Beaches are my favourite (for real)

I make really great faces when I go to the beach apparently.

Hey Summer

I feel silly looking back on recent posts, for as much as I miss those back home, I am having a most excellent summer here on Denman Island. Living an easy island life, really I can not complain, but must appreciate this much needed break from school. For I spend my days listening to CBC on the radio while drinking coffee, and watering the green house. I bike to the lake and play on rope swings while getting a tan. I hitchhike to the cafe to read book after book, drink fabulous coffee and write my wife letters. Saturdays I go to the market and eat local goodies or find treasures in the free store. I frequent the beach often where I practice tying knots, and find myself wondering the forest at some point during the day. Or sit on the porch and play with the cats. So life is great, and I am happy, and so lucky to be able to have such a summer. 

Lonely Island

I miss my friends. I miss my friends a lot.

I miss going to Discovery coffee everyday, and sitting chatting with the staff, drinking great coffee, listening to great music, meeting great people.

I miss the ladies from work and all the fun bike rides, girl's nights, picnics, dance parties, and shenanigans we'd get up to.

I miss my friends in Tofino, having beach fires, going for hikes, surfing, and making amazing food with them.

I miss The Pod, my most interesting friends from school who I am always getting into trouble with, or annoying the hell out of any waiter/waitress who has to deal with us.

I miss the guy who wears a lot of tye-dye and is always giving "Free Hugs" downtown, and all the familiar faces on the buses I used to ride.

I miss my kitty-cat Carbon and how we used to cuddle before bed, and playing with her yarn, or balled up pieces of paper.

I miss Jones, DeVries, and fritzen Hoodless.

I am so lucky to have all these people in my life, and being away really helps me to appreciate them all so much more.

Tinier Island & Internal Explosions

     I didn't think I was much of a city girl until I came to Denman, how the farmland has humbled me. A new friend asked if I could take care of his chickens, and feed their horses for them while they were away. My task was to lock the chickens in their coop in the evening so the mink wouldn't get them, and then feed the horses in the morning. Easy enough right? Well I thought I could just herd the chickens into their wooden house, but they would not cooperate, and I am sure I looked rather silly half scared of my new feather friends, chasing them around the pen. Luckily I had a real farm boy with me who promptly got all the chickens tucked in bed. Lost some points there. Feeding the horses went well, and I got to drive a big work truck around (my wife would be proud), and in the end the job was done (with some help).   

     I took over the position of retreat manager while mum was in Nanaimo, and opened a new, rather large, retreat having to get 24 people organized. It was abit stressful but turns out I am an alright manager, and now mums back and I get to relax.

     I had my first visit to Hornby Island last night, an even smaller gulf island just East of Denman. I went over in the evening with a friend and we went to this show that was happening at the "ball park" which turned out to be rather messy. I have heard of Hornby parties and it was all a bit overwhelming for me seeing as I have been camping at a silent retreat center for just about the last three weeks. Too many drunk people, too many high people, and I didn't really know anyone so I was a bit nervous, shy, and uncomfortable to start with, but i decided to make the best of it and ended up having a pretty good time. But I don't think I would go to such an event again. I'll  save Hornby for the sandy beaches.
   I did however end of going right back to Hornby this afternoon  with mum and some of her friends.  We went to an art opening on this huge grassland property where the owner's (Jeffory Rubinoff) giant metal sculptures were scatter among the meadows. It was a interesting setting walking through the open fields in the sun and stopping at the numerous iron and stainless steel giants. Some were chemically weather and rusted, others being biologically take over by lichens, moss, and bird poop, and few that had yet to show the effects of mother nature. There was an amazing four piece quartet that performed Beethoven's Opus 131 in C-Sharp, it was absolutely brilliant. Breath taking.  We sat and watched from a grassy hill,  as the musicians played their instruments with their entire bodies, and I mean entire bodies. Their energy flowed from their toes, and ear lobes, and finger nails, to the tips of their nose. I kept thinking they were going to leap right form their seats and burst in flames from the emotion being exerted by each individual cell. So easy was it to submerge myself fully into the atmosphere, it moved me.

     On another note I really want to go back to Tofino sooooooooooon please and thank you

_________________________________________________

     I am missing my dear wifey enormously. I feel space in me that is empty. It's empty of laughter. Empty of the biggest, loudest laughs I have ever laughed.

