Above: the last of the rock roses (Cistus), hanging in there during the summer drought.
Summertime. Time to hit the road. See you in a couple of weeks. Go smell the roses!
Category Archives: Photo Wednesday
These waters – Photo Wednesday
Above: classic shot of the Fog Alarm Building at East Point, Saturna Island, British Columbia.
And below, I tried to catch the sky reflected in a puddle left in sandstone hollows, on the “other side” of East Point.
If you like blues, this is the place. In these waters, an entire palette of blues is deployed every day.
Above: an islet before the approaching fog engulfs it… Viewed from the ferry.
And the same morning, again from the ferry, an apparition: the HMCS Oriole, the oldest commissioned vessel in the Royal Canadian Navy. It is a 31 m (101 ft 8 in) sailing ketch built in 1921. (I had to look it up.)
And I leave you with these sailors, stretching the day into evening.
Summer is here. How about a tequila sunset?
Into the woods – Photo Wednesday
Above: true Pacific Northwest rainforest… abundant mosses draping every limb.
This post is a bit of reminiscing about past outdoor trips. And dreaming of new trips in the future.
The photo above was taken from a forest service road on Vancouver Island, BC. I have no idea where I was (I leave the details to the trip leader) exactly, but I remember it with great fondness.
I wanted to show how dwarfed we are by the forest giants. We humans are such small creatures…
Getting to the big trees is not for the faint of heart. Hard route, uphill mostly.
The forest floor also offers interesting contrasts.
How tall are the Douglas firs (Pseudotsuga menziesii), you ask? Very tall. Look up, go ahead.
And in late spring, those fir trees are procreating. Have a look at Douglas fir female cones, in the spring…
While we are on reproduction, here is the Salal (Gaultheria shalllon) version, beautiful dainty blossoms…
“How I go to the woods
Ordinarily, I go to the woods alone, with not a single
friend, for they are all smilers and talkers and therefore
unsuitable.I don’t really want to be witnessed talking to the catbirds
or hugging the old black oak tree. I have my way of
praying, as you no doubt have yours.Besides, when I am alone I can become invisible. I can sit
on the top of a dune as motionless as an uprise of weeds,
until the foxes run by unconcerned. I can hear the almost
unhearable sound of the roses singing.If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love
you very much.” ― Mary Oliver, Swan: Poems and Prose Poems
****
Me again, I will finish with a photo of an orchid that is sweetly growing in my garden… and nobody has witnessed me talking to it…
Natural Wonder – Photo Wednesday
Above: a skyscape captured last night, around 9:30 pm. Cue the Mozart sonatas…
I have been outside and away from my blog for a bit. Here is some evidence of where I’ve been wandering…
Above, an about to open yarrom blossom (Achillea millefolium), like a treasure in the dry grass.
This is an Australian bottlebrush (Grevillea), a shrub that survives in my garden in the Southern Gulf Islands of BC. Loved by hummingbirds.
And this thrilling version of blue is brought to you by a special sage, Salvia Blue Angel.
Speaking of hummingbirds, here is a little male, showing off his colours.
The spring garden is full of promise. Almost open…
And in the fields around here, the grass is very dry, and panicles are poetically dancing in the wind…
And in the dry grass, look at what we found: a skin, shed by a snake done with moulting for another little while. Such a delicate thing. Moving on, shedding your skin, there’s a thought.
And I leave you with a golden liquid sunset from a couple of weeks ago. Again, Mozart time.
A friend’s garden – Photo Wednesday
Above: one of the outdoor “rooms” a friend created in her garden.
I explored a friend’s garden last week. An oasis, really.
This is a garden where, wherever you turn, a new treasure awaits. Few blossoms, however, hold the magical effect of Magnolia sieboldii, above. In that garden, the tree has attained a sizeable presence.
There is a clematis collection.
Here, it helps to define the entrance to the vegetable patch.
I got up close and personnal…
And around the corner, another clematis clamours for attention…
Like a piece of flashy jewelry.
And there were still rhododendrons, finishing their season…
Like this virginal white version.
And to conclude, here is an intimate look at a peony.
I can’t begin to describe the fragrance… Just imagine.