discovering finn slough

friday was a nice sunny day and not only that it wasn't cold for once.  i decided to use the day to explore.  but first i went to the ward pancake breakfast and easter egg hunt.  i purposely was too late to have to sit down and eat.  however i was surprised to see child # 9 and family there.  but even spanish ward defectors enjoy a pancake breakfast and easter egg hunt.

it was over pretty quick.  i put some stuff away in the primary closet and drove to super store to get ingredients for my easter sunday contribution--potatoes au gratin.  then with the groceries in the car i drove to find finn slough.  it took a few wrong turns to find it. lisa called just as i was turning down no 4 road for the second time.  with blatant disregard for the laws of the land, i answered it.  "finn slough!" she exclaimed, "alone?!  don't get out of the car. there have been 'issues' there.  they don't like people snooping around."  yadda yadda, she told me to phone her when i left otherwise she would call the police.  "lisa," i said, "save the drama for yo' mamma".... just kidding i didn't say that, although i could have.  i just laughed.  so anyways during our illegal phone call i found the tiny 'villiage' of finn slough.  i knew it by the shacks on the river.  so i parked my car on the side of the road and got out.  i wasn't ready to explore yet though.  i was feeling some residual wretchedness so i decided to centre myself on a park bench on the south dike, which runs right up to finn slough.  so i did.  i sat there and let the quiet and sunshine sink in.  i lay down on the bench and listened to the birds.  when i got up i walked down the dike path a ways to see if i could get a better look at the ginormous eagle's nest i saw in a tree bordering a field.  i could just make out a white head sitting in the nest and another parent sitting in a tree near by.  should have brought my binocs. but i didn't.

walking back i took some warm up pics of the dandylions and such.

 this bench was dedicated to a guy named cliff who seems to be a person of the slough.  i liked how someone had left flowers in his bench.

 so i approached the shacks a little cautiously but soon found that there was no one to be hostile to me.

finn slough, i soon discovered was like a richmond shack island.  i couldn't have been more delighted.  a whole different world right there on the outskirts of richmond.  it was founded by finnish fishermen in the 1880s.

 then i saw this swan and voila, i was happier.  note the black and white dog on the shack facing.  he's hard to pick out.

 haha! swan nibbling caught in the act.

 i found a seat on the side of the road and sat in the sun and watched my swan friend for a time.

grey and weathered wood gives me a thrill.  dilapidated and worn.  wood with a history.  wood with a story.  there are old fashioned bikes everywhere.  some are house decor, some are part of a garden and some look like they are actually used.

 hi.  i'm sitting on the side of the road peering into finn slough.  also, my hair is a bush.

 eventually the wanderlust pulled me up from my spot on the side of the road and i continued my exploration.  this place was chalk full of interesting tidbits.

 it took me a while to notice the easter island head, but when i did, it was an enjoyable discovery.

 i liked the easter island head, cow skull, bike combo.

 wild rose brambles abounded.

  this shack sported a shoe collection.

boats on dry land just blend into the dilapidated landscape.

 and a truck garden.  talk about going green.

 love the bumper sticker.

 note the wooden inukshuk.

 then i met this black cat.

 i think this sign used to say no parking any time but the land has reclaimed it and no one obeys it.

 then i got to the board walk.  the bridge to the other side of the slough.

 it was very uneven and many boards were loose.  in fact in one testy spot there was only one trustworthy board to walk on.

 but to be fair, they do warn you.

 my foot striding bravely on.  my  body likes to follow my foot.

 yo.

 hi don't mind me, finn sloughians.  i just like rolling around on the board walk bridge.  it's all that grey weathered loose board wood.  love it.  also like my hair in this shot.  way to present well, bush!

on the other side...

 my grubby toes witness to the skunk cabbage.  why cabbage?

 stonewalled by the decapitated man's wish for privacy in one direction.

 i liked the flash of red curtain.

 hi.  i'm in finn slough.

 yes and here is an almost identical picture of me in a slightly different spot.  let's be thourough though.  let's.  lettuce and cabbage.

 the electrical wires along this path were really low and it made me a little nervous.  i didn't get far in the other direction when i came upon another stonewall.  ie. wooden  gate.  aka privacy request.  i respected it and maybe that's why lisa didnt' need to call the police.  who knows.  i met a friendly man and his eager young dog and some less friendly people who just seemed to want to go about the business of their day which seemed to be along the lines of putting away their newly purchased groceries.  they vanished through the gate.  they were middle aged ladies with thick waists and plump bottoms and short cropped hair.  they didn't seem menacing at all. i think maybe finn slough's got a bad rap with the locals.  and maybe they like the menacing rumours because they like their privacy.  maybe.

 back over the bridge and on down the road...

 a canoe garden.

the heart homestead.  maybe that should be the name of andrea's farm.

 on my way back to my car i stopped to look at this.  there's a write up about cliff, the guy who had a bench dedicated to him at the beginning of this post.  but all i really saw was the picture and the words scrawled in pen below it.

and that's the end of my finn slough adventure.