Category Archives: Wanderings

Blog, Just Because, Photography, Wanderings

Spring flowers on Saturna

March 20, 2016 Andree Fredette

Above: today’s header photo is a budding Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum), a sweet sign of spring if there ever was one!

First day of spring, and here is a report of the flowers that are starting to appear on this shore.

Took a walk at Winter Cove, an area that is part of the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (there’s a mouthful) and pointed my camera at assorted blossoms. Above: salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), looking a tad bedraggled after an iffy late winter.

And this warm golden yellow is a gift of the Oregon grape (Mahonia oregonum), which was blooming on a bluff, out of the reach of our ravenous black-tailed deer…

Above: the assertive pink flash of Flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum), another sure sign of spring on this island.

Above: another shot of a Fawn lily (Erythronium oregonum), starting to open up.

And if you wonder about the setting, here is a shot of the salt pond by Winter Cove.

On the right, above, you can spot a weed – Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) – that is incredibly invasive. It’s the tall thing bearing yellow blooms.

At my house, I keep pulling seedlings out of the yard, the neighbourhood paths and meadows… But it is a losing battle. The park is losing the broom battle, and the weed keeps marching forward, taking over. More info on this link.

Scotch broom blooms in the spring, and its blossoms redeem it somewhat…

And finally, because my garden is also offering interesting yellows of a more tame variety…

Spurge (Euphorbia), starting to get its alien-like flowers into position.
And the stars of my spring garden:

Blog, Just Because, Photo Wednesday, Wanderings

Gulls have attitude – Photo Wednesday

March 9, 2016 Andree Fredette

Above: a gull conference on a fishing vessel at the Steveston docks, south of Vancouver, BC.

Last weekend, I got off the island for a while. Felt nice. Took lots of pictures, which will feed this blog for a couple of weeks, at least.

First up: the gulls of Steveston (a fishing port south of Vancouver, BC).

It’s a fishing sort of place, so you can expect gulls. Tons of gulls.

Every boat, every piling, every roof: crowned with gulls. Notice the white roof in the background? Yep.

I just thought the broken railing, above, made it more interesting… A frame, so to speak.

Old boat, new boat. Didn’t matter. What mattered was the fish smell emanating from the nets and the holds.

Hello, attitude dude!

Yeah, that was the tough guy. And he had his buds with him, including the other tough guy, the “wingman” (ha) to his right. See below…

Then, there was the choir on top of the cannery building…

I suddlenly started thinking of “The Birds”, the Hitchcock movie, you know… But I am no Tippi Hedren. I was safe.

Blog, Just Because, Photo Wednesday, Wanderings

Looking closely – Photo Wednesday

March 2, 2016 Andree Fredette

Above:A jewel-like line-up of mosses in the glorious late afternoon light at the Lyall Creek Trail, on Saturna Island, BC.

Practicing with the close-up views of the world around me. It is a very verdant and natural world at the moment: it rains practically every day, and all this “wet” nourishes the greenery.

Have a look.

(Psst: if you find that I have incorrectly identified one of the following tiny denizens of our forest, feel free to use my contact page to let me know. I will be very grateful to make a correction!)

Those are the blooms (or capsules) of a new moss colony in my rock garden. The sun showed up that day. It is gone now.

And in the forest around here, little treasures on the forest floor, in the mosses… if you look really closely. Above: British soldier lichen (Cladonia cristadella).

Another view of these interesting tiny lichens. It looks like when they bloom, the “mouth” of capsules opens. Just my observation, and I am not an expert by any means.

Above: some Pixie cup lichens (Cladonia chlorophaea) sometimes find it useful to grow on top of each other. I guess the space available on the right side of rocks is getting tight. Location, location. Competition!

A new lichen colony, standing up in the mosses.

Above: on a branch that had fallen in the mosses, some really leafy lichen. No idea about ID (my middle name!). Admire the texture.

Above: Grand foam lichen (Stereocaulon grande), with bloom capsules. Our forest floor is full of little treasures, you just have to look closely.

Above: another very common lichen: Freckle pelt (Peltigera aphthosa) with its capsules opening.

And I leave you with the above delicate little treasures: mosses sending up a couple of “beaky” seed capsules. Had to hold my breath to get that shot.

Happy trails.

Blog, Inspiration, Photography, Wanderings

Ferry travel = Stunning show

February 28, 2016 Andree Fredette

Above: the view from the back of the ferry, as it rounds the corner at the end of Navy Channel, heading into Village Bay, on Mayne Island. (About 30 minutes after leaving Saturna Island…)

Friday morning’s sunrise was exceptional.

This is one of the first shots I took, about 15 minutes after we left Saturna Island, heading down the channel. I could tell it was going to be a promising sunrise. I love cloud cover, it adds drama!

Pretty soon, several other travelers looked up from their computer, device, or book, and came out on the deck to snap pictures with their phones. It was a spectacular show, and it kept getting better…

Above, the pointy silhouette of Mount Baker, in Washington State (did you know it’s a volcano?) in the far distance. To the right, the silhouette of Saturna’s Mount Fisher.

And in the other direction, the still dark blue part of the sky, and the ferry’s motion cutting a swath in the water. Those dark hills are on Mayne Island.

I slowed down my camera’s shutter speed, to get the motion blur on the wake.

Here is another shot of the ferry’s wake, down Navy Channel, in the direction of the sunrise:

And then… hang on to your hat…

…or to the railing, because those colours are about to get boosted to the max!

and one more, for good measure…

And after a stop at Mayne Island, where the Victoria-bound travelers transferred to the Skeena Queen, another ferry, about 30 minutes later, the bright oranges began to fade, and became more subtle.

And then the sky went into the pastels. Still absolutely gorgeous…

Light on water: pure magic.

Blog, Photography, Wanderings

Friday’s Ferry Ride

February 14, 2016 Andree Fredette

Commuting from the islands to Victoria is a regular event for most of us. Some people take the ferry often enough that they lose their sense of wonder at the landscape.

Not me. I pay attention to details. The lovely beach with logs strewn about, shown above.

And the cormorants who hold reunions on the ferry traffic buoy near the Swarz Bay terminal, on Vancouver Island.

And details on the venerable Mayne Queen ferry itself…

On older ferries, the pictograms can be quite puzzling.

Perhaps letting people know that this is not a garbage can…

I did write that the ferry is a venerable piece of equipment. It is over 50 years old, and despite regular maintenance, is showing its age.

On a sunny afternoon, sitting on the back deck of the ferry offers up absolutely beautiful views of the wake, and the dramatic sky. On the right, the lumpy shadow is Salt Spring Island.

And arriving on Saturna, the ferry disturbs the birds that were perched on the dock pilings… But before they took off, I was able to get these shots, through the car window.

The standard cormorant, first.

And a gull, of course.

And I will close with my favorite shot of the day: a detail of the lighting on this 50+ year old ferry.

Andrée Fredette