First Paddle of the Year etc.

All spring I've been keeping an eye on the weather with an eye to kayaking, just waiting for the right opportunity to get out on the water.  I've become quite selective about the conditions when I paddle and am pretty much a fair weather paddler any more.  I've had my share of excitement.  At my age, going solo at all is probably not a great idea but the lure of solitude outweighs prudence.  In any case, a day came along with sunny skies and moderate winds so I headed off for my usual destination, Discovery Island, an hours paddle away.  

It's a very pretty island half of which is Provincial Park with camping facilities and the other half is the property of First Nations.  

The land that the park is on was formerly owned by an E.G. Beaumont who bought the property in 1918, lived there with his wife for almost half a century and left it to the province when he died.  The apple trees they cultivated still blossom and bear fruit and you occasionally encounter other evidence of the homestead.  

Some day the scotch broom and ivy that were introduced will overwhelm everything.

In my garden, the first artichokes.  Early this year.
 

On Beacon Hill