Turkey in the Woods, Sunshine Coast, BC

Anyone Lose a Turkey?

Hiking on the Sunshine Coast, BC, has taught me to always expect the unexpected— and a few weeks ago this was certainly the case. It felt very weird to look down off a bridge into a mountain river and see... a full size turkey! It took few seconds for it to sink in, what this thing actually was, and then our small group had a lot of fun speculating on how the heck it had ended up there.

The two most promising theses were A: someone had put it on their deck / patio to thaw, and a large animal (dog, cougar, bear) had snatched it and dragged it off into the wilderness. But then why leave it? And why was it not more chewed up? B: someone thought this would be a good place to thaw a frozen turkey (they do recommend cold flowing water). But who would think leaving it in the wilderness, crawling with hungry animals, would be a good idea?

Definitely this was one of the strangest things I have come across while hiking.

But there is always, always, something. Below is a shot of a cardinal-- a bird not native to this area --also in the middle of the woods. Always something!

Beach Combing, Sunshine Coast British Columbia

Beach Comber's Wind Chime
$175 with free shipping at Coast Chimes

One of the great perks of my job is being able to go beach combing as part of my work. Working in my basement workshop, I find it is actually essential for my mental well being to get out for a good walk everyday. Fortunately, I live just a few steps from the Pacific, so I keep an eye on the tide chart, and head out when it is a little low. If it is too high, I can not get around certain seawalls.

Most days I spot at least one or two decent pieces of driftwood, and maybe a stone or two. Just below my house is not the richest hunting zone— other beaches on the Sunshine Coast are better, but I prefer not to drive.

My usual route takes me along a couple of kilometres of shoreline, and then I cut back up through the pretty little town of Gibsons. Just outside of Gibsons there is a very scenic little forest trail. So this walk takes me through beaches, a town, and a forest: what could be better!

Wherever you go on the Sunshine Coast, it is a challenge to find great driftwood. Most is softwood, and too roughed up to use (splintered, cracked, broken). So it is exciting when a beautiful piece is found! Stones are easier to locate, but even there it can be a search to find one I really like (smooth, rounded).

Even on the rare day when I do not find a single piece of wood or stone for my work, I still get the great walk, and always, always hope for tomorrow!

Beach Combing Beach Near My Home, Coast Chimes

Hiking, Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

Typical Hike Scenery, Sunshine Coast, BC

The biggest influence on my work is without doubt this beautiful area I am fortunate enough to live in. The ocean, the beaches, the rugged shores, and the forests.

I try to go for at least a walk everyday, regardless of the weather conditions. And once or twice a week, I strive to go for a real hike.

Lately Mount Elphinstone has been the target. This is a huge area and it is absolutely littered with hiking trails-- from easy to ouch, from short to as long as you want.

Yesterday we enjoyed one of my favourite hikes-- a favourite even though I had only been on it one time before. Just the right amount of up and down (nothing lung breaking), no other people, a decent length for an afternoon (2 1/2 hours, including 20 minutes for a nice picnic lunch).

Nothing refreshes me and inspires me like a good hike in our woods.

Wind Chime Freestanding Beach Stone Base

Freestanding Wind Chime, Beach Stone Base
Find it Here:  Coast Chimes

I love beach stones! The look (smooth, rounded, and even prettier when wet from rain), and the excuse they provide for me to go for a hike along the shore, beach combing.

They make an exceptional base for my freestanding chimes. The 1/4 inch diameter copper tubing is inserted right into the beach stone.

The artist-made sea glass is gorgeous: mat finish with smooth edges. Outstanding colors: amazing what old bottles can become! Upcycled glass, so you can rest easy that you are not contributing to the global crisis of materials being briefly used and ending up in a landfill: this has been rescued from the landfill!

Built to last, with durable second only to beauty. This chime is very happy outdoors all year long, any climate.

Although it is heavy and expensive to ship, as with all my creations I offer free, fast, expert shipping to the USA and Canada.

