We made another short hop down the coast to Kwakume Inlet, where we were hoping to find drier weather.  Unfortunately, the rain followed us.

Rain or shine, like the ducks, I paddled every day.  I managed to find these very cute hooded mergansers one day.

 

 

 

This very shy pair of harlequin ducks made a very brief appearance.  They were on the move as soon as they spotted me.

 

I was out at the entrance to Kwakume, looking for harlequin ducks, when this BC ferry filled my view of the entrance.

 

 

I didn’t find any harlequins, but I did spot these surf scoters.  I spent over an hour trying to get close enough for decent photos, but they just kept out-paddling me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wildfires currently raging in other parts of British Columbia are depositing ash on our decks and creating weird skies and views of the sun.  This photo was taken near noon one day.  

 

The weird colored sky created an interesting background for this heron shot.

 

Our next door neighbor, in Redding, California, called to let us know that a fire originating at Whiskeytown Lake, called the Carr Fire, has burned thousands of acres and hundreds of homes, and is getting pretty close to our neighborhood.  Whiskeytown Lake is where I paddle during the winter.  It’s been a terrible summer for wildfires in California and British Columbia.  

Near the entrance to Kwakume, I spotted this least sandpiper scouring the beach of tidbits.

 

 

 

 

 

As I was photographing the sandpiper, something incongruous, just above the highwater tide line, caught my eye.  How on earth did this chair get here?  Another mystery.

 

I noticed this heron fishing along the shore. 

 

 

 

 

He has his eye on he prize…..

 

 

Uh, oh.  He missed…. and, he had a few choice words on the matter.

 

There are lots of ripe berries around this time of year, like these red huckleberries….

 

….and, these bunch berries.

It rained almost every day we were in Kisameet, but in between showers, I was able to get a paddle in.  There were big teeming balls of what looked like herring in the water.

 

And, I saw quite a few salmon like this one jumping near the creek.

 

I was really excited to find mergansers, they’ve been so scarce this year.

 

 

 

 

It looks like his heron caught himself one of those tiny herrings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One day, when the sun finally came out, I spotted these ruddy turnstones sharing a rock with some seagulls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got up early every morning, weather permitting, and paddled all over the lagoon looking for photo ops.  I spotted these honkers preening on the beach one morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found this tall ship, the schooner Pacific Swift, anchored behind an island in the lagoon.  In doing a little research, I found that she was built for the Sailing & Life Training Society, in 1986, and is used as a training ship.  She’s 111 ft. long and has sailed all over the world, logging over 100,000 miles.

Interesting figurehead on Pacific Swift.

 

 

 

 

This mink came swimming right across my bow, headed for an island.  He’d had some luck fishing.  As soon as he got ashore, he took off running as fast as his short little legs would carry him, hoping to find cover, where he might enjoy his catch before someone stole it from him. 

 

 

This eagle I spotted on the opposite shore was probably taking a hard look.

 

 

 

 

 

I was finally able to get close enough to get these shots of a kingfisher. 

 

 

 

 

Stan and Kay, on 4th of July, invited us over for drinks.  They are avid fishermen, who caught salmon every day they went out.  Kay had just finished filleting a salmon they had caught that day, and sautéd some salmon chunks in garlic and butter to serve as an hors d’oeuvre….deeelish.  Nothing like fresh salmon.  We really enjoyed visiting with Stan and Kay, and hope to see them up here again next summer.

 

It was raining so hard one day that I wasn’t able to go paddling.  Fortunately, I was able to get a shot of this osprey that landed way up in a tree, not too far from the boat.  He had just caught a salmon.  I zoomed to the max and was able to get these photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Al set the prawn trap twice, capturing a total of 116 prawns.

It was raining as we left Ocean Falls, and by the time we got to Dean Channel the fog had socked in.  On the bright side, there wasn’t any wind to speak of.  We had about an eighth of a mile visibility all the way to Codville Lagoon. 

When we got to Codville we found 4th of July, a 45 ft. Grand Banks, anchored in the south anchorage, where we like to anchor.  Luckily,  the anchorage is roomy enough for several boats, so that wasn’t a problem.

