British Columbia

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Gardening in January

Norma asked me to keep an eye on her garden this winter and to cover the shoots with netting when they appear to try to save them from the deer. She told me this would happen sometime in February, which I thought meant close to March. That sure felt like a long way away!

While doing my walkabout the property this week I discovered that there were shoots in the garden! It’s the end of January for pete’s sake!

I therefore scheduled netting for this weekend. I thought my plans would be thwarted by two solid days of rain, but today it’s just overcast with with the odd sunny patch. So, I spent a couple of hours puttering around the garden as well as doing a small job for the neighbour down the hill.

the first mosquito of the season!

the first mosquito of the season!

it just seems unnatural for stuff to be growing in January!

it just seems unnatural for stuff to be growing in January!

more signs of life

more signs of life

and yet more signs

and yet more signs

puuuurty

puuuurty

deer proofing the shoots

deer proofing the shoots

Next step, keeping my eye out for colour so that Norma can see her flowers this year.

Hard to believe winter is already over… It’s actually been over since early December, but I didn’t allow myself to believe it. I think that if we were to have had another cold snap, it would have happened by now.

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Water Heater Hope

Further work on the water heater revealed that the switch to turn it on gets hot if the ignition sequence fails and I don’t turn the heater off. This was decided to be yet another possible cause of the trouble I’ve been having.

I took the switch apart, cleaned the leads, and then reassembled everything. It’s been three days and the water heater has been acting perfectly. Dare I hope the issue is solved? I doubt it will end up being that easy, but I might have bought myself some time.

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Campbell River Grocery Stores

I haven’t done much grocery shopping since I got to Campbell River, but I have tried three of the five options I see open to me.

My first instinct was to go to my favourite western chain, Save-On-Foods, but it is definitely pricey compared to other options. Being on a super tight budget, I decided to explore other options.

I received some gift certificates for Discovery Foods in Willowpoint Village. It’s a small, full-service store. The prices are high and the selection isn’t very good. It is the only one that’s within walking distance, so I tend to go there on my days off to get a little some special for dinner so I have an excuse to get exercise.

A third option closed at the end of December, Super Valu. This name makes me shudder as it is the same store where I had to shop in Oliver. I never set foot in there figuring the prices would be just as over-inflated.

The fourth option is the Super Store. I only shop at the Super Store in Whitehorse because it’s the best option for that city, otherwise I avoid this chain. The stores are just too big and overwhelming and the selection is limited.

Today, I discovered a fifth option, Thrifty Foods. I expected this store to be a small, bargain-type supermarket like Buy-Low, but nope. It is a smaller, full-service grocery store with excellent prices and selection. I’ll be shopping there from now on! Today’s exciting buy was skinless, boneless chicken breasts. They had a ‘two-for-one’ sale, which really meant 50% off the regular per pound price. I had to convert from kilograms per dollar, but it looks like I paid about 4$ per pound, which is a bargain. I bought enough for at least six meals, for just 9$. I wasn’t the only person whose basket was piled high with chicken. 🙂

Walmart will be opening up a store in Campbell River this spring. I believe it will be a Supercentre with full grocery, so that will be another place to shop (and probably the reason why Super Valu closed).

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Rain Forest Wonderland

Today, which happens to be in the middle of January, I went hiking in the rain forest in shorts and a tee-shirt.

I love winter on Vancouver Island. 😀

There was no itinerary in mind today; I just wanted to get some fresh air. I parked at the Canyon View trail parking lot and then wandered around until I found the Beaver Pond trail. This involved taking a wrong turn onto what happened to be a private road, which ended up with my being chased by a very loud and territorial dog. Oops! To avoid my mistake, park at the power plant lot that’s just off the highway rather than the one that is in front of the plant itself. Walk across the highway, turn left, and go around the bend until you see a path veering off into the woods. It’s not well marked, but there is a sign (see below) that will confirm you’re in the right place.

