SPRING AT LAST!

To say that it has been a rainy winter on the river this year, would be dramatically understating the amount of wet stuff that fell. Many records were broken.
While we have been strolling along the Maleçon in sunny
 La Paz, and enjoying sunsets over the bay like this from the Bougainvillea garden on our balcony…

  ….back at the Duck Inn, Cora has been dealing with a lawn that turned into a swamp and almost swallowed the 
Willow Cottage barbecue. She rescued it and moved it
 to temporary safety at the top of the ramp.  
Kudos to guests who barbecued in the rain!

High on Allen’s Job List when we return in May will be building a new platform for it under the Willow tree.
We miss many blooming events in our garden while we enjoy the tropical flowers here, so Cora sends us glimpses of what happens when we're not there. We rarely see our Camelias in bloom, so here's one with Saint Francis.

 The rain dissolved our old chiminea in the wild corner, 
so Cora turned it into a rubble platform 
for Mexico's Virgin of Guadalupe

 When we left, the old swing was covered in vines and algae....Cora has given it a new lease on life.

 Fruit trees that were bare in January are now full of blooms. 
Dare we wish for cherries and apples later?

 Tulips came and went....

 

....and appeared often in Cora's flower arrangements.

Strawberries survived the rain and bring 
the hope of fruit this summer.

This Stone Crow, which was in Jill's Christmas stocking, came through the winter and is now part of 

the growing menagerie in our garden.

It joins Allen's Eagle, which still guards the crocus bed...

....against attacks from these and other rabbits.

This little woodpecker will have first pick of the spring grubs.

A tiny snail lights up a dark corner.

This squirrel has the best seat in the garden.

And these old swans still welcome Water Garden guests, 

while fending off the new growth on the vines.

Before we left for Mexico, Allen and his crew demolished several old wooden herb beds that were 

weighing down this corner of our dock. 

Cora has been rearranging the remaining planters and other

occupants to create a sunny winter sitting area.

A new birdhouse joined the many others.

Fresh chives sprouted here.

This little cardinal basks among the rhodos....

....as does faithful Henry, 

one of our favourite garden creatures.

 

Even this rooster, who lives in the office, 

came down to see what was happening.

And sunsets over the river may not be tropical, 
but they are beautiful. 
Here's one of many captured by Cora. 
The Weather Vane on the Florida Room was made by 
Neil Erickson, the artist who created many of
 the paintings in our house and the Duck Inn.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016

December went by in a flash with the Ladner Carol Ships

starting the Christmas season as they have done

 for the last 40 years.

Whenever we....or our guests....attempt to photograph the parade, we get blurry results like this.

                   So we rely on the "Official Photos" published 

in the Delta Optimist.

Their photographer waits at the Government Wharf

 for the ships to arrive

 and then snaps them with his professional camera.

As always, The Provider, owned by the Botkin Family,

 leads the parade.

 Other ships follow

We hope that this Christmas tradition continues for 

many more years.

Back at the Duck Inn, the trees go up in the cottages.

Snow came lightly this year, and one of our regular guests got this shot of the first dusting on the North Shore Mountains.

And captured the snow falling on the river.

 HAPPY NEW YEAR from all of us at the Duck Inn

Jill, Allen, Cora and especially Willow the Cat

....who will turn 18 soon and is still with us!

 

DUCKIES

Over the years, many ducks and other birds have flown into  the Duck Inn. Rubber Duckies from all over the world have come with guests. Here is a charming Swiss one who arrived in a box covered in International Stamps.

See how quickly he made friends with some 

of the others who call the soaker tub home.

Allen loves to carve and several of his winged creations 

have made their way to the cottages.

These live on top of the kitchen cupboards in 

Willow Cottage, making them great dust catchers and 

causing Cora some frustration!

This Heron sits by the fire, keeping an eye on things.

Some of our oldest ducks are these plaques on the Willow Cottage living room wall. Many years ago, long before this Duck Inn, Allen and I were part of a Consignment Store on Powell Street also called The Duck Inn. 

The partners brought in their treasures to sell in the store, and took turns working in it. 

Many delightful things were bought and sold

….a lot to other partners!
No one got rich, but a good time was had by all. Eventually the store closed and we all brought our unsold treasures home. When we opened the Duck Inn in 1996, many of the old Duck Inn partners came to the Inn Warming

….bearing gifts like these.

Neil Erickson, one of our favourite artists, 

created several water colours for the Duck Inn.

Mr and Mrs Mallard is an original that he painted for the "Opening Ceremonies". 

The same ivy plant growing among the old duck plaques loves to encircle this painting

The Great Blue Heron is one of Neil’s best known works. 

This is a print taken from the original, which we feel privileged to own! It hangs in our dining room.

 Many Duck Inn guests have purchased copies of this print from Neil.

Neil and his family now live in Vernon, where he continues to paint. He's on Facebook if you're interesting in seeing some of his other works.

Neil Erickson - Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Neil-Erickson/183986651649024

Several rather worn Mallards hold the large bath towels in the bathrooms....we can't bear to part with them!

And these geese love to have guests apply their makeup in front of them.

These old Blue Mountain Pottery Ducks make a charming grouping on this old silver duck tray.

In La Paz, we have a friend who creates original bird houses. This Duck Inn one hasn’t attracted  any nesters yet,

 but it’s happy in its spot above the canoes.

 When you Check In to the Duck Inn, 

you’ll find more ducks in our house! 

Here’s our Registration Book with a

 Duckie Welcome Vase behind it.

I think it's safe to say that there are Ducks everywhere here. Will we ever have too many?? Don't think so! 

The ducks in this post are just a small sample of our collection.....I may have to add a few more later!

THE INSECT CORNER

Several years ago, in one of her downsizing adventures, Cora was seeking a spot for her “Spider Collection”. Coincidentally, we had just taken down a latticework trellis at one end of our garden because it could no longer support the weight of the Wisteria that it was holding up.
As Cora and I eyed the twisted trunk, we both had the same thought and the Insect Corner was born.

 It began with this beautiful Spider that Cora had 

cherished for years....

....and this smaller one with a precious stone for a body.

Once they were in place, it was remarkably easy

 for us all to add insects.

Some were exotic like this bronze Fly that we picked up at a Marché aux Puces in France in 2011.
This is how it looked then….

and here it is now after a few years out in the weather.

The Spider and the Fly are often photographed together.

And as you can see, Ladybugs started to move in!

This bejewelled one came home 

with us this spring from Mexico

And now it hovers over its plainer Canadian Cousin

And some Mexican Hummingbirds flew in undetected 

one day, ignoring the Insects Only Policy!

Of course, once the rules were broken, Strange Bugs began arriving from Dollar Stores and other suspect sources!

A large Dragonfly from the Ladner Village Market 

shouldered its way in this summer.

And in July, some favourite Duck Inn guests threw out all the guidelines and added these woodland creatures

....not Insects by anyone's standards!

WHERE WILL IT END??