All posts by stweedale@gmail.com

Exploring, Glimpses..., Nature, Winter

thoughts on a winter walk…

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The colours are muted and soft along the Heritage Forest Road, and the ground is rock hard, frozen solid. It may look like there's little life in the landscape, that it everything is 'dead'. Dull. How far from the truth!
As we walked  the road what struck me was how many signals  there were that even in the quiet stillness of winter, and its apparent  barrenness,  there is a  pulsing vitality to the season:  the creeks burble beneath a skim of ice, lichens hang conspicuously from limbs all round, colourful slime molds are 'there' for the observant eye as are various fascinating fungi; winter birds— wrens, sparrows,  nuthatches, chickadees and towhees flit amongst the low shrubs while the finches and others occupy the higher branches; the deer meander and graze undisturbed. Surely the forest pulses with life as much in winter as any season.
I wonder if maybe the forest and its creatures enjoy the relative quiet. Maybe its their 'sabbath'.

Exploring, Small Spectacles

A dusky stream…

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In the wintry chill of New Year's Day afternoon we walked the trail to the beach from the Heritage Forest,  down to Sticks Allison road  and along the beach access. Its a favourite walk of ours particularly because of the way the little stream runs alongside the path. Where the trail opens to the sandstone shore, the fresh runoff of the stream fans  out onto the sandstone and joins the Salish Sea.

The photo above was taken when it was nearly dark, with just the dim available light. It was far too cold to set up tripod and adjust camera settings— fingers and toes were  quite thoroughly numb!! The result is, to me, a happy accident.

 

Exploring, Glimpses...

The Point this morning

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click on the file for a larger view
click on the file for a larger view

The days begin with a walk to Flagpole Point before breakfast.
In part it is a necessity, to walk the dog, but equally important is that this outing provides me a chance to appreciate the uniqueness of each morning. Though it is the same place, the variation is infinite:   light, colour and texture  in differing combinations.
The rising sun's position is constantly shifting with the seasons,   tides varying with moon-phase, wind and weather, clouds, fog, rain,  or clear... Add to this, the cast of birds and small animals. I never know just what the morning jaunt will offer: kingfishers, herons, otters, harlequins, eagles, mink, seals...

It has long been my habit to record these first glimpses of the day there with a few photos, usually just on my iPhone, but sometimes with my 'big' camera. Recently it occurred to me to share some of my morning glimpses with others, so I created a Flickr Album Mornings at Flagpole Point  which you can view here.

My aim is to post one a day. Sometimes, like yesterday when we had a power outage I couldn't post. There are bound to be other missed days here and there, but mostly it'll be a daily photo.

Thanks so much for enjoying these glimpses of the world with me.

•••

 

Nature

tafoni talk

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tafoni for blog-

What can be found in the deserts of the Negev, in Antarctica, the Isle of Skye, Germany, India...and Galiano Island?
Tafoni!
Here on Galiano Island our coast is predominantly sandstone, and features amazing tafoni from north to south. In all its spectacular shapes, hollows, lacework and  lattice, it provides endless fascination as the light plays on it, highlighting its contours and patterns.  The photo here (above)  was taken on our own flagpole point, and I've included a gallery below with several other photos I've posted over the past while.

Photos

In need of some refreshment…

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sweet pea after the rain-4440Goodness knows we all need some refreshment. We need some rain. So.. mindful of our need, and the thirsty soil around us,  I  thought this photo of a sweet pea in my garden after a much needed rain some time ago was a fitting reminder that the rain and its refreshment will come. Sometime. If not today...

This afternoon I've added a new gallery to the already existing ones on my blog. I've included 21 photos from my meanderings around Galiano, to offer glimpses of this and that...birds, berries, flowers, sunrises and more. And maybe a touch of refreshment too.

You can find the Photo Galleries by clicking on the Photo Galleries text on the left sidebar, and you can find the newest gallery either on that page or by clicking here.

Exploring

driftwood creatures

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Driftwood shapes - (click on image for a larger view)
Driftwood shapes - (click on image for a larger view)

Since my early days spending my summers exploring the beach, clambering on logs, playing day-long games and building forts with my friends, the tangle of silvered roots has evoked imagination and stories, conjured images of creatures both friendly and fierce.
I don't clamber quite so quickly now,  and I am exploring different beaches, but my love of the driftwood shapes remains as active as ever— it is simply part of me. (Rooted in me?) Yesterday's walk along the sandstone shore, this marvellous root caught my imagination again, and I've played with the image just for fun, and wanted to share it here.
I wonder what creatures you see? and what stories it suggests?

Exploring, forest, Glimpses..., Nature, Small Spectacles

Chicken of the Woods…

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Chicken of the Woods 2016-07-10IMG_1865IMG_1865It wasn't what I was looking for.  I was after a photo of a Northern Flicker. But— as I  carefully crept along beneath the trees to get close enough for a photo,  a flash of a different orange caught my eye.

Nestled in the hollow core of a  very old fir stump was a beautiful fan of orange and yellow mushroom. Turns out it is known as  a ‘Conifer Chicken of the Woods’ (Laetiporus conifericola). I’ve seen it before growing on trunks of decaying fir trees, sometimes quite spectacularly, but the appeal of this sighting was accented by its cozy home low down, inside the empty round of the stump.

If I’d not been pursuing the Flicker, I may well have missed this beauty! I didn’t get the Flicker. He was long gone by the time I’d finished photographing the ‘Chicken of the Woods’.

(Note: The inside of the stump was in shadow in the morning, so  I returned later in the day when the sun was higher to get the photo above.)