As it turned out, the people on 4th of July were mutual friends of Steve and Cheryl Lorimer, on Loan Ranger.  So, when Steve came by in his dinghy, on his way to visit 4th of July, he saw our boat and stopped by to say hi.  What a nice surprise.  We hadn’t seen Steve and Cheryl for years, so we invited them over for wine and had a great time catching up.

The weather was downright nasty the whole time we were at Ocean Falls.  The wind blew like stink, and it rained almost constantly.  Needless to say, I didn’t get any paddling in.  Al did manage to set our crab trap out, however, and was rewarded with 4 big keepers….delicious!

It was just an easy 2-hour run up to Ocean Falls, where we will fill our water tanks and get our laundry done.

The guest dock was almost empty when we arrived.  I guess a lot of people have already headed for home.

I got the laundry up to the Old Bank Inn first thing, since we want to be able to leave for Codville in the morning.  Les said his wife, who usually does the laundry, was gone for a few days, but he would have the laundry to me by the end of the day.  And he did.  So nice to have clean clothes.

It’s Monday, which means the ferry has delivered fresh produce to Shearwater.  The guest docks were full at Shearwater, so Al let me off at the haul-out dock while I dashed up to the store to get as much fresh produce as I could carry without wrecking my neck. Then, we were off to Forit Bay, where we anchored for the night.

I managed to get in a paddle, but there wasn’t much wildlife around, except for these honkers.

 

 

I also spotted some pretty wildflowers…

 

 

And, some berries.  There were huckleberries,

 

 

and elderberries.

 

August 3-5, 2018 — Kakushdish, Denny Island

The weather was a mixed bag, but I didn’t let it stop me from getting in a paddle every day.  Usually, I’d paddle to the creek at the entrance to Kakaushdish.  There are a few salmon around, but not nearly as many as usual for this time of year.  Consequently, there isn’t as much wildlife.

The sandhill cranes were still hanging out at Kakushdish, as they do every year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are usually lots of eagles at Kakushdish, but not this year.  I did manage to get just a  few shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve found Canadian geese almost everywhere this year, and Kakushdish was no exception.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were very few yellowlegs around, but I managed to find this guy.

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few least sandpipers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, there were a couple of loons.

 

 

I managed to get this one shot of a Steller’s jay.

 

Wildflowers were still blooming near the Indian shack at the head of Kakushdish.

 

 

I was on my way back to the boat one morning, after finding hardly anything to photograph, when I spotted this doe standing on the beach.

 

 

 

 

Now, that was a much needed surprise.

Another nice surprise was the arrival of our friends, Rolly and his wife Marion, on Tropic Isle.  We didn’t realize they were in the anchorage until we saw a couple in a canoe paddling toward us, on their way back for picking gooseberries. 

We invited them over for wine after they got their berries back to their boat.

This was the first chance we’d had to visit with Rolly for years, so it was nice to catch up.  And, they brought us a delicious salmon fillet.  Al hasn’t fished at all this year, so the salmon was really appreciated.

This was going to be a busy day, so we set out early for Shearwater, where we hoped to haul out and fix our damaged prop. 

We made good time to Shearwater, and couldn’t believe our good luck.  They were able to haul us out as soon as we arrived. 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, we knew that only the starboard prop was damaged, and only one blade.  However, because the props are paired, we had to change both props.  Luckily, we had a spare pair of props onboard.

It was shocking to see how many barnacles were on all the metal surfaces of the bottom.  Those surfaces were clean when we left Seattle.  So, while the yard people got busy changing the props, Al got busy scraping barnacles.  He scraped for about 3 hours, which is how long it took for the props to be replaced.

Meantime, I went to see if the store had anything left from last Monday’s ferry shipment of produce.  As expected, what was left was not in very good shape.  I did manage to get a few apples, tired looking pears, broccoli, and milk — just enough stuff to get us by until next Monday’s shipment.  In the meantime, we’ll hang out at Kakushdish, which is only a few miles away.

As soon as we were back in the water, we headed for Kakushdish.

Paddling conditions were perfect this morning.  Not far from the boat, I spotted this heron fishing for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I spotted this fellow way up in a tree.