Well, we're back in Metchosin for our last housesit before we head out to New Zealand. We're staying in a lovely house with a fabulous view southeast over the fields and forests to the East entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the top end of Puget Sound. There are sights closer to home, too. My husband just looked out the window and spotted a couple of bucks (one a three-point) wandering through the yard. Good thing there's a nice high fence around the veggie garden. And I wonder what the cats think of the venison on th hoof...
It has been blowing a gale - literally - an awful lot lately. Today, we had winds up to 37 knots, but last week the westerlies were even worse. Even Metchosiniets were complaining. Constant wind does get wearing after a while. It does mean that my husband can't take the rowboat out, and it doesn't do any favours for my migraines, either. I wonder what it will be like in New Zealand. I tried googling, but all I got were generalities. I did find out that Wellington is very windy. It has almost one day in two with winds of 60 km/hr - about 30 knots. That's one windy place. Mind you, not compared to the Falklands!
We've been revisiting all of our favourite walks while we're here. Tomorrow, we'll probably go out to Iron Mine Bay at the very south end of East Sooke Park. The trails there are wonderful - narrow footpaths skirting the edge of the rocky shore, overlooking tiny islands and hidden beaches. The cliffs are clad in a mix of Douglas-fir and Arbutus, with mossy groves of old-growth cedar hidden away on some of the inland trails. There's a fair amount of upping and downing, which is good for keeping the old pins in shape. (When you're hiking beside the ocean, you're constantly going up and down over small outcrops. You might never get more than 10 -15m above sea level, but the height of the path is always changing. We've done more climbing in the past two months than in the whole three years on Gabriola.)
I'll have to do some sketches to add to the blog...