About halfway to Holberg lies a beautiful lake, Nahwitti Lake, fed by the Nahwitti River.  We stopped there , drove into the forest, there is a campsite there too, probably for people on the way to or coming back from the West Coast Trail.  Magistic trees still stand here, i even found a very large Yew tree, never seen such a big one.  The canopy creates a  diffused light, which is perfect for the many, many mushrooms and fungi growing in the moss.   Is it so amazing , how incredible quiet it is in a forest, most people in this world never experience this, it makes you humble and still.   We rooted around, did some exploring, found  some huge stumps from cedars, recently cut, they were windfall, and would be a danger for anyone camping there.   We stayed there for a long time, checking out all the mushrooms, sitting by the lake.  Late afternoon we came to the crossroad, to the left is towards Holberg, another 30 km!!!  We decided to head back, as our car was not too happy driving on this road,( it became quite rough) ,plus it started raining , and we (car), were totally covered in mud!!! It was a good day,  time to head home,for a well deserved glass of wine!!

We have been here since October 10th, two months already!!!!   We have been kept busy  with the boat, cleaning, fixing, Bert started to walk every morning for an hour, while i do dishes, clean the boat, take care of Annie , wash my hair and then make coffee.  We have made a bit of a routine like this, Bert has had a hard time not working, he used to work 12 hour days, and all of a sudden he doesnt have to do anything really, just what he would LIKE to do, it took some getting used to.

The area is beautiful, although some folks have mentioned when we say where we are, “oh yes, trees, tress, trees!!!”     But to me that is heaven, the rivers are big, creeks every where, and still some very large cedars and firs and spruce standing, we drove to Alert Bay, stopped at the Marble river, a beautiful area for exploring.  One day we tried to go as far as Holberg, it is mostly a dirt road , well kept, but oh so muddy, around every turn you can expect a racing truck, going with the speed of light , i guess the driver thinking no one else should be there….. At Kain’s lake we found the “shoe tree”, the amount of shoes there would put Walmart to shame, they are piled high, and then go up this old tree, way up!!         They are a tribute to a young man that died , every one, walking the West Coast Trail, leaves their shoes at the tree.

You might have already figured out, that i have a great love for birds.  I usually try to get to know some , once i recognize them and befriend them .   In Pender Harbor, at the docks, two crows hang out, a male and a female, the female has a deformed beak, as you can see on the photo, plus she hurt her leg, and now kind of hobbles along.   I started feeding them little tidbits, piece of cheese, some bread, chicken!!!! they loved the chicken, smart birds!!!  The male , who is smaller then the female, would come and get the goodies, and fly off. She would try to come close, but she is pretty shy.    I worried about her not getting anything, but then, watching the male, i noticed that he would fly to the surrounding other sailboats, and stick the goodies IN the sailcover, and come back for more, she then, later on came to get them and fly off with the prize.     They slowly got used to me, and were less shy, they knew when i drove in with the van, sat in the tree above it, “talked” to me, and flew along to the boat.   There they would wait, (kind of patiently), till the snacks arrived.    The male learned after a while , to do a dance, in front of the galley porthole, all the while (kind of) singing a song, trying to get my attention.   He would then jump unto the electrical box, so he could look inside the boat!!!!     The nice thing too is, that there were no other crows , they did not seem to be part of a murder, as a group of crows is called.

They now have two new friends, in a sailboat on the docks in Hospital Bay.  By the sound of it, my friends are spoiling them too, i am so glad, as these birds are just wonderful.         I am not sure what causes the deformed beak of the female, maybe genetics, maybe pollution, just dont know.  She adapted to it quite well, but did have trouble picking things up.  I hope you enjoyed this story, people dont look kindly towards crows, but  if you were to do some research, you would find out how smart they are, and they make a wonderful friend!!!!

To follow up on this story, here in Port McNeill, i noticed two crows one morning, screaming and yelling at our cat Annie, who was sitting below them on the deck.  I dont think they were saying anything nice…..  I decided later that day to give them some treats, pieces of leftover pancakes, and no sooner then the pancakes hit the dock, or about 40 crows landed all around and on the boat!!!! These guys had friends!!!  they are part of a large murder, and live here in the harbor, so, no more treats for the crows, unless i can make sure the rest of them are not around!!!!