Still wandering on Saturna island, staring at the ocean and at the horizon. Mount Baker, in Washington state, iis often visible across the Georgia Strait. It occupies the horizon with great aplomb… Its height (10,781 feet or 3,286 m), makes it the third highest in Washington state. According to its description, this is a young and active stratovolcano… I keep in mind that this volcano is about 60 miles away, as the bird flies… and I know that I live in a very active zone, seismically-speaking. Check out this Government of Canada page on earthquakes in Southwestern British Columbia…
The first picture was taken at Russel Reef on the North side of Saturna, on a clear day. The second shot was taken from the ferry leaving Saturna at sunrise …
 Mount Baker, WA  Mount Baker in the middle, viewed from the ferry leaving Saturna at sunrise.
I love the look of bracken ferns. I have been photographing them ever since I got here, especially in the fall, when they start to brown progressively and die back. They are deciduous, and return with fresh vigour in the spring…
However, after reading a Wiki article abrout bracken ferns (Pteridium aquilinum), I will admire them from a distance, and certainly do not plan to ingest any. Apparently, they contain a carcinogenic compound – ptaquiloside or PTQ – which causes higher incidences of oesophagal and stomach cancers. An article in the Guardian describes research done on water contaminated by large concentrations of bracken ferns in some areas. Food for thought.
The art of keeping warm in winter on these islands involves good insulation, and wood piles. My neighbours like to say that heating your house with wood keeps you warm three ways: first, cutting the wood, then stacking it, and finally transporting it to the fireplace or woodstove…
Simply stacking wood is an art in itself. Take a look.
On my trips to “town” (Victoria), I often take an hour or more to explore. This time, I went to Island View Beach Park, in the Saanich peninsula North of Victoria, on Vancouver Island.
Not only is this a beautiful shoreline park, but to get there, you travel through a productive rural area – where I often shop for vegetables in the summer and fall. The picture below was taken in the fall, and shows fields of cabbage.
The land gently rises to a vantage point, then back down to the shore. Once you get to the park, there is a beautiful long view over the water… There are usually quite a few people walking their dogs at the water’s edge. That Friday morning, the light and clouds were especially beautiful.
And then, I am always surprised by the treasures that show up unexpectedly through my lens. The textures of a ripened seed head of Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) in the shrubbery leading to the beach, and decaying bull kelp (Nereocystis lutkeana) rolled up on the pebble beach by the wind…
When I talk to non-quilters about the type of work I do in the studio, I find it easier to show them progress pictures. That way, they can appreciate the technical aspect of producing quilted textiles. Of course, quilters are well-aware of the work involved in adding that layer of marks to a piece…
Duo is a quilt I finished last December, and is shown in my Textiles page.
 
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