Visit my website to see all my amazing works: Coast Chimes

Outdoor Blue Green Kaleidoscope Wind Chime, Soothing, Cooling Colours

Soothing, Cooling Colours
Blue Green Kaleidoscope Wind Chime
at Coast Chimes

The Kaleidoscope wind chimes and suncatchers are always popular at Coast Chimes,  and I like them all very much. But I really enjoy the blue-green selected colours kaleidoscope. Just seeing these colours on a hot summer day brings a breath of fresh air. It's like lying beneath on soft grass beneath a big leafy tree, looking up through the shadow-making leaves at the deep blue sky.

Like all Coast Chime products, these are made exceptionally well, with handcrafted copper hardware, a tung nut oiled red cedar box frame and wind chime holding roundel, and polished pure copper chimes that have been treated with a reactive (not paint or polish; this finish will not peel or flake). Made to last, to look better and better over time.

Head over to the website to see all the different designs: Coast Chimes

Free, fast, expert shipping on all orders to the USA or Canada. Reasonable postage to other countries.

Hiking, Sunshine Coast BC, Highway 102 Trail

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Maps.Me Excellent for Hiking

We enjoyed another, even longer, hike yesterday, all the way from just above the Langdale ferry terminal to the bottom of the B and K logging road. That took about 3.5 hours and was a great choice because much of the lower Sunshine Coast was covered in thick fog. Up on the side of the mountain, warm sunshine, blue skies.

We started in the crazy maze of trails known as the Sprock Kids park, a jumble of criss-crossing trails made by volunteers for mountain bikers. Now especially through this part is where I wish to give huge thanks and high recommendations to my favourite hiking app: Maps.Me, available for iOS and Android. I believe this app is crowdsourced, which may explain the incredible detail of hiking trails that appear. It's really up to date, and really, really helpful. It works offline, too! It shows exactly where you are (blue triangle, not shown in the above image), and which direction you are facing (pointy part of the arrow). I probably referred to it over a dozen times yesterday, to find the trail, or just to be sure we were on the right trail. Exceptional!

The Sunshine Coast has more than its fair share of trails. Some are very well marked, but a lot of them are either not marked, or marked in a confusing way. So unless you are certain you are venturing out on one of the easy, well marked trails, I would not go without Maps.me, or another good map-- if there are any.

Oh, by the way, Maps.Me is free... so really no excuse!

Because the hike was a bit longer than anticipated, it was cool ending up at the highway, where a bus arrived within minutes and took us back to our car in Langdale.

Here are a couple of pics from yesterday.

Highway 102 Trail, Langdale to Roberts Creek

Little Things are Often the Cool Things on a Hike

Soothing, Cooling Blue and Green Kaleidoscope Wind Chimes

Soothing Blues and Greens
Kaleidoscope Wind Chime at Coast Chimes

I make several styles of kaleidoscope wind chime, but I am extremely fond of those with just blue and green glass-- something very soothing about that combination of colors. Cooling too, on those hot summer days.

The glass pieces are artist-made sea glass, loosely held (can be shaken around) between two thick plates of glass in a well crafted red cedar box frame.

The chimes are classic Coast Chimes, copper that has been brushed, treated with a reactive, and polished. All the hardware is handmade from copper, to be extremely durable. 

Visit my kaleidoscope section, to see all the different styles: Coast Chime Kaleidoscope Section

Sad State of Local Beaches and Oceans, Gibsons, Sunshine Coast BC

Wrecked Sailboat, Gibsons, BC

Being a beachcomber, for the past many years I have walked the local beaches. It's part of my job, as I use a bit of driftwood and beach stone in my artwork. I have been pretty happy over the years at the lack of trash and plastic on our local beaches: until this year. The past months I have noted a sad increase in plastic, cans, ropes, and especially styrofoam and fibreglass shards. I blame irresponsible pleasure boaters for the vast majority of this pollution. The styrofoam comes from docks that drift away and breakup. The fibreglass from pleasure craft that are left to crumble on beaches, such as the one pictured above.

The sailboat above landed on the beach two years ago. It seemed fine, and it surprised me that no one salvaged it, as surely the hull must have been of some value. But no. It sat there and then, after several large storms, started to break apart. Now it is not fine at all. Now there are from dinner plate to almost microscopic shards of fibreglass all up and down the beach. Ugly, and surely detrimental to marine life.

