Tall oaks from little acorns grow

"An optimist is a man who plants two acorns and buys a hammock."

Author: Jean De Lattre De Tassigny

We're currently living in the picturesque district of Oak Bay, one of the communities in the Greater Victoria Region. The Greater Victoria Region has a population of about 350,000, whereas Oak Bay has about 20,000 residents. It has a lovely small-town feel to it.

After our trip to the market yesterday, we went to the main shopping street of Oak Bay. No big box stores here, in fact I haven't seen a Walmart or Canadian Tire since we arrived in Victoria. 

The main shopping district is nicely landscaped and maintained

First stop was the bakery, although I admit it wasn't our first visit there. Amazing quality and variety, and a sinful apricot and raisin sweetbread. Then Greg went to the butcher shop, and we had their delicious pork chops on the BBQ tonight. We followed that with an apple crumble, made with apples from the trees in our yard (with the homeowners' permission).

So what's with the sheep, you ask? Greg named him Obee (as in Oak Bay), and somehow or other he bought him on his trip to the butcher's shop. I think he may have side-tracked along the way. 

Yesterday we sat and had a hot chocolate on the main street and watched the people walk by. This area seems to have quite a large senior population, and many are quite smartly dressed to go shopping. I even saw an older man in a suit. The whole area reminds me of the nicer areas of Britain, especially if I think back to many years ago.

The theme of the oaks in Oak Bay is carried throughout the area. Here's the municipal hall, again with pretty landscaping ... and two giant acorns.

I shouldn't tell you what Greg calls them, as it's not very polite (the big cajones).

Even the lamp posts and garbage cans are decorated in keeping with the theme of the oak trees. Here's a close up of the lamp post, and the same design is on the garbage cans.

Our last stop was the large grocery store, but you wouldn't notice it as such in that its storefront looks like a row of smaller shops. Very quaint.

We stayed home today as our housemate, Fanci, wasn't feeling up to par. She's had some intestinal problems that caused her to be sick through the night and this morning. We checked in with her owners to let them know but they've assured us it has happened before. Perhaps one of the negatives of the off-leash park, where you can't watch her every move, is who knows what she might have eaten at some point! She's perky and playing with her toy now, so she's obviously feeling better. It's the first time we've ever seen her sick, so we felt bad for her.

For those who read yesterday's blog ... the South Korean container ship is still in front of our home!

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Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

Weather: Sunny, high of 15ºC (59ºF), low of 12ºC (54ºF)

Note: Permission was given by the homeowners to show photos of their home and pet.