Canada Day 2022 by Maggie

 Hi Everyone!  This is Maggie.  You may have noticed that for the first time in 12 years, my mama didn't post a Happy Canada Day blog, with photos and nice words that praise the beauty of this country.  My mama's been struggling with some stuff lately and just didn't have the energy to go through photos or write words.
So here's me.  Mama took this photo of me in 2018.  I'm a bit more grey now.  So is she. But at least I look patriotic.  I hope you had a Happy Canada Day. 

Another Craig Bay Interlude

The creative juices aren't flowing.  I have eagle photos and eagle stories but that spark of inspiration that enables me to pull them together has been elusive.  I'm not a disciplined writer who sits at the desk at the same time each day and pounds out words on the keyboard.  More often, I wake up with the words just flowing from me, or I'm out walking and the story swirls around in my head.  I just can't write on demand.  So, one day, you will get to read the story and see the photos of the eagles - or many stories of many eagles - but as I haven't blogged for awhile I shall just post some photos of our wander through Craig Bay Heritage Park from a couple of days ago.  

We love this park because it is quiet, level, alongside the ocean, lightly forested, grassy, with pockets of wildflowers that change weekly.  And it is never, ever busy. In fact, many times we don't see a soul.  Peaceful is the singular word that describes it.  

A light breeze blows the tall grasses as we stroll through the trees.

Maggie stops for a rest near the wild rose bushes that line the shore.

Closer picture of the roses.

And closer still.

I spy splashes of red amid the grasses.

Oriental poppies! One of my favourite flowers, so big and bright. 

Maggie posing near a mass of daisies.

Some crows were hopping around us and making a racket. 
I soon spotted why - Junior had just fledged!

Mama and Papa Crow were encouraging him to fly, but he just wanted them to feed him.
After we moved further away, they indulged him with a bug or two.

Maggie, pose for me!
Not now, Mama, I's napping!

Fooled ya!

And, as it will likely be Father's Day by the time you see this, Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.  My own dad passed away nearly 45 years ago, and I miss him still.  This is one of my favourite photos of him, doing one of the things we enjoyed doing together when I was just a kid:

My dad - always loved, never forgotten. 
Happy Father's Day in the Great Beyond, Dad. 

A few photos from last week

 The days seem to be getting away from me - as is my energy - and by evening I'm too tired to blog.  So here's just a few of my favourite photos from this past week, lest you think I've forgotten you. 

Bee in flower at Craig Bay Heritage Park

A crowd of what seem to be white daffodils at Parksville Community Park

A very young eagle - they were only about 15" tall and appeared to be this year's hatch, though it is still early for them to fledge.  There was a young adult supervising from a nearby rock, chatting and encouraging as the youngster looked for tidbits to eat.  The young adult was twice the height of this one but hadn't yet earned his white head.  

I haven't forgotten about all the hundreds of eagle photos of the past month.  There are stories to tell!  This is one of a series that I haven't written up yet, but will get to it soon!

And we finally had a day that was warm enough for a long walk on Eaglecrest Beach, paddling in the water and soaking up the sun. Doesn't Maggie look happy?

Happy Gotcha Day, Maggie!

Happy Gotcha Day, Maggie!  Five years ago today we signed the adoption papers at Langley Animal Protection Society (LAPS) and you and I became family.  

Meeting Maggie for the first time - May, 2017

Together we've explored beaches,

Hiked together,

Checked out many parks,

Watched the seasons change, 

 

And enjoyed sunsets together.

We're both growing old together.  You're no longer able to do hikes, but you sure enjoy being taken to parks and beaches.

The stumps you climb are shorter and flatter now.  Come to think of it, so are my hikes!

Your fur is whiter, like my hair, and you don't hear as well or see as well as you once did - but neither do I. 

Will these glasses help me, Mama?

You strain my finances and sometimes my patience, but repay me a thousand-fold with love, laughter, companionship. 

I love you, sweet Maggie.  I'm so glad I gotcha! 💗

Happy Mother's Day, by Maggie

 Hi everyone! It's me, Maggie.  I have a pretty nice Mama, so today I told her she could take the day off from editing about a zillion eagle photos, and I'd take her to the park instead.  

I would have made breakfast for her, since it is Mama's Day, but I'm not allowed to use the stove.  Or open the fridge. Or order delivery on the phone.  Okay, I'm not only 'not allowed' but as I don't have opposable thumbs those things are pretty tricky for a sheltie.  I'm smart, but not THAT smart!

So, I suggested we have a nice walk in the park.  Craig Bay Heritage Park, to be exact.  It's always quiet, and there's grassy paths, and a bit of beach, and lovely views, and now that it is spring there are also flowers and lotsa birds.  So I even suggested she bring her camera along.  And I promised I wouldn't hog the lens. 

I think she had a nice time.  These are some of the photos she took.  I dunno the names of all the flowers but I know a couple of them.  Mama probably knows the others but she's asleep already 'cause I wore her right out!  

This is camas lily I thinks.

And these are some type of blue bell.

These are rhodos.  Mama said they might be wild ones, but most 
likely they were planted many years ago when the property used to
be a homestead or later a campground. 

We saw birds too - some heron and something flying in the sky:

And guess what else we saw?  A bunny!  But he runned away when I shouted hi to him.  Mama said I should use my indoor voice when we see other critters. I forgots.

We saw a little humming bird on the end of a bare branch.  He is always there, every time we go. But he is real because he moves his head to look at us sometimes.  I think he just likes to watch the ocean and listen to the waves - just like my Mama does.

I kinda forgot I said I wouldn't hog the lens,  and when Mama was trying to photograph a flower I kinda got in the way - hehehehehe!

This was the flower she was trying to get before my snout got in the way:

So I think Mama had a pretty nice day.  Maybe tomorrow she'll get back to editing the kazillion eagle photos she took on Friday.  Don't tell her, but I'll give you a sneak peak at one of them:

I hope you gave your Mama a nice Mother's Day too, or if she's gone to the Rainbow Bridge, I hope you thought of her today.  

I love my Mama.  Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there! 

Love, Maggie.

A Convocation of Eagles

 ♫♫  If you go down to the beach today, you're sure of a big surprise! 
        If you go down to the beach today, you better go in disguise. 
       For every eagle for miles around, is in the air and down on the ground. 

      Today's the day, the eagles are here for a picnic! ♫♫

The midshipman fish have arrived - the females laying the eggs among the rocks in the water, the males guarding them until they mature.  And lots of midshipman fish in the shallows of the outgoing tide mean lots of eagles ready to pounce.  

It happens every year at this time, and I have often seen dozens of eagles in a very small area, all hopping and strutting, flying and fluttering about as they eat their way through the midshipman fish buffet. 

Today, I had Maggie with me so I didn't go anywhere near them. But I also had the good camera with the telephoto lens so even from about 300 yards away I was able to get a few shots, though they were almost out of range.  Still, some of the images had 40-50 eagles in a single shot. 

Yeah, right.  I'm  much more photogenic and a whole lot closer too!

Just sittin' here quietly, watching a bunch of dumb birds. 

Tomorrow, if the rain holds off  when the tide is falling, I'll head down there without Maggie, park myself on a rock about 50 - 75 yards away, and try for some better shots.  

The weather forecast doesn't look great, but perhaps I'll get lucky.  There are few things more thrilling to me than sitting among dozens of these majestic birds as they skillfully fill their bellies at the edge of the surf. 

There are few things more thrilling to me than filling my belly! 
 Is it dinner time yet? Let's go home.