Wanderlust and Words

Did you know? Cabbage White butterfly were introduced in Quebec in the 1860s and have since spread across North America. They can be found from Nunavut to northwest Mexico.   I’m sure that none of you have a problem identifying a Saskatoon Berry  and if you’ve done any gardening at all you will be able to recognize a Cabbage White butterfly at a glance. But you may be less familiar with Water Boatman and Tiger Salamander . And I only learned to recognize Garry Oak and Camas after multiple trips to Vancouver Island. Four years ago my brother, Andrew McKinlay, was hiking in Big Bend National Park in Texas and was frustrated. He was seeing all sorts of interesting plants, insects, trees, and other wildlife but was struggling to identify them. “What I need is one app that lists the most common plants, trees, animals, insects, reptiles, and birds that I’ll find in a particular area,” he said. “There are lots of specific bird, flower, or insect guides, but nothing toget...

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes S. Portico Bowman is a friend of mine and a talented artist, writer, and teacher. She is also a creative and insightful person. I particularly admire her ability to transition between different media – from pottery to printing to writing, and her insights during our shared travels have helped me to see things differently. Portico is offering a workshop from July 12-16, 2020, at the Hollyhock Retreat Centre on Cortes Island, British Columbia, and I strongly encourage you to take part. The workshop is entitled Drawing Towards the Earth: Making Journals for Life and will involve making coptic stitch Arcadia Playhouse journals and Bargello tapestry bookmarks . The slow, repetitive creative process is designed to be contemplative, meditative, and introspective. In addition, Cortes Island provides the most fabulous garden setting surrounded by the ocean. It sounds absol...

“Curiouser and curiouser the world makes me curiouser   I’ve so many dreams that come and go  Why is it so? Does no one know?”  It’s so easy to follow routines, to see what you expect to see, to fail to look around you. In an effort to explore the world around me with fresh eyes, I plan to post occasional photographs of things that have surprised me, made me laugh, or delighted me. Here are a few of the surprises I discovered in Richmond and while walking along False Creek in Vancouver. “Curiouser and Curiouser” It took me a while, but I was finally able to identify the beavers working on their lodge outside of Richmond Brighouse Canada Line station. Is it a lighthouse? A birdhouse? Or maybe a beached boat? None of the above! After digging around online, we found out it was a piece of public art installed by an anonymous artist , protesting the high cost of housing in downtown Vancouver. “I Love to Laugh” Who knew? An entire restaurant dedi...

My family spent many summer holidays on Vancouver Island, and I have happy memories of playing on the beach. One of my family’s favorite beaches is at Point No Point. It’s a private beach, but all you have to do is enjoy lunch overlooking the ocean or stay in one of their cabins to have access. As a child, a special treat was visiting Butchart Gardens after dark to enjoy the light display. There are free open-air concerts in the Gardens every night during the summer months. My sister and I enjoyed a performance by Ballet Étoile. The massed displays of flowers are impressive as are the fountains and amusing twig sculptures hidden in the bushes. In Victoria, my sister Clare and I walk at Willows Beach and Cattle Point most evenings.

Going to Ascot The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific holds an annual Arts & Music in the Garden with over 50 local artists’ booths set up along the paths that traversing the garden. Heron & Goldfish The Centre’s gardens encompass herbs, fuschia and lilies, a Japanese garden, an urban garden, a farm garden, and a birds, bees and butterflies garden and are a delight at any time of the year. But Arts & Music in the Park is special, and one of my favorite aspects of the event is the floral art designed and presented by the Victoria Floral Artists Guild . Many of them have a very wacky sense of humour. Seaweed at Sunset Additional photographs of the gardens are available at Sunshine and Shade: Horticulture Centre of the Pacific .

The Zero Waste Emporium at 1728 Douglas Street (across from the Public Market) bills itself as Victoria’s first zero-waste grocery store. They stock a huge range of products from bulk bins full of nuts, seeds, flour, and dried fruit to personal care and cleaning products. What really impressed me was the emphasis on local products – Tree Island yogurt and Avalon Dairy milk and cream sourced on Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island tofu , vegan protein from Victoria-based The Very Good Butchers , almond/oat/hemp mylk made in house twice a week, as well as vegan cheezes from BC-based companies, The Cultured Nut and Black Sheep . And the list goes on and on. Many of these products are also organic. The owners state they are, “promoting ecological awareness by offering customers reliable, sustainably sourced products that will help you reduce your environmental footprint and empower your Zero Waste lifestyle.” Make sure you visit the Zero Waste Emporium if you’re ev...

"From the depths of the green garden-closes Where the summer in darkness dozes Till autumn pluck from his hand An hour-glass that holds not a sand; From the maze that a flower-belt encloses To the stones and sea-grass on the strand How red was the reign of the roses Over the rose-crowned land!" The Year of the Rose , Algernon Charles Swinburne Photos were taken at Government House Gardens , Victoria, British Columbia, July 2019

Abkhazi Garden is small but oh, so lovely! And filled to overflowing with flowers of every shape, size, and colour. What a delight!

Nelson’s Lakeside Park is lovely, even under smoke-filled skies. It’s a much better place to while away a couple of hours than by heading to the mall next door.