The last days of May and walk to Stocking Creek Waterfall.

Tuesday, May 26th

Finally the weather is improving and they are calling for sun with clouds and temps of 21C. Cloudy this morning though and breezy out on the lake. By 9am though the wind stopped and the lake was flat calm. After Ray did his bit in the workshop and I did my chores I suggested we take the boat out for a ride for the first time this season. I packed a lunch and off we went.

We cruised past Honeymoon Bay to Caycuse and just floated listening to tunes having lunch. There were a couple of base jumpers that launched themselves from the top of the mountain above Youbou. Too far away to take a picture of them though.

The Kyle Family in Squamish is settling in with Stella. Biggest problem was getting her wrapped tight enough so she stays on her back. Fortunately they received a gift yesterday of a sleep sack to try and control her legs. lol She sure has a "rubber neck". She is actually laying on her back with her head turned completely to the side.

She was fussy so I think Garrett will spend a lot of time cuddling her so Mommy can sleep.

Wednesday was a spectacular sunny day. Ray did a run into Duncan to pick up Freya's meds and a few other things while I prepped for our smoked lamb roast on the Traeger. Once he was back he played in his shop while I propped up my foot. It's getting better but not smart to push it yet. The afternoon we sat outside and I froze my foot on and off in the lake. :) Another fabulous day.

One of our neighbours in our little subdivision came in his helicopter for a short visit in the afternoon. Now we know why he made a deck in the middle of his extra lot! It will make for a short commute from Victoria. lol

So nice out that Roy and June next door, finally launched their boat for the summer and Darryl launched his Hobie Cat for the first time this year.

And off Darryl goes on his first sail of the season.

Baby Stella:

Maybe this one will stop her from rolling over. :)

All good!

I smoked a lamb shoulder roast for dinner with a red wine reduction, greek salad and stuffed bacon and cream cheese mushrooms. Yumm. Everything turned out really well.

Thursday, a cloudy start but by 7:30 am the sun was breaking through, temporarily. The lake flat calm. Maybe fishing later today after chores. Ray started off downstairs in his man cave while I dealt with the kitchen dishes. Finally my foot is feeling better.

At lunch I packed us up a cooler and we decided to try fishing for a couple of hours, testing out our new gear. We didn't catch anything (we did not expect to lol) and had a great time floating in the lake in the lovely warm sunshine.

While we were fishing, Jason was busy filling up Kristi's new planters he built for her fruit bushes.

In Squamish Garrett got them all in their first family picture.

Stella has managed to roll from her back to her side with ease and back again. On her belly she can lift her head up and to the side already. A very strong little baby.

After boating it was time to hang out on the dock for awhile as it was quite warm today at 26C. We had better enjoy it as by Saturday it is going to rain.

My sun baby.

May 29th

Friday morning light clouds again but warm out. No dew last night. Ray back in his shop constructing 2 more planters for Garrett and Kat that we will take over to Squamish when we visit in a week and a half. Can't wait to get my hands on that little bundle of joy. Garrett took Stella for her first stroller ride this morning that we had bought them. Kira is finally starting to get interested in this little person.

What is this thing that is still here!

Friday morning after Ray's time in his shop and me making scones and tidying up the kitchen it was decided that we needed to go on a bit of a road trip as we have pretty much been staying home. Ray and I decided on going to Ladysmith, picking up KFC and drove down to Ladysmith's Transfer Beach to eat. A fabulous view for lunch.

After Ray took a few pictures we hopped back in the car and headed to our next destination, Stocking Creek Falls which is located down the old highway in Saltair. We did about a 2km walk, there and back. It was a beautiful trail through huge second growth trees.

Ray even managed to spot some trout in the creek.

The hardest part of the trail was all the stairs down to the viewing platform to the waterfall but we took it slow and easy. We met up with a few small groups of people on the trails but everyone was really respectful of physical distancing so it was nice. This trail also connects with the Cowichan Valley Trail which is part of the Trans Canada Trail.

Entry to the Cowichan Valley Trail/Trans Canada Trail

A great outing and leftover chicken for dinner too.

Saturday, a bit cloudy and it's supposed to rain later this afternoon. Boat cover put back on in case. :) Today is a shopping day in Duncan, so not too much happening here. After our jaunt to Duncan we were back home by 12:30 in time for guess what???? more KFC leftovers. :) The rest of the afternoon we both puttered around, Ray in the workshop and me in the kitchen.

Today's Stella pictures:

Very expressive hands.

Sending kisses.

Here is another of Ray's projects ... a clamp rack and a moving platform for his belt sander. Everything is on wheels so he can easily move things around.

We invited Roy and June, our neighbours over for a Happy Hour at 4 pm on our sundeck under the gazebo as it was supposed to rain. It was nice to share wine and munchies for about 3 hours. Snacks became dinner. :) As usual I forgot to take a picture though. lol Thanks for the smoked salmon, Darryl. He gave me a package a couple weeks ago, it was delicious.



Sunday May 31st ... Last day of May, where did the month go?

The forecasted rain never appeared here at the lake but the lower mainland got pasted all day yesterday, according to my friend Dianne. This morning we woke to clouds and a bit breezy. Probably an inside day although they are calling for some sun this afternoon.

There was a post on my Lake Cowichan Facebook page for fresh strawberries. I ordered 10 pounds of fresh strawberries for me and 10 for Roy and June. They are coming from Saanichton, in the Victoria area and are being delivered to the house. Great service. The growers have to find other ways to sell their produce with Covid. They are picked in the morning and delivered in the afternoon. You can get fresher than that!

Kat sent us a picture of Garrett having his first story time with Stella. Our good friend Delle Booth, a retired teacher, sent them two books to begin with.

I spent the morning cooking our lobster for dinner. Ray shelled them for me after they were cooked and then I made the seafood stock with the shells for our Lobster Risotto for dinner.

My lobster cracker! lol

A little work for Ray and a lot more work for me. :)

Ta Da  Lobster Risotto.

Tomorrow's job is getting them prepped and into the freezer for jam. Small berries but very sweet.

Well that was another week and the end of May. Where did the time go. Hopefully June sees the coronavirus numbers go down and we can get back to a little more normalcy.