The other morning, an eagle was perched above my neighbour’s house. Top of a very tall fir tree. Checking out the neighbourhood.
Looking to the right, looking to the left. Anything edible going by? No luck.
Okay, then might as well get on with the grooming. Feathers need to be smoothed, lined up. Can’t allow ourselves to look ragged, now, can we?
Also, one must be thorough. Grooming all the way under the “petticoat”…
Just an average morning in my neck of the woods.
Tonight’s sunset was heart-stopping. I was stalking it with my camera, from my deck. I knew it was going to be a repeat of yesterday’s show, and did not want to miss it.
A slow lowering …
With a touch of cloud, to provide a little veiling.
And the sun kept traveling down, cradled between two hills, before disappearing.
Golden heat
descending behind
dark forests
Western sky,
on fire
at the
edge of the world
I added a little visual jazz to this last photo. Let us call it “The last heat of the day”.
Bonne nuit!
From my house, I get to watch the sailors in the summertime. Little boats, big boats…
Sometimes, they play all together.
And when they turn around to go home, I love the colourful spinnakers.
The next day’s race was scheduled later in the afternoon. The silver afternoon light is just magic.
And sometimes, sailors prefer to work solo.
Sailing by yourself is a special kind of solitude, time to reflect, but also to react quickly to changing conditions. No one else to blame in case of a mistake.
The above sailor looks headed for the US (smile). That little chunk of land on the right is Blunden Islet, at the tip of South Pender Island, in BC. The islands in the background are Waldron and Orcas, in the US.
During the same sailing event, serious sailors competed on bigger boats. Team work and play. Less meditation, more intensity.
And sometimes, things don’t go as planned.
In 2007, on the eve of the Saturna Lamb Barbecue (a July Saturna tradition for over 50 years), the Robertson II ran aground on a reef near Saturna Island, in the middle of the night. Miscalculation, distraction, too much pre-partying? Night sailing is demanding and unforgiving.
Oh well.
Back to daytime sailing. And the afternoon light.
I caught the boat pictured above sailing “in the silver”, a couple of days ago. The late afternoon light was perfect. Then, I played with the filters and colour intensity. I think this is going to be a print. In the meantime, enjoy it online.
And go play outside!
I love poppies. In my garden, they finished their big show over a month ago, but that won’t stop me from bragging about their beauty. And individuality.
So today, I will overwhelm you with poppy gorgeousness. Prepare yourself.
Above, a picotée in delicate shades.
And its cousin, in dark shades. Note the hot pink near the center…
Isn’t this one the Drama Queen? Complete with fringe, and high contrast action.
A beauty in deepest red… and hot pink. Absolutely shining in the sun.
Hot colour, light pistil, in contrast with the one before…
I call this one the Cutie Pie. All pink inside, and deep red outside.
Up close and personal with the Drama Queen. Couldn’t resist.
Then, there is the white one with pink heart and exotic pistil.
And the aging beauty, starting to show its wear and tear, but still showing some flash. Feels familiar!
And this is the “all together now” moment. This is just a section of the poppy riot that occurs every spring in my garden for the past 7 years, because I shake the seed heads in late July, and I encourage a whole bed of them to flourish the next year. Best dollar seed packet I ever spent!
The days and weeks have been very long since I broke my ankle, on May 31st. Books and Netflix only hold so much magic…
To reset the dial, my daughter took me on a three-day road trip. Off to Vancouver Island, and Port Alberni, Ucluelet and Tofino. And especially, the Pacific Rim National Park… AKA the Wet Coast.
At the top of this post, a very wet me, sitting in the cool beach wheelchair we were able to borrow from the Kwisitis Visitor Centre, at Wickaninnish Beach. The hard sand part of the beach was easier to navigate for my wheelchair-pusher (i.e. daughter), but getting across the soft sand at the top of the beach was another story. We needed help (or I would have had to crawl back), and help was very graciously provided by one of the Centre’s staffers. They spotted our struggling, probably sighed, and came to our rescue. I am grateful.
The sights? Lots of surfers. The beach may look empty, but every dark speck in the waves is a surfer, in full wetsuit.
And then, this young woman and her dog caught my attention…
The dog was beside herself with joy at the open space, the water, the waves, being out there with her “mommy”, and having fun.
The surfer told me that her dog was learning to surf, but “she keeps dumping me when she steps forward”… Working on technique. Aren’t we all?
A few minutes later, looked like they were mastering it very nicely.
Well, then she saw “daddy” and started to step forward to say hello. Looks like this may end up in a tip over…
And I leave you with the suspense.
Did I mention that this was a very wet day?
We took a stroll (a roll, in my case) on the Peat Bog Boardwalk. It was a very wet day. Very wet.
And on the art side, we stopped at the Eagle Aerie Gallery, and admired the prints, carvings and paintings by Roy Henry Vickers. The gallery, a gorgeous building all in massive carved cedar boards, is a beautiful setting for the art on display. Not to be missed, if you are in Tofino.
