Why is it called Seven Hills?

Why is it called Seven Hills?

A great thread on the history and folklore of the little neighbourhood we live in.

Seven Hills refers to the stretch of Miller Road between the United Church and the Legion. It's sort of a fill in between Deep Bay on one end and Miller's Landing and Scarborough on the other. If you have only ever driven on our road it will be familiar to you as "one hill" probably, but there are several little rises that get us to the top, which are very noticable when you walk or bike. As Murray Atherton says in this thread, the road has been evened out over the years, so the bumps aren't as noticeable but you can still see them.

My kids and I had a little song we sang when they were young as we walked up the hills. Goes like this:

CHORUS:

We're climbing up Seven Hills

Hup hup, hup hup

Climbing up Seven Hills

hup hup home.

VERSE

First we go past Collins Hall

Hup hup, hup hup

First we go past Collins Hall

hup hup home.

Subsequent verses are sung as you reach various landmarks. Some include:

Wave hello to our friend Michel... (who is always out working on his house)

Crossing over Collins Creek...

We rise again at the B and B... (Seven Hills B&B owned by Horst and Ann Mann)

Take a rest at old Wayside.. (a cottage without power, and at the first hill)

Past the trail down to the beach...

Only two more power poles...

Beaner and Tango bark at us... (sweet dogs that lived two doors down)

We climbed up Seven Hills!

Often we improvised if we needed a verse and a friend drove by in their car or the ferry sounded down in the Cove. Sometimes we would incorporate things that had fallen on the ground like fir boughs, leaves or snow. At any rate, the song got me and two little kids up that hill for years, and I still hum it to myself once in a while.

Jane Siberry visits Bowen

One of the great things that sometimes happens here is that amazing musicians come through and play our intimate temporary performing arts venues.  Over the years some great acts like Froot, Pied Pumpkin and Garnet Rogers have graced our stages,  On Tuesday night Jane Siberry is coming.  Yes!

Be there or forever regret your silly decision not to.

Only On Bowen: Generous offers of Eggs Benedict

A tale of innocent inquiry and a full on breakfast for the family:

http://bowen-island-bc.com/forum/read.php?1,1212942

Only on Bowen!

Big wind

Storm number two this week...winds gusty to near 90km/h.   Lots of fir boughs down, and heavy rains everywhere.  Power has been in an out.  A real Pineapple Express.  The above unusual configuration of lows is delivering these gales.

First autumn storm

The first serious windstorm of the season hit last night, with winds gusting to 70km/h coming howling out of the southeast.  They built in steadily over the night, becoming strongest at about 5am and then the rain started, deluging everything.  This morning, taking a late morning ferry into town, the Sound was choppy with swells and whitecaps and full of logs that had been lifted by this week's 15 foot high tides and scattered hither and yon by the wind.

Hallowe'en 2010

On Bowen Island, Hallowe'en is our national holiday. Islanders celebrate at the pubs and the Legion, at house parties and in Deep Bay where hundreds of kids trick or treat. The demand is so high on the householders of Deep Bay that the rest of us bring extra candy to empty into their bowls so they never run out. Also there is a candy depot at the General Store so Deep Bay homeowners can stock up without bankrupting themselves. Also, some public space is usually taken over for a scary performance. This year is was the north dock in the Cove, which hosted a pirate show, a sea-hag and a demented butcher having his way with a chainsaw on a couple of moose carcasses.

After the candy scramble, everyone heads down to the Causeway for a fireworks show put on by the fire fighters, who also hand out hot chocolate. For the rest of the night, explosions and screams go off all over the place in random bursts, especially when Hallowe'en falls on a weekend, as it did this year.

The weather held beautifully this year, with a clear sky and a near full moon shining on the proceedings.

Photos from our recent Agriculture Alliance meeting

Last weekend, the Bowen Agricultural Alliance held its inaugural community meeting, all in Open Space. Photos are now on the web.

Spawning Salmon are back!

Bill Newport reports that the spawning chum salmon are back. Seems like we've already had more in the Lagoon than in the previous two years combined, a total that was less than 10. Hooray! I'll try to get some photos and we'll keep an eye on the abundance.