Newcastle Beach

ahh, Sydney

Fall Classic Half Marathon 2011

Here are Will and I waiting for the start of the race after 4 months of long runs, short runs, hill runs and speed training, and a lot of post run chocolate soy milk to reward ourselves in between. 

By the time we got to this point we had already achieved our aim of relaxed training that was hard enough to be challenging (and make us pretty fit) and chilled enough to prevent injury or loss of motivation.  All good.  The run was cold but clear and we (mostly) really enjoyed ourselves.  We had the world's best support crew in Doug and Nicole of course!  I have never had someone to dispense gel, water and a kiss at the half way point before, but I really liked it! 

In the last few kms I felt compelled by some unknown force to put on a burst of speed (after consulting with Will) and managed to pull off a time 10secs under my "this would make me really happy" goal; a time that was only a bit slower than I did in the same race five years ago.  So, buzzing with post race endorphins and a sense of satisfaction we posed for silly photos biting our finisher's medals and then went off for brunch (and a couple of Cesars) to celebrate.  Next target:  Vancouver Marathon May 2012 (or maybe a marathon a bit later in the year if my calf/heel/hip object too much :)  I'm going to do it though.

sunshine on a stick

Farewell summer, we knew you too briefly. We'll wait by the (storm-secured) door for your return.

rainy day lake hike, labour day weekend

how do you turn fungi into fizz in seven easy steps?

Step 1: Take a friend who likes to sniff out wild mushrooms almost as much as you do and go hiking in the woods in fall...
Step 2: Make sure that friend has a recent memory of maybe, sort of seeing a place where matsutake might be coming up;
Step 3: Yell loudly in delight and appreciation when you discover that lovely button pine shrooms are indeed sprouting in that very spot;
Step 4: Take a sharp knife and carefully remove said shrooms, being sure to smell them and check for sandy bottoms to make sure they are pines and not amanitas, which will not kill you but, as Brigid said, will make you wish they had;
Step 5: Drive around town until you find the elusive mushroom selling station;
Step 6: Exchange 3 pounds of matsutake for $51, go to liquor store and exchange $50 for bottle of Veuve Clicquot; tell them to keep the change;
Step 7: Chill, pop and feel very pleased with yourselves :)

boat trip to cortes island

spontaneous champagne picnic at gibson's beach

be still my beeting heart

world's coolest chicken

That would be the psycho-looking black one who is poetically named Black Chicken. She was raised by a gentle-spirited hippy chick (thank you Hannah-Louise) and is just one sweet bird. She is convinced that my hands turn all they touch to edible treats and so will come running for any piece of grass I pluck, even when what she has just been eating is much tastier. I try not to disappoint her too often and have been known to sneak her strawberries and the occasional goji berry when Doug isn't looking. She is big (maybe an Ameraucana?), has beautiful gold splashes on her black feathers, and lays pale olive green eggs. I am smitten. I am also a bit worried about her as lately she seems a little lethargic and has some flaky skin around her face. She also shakes her head a lot. I'm thinking of dusting her for mites but don't want to use anything too nasty, like maliathon. Don't know if diatemaceous earth will work but it might be worth a try. Since moving away from the farm I am missing her horribly. Yes, I am officially a Chicken Sap.

if only I could add a link to the smell...

These are luscious, sweet-scented rounds of wax from this year's harvesting of the honey. Doug estimates that around 15o pounds of honey came out of the 3 hives and this was a bad year with all the rain and cold weather. The aim is to leave as much of the wax from the combs as possible when harvesting so that the bees don't have to work too hard to rebuild, but some always gets into the honey and is separated by the centrifuge and filtering processes. These are the beautiful result and hopefully I can have some of them to make candles for bathtime...

summer on a plate

I had an albacore tuna loin caught up north and tucked away in the freezer that I realised needed to be eaten soon. It wasn't easy to persuade Doug to eat (nearly) raw fish but after I briefly seared the wasabi-soy-honey marinated loin, rolled it in sesame seeds and served it with shaved cucumber, cherry tomatoes and edible chrysanthemum (shunjiku) fresh from the garden, he seemed to be converted. The flavour of the tuna was genuinely amazing - soft and luscious and not at all fishy. I try to keep my consumption of these big deep-sea fishes on the low side, but I will be back to Mavins for more of this when the albacore season starts again.

geese on lois lake

I never get tired of Canada geese, although my friends laugh at me for it, and was as usual enchanted by the social interactions of these guys on a recent fishing outing with Carl. Our fishing curse persists but we do get to hang out with some lovely wildlife.

harvest

quarry, texada island (yes, that's me swimming)

wildwood sunset