Rhapsodies, spiritual musings, and practical advice on Island Living


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Proper use of a hockey stick


At the risk of insulting most of my Canadian country women and men, I will now reveal the proper and ultimate use for a hockey stick - blackberry picking. Oh sure, there is no question that a hockey stick comes in pretty handy for those slap shots and whipping a puck around the ice. But the hockey stick only begins to come into its own subtlety and sophistication in the blackberry bramble.

From use as a walking stick as you gingerly make your way through the uneven ground and trecherous thorny vines, to bringing too high or too low berries into reach, the hockey stick is where it is at. Why flip a rubbery puck to a team mate when you could extend your stick out to an impossibly out-of-reach, perfectly plump, cluster of blackberries and serve them up on the blade of your hockey stick for easy picking? Really this handy picking friend should have been named the blackberry stick -- but don't let the wrong name stop you from using this indispensible tool.




As in hockey, you will need to wear the correct uniform to complete your blackberry picking gear.  My tried and true choices are both fashionable (as in Denman-Island-Free-Store "fashion") and very practical.
  1. gum boots for stomping vines and keeping vulnerable ankles safe from giant sharp thorns in the under brush
  2. long pants to cut down on vine damage to the legs (jeans work best)
  3. short sleeve loose shirt so you can more easily back out of a vine snag
  4. yogurt container on a string to catch your berries as you work
  5. big round shallow bowl (berries can crush each other in a deep bowl), big enough to hold enough berries for one "batch" of jam.
  6. eye protection - vines can snap back into the eye.
  7. No iPod or mp3 player. You'll need your ears open and available to hear nearby wasps!

This year is a bumper crop year. So grab your hockey stick and other blackberry gear and get picking. Yum!



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Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica and Luna at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

conditions are perfect




Yesterday the clouds broke apart and the Sun blazed onto the scene to warm and brighten our summer day. Dark and dramatic clouds combined with the intense light of a bold, setting sun to create the perfect conditions for photography. The light and shadows played and conspired to create a drama out of even the smallest details. The interplay of sun and cloud kept every sight fresh and compelling.



How could I resist the temptation to capture the drama with my camera?
:o)



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Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/


Monday, August 24, 2009

New puppies in our neighbourhood!

My daughter and I visited our neighbour Barbara at the Hawthorne House B&B and played with her two new puppies. They are half maltese/half yorkie, 9 weeks old and teeny tiny. We were absolutely enchanted with their gentle ways and fun puppy antics. One of the pups, Buddy is looking for his new family-to-be. Buddy is so cute and loving, I bet it will not be long before he finds his home-sweet-home. In the meantime, we can enjoy the puppy frollicking. :0)

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Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Piercy's Barn turns 100

antique washer board
The Old Barn turns 100

I loved wandering around at the 100 year anniversary party for the Old Piercy Barn. I was fascinated by the old pieces of farm and house hold equipment in Piercy's Barn Museum. I thought about all the modern conveniences we have (and ) while I meditated on how time consuming it must have been doing the family laundry with a washer board and hand crank wringer. I can see how home making duties would have been a full-time, all day activity. Now if I could just get my pre-teen to appreciate just how how easy she has it when it comes to chores like laundry duties. :0)

antique stove at Peircy's barn


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Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

BC Ferries Open House - Cable Ferry

jamm at oceanwood.wordpress.comI attended the BC Ferries Open House to discuss the feasibility of the Cable Ferry from Buckley Bay to Denman Island. I brought along my little voice recorder that I use for choir rehearsals and made an audio recording of the entire meeting.

You can listen to my recording of the meeting by clicking on the link below:
In providing this unedited recording of the Cable Ferry Meeting, I am neither endorsing -- nor protesting -- the continuance of the Cable Ferry Feasibility study.

http://www.archive.org/details/BcFerries-CableFerryFeasibilityMeeting

Special note: This is my first ever podcast so please be patient if the link breaks or I need to redo this podcast in the future. I will do my best to keep this audio recording available to all. If you have any difficulties accessing the file please comment below on this post and I will receive an email alert.

For more information about the BC Ferries Inquiry into the feasibility of the Cable Ferry, please contact Sarah Cotton at BC Ferries Corp.

For more information about obtaining a copy of this audio recording, please contact: Jessica at Oceanwood Bed and Breakfast by commenting below.

Audio recording description:

BC Ferries, Cable Ferry Open House held at the Senior's Hall on Denman Island, B.C., 20 August 2009. This approximately 90 minute mp3 file is a raw, unedited, audio recording taken by Jessica at Oceanwood Bed and Breakfast. Please note the first couple of minutes involve loud shuffling noises while the hand held recorder was turned on and a chair in the front row was found to rest it on. The meeting begins approximately 2 minutes into the recording.

Note about sound quality. This meeting was held without the benefit of a microphone. Speakers from the BC Ferries panel and from the audience had to speak loudly to be heard. You may need to adjust your volume accordingly to hear all speakers.

I am making this audio resource available to the public to give fair and equal access to the information discussed at the meeting. In providing this unedited record of the Cable Ferry Meeting, I am neither endorsing -- nor protesting -- the continuance of the Cable Ferry Feasibility study.

For more information about the BC Ferries Inquiry into the feasibility of the Cable Ferry, please contact Sarah Cotton at BC Ferries Corp.

For more information about obtaining a copy of this audio recording, please contact: Jessica at Oceanwood Bed and Breakfast,(***make a comment below***)

This audio is part of the collection: Open Source Audio

Artist/Composer: Oceanwood Bed and Breakfast
Keywords: BC Ferries; Cable Ferry; Denman Island; British Columbia; Open house

Creative Commons license: CC0 1.0 Universal


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*******           
Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Squirting "gooey ducks"

We walked over this patch of merrily squirting "gooey ducks" on our low tide walk. Our clothes were soon soaked by the orchestra of giant clams' veritable water park of dancing water squirts. Here is a short video clip of their collective efforts.



For more information, this is what Wikipedia has to say about geoducks:

The geoduck (pronounced /ˈɡuː.iːdʌk/ "gooey duck"[1]), Panopea abrupta, is a species of very large saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Hiatellidae.

The shell of this clam is large, about 15 to over 20 cm in length (about 7 to 9 inches), but the extremely long siphons make the clam itself very much longer than this: the "neck" or siphons alone can be one meter in length.

To read more about geoducks click here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoduck


**********************************************************************************************************
*******           
Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
***********************************************************************************************************

Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/