(Yes, Yvette, that's Kabuki taking flying leaps everywhere! Do you think he's happy?)
More photos of today's hike to follow!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday Walk
Six people, fifteen dogs, a beautiful spring day, and a hike to Crofton Lake. These faces say it all:
(Yes, Yvette, that's Kabuki taking flying leaps everywhere! Do you think he's happy?)
More photos of today's hike to follow!
(Yes, Yvette, that's Kabuki taking flying leaps everywhere! Do you think he's happy?)
More photos of today's hike to follow!
The ups and downs of suns and tides
Tuesday:
The day began at 5:00 AM. Oliver stood up in his crate, gave himself a shake, and let out the soft little sneeze he uses to tell me he would like out. Charley came running into the bedroom and pawed my covers, her way of ensuring I know one of her canine siblings is in need of help. I groaned, not quite ready to get up, but I am my dogs’ servant and so I dutifully rolled out of bed, stumbled to the back door for a leash with which to guide 'can’t-see-in-the-dark' Oliver, creakily squatted down to open the door to Oli’s crate, fumbled with arthritic morning fingers to attach the leash, and headed outside.
The brisk morning air soon woke me and by 5:30 early morning meds were given and coffee was brewing. Checked the emails, turned on the news, showered, pulled on some clothes, fed the dogs, and headed back outside with the pack for their morning constitutional.
It's nearly seven o’clock. And I see this:
Ohhhh….it is going to be a beautiful sunrise. I have a busy day ahead, so decide to take Oliver for the first walk as he will need to go back in the crate when I leave for an appointment. Can we make it to the beach a block away before sunrise dissipates into full morning light?
There’s an interesting phenomena I have observed in the early mornings. A bright morning first light often fades back into deeper shades of dusky dawn before the sun fully emerges. And so when we reached the top of the small hill to the seawalk, we were back to grey-blue tones with hints of rose.
As we wandered the seawalk, and then the beach, Mother Nature’s rosy cheeks began to pale as gold and yellow and shades of wheat emerged.
As daylight fully exposed herself, we headed back home. Ironically, the beautiful sunrise did not foretell of a beautiful day, and within the hour it was overcast with no sign of the sun that had awakened my world.
It was not until later in the afternoon that I returned to the beach, this time with Sadie and Charley. The cloud cover had lightened a bit and one could just make out the lighter patches where sun was sliding behind Maple Mountain.
It was low tide now, and the seabirds were feasting on the clams and oysters and other sweet sea treats left behind by the departing water. Finally, I got a fairly clear photo of an oyster catcher – that comical bird that I think of as a crow impersonating a clown, bright orange beak far too big for the crow-like body.
The gulls were also present, of course. I played around with the focus on my camera to capture this gull who seems to be perched in front of a watercolour painting:
….and promptly forgot to change it back when I no longer wanted the background blurred:
The most fascinating aspect of the beach today was the high tide/low tide comparison. At high tide this morning, the five or six foot high posts of a long-ago wharf are not visible,
whereas at low tide, they are a prominent feature of this stretch of beach.
At high tide, the final flight of steps to the beach (and part of the penultimate flight) are covered with water.
Low tide reveals a huge log has drifted between the rails of the lower flight. Will it float on through with the next high tide, or will manual help be needed to remove the 50 foot obstruction before the stairs themselves are damaged?
And the berm to the wharf near the RV park is completely covered at high tide,while easily traversed at low tide. In the afternoon, at low tide, I watched as some anglers prepared to go to sea, the bright bouys adding colour to their boat.
The anglers, however, were not bright boys – they left their truck and trailer on the berm, preventing other anglers from launching their boats.
Perhaps by the time they return Mother Nature will have had her revenge, for the vehicle was well placed to be carried away with the next high tide!
Ever changing sea. Ever changing beach. Ever changing life.
The day began at 5:00 AM. Oliver stood up in his crate, gave himself a shake, and let out the soft little sneeze he uses to tell me he would like out. Charley came running into the bedroom and pawed my covers, her way of ensuring I know one of her canine siblings is in need of help. I groaned, not quite ready to get up, but I am my dogs’ servant and so I dutifully rolled out of bed, stumbled to the back door for a leash with which to guide 'can’t-see-in-the-dark' Oliver, creakily squatted down to open the door to Oli’s crate, fumbled with arthritic morning fingers to attach the leash, and headed outside.
