Category: Uncategorized
This is a website I have been making to return Trevor’s help with the deck project.www.silversprayfishingcharters.comThe concrete was poured today so we are well on the way.
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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…
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Mark digging
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,…
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Malley Canada
Malley Canada 340 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Lucy, Jack, Barnaby and Sam.
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This tree was floating
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.
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Dave and I both both got hip flasks for Xmas.
Malley Canada 199 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
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Fishermans Wharf
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.
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Whale watching (without whales)
Malley Canada 089 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. They went whale watching and saw seals, eagles and sea weed. But no whales.
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Ginger Cake
Ginger Cake Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. the kids made a ginger bread house.
Read MoreMalley visit Canada
Malley Canada 357 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. The Malleys came to stay for Xmas and we had tropical weather, and a great time.
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Fun at beach
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.
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Silver Spray East Sooke
Silver Spray East Sooke Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Michael, Wendy’s second cousin at Silver Spray right on the tip of the island.
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Double dared.
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.
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Wendy and I
IMG_0433 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. Wendy and I with Monty taken by Michael, Wendy’s second cousin who visited last weekend.
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Salmon running
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.
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Wrinklies visit
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…
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On Sunday we set off to walk Monty and came across an enormous black bear at the end of our road. This isnt the actual bear and I didnt take this picture but this is what our bear looked like. Luckily it was running away from us down the middle of the road past the…
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Chicken Shed
IMGP2049 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. It took 2 days to make and I am very proud.
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Chicken Shed
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…
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Chicken Shed
IMGP2055 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. The hinged roof demonstrated by my glamorous assistant.
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Chicken shed to be.
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.
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Bez lives in Sooke
IMGP2023 Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass. spotted by a paparazzi this candid pic of Bez was taken as he emerged from a Sooke nightspot.
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Wendy and Monty
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.
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Canoe or Kayak?
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.
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Matheson Lake
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.
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Monty, Barney and Sam on the phone to Nana
Monty, Barney and Sam on the phone to Nana Originally uploaded by thesnodgrass.
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3rd Prize for my pickled onions
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…
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Derek’s eagle tattoo
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 MoreOrcas Today we were playing on the deserted beach, swinging the kids on a tyre tied on a long rope to the top of a tree, when Derek said he would love to see a killer whale before he went home. About 10 minutes later a pod of 6 orca swam into the inlet and…
Read MoreMixing with the Oi Poloi Last night we were bussed from the fire hall near where we live, to an old resort about 6km further around the edge of the basin. It is called the Grouse Nest and is a little rundown, but in its heyday in the 1950’s it was the place for swingers…
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Goldpanning in Leechtown
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 MoreThe film is called Dungeon Siege and the executive producer and director is a German chap called Uwe Boll, whose career in films so far has not been, shall we say, well received? Here is a link to the reviews of his previous films. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/p/uwe_boll/
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Barney as a body double
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…
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Krug heads
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/
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Clifftop village
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…
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Barney on set
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.
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Extras on Dungeon Siege
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…
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So we went for haircuts yesterday, as the film company have not been in touch for 3 weeks so it is probably safe that they dont want us. Sam wanted a buzz cut with spikey bits and Barney wanted nothing to do with it and was forced into the shop. Sam ended up with a…
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Monty and his mum
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.
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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…
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The car we bought
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 MoreIt has been hot for the last few days, Summer has really arrived at last. It amuses to see though, from downtown Victoria it is possible to see snowcapped mountains, not too far away. They are the Olympic Range in Washington state USA.
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Sam Rock Star
Sam says he wants to be a rock star boxer when he grows up, which I can actually envisage.
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East Sooke Park
We live about 5KM from a regional park with a view across the sea to washington state, USA.
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fresh homemade bread
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 MoreTonight 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 MoreWe have moved in but dont have a telephone yet. When we do the number will be (250) 483-9255 when it is switched on – I am going to try voip and if it is crap I’ll swallow my pride and get telus.The address is1610 Covey RunSookeV0S 1N0 The motorhome malarkey has been an adventure…
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The house we are buying
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,…
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Barney waterfall
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…
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Barney is brave
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)
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Snake charmers
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.
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Lost disc I forgot to mention in the previous post that I bought a disc golf frisbee in Victoria for $16 and lost it within 30 minutes of playing with it. I was trying to hit Barny with it but missed and it sank in a lagoon.
Read MorePender 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…
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Barney in Safety Gear
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…
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Sara’s husband Craig
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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The first bear we saw.
Spotted this on the way to port renfrew Marina, from a rickety looking bridge over a creek.
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Mark cooking and eating crabs fresh.
We had caught our own crabs but someone gave me these two. The first time I ever ate fresh crab, and I cooked it myself.
Read MoreSome thoughts I’d forgotten to mention along the way. We were travelling along the road to Gold River when Barney mentioned that the toilet was smelling. An instant later the whole RV stank, as if the toilet had exploded and made the air inside the vehicle almost unbreathable.As I looked for somewhere to pull over…
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The crab we caught
Barney caught this one using the homemade crab line that uses a nut for a weight and a spring clip to hold the bait which was a chicken leg. Later we caught 4 in one haul and they scurried about the dock. They were big enough to eat but we dont know how to cook…
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My homemade antenna
I needed the antenna again to connect here. I dont know whose network it is but it is super fast 11Mbps. I saw how to make it at http://www.usbwifi.orcon.net.nz/
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My homemade antenna
In Victoria, which is the best city we have visited so far, I needed a wireless connection but all the networks at the RV park were too weak. I made this antenna from a chinese wok skimmer, a bent strip of wood and a usb wifi dongle. It increases the signal by about 50% but…
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Bamberton before disaster struck.
Wendy’s fire. She had much more success with the fire than me. Im following Ray Mears advice and it doesnt work. She beat me at crazy golf too, the bandit!
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Bamberton before disaster struck.
Salmon steaks, would have been nice if we had eaten them.
Read MoreWe visited the cottage rental business today. 4 cottages and a house are in place and room for 4 more cabins/cottages. It was nice and almost exactly what we are looking for but at $1.5M it is way overpriced, which is a shame. www.pointwestcottages.com
Read MoreI dont put all the pictures in this website and store the others at flickr.com. To see the rest as a slide show visithttp://www.flickr.com/photos/93707000@N00/show/
Read MoreWe are on the west coast of Vancouver Island in Ucluelet. this place is great, it has just the right mix of touristy stuff and actual industry based on fishing and logging.Tomorrow we are looking at this business which is for sale for $CAN 1.5Mwww.pointwestcottages.com/which is expensive but has a substantial income with it we…
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Parkesville Mini Golf and RV park.
We spent $25 to camp, which included firewood as well as the usual hook-up stuff of electricity, water, cable tv, sewer etc. We spent $45 playing golf and riding on some bumper boats, which were like dodgems in a swimming pool, but they also had a powerfull water spray so you could soak the others.
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Parkesville Mini Golf and RV park.
We stayed in the grounds of a castle haha! We were driving past and the kids demanded we stay here. Actually it was fantastic and had a great view of the ocean although we had to pay $1 extra for it. We were the only customers here, although the golf course was busy.
Read MoreAre Canadians friendly? Let me describe what happened to us yesterday on 3 occasions. 1. We bought some stuff in a dollar store in Nanaimo, and when paying we got into a discussion with the assistant and described what we were doing etc. She was genuinely interested, wished us all the best and asked us…
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