Empty of Kim's contagious laughs that just fill your mouth until it overflows from laughter, and there are laughs all over the floor, so many that they can not be cleared, and they rise so quickly you become submerged in a pool of laughs. You drown in laughs. Every orifice in your body is filled with laughs. You explode with laughter, and die a most joyful death.

I miss you.

Discovery Coffee Comes Camping with Me!

I've created the perfect ritual for my daily morning coffee while camping, all while never leaving the comforts of my cozy sleeping bag.

Part I: Wake up

Part II: Boil H20 - I have my camp stove under the fly outside the back of my tent

Part III: Grind Those Beans - with the help of a fantastic hand grinder (thanks too K.)

Part IV: Brew Brew Brew - I wish I had my mini bodum

Part V: Enjoying my morning coffee, and nature

Discovery Coffee Comes Camping with Me!

Tiny Island

I am really enjoying little island life. I've been working in the garden, doing some landscaping, and eating the most delicious food three times a day. Oh gosh I am so lucky to be here.
I've got my tent all set up and somewhat organized, it looks like this:

 I'm using a tote as a dresser, the lid for a table, and I've got a little mattress to sleep on.

I made a book shelf out of a box, and a nice cozy plaid blanket as a rug/carpet, and there is a mat outside of my door for my shoes. I hung some small pray flags across the ceiling, and usually have the plaid flannel my wifey gave me hanging up so it feels like she's here when I miss her. I also have a hammock that needs to be set up somewhere. 
The tent is orange and always seems to glow like a late sunset, and makes me feel warm and cozy.

I have a great view of the meadow out the front: 

 And the forest out the back:

Deer often come by, I hear them walk past the tent. I'm done in a far corner of a nice meadow filled with oxeye daisies. It's beautiful:

 So this is it, home for the summer, and I am so happy. I have also met some people that are around my age which is nice, and have some friends now who seem really awesome! And I found someone who has a sail boat and wants to teach me how to sail! I think I am going to have a great summer!

Oh The Places You'll Go

I have completely lost track of what month, day, or even what time it is. In the last two weeks I have been all over the island/s and I'm not even back home yet.
I have been so fortune as to have the sun follow me everywhere I go.

After leaving Victoria I spent a few nights at the lake gardening, and cooking with my second mom, and even went out tubing on the lake - something I haven't done in years.
My mum picked me up and we finally made it to Denman Island where I met everyone and set up my tent!
Sooner after I took my mum's car over to Tofino to visit friends and get some surfing in.

 Being surrounded by fog as I walked to the water's edge, not being able to see the swell, let a lone the ocean that was supposed to be in front of me somewhere out there, with my surf board under my arm, was one of the coolest experiences I've had. Once in the water and looking back to shore I had lost the point where sand and water met, and could barely make out the dark contrast of the trees against the sky. In the morning few other surfers were at the beach, and none close enough to see once in the water,  leaving the waves to myself, at one point I felt I had left to a whole new world made of water and waves and I wanted to stay and play forever. I paddled past a large pinkish jelly fish I was careful to avoid and a curious seal even came my way and checked me out, my first wildlife encounter while surfing, making my heart race a little bit(actually a lot). Soon however, the sun broke through the massive white grey blanket and cleared the sky, and I returned back to Cox Bay, out of my new world, the beach became visible again, and I watched Peter Devries surf a 100m or s0 away from me.  

I always have the best time in Tofino, and have already started the westcoast withdrawals being back on the eastcoast of the island, back in the Coastal Douglas Fir Biogeoclimatic zone.

Although I have not made it back to Denman yet, I'm in Nanaimo now, visiting my sister and babysitting my niece Araya, and her two dogs Roxy and Coach. Tomorrow we will all head back up Vancouver Island and go to Denman together.

I have been seeing so much of my family lately which has been really great reconnecting with everyone, although I miss my friends back in Victoria  a lot, especially my dear Wifey Kimberwolf (who I have a skype date with today:) !), and Mr. Jones. I am also having Discovery Coffee withdrawals, with not just the coffee but the staff and sitting in the cafe for hours just visiting, drinking great coffee, and reading.

I am looking forward ot returning to Denman Island, and getting my hands dirty in the garden.