Jean's Pics
March is Spring - full-blown. Soft breezes, blossoms, and everyone out enjoying the sunshine. Patches of wild flowers show up in late March - fawn lilies and glacier lilies.
Living on the Island in March
Around Nanaimo
View from Glen Oaks Drive... A ferry has just come into Departure Bay.
Islands from my window- the ones in front are part of the Winchelsea Island group, and there is a Department of Defense building where you can see a tower. The group of islands behind are the Ballenas. Oddly enough they do not appear on Google Earth - where the islands should be is just water.
A telephoto of mountains on the mainland - about 100 km. away.
New leaves coming out in the little park at Departure Bay.
Around Nanaimo - flora and fauna
Glacier lilies, (my favourite) are out in Piper's Lagoon Park.
There are lots of deer in the neighbourhood - not-so-wild-life.
Seal rafts in Departure Bay.... and in the second picture, off North Nanaimo. Seals like to be in close contact to one another, and it is thought that the rafts are a way to rest, and protect themselves from orcas.
North of Nanaimo - "Up Island"
A walk in Cathedral Grove - old growth timber, patterns of deep shade and bright sun
Port Alberni - beneath Mount Arrowsmith
Back on the east coast - Deep Cove, north of Qualicum
Deep Cove on a different March day
A few seagulls
The ferry to Denman Island - and then take a second ferry to Hornby Island.
The Comox marina on the right, and Courtenay on the left
At the far end of Hornby Island - a 5 km. walk around Helliwell Park. The first and last parts of the walk are through the woods.
After the woods, out to the west side of Hornby, and grassy meadows above the sea-sculptured rocks.
Around the end of Helliwell Park, and different views on the east side - rocky beaches and bird watching.
Victoria and the south end of the Island
A view of Sooke, west of Victoria, from Whiffen Spit.
Hatley Castle, in Colwood to the west of Victoria city, was built in 1908 for James Douglas. During WWII the castle was used as part of Royal Roads Military College. It is now Royal Roads University. 'Roads' is an English term for a safe harbour for ships.
This is the Inner Harbour in downtown Victoria, and the little water taxis.
Kitesurfing beside Clover Point, Victoria
Whiffen Spit is a natural breakwater between Sooke harbour and the Strait of Juan de Fuca and a nice walk.
In front of the castle's lawns there is a lagoon, with a year-round collection of sea birds. It is not very clear in the picture, but the smaller mute swan has an orange beak. Mute swans were introduced into North America. The larger bird in the picture is a trumpeter swan, with a black beak. I was there one late afternoon when it was trumpeting - an eerie sound, very like a child learning to play the trumpet.
The goose beside and lots of different ducks are also in the lagoon.
Some years the blossoms are a bit later, in early March.
The beach beside the kitesurfing... A blooming gorse bush in the front
Masses of daffodils on the sunny slope of Beacon Hill Park.
Wild glacier lilies in the park....
Maglolias are showy at the end of March,
Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria - looking over the sea
Cattle Point in Oak Bay is a favourite stop, especially on a nice day when Mt. Baker in Washington State can be seen in all its glory.