Tag Archives: featured garden photography

Beach safari

This is a quick visual report on a sunny summer day’s activity for kids of all ages, an annual July ritual on Saturna Island in coastal BC.

Around 1 p.m. last Saturday, people started showing up at East Point, on Saturna Island, to come play and discover critters at the edge of the Salish Sea.

Saturna Island Beach Safari

The point was a busy place, with divers headed into the water, to gather all kinds of creatures and bring them back to shore, so everyone could have a look…

A diver brings in some creatures from the intertidal zone at East Point, Saturna Island, BC.

Tanks were set up on the beach, with recirculating water, so their temporary residents would be comfortable.

Tanks full of sea creatures, Beach Safari, Saturna Island, BC

And everyone gathered to hear about the animals and plants that make the intertidal zone their home… Student biologists from the University of Victoria were on hand to share their knowledge about life below the surface.

Sea stars at the Beach Safari, Saturna island, BC.

There were sea stars, in their variety…

California sea cucumber

California sea cucumbers…

Sea urchin, Beach Safari, Saturna Island, BC

Sea urchins, including this big one (and look at the little baby one in the tupperware container on the side)…

Kelp crab, Beach Safari, Saturna Island, BC

And crabs, including these kelp crabs…

Male kelp crab, Beach Safari, Saturna Island, BC

And we learned that male crabs have a “lighthouse-like” marking on their abdomen…

Female kelp crab, Beach Safari, Saturna Island, BC

… while female crabs have a wider plate on their abdomen… So now, we can tell them apart. Also, notice that this female has been busy adding some camouflage greenery to her legs and back…

Sargassum brown algae, Beach Safari, Saturna Island, BC

Finally, this brown kelp is known as Sargassum, an invasive algae now present in the Salish Sea… We can pick it and plow it into our gardens as fertilizer without any guilty feelings…

And finally, no Beach Safari is complete without a little kite flying! There was a nice breeze, and people gave it a shot.

Summer weekends, the right time to go play outside.

Playing with my food

Above: a macro shot of laurel leaves, drying in a glass on my kitchen windowsill. With a little filter play, to turn it into a jazzy photo.

After three days of rain and high winds, things are finally starting to calm down. This morning, I played with my food and got a few very close shots of kitchen items.

Here they are, in their glory…

Kiss Summer Goodbye. One of the last Brandywine tomatoes from my garden. Photo by Andrée FredetteOne of the last Brandywine tomatoes from my garden… treated to a little filter play. I love those curves! A tomato with attitude…

 

Laurel Leaf Edges. Almost abstract, photo by Andrée FredetteAnother angle of the laurel leaves, drying on the window sill. It is too much fun, playing with the light and contrast.

So much fun, in fact, that here is one more:

Laurel Leaves Curves, high contrast. Photo by Andrée Fredette

And finally, not quite food, but a jewel-like piece of natural beauty:

Passengers to Nowhere. Barnacles on a clam shell. Photo by Andrée FredetteAnd now, I return to my garden, to right the pots that were knocked over by the wind, and pick up the debris…