July 2012 – Skelton Sketches

It’s been ‘berry’ rainy…

Posted on July 26, 2012April 28, 2017 by lindaskelton

I seem to have stayed put this week… the weather has been suitable for deskwork. Probably a good thing; when would I ever get down to thinking about school prep otherwise? But one damp overcast morning I got out for a little hike first thing while the raindrops were still on the salal along the climb…

A bumper crop of huckleberries called from the roadside. It’s been a terrific berry year, first our own strawberries, then salmonberries and now huckleberries and thimbleberries (though I have yet to venture across the highway and see if the bears have left me some of those.)

And I suppose the lichen is happy with all the wet…it’s even fashioned goblets for the occasion…

Oh, and of course, the slugs are happy as…well, happy as such slimy garden-gobbling creatures can be!

And that’s about the extent of my ramblings this week. If you’re having really hot weather and wishing it away, think of us and try to enjoy that warmth that hasn’t even a hint of coolness in it… We would be glad to trade our sea breezes and rain for a good hot summer if you’ve any to spare!

–LS

Away from the Roll of the Sea

Posted on July 19, 2012 by lindaskelton

Home again safe and sound from an alternately becalmed, lively, serene and terrifying (exhilrating, to Jim) sail… We often joke when we are out sailing that we are in the business of ‘making scenery’ for everybody else. Funny how serene a sailboat can look from a distance as it heels over in the wind. But don’t assume its occupants are likewise sighing in serenity!

Take this picturesque schooner for example—evidence of a very windy day!… How much wind do you suppose it takes to fill such sails? We had a taste of it! Just having come through our most harrowing bit of wind and sea ever we saw this schooner heading where we had been… Just after I snapped these shots he thought better of catching all that wind and took in his biggest sail. I could only wish we had been able to do the same… Twenty knot wind and choppy 3-foot waves are not serene to me… but it can certainly look wonderful from a distance….

No, what I enjoy most about sailing is the scenery I get to see, not be!

the tranquil evenings at anchor or dock,

and the quiet waking to see blue sky where stars had been when you shut your eyes…

(provided you haven’t sunk in the night!) Yikes. We saw this poor boat at a dock we visited… but that’s not a thought to think when you’re thinking of things you like about sailing…

So will leave you instead with an enchanting song that captures serenity for me…

Small craft in a harbour that’s still and serene,
Give no indication what their ways have been;
They rock at their moorings all nestled in dreams,
Away from the roll of the sea.

Their stern lines are groaning a lullaby air,
A ghost in the cuddy, a gull on the spar;
But never they whisper of journeys afar,
Away from the roll of the sea.

Oh, had they the tongues for to speak,
What tales of adventure they’d weave;
But now they are anchored to sleep,
And slumber alee.

Come fair winds to wake them tomorrow, we pray,
Come harvest a-plenty to them ev’ry day;
Till guided by harbour lights they’re home to stay,
Away from the roll of the sea.

Ahh…. now that’s serenity…

–LS

“And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Is.32:18

Desolation Revisited

Posted on July 12, 2012 by lindaskelton

Desolation is defined as:

A state of complete emptiness or destruction.

Anguished misery or loneliness.

When Captain George Vancouver charted these waters in 1792 he found this area so remote and foreboding he called it Desolation Sound. Pity he didn’t come sailing in the summer…

With its endless coves and inlets Desolation Sound is a boater’s paradise,

And at this time of year it is anything but desolate!

Seems that everyone is looking for a place to be alone, a little ‘desolation’, a little down time.

Wordsworth had it right:

“The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon,
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers,
For this, for everything, we are out of tune…”
–William Wordsworth, first lines of his sonnet (1807)

So we thought we’d have another look at this paradise just beyond our doorstep (2 1/2 hrs. sail time away) and see if there was room for us to be alone here too!

We had company for supper the first night…

The water was some of the warmest ocean water we’ve found yet. Delightful swimming!

And we dinghied ashore for a hike to the top of this steep little landmass—

–through cool ferny rainforest where we met the jolly(?) green giant…

…right on up and over, to warm and dry arbutus/salal forest and a view of a lily-clad lake far below…

And of course there were flowers to take pictures of…

When we’d had enough of enjoying the desolation, we invited out some friends for company and steak dinner (which they so graciously provided!)

…and hosted a slumber party for all the tiny night creatures which wheedled their way through screens and under sheets and feasted on us all the night long! Note: There are worse things than mosquitoes; now we know. Did Captain Vancouver meet these formidable pests in his travels? And what did they do without “Off”?! Even a boater’s paradise is not without its little miseries…

But the beauty of the ‘desolation’ here far outweighed the inconvenience of sleeping with ‘bedbugs’ and I’m ever so grateful for the captain who made it all possible!
–

-LS