerged from a Sooke nightspot.
Read MoreWendy and Monty
- by Mark
IMGP2030 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Training is going well, when he isnt biting us. He can sit if bribed with a treat, and Mark can get him to sit and stay for about 3 seconds.
Read MoreCanoe or Kayak?
- by Mark
IMGP2036 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. It isnt a Canoe but it isnt a normal Kayak either as you cannot put a spraydeck on it and it carries 3 people if they aren’t too big. We call it a Kanayak.
Read MoreMatheson Lake
- by Mark
IMGP2031 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Aaah what a beautiful lake, before we wrecked the peace with our first canoe/kayak trip. We were the only people there for quite a while.
Read MoreMonty, Barney and Sam on the phone to Nana
- by Mark
Monty, Barney and Sam on the phone to Nana Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
Read More3rd Prize for my pickled onions
- by Mark
3rd Prize for my pickled onions Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. In the Sooke Fall Fair I won third prize, $1, for these hot and spicy pickled onions. (Before you ask, yes there were more than three entries – six actually).The vinegar was cloudy because I added horseradish to pep them up but I wouldn’t bother…
Read MoreBig Hayes Little Hayes
- by Mark
Big Hayes Little Hayes Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
Read MoreDerek’s eagle tattoo
- by Mark
Derek’s eagle tattoo Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Derek has this tattoo of an eagle on his right forearm. The other day we were in East Sooke regional park and a bald eagle circled above us. It was curious to think that this was the first bald eagle he had ever seen, yet he had carried…
Read MoreGoldpanning in Leechtown
- by Mark
Craig and I hiked for 18Km into the hills looking for Gold. we explored an abandoned gold rush town called Leechtown, where the hut foundations and machinery lie rotting in the forest. Of course we found loads of gold but you know how heavy it is? so could not carry it out.
Read MoreBarney as a body double
- by Mark
Barney was supposed to be a body double for the character of Zeph and therefore had to have his hair cut and highlights put in to match the actor’s. In this picture he has the actors top on but could not get the trousers to fit so the 3rd assistant director decided he need not…
Read MoreKrug heads
- by Mark
These rubber masks are for the baddies in the film, the Krugs who attack the poor villagers. Sam was scared of the actors dressed up in the suits.see more pics at….http://www.flickr.com/photos/olivebranch/
Read MoreClifftop village
- by Mark
What a great place for a filmset !It was really hot and the kids only worked for 8 hours and had to leave the set cos that is the legal limit. They also miss the battle scenes where the Krugs attack as they are not allowed on set when there is dangerous sword wielding monsters…
Read MoreBarney on set
- by Mark
Barney has been asked to be a body double for one of the child actors and so he has to go back tomorrow for more filming and will get paid a stack more.
Read MoreExtras on Dungeon Siege
- by Mark
Wendy, Barney and Sam trying on their costumes for the filming tomorrow. This fitting took place in the centre of Sooke near the offices of the Sooke Mirror News, so I went in to see the editor to ask if he wanted a story about the filming from an extras point of view? He thought…
Read MoreMonty and his mum
- by Mark
We are buying a puppy. This is the litter, at 3 days old. We pick him up in 7 weeks and he is going to be called Monty, probably.
Read More- by Mark
Dungeon Siege They are making a movie based on the computer game Dungeon Siege in East Sooke, on an Indian reserve, about 4 miles from us. We have auditioned to be in it as they were looking for tall hairy people (Wendy) and muscular fit people (me). They particularly liked Barney’s hair and asked him…
Read MoreThe car we bought
- by Mark
This is the Geo tracker car we bought for $1800 or 850 quid. In the background you can see the whiffen spit peninsula which is a thin piece of land which separates the Pacific ocean from the Sooke basin.
Read MoreSam Rock Star
- by Mark
Sam says he wants to be a rock star boxer when he grows up, which I can actually envisage.
Read MoreEast Sooke Park
- by Mark
We live about 5KM from a regional park with a view across the sea to washington state, USA.
Read Morefresh homemade bread
- by Mark
I made 4 loaves of bread for the first time from scratch and it wasnt too bad at all. I gave the prettiest loaf to the neighbours to say thanks for the moose mince and they gave me a big moose roast right back :o)Nice people here.
Read More- by Mark
Tonight we ate moose burgers, which Wendy made from some mince the next door neighbours gave us. It was damn fine and a lot like beef but a bit drier in texture, so a big success. The neighbours, Merl and Juanita, are in their seventies and have almost completed building their own house on the…
Read MoreThe house we are buying
- by Mark
We have had an offer for this house accepted so we will be putting down roots here, if all goes well. It is in East Sooke which is a very rural area, so although we have 1 acre of land it is wooded and on a steep hillside. We expect to see racoons, eagles, deer,…
Read MoreBarney waterfall
- by Mark
Near Sooke there is a gorge that runs for 6 or 7 miles into the hills. At the far end is an old gold prospecting camp, and the walking trail follows along the way of a river. There are plenty of spots to jump in from the banks, some really deep parts and others for…
Read MoreBarney is brave
- by Mark
The water was absolutely feckin freezin but Barney was brave. I swam as well and did precisely 9 strokes before getting out. see the video of me here (1MB)
Read MoreSnake charmers
- by Mark
The kids caught a snake and kept it in a box of grass for a while. When they let it go Sam cried cos he missed it.
Read More- by Mark
Pender Bender We were invited to Darrens birthday weekend event on the Island of Pender, which is one of the Gulf islands between Vancouver island and the mainland. Darren is married to Kim and they are friends of Sara and Craig. We had an absolutely fabulous time and yet again Canada gets better and better.The…
Read MoreBarney in Safety Gear
- by Mark
I havent posted much recently, sorry. This picture is of Barney geared up for sitting by a camp fire in pyjamas. He wasnt coughing nor did his eyes stream from the smoke but ours did, the crafy blighter. We travelled on a logging road from Port Renfrew right across vancouver Island to Cowichan Lake where…
Read MoreSara’s husband Craig
- by Mark
Craig eats for Canada and drinks in their Olympic team. I went out with him once to play pool and still had a hangover 3 days later.
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