There have been several significant storms this winter, and now there are a bunch of dinghies, some more boats, and some industrial-type barges on the local beaches. Yesterday, another large fibreglass hull (picture below) washed ashore.

Where is the government? Department of Fisheries (DFO)? Local government (SCRD, Town of Gibsons)? I don't know. No one seems particularly interested in acting, but action (and the quicker the better) is exactly what is needed. Don't we all understand that our oceans (world) are at high risk, and do we not have even the gumption to deal with our own little part? I am not a boater, and I am not an expert, but it looked like the boat above would have been easy to drag off and deal with during the first year. Now it has holes in it, and it would be a more complex issue.

There is an 'eco-tax' on many things: paint, electronics, batteries, etc. Why not implement a yearly fee on boats and docks, maybe just a few dollars a foot, and use that money to set up a quick action group with a telephone number, a branch that would respond quickly-- much like oil spills seem to be dealt with? But from all I have seen (ie, no action at all) over the past months regarding the above boat, I expect it will be left to further deteriorate, spreading more micro-fibres across the region. Too sad!

The styrofoam is often first seen in very large blocks after escaping from under a dock. It quickly breaks down into small pieces, is extremely unsightly, and I bet very damaging to the environment and marine life. There is an absolutely horrendous amount recently on local shorelines. Terrible. Ban the stuff. There must be another way to float a dock?

Most Recent Fiberglass Hull to Land on the Shore

Fiberglass Fibres from the Sailboat at the Top

Kaleidoscope Wind Chime, Back in Stock!

Back in Stock!
Coast Chimes Kaleidoscope Wind Chime

Both my large and smaller kaleidoscope wind chime designs are popular. The small one, as pictured above, had been sold out for quite a few weeks, and now they are back in stock, both at Coast Chimes and on Etsy.

This style of wind chime is simply gorgeous anywhere, anytime, but really comes alive when the sun shines through the glass from behind (like a kaleidoscope!), especially early morning / late afternoon sunlight.

Check out Coast Chimes for all the great wind chime and sun catcher styles: Coast Chimes

Outstanding Art Wind Chimes and Suncatchers at Coast Chimes

Cobalt Blue Glass & Oyster Shell Outdoor Wind Chime

$175 including shipping at Coast Chimes

My blue glass is a real eye-catcher, and it seems to go very well with this oyster shell found on the beach below my home. Of course, the all copper chimes are always a knock-out, and they only look even better as they age to an old penny color.

You don't have to wait for spring or summer, as all my wind chimes live very happily outside all year round. They are built to last.

See all my wind chimes, suncatchers, art for outdoors at Coast Chimes, or if you prefer, on Etsy.

Hiking, Sunshine Coast BC

A Bridge That Turned Out to be a Sheet of Ice

After more than 25 years living on the Sunshine Coast, BC, it amazes me that we still find new hikes. This is a reflection of the terrific number of gorgeous trails criss-crossing the Coast. New trails are frequently being added, I think mostly thanks to a keen and energetic mountain biking community.

Yesterday we maintained our tradition of going on a long hike the first day of the new year, and discovered a previously unexplored (by us) network of trails not far from where we live. The surprises were multiple, in that this was definitely one of the most interesting hikes yet (complete with an old graveyard, a well displayed and signed bunch of old logging equipment, and most surprising a whole lot of snow! Looking at a map before departing, I never would have thought we would be in that much snow, and it just goes to show how you really have to be prepared for anything when hiking on the Sunshine Coast.

The most amusing moment came when my wife got part way across the above pictured bridge, only to discover it was one large sheet of extremely polished, slick ice! She did manage to creep the entire length without plunging, and I was happy to step down and across the stream without risking it.

The entire walk was 3.5 hours, and a little higher than this picture it became a winter wonderland. Very refreshing! The hot tea with a delicious lunch hit the spot!

For anyone not terribly familiar with hiking on the Sunshine Coast, two recommendations. First, absolutely go prepared (sun, rain, snow, wind may all be encountered during a single walk). Second, the very best maps for iPhone / iOS, and Android too, that I have found is called Maps.Me  I believe the wilderness maps are crowdsourced, updated frequently, and very, very valuable when hiking in areas such as where we went yesterday, where there are many trails, and it is easy to get turned around / lost. They work offline, so brilliant. Can not recommend strongly enough.

