Batten down the hatches

Clay has made his way to Denman for some recovery and R&R. We went on a hike along Railway Marsh on a beautiful clear day. After the walk, we decided to explore some of the back roads and came to a dead end with a trail leading to a sand beach on the northeast side of the a island. We walked to the northern tip of the island and as it was high tide, we could not walk to Sandy Island. This is definately a place I'll be frequenting during the summer!

Friday November 10th, Clay & I went to REMEMBER JERRY. The "Greatfully Dedicated" performed Grateful Dead standards to a small energetic crowd of about 80. In a community where the entertainment dollar is often stretched, a 54-40 concert the week before likely drained the jam jar as the entertainment was better than the turnout showed.

On the 11th, we headed off to Ucluelet for some birthday celebrations. Good food and wine with some beach hikes mixed in were the highlights. A thunder storm one night woke everyone in the house and was the subject of the breakfast conversation the next morning. A hike on Long Beach, (Florencia Bay) topped off our visit. This will likely be the last time we enjoy these surroundings and I look forward to new places and new adventures somewhere on the "east side" of the Island where Sue & Bill will re-locate.

Tuesday night and Wednesday we had the full breadth and depth of the honkin storm that hit southern BC. We've had power failures Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for 2-6 hours in length. As of this writing, about 1/2 of Denman and all of Hornby are still without power. The wind littered our property with branches of all sizes and our little waterfall became a raging torrent. At one point, the metal roof on my shed began to peel off in the wind and needed some quick repair to rescue it. After each failure, our community water system has to be re-set, so the trips up to the pump house have been frequent. We are well prepared with Coleman lanterns and stove, candles and flashlights so we managed pretty well, however; I'm thinking a generator could come in handy in the future.

Between power failures, Clay & I have been gutting the main bathroom. Everything has been ripped out and will be replaced. A new tub, low flush toilet, and cabinet will be installed along with a new floor and drywall. Having a plumber staying here has it's perks.