Today is November 24th, sun is out again, its warm in the cockpit but the wind out there is NW, and very cold!!
Some of the waves from Saanich Inlet come in here, most keep going to the head of the bay, but i am moving like crazy, i dont even notice it though , until i try to step off the boat!!
Two gents came today to fix my dock, the railing was totally rotten away and with the last storm, with gusts of 38 knots, we watched the whole thing move up and down, bolts and nails and all, not a good feeling…They did a great job and we can move Curtsy back again to her spot tonight.
Yesterday it was raining and warm, at least, 10 degrees outside, 22 inside, the week before i looked at http://www.passageweather.com , and noticed a huge size storm coming this way, the barometer dropped to 990.8, the day before it showed 1030.7!!!
We stayed home that day and watched over the other boats, strange things came floating into the little inlet here, a basket ball,( nice one too!!) half a dock, several buoys and two coolers!!
We have had frost on the pumpkins so to speak, one morning, all the docks were white, as was Curtsy ,i love the quiet in the air that comes with cold temps, we hauled out our gloves, hats, and down jackets, i for sure grabbed my crampons, for under my shoes, wont leave the boat without them!!
So, that’s it for weather talk, we keep busy, Bert is helping his brother with a job, i am sewing my lamp, not sure if its going to be acceptable, (photo might follow…), i am busy , trying out new recipes ,following the Whole30 plan.
We love eating this way, we both feel so much better, i have a board on Pinterest, called the Whole30,my pinterest is in the name of Marianne Reijm ,check it out if you like.

Icy docks.

Frost on the pansies.

We have many boater friends, and during the winter months we get together for dinners and playing card or board games, i love making the boat cozy and inviting and i think a good time is held by all. I just wanted to show how Curtsy looks inside, all cleaned up nicely and wonderful aromas coming out of the galley, wish i could post the smell…..

Fine dining on SV Curtsy

We like it here at the main dock, some folks warned us of heavy traffic going by of well meaning looky lews, but its been ok, its quiet at night, and during the day i watch the goings on with the little ferry, never a dull moment.
Slowly but surely i am getting to know the bird population, Gribley rules the dock for sure, but then there is the crow couple, and as smart as they are, they learned very fast that when Gribley gets treats, they just need to be a little bit faster, and a little bit smarter!!
The female crow, (she is the larger bird), sits on the rail of a little power boat near us, and begins to tap it very loud, while the male bird calls out , sounding like a cat!!!!
There is no way ignoring them, they will not stop!
Gribley in the meantime, is becoming very nervous, this might not go the way he wants it to, he now comes on the deck, stands there very nervously, but today he made it to 8 seconds, its getting better!!
My goal is that he eats out of my hand.
We also have the ever present King fishers, they are so very territorial, and constantly call out to everyone who might be a threat!!!
Hummingbirds are still buzzing and calling in the trees, folks here feed them all winter long, so they stay, plus this area has a very mild climate.
Every ferry dock seems to have pigeons ,and this dock is no exception, there are about 50 of them, they fly out in the morning, come back around 4,have a bit of a meeting on top of the building and then go to roost under the dock.
There are 10 otters here, two families of 5, and so far there are no problems, we love watching them play,somewhere on the shores here, they have their burrows, but most of the time they play and feed.
With the three marinas here in the bay, there is plenty of chance to find some docks to roll around on and poo on the odd mooring lines…….
So far we have been lucky….

Our pigeon flock.

Crow couple, photo taken through the plastic.

This is November 9,and the sun is out, it is 20 degrees in the cockpit and life is good!!!
We have had one storm, quite a bit of rain, but then there are these days in between, where the sun is still warm and my pansies are blooming away!
I did boast about the red leaves on my bonsai and then showed a photo with greener then green leaves, sorry about that, but here is a new one.

leaves turning red on the Japanese hornbeam bonsai.

So now we are back in Brentwood bay, on the way here, we filled with fuel for the winter, 374 liters of diesel filled her to the top, enough for the whole winter heat and then some!! The main tanks hold just over 500 liters.
Just before Mill Bay, where we took on fuel, a large spout , and then a very large tail came alongside, a humpback!!!! Out here!!! in Saanich inlet, how awesome, apparently folks have seen a few of them, they might be chasing after the herring, one of their foods.
It was so great to see one, plus right after this, five sea lions surfaced!!! Definitely lots of food out there.

We took a spot right at the main dock, we always talked about that, but never got a chance because of the large catamarans docking there last winter, now it is a lot quieter , not that many boats this year.
But the bay is chock full with mooring buoys.
The dinghy is back to its winter spot at the stern,Curtsy has been cleaned up, and i have a new friend, a young seagull, who seems to run the show here now, Jaytoo doesnt even come near the boat, so i called this bird GRIBLEY, maybe it should be Feisty, he already stands on the toerail, and he loves cheese, well, what else is new!!!
I am training him (or her, just dont know, cannot look under the feathers…), to take food from my hand!!

Curtsy at the main dock,ferry dock to the left.

View at the marina , Curtsy at the main dock.

As soon as i could, i bought pansies, my mom used to love these flowers, i grow them every year.

That same evening, a family of Mute Swans came gliding into the bay, heading straight for our boat!! They must have had the message that we carry good bread!!!
Both adults swung their heads back and forth, making a clicking sound, while the young one paid no attention to them whatsoever!!
They hung around our boat for most of the evening and night, tapping against the hull, trying to get our attention. The photos are taken when it was already quite dark, and i didnt want to use a flash, i dont think they would appreciate that very much!!

Adult Mute Swan.

Young Mute Swan.

On September 28th we had a very rare eclipse of the moon, plus it was a super moon, which means the moon was at its closest point to the earth,also called the harvest moon,closest full moon to the September Equinox.
The lunar eclipse can be easily seen with the naked eye plus you dont need eye protections as you do with the solar eclipse.
The next one will not be until January 31 2018.
The bible even talks about a blood moon, in Revelation 6:6. It is called the blood moon because of the red color during the eclipse.
There are lots of doomsday prophecies in the past about this event, i can just imagine what folks would have thought when they saw this in ancient times, they would have no idea why it was doing this, not understanding it and therefore looking at it with great fear.
My photos are not great , but it will give an idea what it looked like.

Harvest moon, blood moon.

The next morning, all the boats left , after the sail past. This is MV SECRETARY ISLE

In total there were about 30 boats there, some converted fishing boats, others work boats for all trades, the work done on these boats needs to be admired, beautiful woodwork, converted galleys ,so the owners could easily live on board. Some of the older vessels are very narrow, and you can sure feel it when some waves hit the sides, but their charm is heart warming, i would not mind someday, to live in one of these boats.
One of them is Standard II, here is some info about her.

Proud owner, inviting us on board.

Inside Standard II

Just amazing , the amount of boats, all somehow tucked into the marina, must have been something else when they all left for the sail past.

Beautiful border collie pup, guarding the boat, kind of….