Memories of Salt Spring Island

I arrived on the West Coast just in time for the first fall storm. Thankfully, it was just some wind and rain, but nothing too serious. I debated bringing a jacket but settled on a vest, and while the temperature is a bit on the cool side, I'm good! Is anyone ever ready for winter? No power outages here, but I guess it's a common occurrence - at least on the island. 

We had a great day visiting - just so many memories to relive and so many topics to discuss -- well, we could go on visiting forever. But we had a few errands to do in Ganges, so after lunch, we headed out. 

If you remember my wind sculpture in the backyard, it was in Ganges that I was first introduced to them, as this gallery (Steffich Fine Art) is the sole distributor in Canada. 

Steffich Fine Art

Unfortunately, they were closed on Monday, but I might get a chance to pop in to say HI later today. They have some of the sculptures in the garden areas in front of the gallery, and every time I saw them years ago, I coveted one, and now there's one in my yard. Those flowers have grown up quite a bit and are blocking a good view of them, but they are fascinating. 

The sculptures at the gallery

Then, we popped into the gallery next door to check out the artwork. OH MY --- there were some very cool pieces of art. Beautiful eagles made with cutlery -- the artist's name is Carl Sean McMahon. His work is not cheap, and I can only imagine how heavy they are, but stunning!!!!

We also spotted another artist that I love - Richelle Osborne. I didn't take pictures of the art. I feel bad taking pictures of other people's art, but I guess I could have asked permission! So I'll direct you to their website. 

And then I found something that I adore! This artist is Manuel Castro, and I did take a picture of his art (after asking permission), but I didn't load the image. But I would buy that for my backyard. The only problem is finding a place where Miss Murphy (the bull in the china shop) wouldn't run through it and break it!!!! The pieces I want are not on the website but in his Etsy shop. Here's the link to his Etsy Shop. 

We popped into the library to check out the Libby app for my aunt. So, when we got home, I downloaded it for her so she could check it out. Libby is a great way to access e-books and audiobooks without buying them. Yes -- that is the cheap way to go, but let's face it --- the number of trees that were felled to support our book fetishes is probably huge!!!! 

I've left her with some "lessons," and now she's on her own to figure it out. We chatted about Hoopla, but let's do one thing at a time! She's lucky because she has access to 68 libraries in the BC Library Consortium. Before we left, we checked the actual shelves for craft/quilting books, and I spotted one I wanted to check out before buying. 

We borrowed the book, and I'm almost done with it. Yes -- it's a great book, but NO -- I don't need to buy it. So, my curiosity was satisfied without incurring a cost. I know you are curious, so the artist's name is Emily Taylor -- and the book is Collage Quilter. I could see that as a class?????

We checked out a few other things in town, but driving around brings back many memories. DH, M, and I used to spend our annual family vacations on this island when M was small. We would wander around for hours, checking out the outdoor market, signing M up for classes at the small craft shop/toy shop, Geocaching, and lunching at the restaurant under the tree! 

Every time we come here, we always say we would love to live here, and well, that was over 20 years ago, and we still don't live here! I think this is my first time coming this late in the year. 

Look at how low the clouds were yesterday!!!!

Low clouds on SSI

On the way back from Ganges, the rain had stopped, and the clouds were starting to lift. 

Clouds are starting to lift

So we popped down to Bourgoyne Bay, where there is a little park. Oh, we should not have done that as there was an Adventure Lab (part of Geocaching), and I had to do some! 

The trail along the bay

I was only going to do the first three of the five caches since they were relatively close to the car, but how could I leave this Adventure Lab unfinished? I walked very fast to get the last two. They were related to these wood sculptures along the path. 

A stop along the Adventure Lab

The views of the bay along the way were stunning, and the trail through the woods was amazing. It is a beautiful area, and I wish I had more time to explore it! I checked this morning, and there are TONS of geocaches on this island. While we did get some over the years, my little smiley faces (a logged geocache) are sparse!!!!

Bourgoyne Bay

Back to the house and more visiting for the remainder of the afternoon! I must say that I'm sleeping like a log here. Not only is it pitch black, but there is ZERO noise. Nothing! And with all the running around, I'm catching up on sleep! 

All is good. Let's hope the weather is taking a slight turn for the better.

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!!