Category Archives: Wanderings

Blog, Photo Wednesday, Photography, Wanderings

A walk in the woods: Lilliput world!

Above: one of the forests in which I wander, and its emerald carpet of mosses. A magical world…

Forest path, into the green. Photo by Andrée Fredette

 

I take a walk in the woods almost every day. These days, the air is moist, the ground is alive with mosses. And there are treasures everywhere!

 

Moss cushion in the sunlight, close-up. Photo by Andrée Fredette

A moss cushion in the afternoon sun, enjoying its position on a very wet rock.

A drop, almost ready to fall off the moss. Photo by Andrée Fredette

That was a very wet spot, really. It was dripping in the late afternoon sun. I tried to capture a drop, about to fall off the moss, but not quite yet…

 

Moss close-up. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Above: a moss close-up.  I have a new toy: a set of diopter filters (magnifier-like filters, in different strengths, and you can stack them to increase magnification). These are my first attempts are seeing how much of this mini-world I can get into focus.

 

Moss in bloom, January on Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Blooming club moss, above.

And then, there are the lichens… A whole new lilliputian world has opened up, through my lens.

Cladonia pixie cup and other lichens on a log. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Above: on a log, an entire miniature habitat where competitors reach for the moisture and nutrients.  The tall ones are “pixie cup” Cladonia lichens, along with other lichens whose names are still a mystery to me, and some moss.  (Note: I found a great lichen reference page here. Please have a look, if you are intrigued by lichens.)

 

Pixie cup lichen (Cladonia) macro shot, Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Above: macro shot of Pixie cup lichen (Cladonia) and its “warts”… With the diopter filters, the depth of field is so shallow that hand-held shots are a “no breathing allowed” moment…

 

Jelly tooth mushroom (Pseudohydnum gelatinosum), Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Once your eyes get used to the very diffuse light, you notice all kinds of details in the mosses. Above: a jelly tooth mushroom (Pseudohydnum gelatinosum), and it is a very gelatinous thing. Almost glows in the dark, that tiny one!

 

 Bright orange mushroom, Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

After the rains, there is a great deal of mushroom variety. Little ones, mostly. Like the orange guy above. Sorry, I have no idea about ID!

Coral mushroom (Clavulina) peeking out of the forest litter, Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Above, in the darkest part of the forest, some coral mushrooms were peeking out of the forest litter. Maybe Clavulina cristata…

Little grey cap mushrooms, all lined up for a dance. Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Delicate little “grey caps”, all lined-up for a dance.

Witches' Butter (Dacrymyces chrysospermus), a yellow jelly mushroom on Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Above: Witches’ butter mushrooms (Dacrymyces chrysospermus) on a fallen log.

Tender Duo

And this lovely duo, basking in the afternoon light, in the clover…

To close this post, a shot of the seasonal creek that makes its way to the ocean, near my house…

Winter rains feed a seasonal creek on Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Blog, Photography, Wanderings

Between rain showers

It’s good to take quick walks between rain showers. Really quick walks. They help digest all that rich, festive holiday food…

Salt Marsh at Goldstream, Vancouver Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

You can visit with the geese, on the salt marsh trail…

 

Hikers on a foggy trail, Saturna Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Or bravely tag along with energetic friends, on a foggy trail that goes up to the top of the mountain.

 

Fog on the ridge, Vancouver Island. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Or march up a ridge with a backpack… Definitely not a quick outing, that. But so beautiful!

 

Droplets in the fog. Photo by Andrée Fredette

 

And on those walks or hikes, my eyes always roam, hunting for details, like this droplet jewelry.

 

Solo walk on the beach, Wickaninnish Beach, Vancouver Island, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

And on that last photo, I loved the bright red jacket of that solo walker on Wickaninnish Beach, on the west side of Vancouver Island.

The fog, the rain, they don’t keep some of us indoors… At least, not all the time.

About Art, Blog, Inspiration, Just Because, Photo Wednesday, Wanderings

Artistry and Craftsmanship

Going through my photos of old trips, finding forgotten beauty…

Among my pictures, I found this detail shot of the exquisite ironwork on a door of the Portail de la Vierge, at the Notre-Dame cathedral, in Paris.

