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On Thanksgiving Day, 2017, we ventured out on our ATV’s for what was a truly adventurous and rewarding day. With my dear friends Ray and Karen we ventured out to Pettipeace Lake, a lake we had tried to get to a before but with each attempt we ran into obstacles; including knee deep snow, the disappearing daylight and a bridge washout. This time however we were prepared and set early with great anticipation of the day that lie before us! As we approached the bridge washout we were disappointed to see that, although it was still under repair, a huge mound of boulders blocked our way. So, what to do? With excited determination we pulled up our sleeves and went to work, moving the boulders one by one until finally, we made a path for the ATV's. “Yay!”, we were elated to be on our way, to the “elusive” Pettapeace Lake. As we gained altitude, we entered a fog bank and the dampness could be felt with every breath; it had grown bitterly cold. Soon, snow began to fall and stick to the road; "If the snow gets much deeper", we agreed, "we'll have to turn around". We pressed on and as we approached this lake, we were all in awe; I had never (ever) seen such a beautiful winter scene. "Wow!", we all commented, “unbelievable!” were the words that came out of our mouths. The spiritual serenity of this alpine view was majestic; truly Mother Nature at her best. We were so excited by the scenery and really wanted to continue on but we were losing daylight, and fast; it was time to turn around. As we descended, we raced the day's darkness, and we froze as we did! Our original plan was to return to my cabin, wash up, dress up and go to the local community’s Thanksgiving dinner however because we were running late, we chose to drive directly there. We arrived, wet, cold and dressed in our winter gear and we all had helmet hair; lol ..you can imagine the looks we got when we walked it.... Too funny !:-) That said however, being an off-grid community, everyone was more interested in our travels than our attire! Such fun! Such GREAT, great welcoming and embracing community! Our Thanksgiving dinner was the perfect ending to a perfect day! I'll never, ever forget this adventurous day we shared. Pettipiece Lake is a lake located just 19.7 north-east of Seymour Arm via logging/forestry roads; in the province of British Columbia, Canada.
The story attached to this photo has absolutely NOTHING to do with this duck (a Common Goldeneye), and EVERYTHING to do with a "crappy" situation..... literally, lol 🙂 I woke up to a beautiful morning my RV; perched and overlooking the Bow River. I was eager to head back to the pond where I had taken this photo; I was rained out the night before. I planned to leave right away, and as I was getting the RV ready for take-off, I looked down my RV toilet bowl and decided that "NOW" was the time for a quick clean, and with one quick swirl around the toilet bowl my toilet bowl brush-head fell off and down into the holding tank! "OH NO, this can't be!". Now normally, with a direct drain system, that would not have been a problem but my RV has a macerator pump attached to a 1.5 inch drainpipe. I knew the brush head would have to be removed, but how? I was sick! Now what?! I grabbed a my kitchen tongs and shoved my arm down into the toilet hole (about 3 inches in diameter) when suddenly a thought came to mind, "What if I get arm gets stuck in the toilet, in the middle of no where!" (lol). So with my phone at my side, I lathered up my arm with cream rinse and with a prayer I plunged my arm down again. Notta! I couldn't reach it! My next thought was to fill the tank with whatever water I had so that the water level rises.... and that didn't work either! Okay, now what? I knew that if I drove away, the brush head will float around and I will no longer see it from above. Pondering, I was left with no choice but to find a RV repair shop A RV department suggested I remove the macerator pump or they could remove the tank (ouch$!) "but not now, it'll be a few weeks". Knowing I didn't have a choice, I headed for my daughter's house where I knew she'd have the tools I'd need to remove the macerator pump. So, picture this scene; two women lying side by side under a RV on a gravel ground and both (obviously) using brute force to remove some clamps AND (you guessed it) when the clamp let loose there might have been a drip or two of sewage..... LOL (it's only funny now, ha ha!). With the macerator pump removed, we drove to the local sani-dump and attached a regular RV sewage hose and prayed that it would just flush out..... Notta! With a flashlight in hand, I could see the brush head sitting on the bottom of the tank. Hmmm... now what? With a garden hose, we filled the black-water tank and proceeded to flush it again.... Notta! We tried again.... Notta! So, there the brush-head sat, innocently in the residual sewage of that tank and we sat on the ground wondering, "now what?". We decided to try to grab it with a trash-picker, and (you guessed it) I had to put my arm into the tank, yet again (pee yew!) but it worked! After we showered (!), we celebrated our resilience and ingenuity with a glass of wine. This will be a mother/daughter moment we'll never forget; together we did it! "If you want to accomplish anything, you must first be able to expect it of yourself". Wayne Dyer
Tofino, and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve of British Columbia, are characterized by the wild natural scenery; ancient rain-forest, vast sandy beaches (which offer year-round surfing), many hiking trails, a paved 43 km. (26 mile) paved biking trail and many fine shops, hotels and restaurants. I spent 5 days in Tofino, in hopes of shooting some stormy sea and sky photos. Although the storms never developed, on this day there was a high surf advisory, so off I went in search of some waves. Not being very familiar with the ocean, I was somewhat intimidated by its mighty strength and roar. I spotted these ocean birds (called Brandt's Cormorants) silhouetted on this rock from quite a distance, noting their sleek necks and rounded bellies as I walked towards them. I climbed the boulders to get to this view (with one eye on the ocean!). Once I found my composition, I was waited for the "big" wave; I keeping one eye on the ocean so I wouldn't be swept in. Using my 100 to 400 Sony zoom lens I was able to capture this photograph. As I waited, I remembering comparing my fear of the ocean to theirs and envied their agility. That said, fear got the best of me and once I got this shot, I was out of there! Quick Brandt's Cormorants facts: They are expert divers and can swim more than 200 feet in pursuit of fish and shellfish. They're an aggressive bird. They migrate each year from Alaska to Mexico and are very common and widespread. Brandt's sports a vivid cobalt-blue throat patch and eyes during breeding season. They have wispy white feathers on the head, which you can't see in this photo.