Beach Stone Zen Wind Chime

Back in Stock: Zen Beach Stone Chime
Coast Chimes

One of my favourite things is beach combing, and fetching great natural materials from which to craft my art. Beach stones are amazing to work with, and made some of the coolest works I make.

I say the glass I use looks best in the sunlight, especially early morning and late afternoon light. The beach stone look great anytime, but show their best in the rain or snow. It's like the stone along the tide line, that look all shiny wet, and colours you do not notice when they are dry appear. So nice!

Like all my wind chimes, they are made for year round outdoor use. The chime pictured above has stones that have been drilled right through, and a strong copper wire keeps them together. Built to last!

Find all my beach stone creations here: Coast Chimes Beach Stones

Beach Combing for Art

Beachcomber's Wind Chime
Coast Chimes

It's been a relatively mild winter here on the Sunshine Coast, BC, but there have been a few big wind storms. Storms usually mean exceptional beachcombing! I go down below my house and walk the beach almost everyday, and last week I was lucky enough to spot this gorgeous piece of wood. I knew immediately it would be perfect for just this wind chime, and so here it is!

I love working with natural local materials, and feel most fortunate to have these lovely beach stones and sometimes nice driftwood. What would I do without these cool materials? Not only are they beautiful, but they inspire.

Visit my website to see all the amazing wind chimes and suncatchers: Coast Chimes

Christmas Shopping Made Easy

Kaleidoscope Suncatcher, by Coast Chimes

The Sunshine Coast Art Crawl was a huge success-- so many people dropping in at Coast Chimes, excited, enthusiastic, curious. Always a thrill, those three days!

Now the Christmas shopping has started online, and given that there may still be some congestion in the mail from the recent rotating strike activity of Canada Post, now is not too soon to order to assure delivery for the 25th.

Some popular designs are already sold out, such as the smaller size kaleidoscope chimes. But there is a lot of great stock left for you to choose from.

Best of all, for a few days I am running a 15% off sale on all large wind chimes, or any order $185 or more. My way of saying thank you.

Drop in on my website, Coast Chimes, or visit my Etsy store: Coast Chimes Etsy. It will be easy to find the perfect gift.

Sunshine Coast Art Crawl

A Little Corner of My Gallery: Coast Chimes

 

 

This past weekend was the annual 3 day Sunshine Coast Art Crawl, and if the crowd swooping down on Coast Chimes (one of the 165 venues) was any indication, what a success! So many people from so many different places (the Crawl is becoming really famous and popular even off the Coast). The gorgeous blue skies meant even wider smiles.

Each year I try to do better. This year I had another 800 feet of ferry lights, and those received a lot of compliments and interest. I'll aim for another 1000 feet next year, to really sparkle!

Each year I wish to have every single chime with a bottom section, i.e., complete. Since the top parts are more interesting for me to make than the chimes, over the winter I tend to fall behind on chime sections. Well, I was far short of achieving my goal-- about 50 small chimes short, and 30 large copper chimes short. Too bad, as it is fun to see all the works displayed, and I had to put many out of sight. Next year will be even better!

If you missed Coast Chimes during the Art Crawl, I am part of the Purple Banner group, so Coast Chimes is open all year round. Maybe phone ahead (604-229-5560) just to make sure I am home and not out on a beach combing mission.

Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2018, Coast Chimes

One of the more than 200 works available this weekend at the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl 2018 at Coast Chimes, venue # 10, 535 Woodland Avenue, Gibsons. Hope you can visit!

 

 

 

 

Free handcrafted copper earrings with every wind chime or suncatcher purchase (also for sale without purchase)

October 19, 20, 21 is the date, this coming weekend, for the Sunshine Coast Art Crawl--  165 venues of great arts and crafts, free to visit and explore.

This will be the 4th time Coast Chimes participates, and it looks like the first time there will be blue skies, and warm temperatures: that's the way to see suncatchers!

