Tag Archives: sky

Natural Wonder – Photo Wednesday

Above: a skyscape captured last night, around 9:30 pm. Cue the Mozart sonatas…

I have been outside and away from my blog for a bit. Here is some evidence of where I’ve been wandering…

Achillea blossom, about to open. Photo by Andrée FredetteAbove, an about to open yarrom blossom (Achillea millefolium), like a treasure in the dry grass.

 

Bottlebrush, blooming in the garden in June. Photo by Andrée FredetteThis is an Australian bottlebrush (Grevillea), a shrub that survives in my garden in the Southern Gulf Islands of BC. Loved by hummingbirds.

Salvia Blue Angel, in the June garden. Photo by Andrée FredetteAnd this thrilling version of blue is brought to you by a special sage, Salvia Blue Angel.

 

Hummingbird in flight. Photo by Andrée FredetteSpeaking of hummingbirds, here is a little male, showing off his colours. 

Promise, almost open... Photo by Andrée FredeteThe spring garden is full of promise. Almost open…

 

Dry grass, almost abstract. Photo by Andrée FredetteAnd in the fields around here, the grass is very dry, and panicles are poetically dancing in the wind…

 

After the moult, discarded snake skin. Photo by Andrée FredetteAnd in the dry grass, look at what we found: a skin, shed by a snake done with moulting for another little while. Such a delicate thing. Moving on, shedding your skin, there’s a thought.

May sunset wonder. Photo by Andrée FredetteAnd I leave you with a golden liquid sunset from a couple of weeks ago. Again, Mozart time.

Friday’s Ferry Ride

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.

Leaving Swarz Bay, island views in the distance. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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

Cormorant Reunion, near Swarz Bay. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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

Cormorants get-together on buoy. Photo by Andrée Fredette

And details on the venerable Mayne Queen ferry itself…

Mayne Queen Ferry lifebuoy. Photo by Andrée Fredette

On older ferries, the pictograms can be quite puzzling.

Pictogram on Mayne Queen Ferry. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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

Rusty links, story of my life. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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.

 

Ferry wake, dramatic sky, Friday afternoon. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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.

Cormorant, waiting. Photo by Andrée Fredette

The standard cormorant, first.

And a gull, of course.

 

Seagull, waiting for the ferry. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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

 

Lighting detail on the Good Old Queen. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Clouds that inhabit the sky

I am building a sky gallery. These are some samples.

 

Sky Drama, late afternoon. Photo by Andrée Fredette

All these photos were taken on Saturna Island, in BC.

 

Sky and cloud action, Saturna Island. Photo by Andrée Fredette

A view of the big sky, from the top of the mountain.

 

Sky and cloud action, briks wind. Saturna Island. Photo by Andrée Fredette

On a brisk late summer day, when the wind ripped the clouds into patterns…

 

Cloud "puffies", Lyall Harbour, Saturna Island. Photo by Andrée Fredette

From the water, on a boat, looking up… puffy clouds everywhere.

 

Storm clouds approaching, Saturna Island. Photo by Andrée Fredette

Storm clouds on the horizon, to the North West…

 

Sky Drama, orange. Photo by Andrée Fredette

And just before sunset, all the cloud action can become Turneresque…

 

Autumn Sky
by Charles Simic

In my great grandmother’s time,
All one needed was a broom
To get to see places
And give the geese a chase in the sky.

The stars know everything,
So we try to read their minds.
As distant as they are,
We choose to whisper in their presence.

Oh Cynthia,
Take a clock that has lost its hands
For a ride.
Get me a room at Hotel Eternity
Where Time likes to stop now and then.

Come, lovers of dark corners,
The sky says,
And sit in one of my dark corners.
There are tasty little zeroes
In the peanut dish tonight.

Sunset Sky in August – Photo Wednesday

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.

Sunset over Pender Island, Southern Gulf Islands of BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

A slow lowering …

Sunset over Pender Island, August 12, 2015. Photo by Andrée Fredette

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

Southern Gulf Island Sunset, BC. Photo by Andrée Fredette

I added a little visual jazz to this last photo. Let us call it “The last heat of the day”.

Bonne nuit!