A beautiful October mid-day storm sky. Looking towards the Olympic Peninsula.
Another view…
GJ has a Zissou moment.
Archives for posts with tag: autumn
Today, with a light fog rolling through the city, I walked through Beacon Hill Park. I love foggy mornings best. The leaves are changing rapidly now and the shiny brown horse chestnuts are mostly down.
The mornings are cooler now which is delightful. Yesterday I went straight to the waterfront on Dallas Drive at the bottom of Government Street. A single crow watched me carefully in case I was carrying a muffin. Sadly for us both, I was not.
I’ve been walking for about an hour a few mornings each week. I love the light and the cool, and the way the air smells. Here are a couple snaps from yesterday.
We were gifted a bag of quince which we helped pick from a small tree in friends’ back yard. I found this recipe, bought some lids to go with our assortment of jars, and embarked on my first canning! The jelly went fine, ending up with 5 1/2 small jars. The paste is more like the consistency of apple sauce, so I’ve been mixing in with my morning oats (yum!) and might use the rest in some baking. I love the delicate rosy flavour of the quince; I’m quite addicted.
Fuzzy and flavourful: my new favourite fruit!
Weird that a yellow-fleshed fruit can make such red jelly! No colour added!
As part of our friend Annie’s birthday celebrations, she and I went to the beautiful Abkhazi Garden Teahouse last friday. The weather was exactly as I had hoped – the rain held off until we were cozy at our table beside the window, then poured down and cleared away again for our walk downtown. Somehow rain outside the window makes nice hot tea even more delicious. An account of the history of the Peggy and Nicholas Abkhazi, their life together and the home and garden they built can be found here. Such appreciation for The Land Conservancy who recognized the importance of this place and made it into something the whole world could share.
Built by and with love, Abkhazi Garden in the Fairfield neighbourhood of Victoria BC.
A river of green lawn and the path which leads to the summer house, the first building constructed on the property in 1946. In the spring and summer months, this view would be exploding with every colour of flower.
This lovely mossy rock dominates the upper garden around the house with the rest of the garden seemingly cascading from it creating a pool of green all around.
Tiny autumn cyclamen were in abundance.
This plant, Billardiera, was so spectacular.
From beside the house, looking out over Fairfield.
Delicate little fuchsias in the most pretty pink.
Afternoon Tea for two: tea sandwiches – cucumber plus egg salad – tiny quiches, smoked salmon profiteroles, ham and cheese croissants, savoury cheese scones, currant scones with clotted cream and jam, eccles cakes, lavender shortbread cookies, lemon tarts and Philosopher’s Blend tea-infused crème brulées. We chose Royal Abkahzi Black Tea, blended especially for the Teahouse by Silk Road Tea.
The rain comes down, all cool and refreshing, as we sip our tea and take our time over the wonderful delectables.
The lovely Annie as we both take photos of our towering treats.
On tuesday, we had the most incredible rain storm, or storms, as there was a spectacular one in the afternoon with thunder and lightening, plus a bonus evening downpour of epic proportions. I did not capture these, but instead, the gathering clouds and lead up. We had a lovely morning walk and were almost home when the first gentle drops began to fall. These were taken at the beach on Dallas Road, just below Beacon Hill Park:
From Pioneer Square, view of Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria BC.
Just a few random shots around my neighbourhood taken over the last few weeks. The autumn rains and fogs are here and it’s gorgeous.
Our beautiful harbour on a foggy morning.
From the recent Victoria International Chalk Art Festival.
A new consignment clothing store called Duchess & Duke has just opened on Government Street. They have an amazing collection of vintage suitcases (sadly not for sale.)
What’s left of our iconic Blue Bridge. The railway span has already been removed. The structure was designed by Joseph Strauss and opened in 1924. Strauss went on to design San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Work begins on the new bridge.
I had an amazing walk early yesterday morning down to the waterfront at the edge of downtown. The sky was threatening and the forecast was for possible thunder storms through the day. I love walking in the morning; the air is so fresh.
A grey day at the harbour. The famous Victoria flower baskets are beginning to wain, but the “Welcome to Victoria” red flower beds along the lower causeway are still vibrant and inviting.
This was the view from the walkway along Dallas Drive, looking west towards Sooke. Beautiful morning sky.
As I turned to head back, I saw this. I hadn’t noticed it building behind me as I walked. Just after I took this pic, struck the first lightening and rolling thunder.
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