I started off in my hiking pants, a tee-shirt, and my rain slicker as the sky was very grey and heavy. I overheated within five minutes and opened up the arm pit zippers for ventilation, but that still wasn’t enough. So, off went the coat and shortly thereafter the bottom part of the hiking pants and then I was comfortable. Have I mentioned that it is presently the middle of January?

Since it had taken me over an hour to find the Beaver Trail and it looked like a long loop with rather monotonous (if rain forest can be considered monotonous) views, I only did a small part of it before doubling back to the car.

The water levels were very high today and there has been talk of possible flooding if the rain keeps up. Be sure to compare some of these pictures to ones taken on my official Canyon View hike!

The mayor* told me that there is an exhaustive map of the hiking trails around Campbell River, so I’ve put finding this map on my list of things to do tomorrow.

swollen river

swollen river

looking down at the Canyon View trail (and the river) from the powerplant parking lot that's just off the highway

looking down at the Canyon View trail (and the river) from the powerplant parking lot that’s just off the highway

so much more water than just a few weeks ago!

so much more water than just a few weeks ago!

so much more water than just a few weeks ago!

so much more water than just a few weeks ago!

water levels are at six feet

water levels are at six feet

this wheelchair accessible fishing platform was not underwater last time I was here!

this wheelchair accessible fishing platform was not underwater last time I was here!

confluence of the Campbell and Quinsam Rivers

confluence of the Campbell and Quinsam Rivers

This is the only signage for the Beaver Pond Trail. Note the date of the bear warning (June).

This is the only signage for the Beaver Pond Trail. Note the date of the bear warning (June).

beaver pond

beaver pond

beaver pond

beaver pond

beaver pond

beaver pond

I was impressed by all the rocks caught up in this tree's root system.

I was impressed by all the rocks caught up in this tree’s root system.

ah, the lovely rain forest

ah, the lovely rain forest

*The mayor is a regular customer at the convenience station where I work.

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Water Heater Woes

My water heater stopped working earlier this week. It’s an Atwood model with electronic ignition. When I hit the switch to start it up, the propane ignites and then the heater shuts off.

I took my problem to the Escapees forum where someone I trust to be an RVing and electricity expert gave me advice on how to troubleshoot. He warned me that while there were some simple things I could check first, my symptoms indicate that the heater needs a new circuit board.

Water heater access compartment. The circuit board is up in the top right corner.

The issue is heat detection. There is a ceramic probe in the path of the flame which is linked by wire to the circuit board. If the board does not receive a signal that heat is present, it will shut off.

Following the expert’s instructions, I cleaned the lead and connector for that wire. I had been instructed to clean and replace the probe if it seemed burnt, but it was still snowy white, so that wasn’t the problem. I turned on the heater and it worked for a short time before shutting off again. I then turned it back on to go see what was happening at the panel level, arriving just as the heater once again shut off. I just tapped that connecting wire and the heater kicked on for a nanosecond, effectively isolating the problem to a specific place, the circuit board, as well as confirming that the probe was well in the flame.

I posted my findings to the forum and am still waiting for a reply from the expert. Someone else chimed in and told me to make sure connections are tight. I did so and that significantly improved the heater’s performance: it heated up a whole tank of water before shutting off and refusing to restart. I really don’t think I dodged the bullet as to replacing the circuit board, but at least my hour’s tinkering this morning will be rewarded with a hot shower in my own home tonight. That’s more progress than I usually make when working on a problem like this.

Rather than purchasing a new Atwood circuit board, I will be going with one manufactured by Dinosaur Electronics, as recommended by the expert, because they have a three year warranty vs. Atwood’s one year warranty. Dinosaur does not sell at the retail level, so I will need to find a Canadian supplier. The American supplier who was recommended to me sells the circuit board for 95USD, plus shipping by UPS (which I prefer to not deal with), plus customs and brokerage fees. I will do some research for a Canadian supplier; Dinosaur says they exist but there is very little information on the matter on their site.

Miranda’s turned twelve in December so I had better get used to her systems failing one by one…