Detail of the carving, main doors, Notre Dame de Paris cathedral. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Ironwork so exquisite took a great deal of time to make. Small, detailed pieces were painstakingly forged, then assembled into complex motifs, which were then attached to the doors.  This dates back to the XIth or XIIth century…

Below, a drawing of the ironwork of the Sainte-Anne door – an example of the extremely complex assembly of the smaller branches. Drawing by E.Guillaumot, in Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle, by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, 1856.

Ironwork, Sainte-Anne door, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.

 

And inside the building, there are treasures of architecture everywhere. Also, the gaze goes up…

The North Transet Rose at Notre-Dame de Paris. Photo by Oliver Mitchell.Photo by Oliver Mitchell

Above, the north transept rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris. The window was installed c. 1250-60 when Jean de Chelles was architect. It features the Virgin and Child enthroned in the centre, surrounded by images of kings and Old Testament prophets.

Beautiful details everywhere.

Below, an additional detail photo of the door that started this post. This time the photo is by Myrabella. Great detail shot!

Detail shot of the Portail de la Vierge, Notre-Dame de Paris catthedral. Photo by Myrabella.

And I am going to finish with the legend  of Biscornet, the young blacksmith who was asked to created the ironwork for two of the doors of the cathedral:

According to legend, it was the 13th-century ironsmith Biscornet who designed the intricate metalwork that adorns the side-doors of Notre Dame. Biscornet was young and ambitious, but, as the story goes, he was so overwhelmed by the momentousness of his task that he made a deal with the Devil – offering him his soul in return for help with the commission.

“Well, I am the Devil after all,” replied the demon officiously. “If you sign a contract with me, I will make of you the most skilled of all metalworkers, and you will be able to create all the magnificent works you please.”

And so Biscornet worked and worked, day after day, until one morning he was found asleep in front of his completed masterpiece. The magnificent doors bore witness to the young ironsmith’s remarkable finesse. Alas, however, on the day of the doors’ inauguration, they refused to open. Only when they were dashed with holy water would they finally budge, and Biscornet was absolved from his demonic pact.

The central doors, conversely, were never originally ornamented – a fact that surprised even Victor Hugo, whose Notre Dame de Paris became the most famous work of literature on the cathedral. Not until the 19th-century restoration by Viollet-Le-Duc did the ironsmith Boulanger finally add some metal detail to them – only after restoring the cursed doors of Biscornet, of course. — Translation by Tim McInerney

There is always a good story to go with exceptional artwork, don’t you think?

 

Blog, Wanderings

Boat Pass Hunter: A little drama

During the winter, all kinds of waterfowl spend the winter in the waters around these islands. Here is the story of a little drama I got to witness, a while ago.

The setting: Boat Pass, between Saturna and Samuel Islands. When the tide moves in or out at Boat Pass, the current moves swiftly, like rapids…

 

Boat pass, between Saturna and Samuel Islands. Photo by Andrée Fredette

That day, on the strait side of Boat Pass (to the right, in the above photo),  rafts of surf scoter ducks were floating about, feeding on the fish coming through with the tidal current. Rows upon rows of them, taking turns at diving – when at the front line – to feed. Very orderly system…

 

Surf scoter ducks in "raft" formation, minding their own business. Photo by Andrée FredetteMinding their own business.

 

The hunter: a sea lion, riding the tide through the pass. Clever sea lion, using the tide to increase his speed and stealth… The only reason I spotted him was his loud breath (I was sitting on a rock, right next to the flow, at water’s edge, and he surprised me. These are really big animals, the size of a cow…).

The Boat Pass hunter: a sea lion, riding the tide through the pass for added speed and stealth. Photo by Andrée Fredette

While in the pass, at speed, he dove…

…and surfaced right in the middle of the birds.

Surf scoter ducks, escaping a predator. Photo by Andrée Fredette

The birds exploded into flight. Well, not quite flight because if you’ve seen surf scoters take off on the water, you’ll know that they need some serious flapping and “walking” on the water to take off. So their escape was not quite successful.

I am going to guess that some unlucky one (or more than one) did not make it… Score one or two for the sea lion.

 

Surf scoter ducks reform the raft, after the danger has passed. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Once the drama was over, the sea lion could be seen, swimming to the rocks the Belle Isles chain…

And the birds reformed into an interesting shape, and drifted off toward the islets in the distance.

Nothing to see, folks, move along.