Cowichan Valley Travel, Tourism and Photography Information » Weekly Updates

Cowichan Valley Garden Tour 2010

Kevin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 00:04:06 +0000

Our self-guided 16th Annual Cowichan Valley Garden Tour on June 6 2010 gives you a magnificent opportunity to enjoy the highways and byways as you explore private gardens throughout the beautiful Cowichan Valley. Visit six uniquely different horticultural delights that are all new to the Tour this year. These include a garden featuring raised beds and vegetables and another garden that is part of the Slow Food Movement. Four other beautiful gardens are filled with wonderful plants, garden designs and unique features. Ask the experts, garden owners and Master Gardeners, about your specific gardening questions. Enjoy a Toonie Tea /

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Spring in the Cowichan Valley

Kevin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:58:45 +0000

As spring approaches and the days get longer we generally have rain and very little snow. This year has been pretty much snow free, unlike last year where we seemed to have an endless supply of the white stuff. We have had lots of rain in the past few months however with bad flooding in November and lots of rain and wind this past week. It does make for nice photographs!

Cowichan Valley Rainbow, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The Cowichan – Photo Presentation

Kevin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:59:28 +0000

I would like to thank all of those that had the opportunity to come to the book launch of The Cowichan: Duncan, Chemainus, Ladysmith and Region. Georgina and I had a wonderful time, Volume 1 did an excellent job of book selling and handling the crowds and Fatima at Bistro 161 and her staff put on an amazing spread of wonderful local food. Nothing better than Chanterelle Mushroom shooters and pizza made with Hilary’s cheese! The local wines were quite flavourful as well.

For those that were unable to attend thanks for the emails and blog comments. You missed a good

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Goldstream River and Cowichan River Salmon Run

Kevin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:05:38 +0000

Cowichan River, Cowichan Valley, British Columbia

With fall fast approaching one of the highlights of this region are the salmon runs that occur in many of our rivers. In Goldstream Provincial Park and in many areas of the Cowichan River the salmon appear about mid-October and may be viewed for about ten weeks. These dates vary from year to year but I have never been disappointed during this peak period. It is the Chum salmon that is most abundant in this river, Coho and Chinook salmon may also be seen as well as the Steelhead and Cutthroat trout.

The best viewing area by far

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No Bull! You Gotta Love Cows

Kevin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:23:11 +0000

Well preserved cow at the Cobble Hill Fall Fair, Cobble Hill, British Columbia

I haven’t really spent that much time around cows having grown up in large cities and having lived in areas where “cattle” aren’t really welcome in the neighborhood. Really about the only thing I knew about cows was that milk came from them and they sure tasted good! Interestingly, when I was quite young for some strange reason I collected cow postcards when we travelled. Maybe that was a sign of what my future might bring!

That all changed about 4 years ago when we bought our property just

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Islands Folk Festival – a close up look!

Kevin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:31:20 +0000

I just came back from a fabulous weekend at the Islands Folk Festival in the beautiful and extremely hot Cowichan Valley. What a festival; an amazing variety of music from around the world peppered with good food and catching up with many friends. Some 4,200 photos later I am back at my computer sorting images and deciding what to put on my web site. Needless to say, this will be a daunting task and will take some time. I’ll update this site as I put the galleries together. For anyone interested in how I manage to deal with this number

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Islands Folk Festival – Friday Night

Kevin — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:34:44 +0000

What a fabulous start to the 25th annual Islands Folk Festival at Providence Farm. The weather has been stunning and a large and enthusiastic crowd arrived this evening for great music from Canada and abroad. I’m off again in a few minutes but here are some images from last night. Many of these folks are playing again during the next few days so there is still time to come out and enjoy the party!

My hats off to all the volunteers that make this possible and check out the lighting; a little difficult to shoot with but sure looks great!

Kinobe

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Great weather in the Cowichan Valley

Kevin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:03:32 +0000

The Cowichan Valley is known for its long and hot summers and the past few weeks have lived up to this reputation. I have been travelling around the region doing photography, a few scenic coastal images from yesterday. Enjoy!

Evening in Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Genoa Bay Morning, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Boats in Cowichan Bay, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Cowichan Valley Cemeteries

Kevin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:39:15 +0000

Being a photographer I seem to be somewhat “normal” in that I search out cemeteries to shoot images. Cemeteries are peaceful places and very photogenic, you can’t get better than that! The Cowichan Valley has a number of very interesting cemeteries both from a historic point of view as well as the photogenic point of view. I’ll add a list later but here are a few “teaser” images.

Cemetery at St. Ann's Anglican Church, Duncan, British Columbia

St. Ann's Anglican Church Cemetery, Duncan, British Columbia

Somenos Cemetery, Duncan, British Columbia

St Peter's Anglican Church Cemetery, Duncan, British Columbia

Coastal Celebration

Kevin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:26:50 +0000

Being on an island has a tendancy to isolate you a little from the rest of the world. In today’s economic crisis this can sometimes be a godsend. I think islanders are a little more “self sufficient” than others and the idea of getting goods and services “NOW” just doesn’t really happen very often. We have all managed to slow our lives down and maybe spend more time enjoying our surroundings and spending time with friends.

Part of this “slow down” is the result of being at least a few hours away from the chaos and hustle of the urban centres

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