Tootfinder

YES #portalberni #tofino #westcoastBestCoast

it's nice to be able to open the windows and turn off the A/C a smell the hint of the sea on the breeze.
🌊
#portalberni #bcstorm

Writing this as people set off from Maht Mahs gymnasium, where the Alberni Indian Residential School was on the Tseshaht reserve in #portalberni for the annual walk from the reserve into town.
Yesterday I felt like I would want to speak about how the world really has improved. The fact this walk is happening in my town on the traditional and unceded territories of the Tseshaht and Hupacasath peoples is absolute proof of that.
Today though, I just want to be quiet.
#reconciliation #trc #canada #tseshaht #firstnations #everychildmatters

GUYS I GOT HAIR AT THE BEACH!
#bullkelp
#portalberni #tofino #westcoastBestCoast

Letter to the Editor: Afternoon meeting times are undemocratic
(Sent to the AV News on September 28 2026)
Dear Editor, The 2PM city council meetings are not only supremely inconvenient for the general public who have a job, they also, according to at least one potential council candidate this election, limit who we have running to represent us on City Council…
#democracy #local #portAlberni #canpoli #BCmuni

I knew this day would come. The chainsaw has been going all morning. (Even though there is lightning in the area!!)
The former Alberni High School (1920-1952) and Redford Elementary School (1980s) has had a large fir tree on its property likely for that entire time… The tree is at least 80-100 years old.
It was sold a few years ago. I am not speaking ill of the First Nations developer because I actually appreciate what they have done at the property and agree with the development.
This is a failure of City policy not protecting important trees and public spaces that continue to be lost in the City. They provide shade, habitat, and public enjoyment. They are not rotten, they are not at risk of falling or blowing down in a storm.
I don’t understand why people are afraid of trees. 🌲
😢
#trees #portalberni

you can cone if you want Rain! i have beaten you!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

when a picture is truly worth a thousand words..... or in this case.... screw caps. 😭
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

aaaaaaaaaaaand done!!!
It only took about 10 hours of solid work. 😝
And thats with prior knowledge from assembling one 2 years ago!
@… is happy.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

back at it this morning after sleeping in a little. got a bit of a sunburn on the neck and back yesterday! But all good today.
weather is perfect. Just a little wind and nice partly cloudy cool day.
the roof is happening! this is the easy part... the most annoying is yet to come, the sliding doors 😂
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

frame down. first wall next! pray for calm air! 😝 🙏 #poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

four corners!
getting that first corner myself was....... time-consuming lol.
going pretty quick now, though!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

they changed the forecast. no wind and we have a wonderful layer of fog keeping the sun at bay! If this can just last for the next four hours I should be able to get the second shed built!!
wish me luck!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

the walls are up! it is (mostly) wind proof now so that's comforting. unfortunately the sun has emerged and it's hot.
taking a break.
Not sure if Ill get the roof on today but we'll give a good college try!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

alright, reached my 2:30 time limit.
might have had the roof on but realised the back too support was inverted so had to flip that. Everything is a million screws 😂
Not sure what super humans can put this together in 3 hours. But I will have to come back to it tomorrow morning hopefully befoee the rain!!
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #home #portalberni

the beauty of small town life is the friends you make and that at any moment you might get a text that says, "Hey Chris! I have a bunch of fresh sockeye! Want a couple!?"
YES!!
Now it's been a minute since my salmon trolling days on dad's boat, but when your hands have gone through 1000s of them, there is still a bit of motor memory to draw on. 😂
I can still do a decent job cleaning and filleting a fish.
This is a good size sockeye, our run are generally under 10lbs (head and guts included). This one was about 7lbs. Plenty to feed 4!
#portalberni #hupacasath #salmon #sockeye

good morning!
did some early-morning ponding on the #pandemicPond this morning.
The water level was unusually low, so I started looking around for leaks or blocks. I have been wanting to cut down the vertical PVC at the top of the bog barrels to make it not stick out so much and blend in a little nicer and also because it would reduce the height for the pump, so increase flow.
Well it turns out that connection, where the black pipe goes into the white PVC in the barrel, was a little loose and some water was leaking out and adding to the evaporation budget.
So that gave me the push to do the small modifications on the top end of the pipe. It was also a good time since turning off the pump meant the top pond would drain into the bottom pond. When the system is full, that would normally cause the bottom pond to over flow, but since it was all low, no extra water was lost.
I cut the inlet down a few inches under the water in the bog barrel to move the T down and then cut another 6in from the top pipe to snug it all up.
Then I also tightened up the connections for the over flow/air valve and added an elbow to keep water from escaping out the valve outlet. Only took about 5 minutes. I have been wanting to do this for months. 😂
Result:
black pipe doesn't curl as high over the barrel ✅
no more leak from the PVC connection ✅
no more water escaping from the air valve ✅
noticeably more flow over the waterfall! ✅
Pump is back on and water is replenished from the rain barrel ✅
the fish are happy! 🐟 and me too. ✅
oh oh! did I tell you we have a new fish! The top pond fish had babies and it looks like one has survived to be big enough not to be cannibalized. 😂 It is very skittish and is still mostly black so I havent got a good picture of it yet.
#pondlife #diy #gardening #portalberni

Had a decent sleep last night after a long day. Got up before 6AM so that I could start the sprinklers on time.
(We are allowed 6-9AM/PM alternating days but I only water in the mornings because watering when it is still 32°C at 8PM is dumb)
While they were going I got going on another dirt-moving session. Over 3 hours! The sun was blocked by clouds for much of it so that helped a lot. Managed to get the space cleared for the 2nd shed. The whole back part of the yard is nearly level. It’s amazing just how much lower one side of the yard was from the other!
Another couple days of moving dirt and leveling and the dirt mountain should be spent!
Lunch and naptime. 2000 calories burned 😝 💪
Started to feel some pains in hands, thumb, back. Body knows… so I stopped :)
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #gardening #dirt #portalberni #clay

the hasta is super happy in the bottom pond this summer. It likes that it has not been too hot and it is also getting a lot more shade now that the pussy willow and hydrangea are established and a little bigger #bloomscrolling #pandemicPond #pondlife #diy #gardening #portalberni

Just got back from the local “dark sky” viewing spot with the fam. This is the second or third time we have piled into the car and done this.
Saw a good sampling of meteors! Big and small! Saw a ton of satellites but they actually became less noticeable as my eyes adjusted and the rest of the stars came out.
It’s always cool to really get a good look at the Milky Way.
As we were leaving someone said it is weird that it seems like we’re the only people that go to that spot. It’s literally just a few hundred metres from the actual “end of the road” in #portalberni. But it is not hard to find at all. It seems like an obvious thing.
But then again… part of what makes it nice is it’s always been just us, and a barking dog in the distance.
Stars are cool.
#Perseus #perseids #meteor

early bird gets the worm in the dirt pile. And also the wet boot from the unexpected rain overnight 🤷 🌧️
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #portalberni

it's gone! Dirt Mountain has been flattened.
here's a couple before and after shots.
The close up shots of the pile are between this spring (May) and today.
The wide shot is from the beginning, Labour Day 2024.
And today.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy #portalberni