Mom-Day Birthday Adventure: Rithet's Bog in Red Ruffles

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Another spin around the sun for Ms. Helen! 

A carnation from Grandad

Mom pulled out all the stops! 

You look amazing, Mom, just gorgeous! 

We drove out to Rithet's Bog (last visited here in July 2021), the site of one of our very first Mom-Day adventures, and then went to the Fireside Grill for a fabulous birthday lunch. 

I bussed to town, had a quick browse at WIN (3/4 success rate), then came home and got ready to go out again to the Art Gallery with Rosanna. 

Continuing my unintentional theme of red this week, I chose this floaty red dress for Mom's birthday adventure.

Red is her favourite colour and I know she likes a pretty look. Ruffles ahoy! 

• Dress - Little Moon, consignment; last seen here in October 2022 with Brutalist bits
• Snandals - Lucky Brand; last worn here in July 2022 with a silk cocoon

This is how most people saw me. 

Just enough sun coverage.

I adore this red ruffled jammy dress. No effort required, and it has pockets!

The bag on the floor near my feet holds Mom's birthday presents and a Mother's Day card - we have to treat these separately! I got her a puzzle, a pair of emerald green palazzo pants, a funny magnet, and L bought her a book. The rooster/chicken reusable tote is also part of the gifts. 

Don't worry, she'll have opened it all before I publish this post. I would never spoil a present. 

Back to the clothes. While this dress is anything but basic (the bottom half is pleated, there are ruffles down the front and back, plus sheer sections), it's the definition of a perfect Jammy dress, and a great backdrop for accessories. 

Incognito - who's that? 

Showing off my new-to-me python belt, matchy snandals (snakeskin sandals, first cousin of the snoots aka snakeskin boots) and wicker bag. 

The stuff: 

This is the regret-me-not wearing of the snandals - and duh, what was I thinking, putting these in the giveaway! Fabulous snandals are hard to find - I thought, until I saw these exact shoes in my size at the WIN store only hours later. They were comfy for the walking/standing/shopping I did, several hours' worth. Keepers!

• Belt - Leather of the Sea, vintage 80s, thrifted; purchased here for $19.99
• Purse - Street Level, thrifted
• Brutalist rings - vintage 70s, vintage mall
• Gold chain bracelet - Dad's
• Leather/chain bracelet - thrifted
• Brutalist earrings - vintage mall 

This was the first wearing of the python belt - I was very gentle with it due to its age (likely 80s). I like this width. 

We parked at one of the entries to Rithet's Bog and followed the trail you can see spiraling off into the distance. 

A good map here - we walked from #9 to #2 along the West Lowlands parallel to a two-lane road. 

The red dots on this map are the conservation areas Mom and I have visited: Elk Lake, Beaver Lake, Rithet's Bog, Blenkinsop Lake and Swan Lake, all part of the same watershed. 

Colquitz Creek is a big section of that blue river system too. 

I noticed that we can see the Olympic Mountains across the Juan De Fuca (Wan-duh-fyookah) Straight from here. 

That's the United States! 

This funny crow hopped five posts in a row. 

I think she was showing off. We applauded when she finished the final jump. 

This little mama fluffed herself up to look intimidating. 

I saw her go into this house - there must be chicks in there. 

We're moving along, calm down. 

The bog was LOUD with birdsong, especially the redwing blackbirds. 

Open water and bulrushes on the left. 

A watery ditch on the right, with cars and matching housing.

The bulrushes were getting puffy. 

The air was full of little floating fluffs. 

The first redwing blackbird spotted. 

We watched one swoop and swirl and catch an insect in mid-air. 

DUCKS! Mom, look, ducks! 

A handsome mallard. 

His two bros. 

They gave us a glance, but otherwise let us just walk by. 

So many bulrushes. 

Another duck! 

We were hoping for ducklings, but we're a little early. 

We saw fewer than a dozen people on our walk, but everyone was so friendly (and we were bright!). 

A female redwing blackbird. 

So pretty. She scolded us - we must have been near her nest. 

We could see PKOLS (formerly known as Mount Doug/Mt. Douglas Park) across the bog, which is enormous (the bog). 

This is only a tiny part of it. The trees in the distance are huge and are part of Rithet's Bog.

We had a warm day - up to 18 degrees. 

It's supposed to go up to 23 tomorrow! We have heat warnings for the weekend. 

Raptors circled overhead, riding the thermals. 

We didn't actually have a rainbow - it's just lens-flare. 

I love the dappled light through the leaves. 

Towering trees. 

Time to turn around. 

Mom, thank you so much for introducing me to all these amazing parks and wild areas in Victoria. Our Mom-Day Adventures have been the best ever. 

Uh-oh, the duck bros are looking for trouble. 

"Gentlemen..." I said as we walked by, with visions of the Great Swan Attack of 2023 (here). 

And sure enough, here comes a cranky mama...

She quacked at us aggressively. Move along, humans! 

We chatted with a lovely photographer who was looking for the redwing blackbirds. 

Their red spots are so bold.

Red is all the rage. 

All the cool birds are wearing it. 

Poplars (we had them in our back yard when I was a kid) and a Gary Oak on the right. 

There are tons of paths here to explore. 

Swaths of daisies, faces to the sun. 

The fenced area was full of pink flowers. 

We parked in behind the Fireside Grill (an acclaimed local restaurant owned by long-time friend Tim, going back to junior high school! About it here, all links 'cause I love).

That's the back view - I like the wild flora. This is a Gary Oak meadow with camas (the purple blooms). 

This giant dogwood tree is in full bloom.

It's our provincial flower. 

They had a back patio set up. 

It was quite busy - Mother's Day is this weekend, so it looked like a few moms were getting treated to lunch. 

The giant main room which is where we sat. The fire's lit! 

I've been here at Christmas with my old Weight Watchers team - it's gorgeous all decorated. 

Birthday portrait. 

Beautiful. 

We had a fantastic lunch - Mom had the Buddha bowl (stir-fried veg and chicken on rice) and I had the Haida Gwai halibut with gnocci. So yummy! Our very attentive server, James, heard me mention it was Mom's birthday, so when our dessert came...SPARKLER!!

We shared homemade strawberry sorbet on chocolate "soil" with a meringue. 

That's a very stingy meringue! I made Mom take it. 

Of course, I burnt my finger on the sparkler. 

That is one badass woman! 

Happy Birthday, Mom! I love you! 

I did go shopping at WIN afterwards, and I did buy some things, AND I wore a wacky outfit to the Art Gallery with Rosanna in the evening (and we crafted!), but I'm going to save that for the weekend wrap-up, as we have a quiet couple of days planned. Time to go crash on the couch and spend some time with my fam. 

Thank you all so much for coming by! Life is moving faster, and it's harder to comment, but I'm reading your comments and blogs, I see you, and thank you for all the interactions! I'll be back on Sunday with tales of adventure!