public art

Ogden Point Revisited

11/27/2013 svseekins 3 Comments

The adventure is over.

Handrails.

Ogden Point entrance gate, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

Ogden Point walking the edge, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

It’s like putting training wheels on a bicycle – after I’ve learned to ride.

Ogden Point Pilot Boats, Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

But that’s a selfish thought. I do recognize that so many more folk can experience ‘the point’ now, so I applaud the change.

Ogden Point Breakwater had planned the renovation for some time, so it wasn’t a surprise.

It certainly wasn’t a surprise that it’s more relaxed now.

And it shouldn’t have been a surprise that it’s more crowded, but I was taken aback by the number of baby strollers & dog walkers just walking along super slowly. I couldn’t travel at my usual brisk pace! It was more like Government Street in the summer.

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

Thankfully there is access to the lower steps… That’s where I find the adventure now. Pay attention to your footing or you may twist an ankle, slip into a crevice, or end up in the drink.
🙂

Watching the scuba divers enter the water, & the fisher folk doing their thing is also pretty cool. But even cooler is watching a public art gallery in development….

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

photo by SVSeekins

Overall, I’m still happy, AND more people can experience the adventure – at whichever fear factor they choose. What’s your call?

-30-
© SVSeekins and Garden Variety Life, 2013

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projects

Coffee Grounds Make Good Compost

11/15/2013 svseekins 2 Comments

A few years ago I lived in a condo. There was no yard to garden nor any place to compost my kitchen scraps. Or so I thought….

Just down the street from me was the Compost Education Centre. They taught me to operate a worm bin. I know – – it sounds pretty gross, having worms inside my home, but really it’s pretty cool. No smell. Little fuss. Lotsa benefits for the house plants…

Why send all that potential ‘black gold‘ to the landfill, right?

Coffee, grounds & paper filter — photo by SVSeekins

Aren’t I virtuous? Even as an urbanite I can be environmentally conscious. 🙂

I remember being taught that coffee grounds were a no-no (too acidic), so those still go to the dump.

Bu wait!
Times have changed.

Chatting with Marika, operations manager at the Compost Centre,
it turns out that recent research shows that indeed the coffee itself is acidic, but most of that acid flushes out during the brewing process & little is left in the coffee grounds themselves.

So, it’s not so good to water your plants with coffee.

But it is ok to throw the grounds into the compost along with regular kitchen scraps.

Cool. Imagine how much more ‘black gold’ we’ll be making now!

Here’s some further info sources on composting coffee grounds:

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months 10-12: fall, projects

Duct Tape is My Friend

11/08/2013 svseekins 12 Comments

Cycling home the other day something in the gutter caught my attention. A roll of duct tape. COOL! I like duct tape.

It is very sticky & super durable. But this roll is special. It’s bright Pink 🙂 Almost fluorescent. Counter to the classic grey color, this roll is noticeable.

It would be ruined if left there 😦

Honestly, I did try to find the owner. Street & yards: empty. Pity.

I had to help (as a service to the community) 🙂
SCORE!

An idea formed… The fastest way to ruin a good tool is to leave it outside for a couple of days. And it happens far to easily. For ‘leave’ read also: lose, misplace, forget…

The elements are not kind. I try to avoid calamity by marking garden tools with something bright. I’ve tied orange survey tape to them – – but in autumn, orange is common. No good. I switched to pink survey tape. It works better.