Woodruff Bay
Tansy adds her prints to the beach.
One of Tansy’s favourite excursions from the Passing Cloud was to go ashore at Woodruff Bay (click here for a map). Woodruff Bay is located at the south end of Kunghit Island, and it looks out at the Kerouard and Cape St. James Islands located at the southern tip of Haida Gwaii. Often it is not possible to get ashore here as there can be big surf, so Tansy was pleased to accompany her favourite photographer on their first visit ashore.
Kerouard Islands in the distance
Tansy decided to walk over the drift logs to help her cross a creek. She found the drift logs quite sad as some were bruised and hurt from being beached, and thus not much interested in talking to her.
Creek Crossing
In the forest she found many Sitka spruce, and they were more than happy to talk with her, in their strange sing-song voices – one of the reasons they are prized for instrument wood. They told her ancient stories of the place, of the ferocious winter winds and the muted tales from the midden in which their roots tunneled for they were growing on the site of an ancient Haida village no longer visible above ground.
Sitka Spruce forest
The oldest spruce of them all was barely alive, but told Tansy some wonderful things about the village of SdasGaaws ‘llnagaay when the carved poles were intact and people danced and sang in the houses, fished for halibut and hunted sea lions at Cape St. James. She had to make her apologies and leave the oldest spruce of them all much sooner than she would have liked for fear of missing her ride back to the Passing Cloud. She had come as far along the beach as she could in the time available.
The oldest spruce of them all
Back on the beach Tansy took a moment to sit and look at the Kerouard and Cape St. James islands and to imagine large canoes coming ashore full to the brim with fresh fish and meat for the Kunghit Haida that lived here more than 200 years ago.
Contemplating history.
On the way back to the pick up spot Tansy came across some wonderful boulders all rounded by the crashing of waves that toss them against each other. She could still hear the faint ringing of their winter music.
Boulders ringing from the waves
To get back to the landing spot Tansy took a detour along the edge of a sand dune, which was pretty hard going since the sand kept on sliding away beneath her feet erasing her footprints as she went along.
A rest on the sliding sand dune.
But she was rewarded for her perseverance with the perfect flotsam for a Hitty – a laundry basket. Her field gear was in need of washing so she was glad for a place to store it while on board the Passing Cloud. Sadly, it was weakened from a long voyage across the ocean so Tansy decided to leave it behind on the Passing Cloud
Flotsam
Tansy was sad to leave Woodruff Bay – she hopes to return in the future and speak more with ancient spruce, and to search for a glass ball among the flotsam and jetsam on the beach.
Farewell Woodruff Bay, until next time.
Quimper Hittys 
It is a wonderful thing to talk to the trees…and listen. What a lovely post.
Indeed. Thank you so much.
It is amazing, I am everlastingly grateful to my Hittys for teaching me how!
What a powerful, poetic and evocative post- I am so moved! Thank you, thank you! Your blog is such a blessing- a new treasure every day!
You are welcome! We are so glad you speak “Hitty” and can hear us when we talk about tree-speak!
Oh, I do indeed understand what you mean, and yes, I love ‘tree-speak’ as well!
An amazing adventure for Tansy and her Favorite Photographer! Thank you for sharing the delights!
They were glad and very lucky to get a visit to Woodruff Bay this time. They have seen it from a distance before, but not had the right weather to stop there!
The Quimper Hittys must relish the stories that Tansy brings home from her adventures… like the telling of the stories that the spruce trees relayed to her. This whole adventure is magical and beautiful.
We are so glad and grateful to Tansy and her favourite photographer for their adventurous spirits, and also their desire to record and and ability to relate what they see.
I felt very moved that Tansy would be able to have a conversation with the oldest spruce before it passed on…and hear the remaining songs of the boulders. Ah, to be a piece of wood and to be able to converse as only they know how.
Tansy is a very lucky Hitty, and so kind and receptive to the oldest trees and their younger cousins, I do wish I could hear and converse with rocks too! I am just grateful she is able to share with us!
Ahhh Tansy is such a thoughtful soul. Always a joy to see her on these adventures. She does make the very most of every experience. I am so happy to know her.
Tansy is so happy to share her view of the world with an appreciative audience! Thanks for your faithfulness!