I thought today’s post was going to be all about fungi, but Cowichan Bay had other things in store that we weren’t expecting.
Our first encounter of the day was a blue heron who swooped in to see what tasty morsels the calm waters might offer up.
After a lazy morning breakfast, we took a wander over to Maple Bay Marina and poked around the chandlery, bought a coffee/tea, and wandered the marina shoreside. There is a pretty little float home community on the first (last?) dock, and it seems like such a peaceful and calm spot to live. I’ve always thought I’d love to live in a float home, there is just something so ….idyllic? about it. And this spot…so lovely.
Heading through the boatyard from our own marina and our little waterside studio, we stopped to marvel at the biological feat that is a seagull slowly forcing a starfish to succumb to its throat. I have other photos of other seagulls eating other starfish, but it’s always something that gives me pause. I’ve listened to people gasp and assume that it’s an impossibility, but they do eventually get them down.
Just off the docks was a remnant of a past protest against the restaffing of our coastal lighthouses.
We walked back to our own marina, stopping for a moment to see how far the seagull had made it with swallowing the starfish in the past 30-45 minutes….one leg still hanging out….
Back at the Birds’ Eye Cove Marina, we stop at our little home-away-from-home for a moment, and then wander down the dock to scope out the moorage for future reference because, though currently between boats, we will be back plying these waters in the not-too-distant future if we can get our ducks in a row.
While standing at the end of the dock enjoying the slow and gentle movements of several medusa jellyfish lazily pumping their bells through the water (or maybe they are racing as fast as they can….time moves differently when you’re a sloth like organism I suppose), a seal pops up directly in front of me. We stare at each other for a moment in surprise, and when I lift my camera it slips backwards under the water …nothing to see here….
A voice called out to us, Brenda from the Club who oversees this place. We chatted for a bit and she recommended a hike at a place we were thinking of heading. Stoney Hill Regional Park. She said she does the 3.2km loop twice, sometimes three times a day. It’s an easy hike, but still impressive.
We drove past the park turnoff and visited Genoa Bay, another spot we intend to visit when we get that next boat. A pretty little spot for anchoring, and we think about the future. And then it is back to the Stoney Hill Road and past the park to see what lies at the end of this road. Some pretty amazing properties, and it seems that everyone owns a little excavator, and a sense of humour!
We find ourselves back at Stoney Hill Regional Park and hop out to get some air and a bit of exercise. The forest is popping mushrooms everywhere! We pass a foursome and a woman is bending down and brushing leaves off a bright red object to take a photo. “Amanita” I say as we walk past. “Poisonous?” she asks? “Very” I respond.
I don’t see another.
Why are Amanita mushrooms always sparse while others are so plentiful?
It’s a good thing, else there would probably be more poisonings, but I’m still curious. The secret lives of mushrooms (probably not so secret, I just need to do some reading) seems interesting.
The forest is thick with cloud cover. It ebbs and flows, a vaporous version of the ocean below the cliffs. The arbutus trees are magnificent and their fabulous peeling bark leaves the colourful smooth trunks visible through the misty air. I love these trees and find it so fascinating that half the year they are unnoticeable because their bark thickens and they don’t stand out. Then they go through their annual shed and share their natural artwork.
And then the cloud moves past and we can see over to Saltspring Island. We thought about going over, but in the end figured we’d restrict ourselves to this side of the water. Next time maybe. It’s been a long time since we’ve visited Saltspring. A sailboat slips past far below, and again I think about that next boat. Maybe in a year or two that will be us down there, after a reasonable period of time to remember how to sail. It’s been a long time since we set foot on a sailboat, but I still find their stability in heavier seas to be comforting.
We leave the park and head into Maple Bay for lunch at the Lion’s Rampant Scottish Pub, before heading for Cowichan Bay. We’d just intended to wander the community and explore a few shops but, as we drove through, I noticed the public wharf and so we decided to head down there briefly.
But it wasn’t so brief.
As we came towards the dock we could head a sound….sea lions. And by the sounds of it. A LOT of sea lions.
The breakwater dock was full, and I mean FULL of seal lions. Mostly Stellars, but a few California sea lions mixed in for good measure, their smaller, sleeker, and darker bodies at the fringes of the massive tawny Stellar’s sea lions. The air would be quiet, for a moment, and then one would have something to talk about and the air would be full of barking and growling. People were walking the docks for a view, it was awesome.
Apparently this is an annual thing. They congregate in these waters to gorge on salmon, and then haul out on the docks to laze about as their bellies digest the fish. It truly was amazing to see so many of them in one place. What a mess they must leave behind.
Two or three smallish sailboats were tied to the breakwater….I’d be terrified one or two of these massive animals (the males can be about 800kg….the size of a mature male grizzly bear!) lurching aboard and sinking the boat. It’s happened…. But being the owner of one of those boats and coming back…how do you get to your boat? How do you get your boat untied when these behemoths are laying across your lines?
So. Many. Sea lions! A couple of them swimming about in the bay wanted to haul out and couldn’t find a spot to do so. This one almost made it, before being yelled at …. and dropping back into the water to look for another spot.
After that amusing afternoon interlude, we drove to the Blue Grouse Winery and enjoyed a sampling of their reds and whites and enjoyed the moody mists hanging over the vineyard, before driving back to our little studio-home-away-from-home for a BBQ dinner by the sea.
And that’s what kind of day it was on the inside coast.