I have actually been preparing for several months, and this week I have been transforming my workshop into a second gallery space. Now for the final clean-up, pricing, and arranging. With the blue skies, I look forward to placing more than usual out in the garden as well.

Hope you can visit! But if you can't make it, remember, Coast Chimes welcomes visits all year long.

Large Kaleidoscope Sea Glass Wind Chimes

Kaleidoscope Wind Chime by Coast Chimes

I have been working really hard, preparing for the fast approaching Sunshine Coast Art Crawl where, if history repeats, things should be hopping at my studio. It is the most exciting event of the year, but it does take an enormous amount of preparation. At the same time, I increase my stock enough to have lots available for the Christmas rush, which follows fast after the art crawl.

Just now, I have finished 10 rectangular large kaleidoscope wind chimes. They turned out really well, so I am very pleased. They are a striking addition to any garden, yard, sundeck, or porch. My entire collection of kaleidoscope wind chimes and suncatchers can be found here: Kaleidoscope Works.

Now I am cutting, polishing, assembling copper chime sections. This is one of the most labour intensive parts of all my duties. I hope to get nine sets assembled this week, and then I can move onto mid-sized freestanding beach stone chimes.

Photographing with Smokey Skies, Coast Chimes

Artist-made Sea Glass and Copper Outdoor Wind Chime

  This is a season of preparing for the very popular Sunshine Coast Art Crawl (October 19-21, 1018), and the quickly following Christmas shopping rush. I need a lot of stock to cover these two events, so my summer is spent busily creating.

Aside from making many great wind chimes and suncatchers, I need to photograph all that stock. That's typically just fine, as the garden looks good as a backdrop, and the sun in the early morning is quite nice for taking pictures. But this year half the province of British Columbia is burning, and although we don't have any major fires nearby, we do have a lot of smoke which blocks much of what would otherwise be blue skies and pure sunshine. Oh, oh!

Well, it turns out that this bright summer sun filtered through smokes is actually kind of nice light for taking pictures of my work! I was fearing a great backlog of works to photograph but, happily, I am snapping away with better results than expected. The light is not harsh (like noon sunshine), nor dim like too early in the morning, and the background is not too brightly illuminated, either, meaning I do not have to deal with underexposed foregrounds, overexposed backgrounds.

So there are a lot of brilliant new works on my website-- why not check it our? Visit Coast Chimes and see them, and some half decent pictures.

Natural Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime

Natural Pacific Beach Stone Wind Chime

Five Antiqued Copper Chimes

Find it at Coast Chimes

Pretty much all my designs are heavily inspired by the beautiful natural environment in which I am fortunate enough to live in-- the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia. But many of my designs actually use materials found in nature, right on my doorstep.

This wind chime is a prime example of that. The stones come from my local beach, where I spend a good deal of time selecting them. At home, I put them together in what I find to be an appealing arrangement, and then I drill through each stone to connect them with a very strong copper wire.

The chimes take even more time. Raw copper is okay, but with a lot of elbow grease and some high-quality products, that copper can really glow. Also, I spent many years tweaking the design, until I found exactly what I wanted: beauty, durability, pleasant sound.

Why not visit Coast Chimes and browse all the amazing wind chimes and suncatchers? There is free shipping to the USA and Canada, even for big, heavy items like this impressive wind chime.

Beach Comber's Wind Chime

Beach Comber's Outdoor Large Wind Chime at Coast Chimes

My daily walk often takes me along the shore of the Pacific Ocean, down below our home. Sometimes I get lucky, and find a wonderful piece of driftwood, such as the one featured in the wind chime above. Or maybe a lovely rounded, smooth, beach stone catches my eye.

While the beaches here are full of stones, and driftwood, most are not for me. The wood, the stone, they have to be just right for me to lug home. Often I come home empty handed, and that is okay, too. Better nothing than the wrong thing. And there will be another day, another hike, soon-- another chance to maybe find just the right piece of wood or just the right stone.

When I do stumble upon a piece of wood like the one I used in this wind chime, my day brightens. When I don't find anything, well, at least I get a wonderful walk!

Visit my website to see all my driftwood, beach stones, and artist-made sea glass wind chimes and suncatchers: Coast Chimes.