I'm big on enjoying the natural beauty around me and I write a lot about it, but I'm big on enjoying beauty made by people too. The magnitude of human creativity astounds me. I love that there exists in the heart of every person the need for beauty and for creative expression.
Most of the works of art I love best are collaborative, either made by humans from objects found in nature,or made by humans and then altered by the action of wind and water and weather and time.
One of my favourite places to observe this artistic collaboration between humans and nature is Genoa Bay. The people who live in the tiny community there and those who frequent the small marina on a regular basis have created something very special.
The marina is a collection of wharves, boathouses, and float homes - some spic and span, some old and worn - a gallery, and an excellent restaurant.
There's a perennial garden adorned with sculptures made from found objects.
The restaurant has a small herb and vegetable garden too, from which they harvest ingredients for their dishes year-round
and everywhere you look, the inhabitants of the bay have embellished what they have with originality and creativity.
I live in the city of Duncan and, as the crow flies, Genoa Bay is quite nearby...but the crow flies over Mount Tzouhaem nature reserve and I must drive around it. It takes about half an hour to drive the winding country roads that take me over the two sides of the triangle that make the road route to the bay.
It's a beautiful drive, passing by Quamichan Lake, and winding through gently rolling farmland, with the brow of the mountain rising steeply from the inland side of the road.
The marina and its wharves are set within the embrace of the mountain, looking inland down a narrow inlet toward Bird's Eye Cove.
Genoa Bay is a jewel-like setting - a treasure for the eye - but, even so, it's always the small details there that captivate me. I could tell you about them,
but it seems better just to show you what caught my eye on my last visit.
but it seems better just to show you what caught my eye on my last visit.
Here are some photos for you. If you click on any photo it'll take you to a slide show of the photos here, shown in a larger view.
Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by. :)
