Tag Archives: nature

Blog, Wanderings

Back from the Great Outdoors

I went on a hike on Vancouver Island, this weekend – uphill, mostly – with a friend who acts as my guide. Her generosity has allowed me to discover the back country, and I feel very privileged. That hike had an incredible payoff. At this time of year, Vancouver Island is a playground of green backdrops, punctuated with wildflowers. My wildflower photo collection is growing at a fast pace and I have spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the names of the lovelies I captured…

During this trip, we saw three bears. One mama bear and her cub, a tiny little guy barely bigger than a small dog. They crossed the logging road in front of our vehicle and it was a treat to watch them.

Later, while walking next to a bog, we saw another bear. I should say my friend saw a bear “watching us”, according to her. I tried to look across the bog, to see if I could spot it, but I could not really make out the bear… and I was really focusing on some orchids…

Alpine aster with a spider waiting for the next hapless visitor…

Check out this close up of an alpine aster (aster alpigenus) in the middle of a bog.  I often take pictures because something – a bright colour, a contrast – attracts my eye. But I don’t really “see” everything in the picture until I blow it up on my computer screen at home. Actual pixel view. That’s the ticket!

When I take a look at the actual pixels, I am amazed at the little dramas that unfold before my eyes… Mysteries are revealed, secrets unfold… it’s almost magic. Here is this week’s  example. A spider – the Goldenrod Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) has set up shop in the flower, nicely camouflaged, and is waiting for dinner to arrive… Pity the innocent insect that visits this flower!

Blog, Wanderings

Feel Stuck – Part Two

Still stuck, but making progress. My studio is a little more messy, which is a good sign. Progress, inch by inch. Baby steps.

Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus)

After making a mess and getting underway, I wanted some fresh air. Decided to go walk at East Point, the park at the Eastern “nose” of Saturna. Right by the parking area, through the fence, stood this young one, all innocent eyes… Just stay out of people’s gardens, dude!

Blog, Wanderings

Looking for a Snack – Shoreline Drama

I walk the shoreline several times a week, often with a camera in hand. You never know, something might turn up. The tide might be low enough to offer some interesting tidbits. Sometimes, I take pictures and I don’t really see what I’ve got until I get home and check out the pics on my computer screen, in actual pixels.

Katharina Tunicata
Black Katy Chiton cleaning up a Limpet

This is what happened here… When I took a closer look on screen, I saw the Katy chiton “invading” the limpet’s space. Then I wondered: is it attacking? Is the limpet lunch? Google to the rescue! I found an informative site here, which offered the following info:

Chitons are microphagous browsers that use a rasplike radula to scrape microalgae and associated organisms from the surface of rocks.

So my dramatic interpretation was just that: drama. This Katy chiton is just doing a cleaning up job on the limpet, who is probably “wearing” some microalgae… Or it’s a “get out of my way” move… Who knows?

 

Blog, Inspiration

Getting Back in the Game

Patterns everywhere.

Practice makes perfect, or so they say. So here I was yesterday, back at the machine, sewing, stitching, marking with thread.

I am using repetitive patterns from my image bank of vascular plants, mosses and kelp.

 

Because I had been away from my sewing machine for a while, I have to build up my ease with manoeuvering, and drawing with the needle. It’s coming back… petit à petit, as they say where I come from.

Looking at countless pictures of kelp and seaweed. I think they are better than ferns! Lots of ridges and patterns to emulate…

Blog, Wanderings

Mountain Blues and Big Birds

I have been cooped up for long hours, working on the computer, and I needed to get some fresh air…

Here is one of my favourite escapes: a walk to the top of Mount Warburton Pike, on Saturna. It leads to superb view points of ocean and islands. Sometimes, a few flying superstars show up, and do aerial ballets, to the delight of those of us who make it up there.

Eagles flying, San Juan islands in background
Eagles aerobatics.Background: Orcas and San Juan islands.

On the day I took this picture, a pair of eagles was busy doing their thing. There were several more soaring in the thermals that rise in front of the bluffs.There are also squadrons of crows and, later this summer, teams of turkey vultures. It’s an exhilarating show.

The islands in view are in the US: Orcas islands. Behind them, the straight of Juan de Fuca, and the mountains in the background are part of the Olympic Peninsula, in Washington state. One of these days, I’ll go on a road trip and check it out.

In the meantime, I wander my island and enjoy the great outdoors.