Showing posts with label Westham Island. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westham Island. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

2011 WEEK 42: Gourd Help Us!

Before I get to the fate of our pumpkins from the Westham Island Herb Farm pumpkin patch, here are a few more pictures I snagged on the way back from Westham Island.

Access to the island is over a rickety old wooden swing bridge that is only one lane wide - Vehicles take turns crossing it in each direction. In all the times I've visited the island over the years I've never had to stop while the bridge was opened for a boat.


On one side of the bridge there are a number of floating homes.


The following pictures were taken further down the river. Wonderful dramatic Fall skies. It reminds me a little of Alberta.




Arriving home we got to our pumpkin carving and here are the results... First up, Mel's:



And here's mine. "These aren't the Gourds you're looking for"...



Until next time folks!

Monday, October 24, 2011

2011 WEEK 42: Oh My Gourd!

On Sunday we were determined to get out and make the most of the gorgeous weather so we hopped in the car and headed South down Hwy 99 to Ladner. We made a quick stop for brunch where these guys watched over us...


...Before continuing on to Westham Island. This is the same place I went to way back in WEEK 10 when I blogged on the Reifel Bird Sanctuary. This time we had an entirely different agenda.


Pumpkins!


This is the Westham Island Herb Farm. It's much less commercial (not to mention less crowded) than the more well-known Richmond Country Farms pumpkin patch. It's also very photogenic with all kinds of old farm equipment lying around.



Braving the mud and numerous scarecrows, we marched off towards the pumpkin patch.


Pumpkins! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!



THE GEEKY STUFF: Given the muck and farm yard dirt everywhere I chose to forego changing lenses during our pumpkin patch foray. All of this week's photos were captured with the Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5, at ISO 160 with f-stop ranging from f/5.6 to f/9 and shutter speed between 160 and 350.


There's something sad about a pumpkin patch... Many don't make it. Many fall victim to the elements and to clumsy feet. Many will never have the opportunity to fulfill their destiny as Halloween sentinels.


But there were still plenty to choose from. Mel was delighted with her choice...


Soon enough I found what I was looking for. OMG! ("Oh My Gourd!") what an awesome specimen!


To find out what we did with our pumpkins, come back tomorrow. HINT: I took the geek approach.

Until next time folks, happy pumpkin picking!