People & Places
Hobden's Canadian Blog June 07
In their third blog, Darren Hobden writes about all the birds, bees and every other form of wildlife the Hobden family have seen since moving to Vancouver Island
Hey, it's that blog time again and this time I can finally say I am writing in the hot sun! The rain has moved away and glorious sunshine has taken its place. I've been getting the pool ready for summer and have had the opportunity for our first swim (although the kids and their friends have been going in for a month now, brave souls).
Moving to Canada is actually Mette's second emigration, as she moved over from Denmark to England in 1986, and stayed after meeting a rather suave, sophisticated, handsome young Englishman… alright, it was me! In April Mette went back to Denmark for the first time in five years and managed to catch up with friends and relations.
We keep talking about the beautiful scenic side of Canada and the wonderful nature that is here and was such a big reason for wanting to move here. So far in Canada in the wild we have seen: a cougar, black bears, raccoons, chipmunks, red squirrels, grey squirrels, black squirrels, deer, otters, beaver, rabbits, bats, bald eagles, golden eagles, turkey vultures, rufous humming birds, anna's humming birds, swallows, blue herons, canada geese, common loon, grouse, California quail, owls, northern flicker woodpeckers, pileated woodpeckers, gray jays, blue jays, American robins, red-winged blackbirds, brewers blackbirds, spotted towhees, dark-eyed juncos, house finches, purple finches, American goldfinches, white-capped sparrows, ducks, salmon, seals, sea lions, grey whales, humpback whales, orcas, porpoises and a variety of butterflies and dragonflies to name what we can remember right now! We hear the frog chorus in late winter to spring and the crickets chirping throughout the summer and fall. Beautiful - nature at it's best. Also, from a tree perspective, the Arbutus Tree is an amazing tree which sheds its bark!
This month's tip: If possible, try and go to your chosen destination on a fact-finding trip. Looking at a place on the internet or in books is not the same as actually going to see for yourself and clarifying that this is where you want to live. We knew we wanted to live on Vancouver Island but weren't sure which area was right for us. When we took our fact-finding trip we had excluded certain places and chose our specific area to focus on. You can visit schools, prospective employers and check out recreation facilities in different areas and this will give you a better idea of the right location for you.
We'll be back next month!
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