The brisk morning air soon woke me and by 5:30 early morning meds were given and coffee was brewing. Checked the emails, turned on the news, showered, pulled on some clothes, fed the dogs, and headed back outside with the pack for their morning constitutional.
It's nearly seven o’clock. And I see this:
Ohhhh….it is going to be a beautiful sunrise. I have a busy day ahead, so decide to take Oliver for the first walk as he will need to go back in the crate when I leave for an appointment. Can we make it to the beach a block away before sunrise dissipates into full morning light?
There’s an interesting phenomena I have observed in the early mornings. A bright morning first light often fades back into deeper shades of dusky dawn before the sun fully emerges. And so when we reached the top of the small hill to the seawalk, we were back to grey-blue tones with hints of rose.
As we wandered the seawalk, and then the beach, Mother Nature’s rosy cheeks began to pale as gold and yellow and shades of wheat emerged.
As daylight fully exposed herself, we headed back home. Ironically, the beautiful sunrise did not foretell of a beautiful day, and within the hour it was overcast with no sign of the sun that had awakened my world.
It was not until later in the afternoon that I returned to the beach, this time with Sadie and Charley. The cloud cover had lightened a bit and one could just make out the lighter patches where sun was sliding behind Maple Mountain.
It was low tide now, and the seabirds were feasting on the clams and oysters and other sweet sea treats left behind by the departing water. Finally, I got a fairly clear photo of an oyster catcher – that comical bird that I think of as a crow impersonating a clown, bright orange beak far too big for the crow-like body.
The gulls were also present, of course. I played around with the focus on my camera to capture this gull who seems to be perched in front of a watercolour painting:
….and promptly forgot to change it back when I no longer wanted the background blurred:
The most fascinating aspect of the beach today was the high tide/low tide comparison. At high tide this morning, the five or six foot high posts of a long-ago wharf are not visible,
whereas at low tide, they are a prominent feature of this stretch of beach.
At high tide, the final flight of steps to the beach (and part of the penultimate flight) are covered with water.
Low tide reveals a huge log has drifted between the rails of the lower flight. Will it float on through with the next high tide, or will manual help be needed to remove the 50 foot obstruction before the stairs themselves are damaged?
And the berm to the wharf near the RV park is completely covered at high tide,while easily traversed at low tide. In the afternoon, at low tide, I watched as some anglers prepared to go to sea, the bright bouys adding colour to their boat.
The anglers, however, were not bright boys – they left their truck and trailer on the berm, preventing other anglers from launching their boats.
Perhaps by the time they return Mother Nature will have had her revenge, for the vehicle was well placed to be carried away with the next high tide!
Ever changing sea. Ever changing beach. Ever changing life.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
It doesn't cost a penny...
And it only take a few seconds. Once again, the Animal Rescue Site is running a shelter challenge to give away a total of $100,000 to rescues and shelters who are members of Petfinder. com which is a website where those seeking a new companion can search for the perfect mate be it canine, feline, porcine, or any other non-human critter.
Last time, Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue was first in Canada for many weeks, and suddenly slipped at the very end - losing out on the $1000 regional prize. But the big prize is much bigger - $10,000 for the first prize. And every week two prizes of $1000 will also be given away.
I've written about Turtle Gardens many times, and the tremendous work the Labatte family does to help abandoned and neglected dogs in northern BC. And they desperately need funds to continue to do what they do - including their spay/neuter program for northern communities. What do we have to do to help Turtle Gardens win some of that much-needed cash? Vote every day. Every single day. From now until April 18th.
You can only vote once a day - and please don't try to cheat the system, because in the end when the votes are scrutinized and double-dippers are removed, it only hurts the rescue.
To make this really easy, I have (with the help of several internet friends including King the dog) installed an Easy Button on the right of the screen. Just click on that and it will take you to the Shelter Challenge Page. The first time, you will need to tell them who you want to vote for, but after that it will put the name in for you and you just have to click on "vote". Please note you will also have to confirm that you are a real person by typing in the name of the animal that appears on your screen after you vote.
The good news is, you don't have to register, you don't have to send money, you don't have to give them your email address, your facebook page or your favourite dog......just click.
Please....try it out. Go to that Shelter Challenge easy button on my blog and vote for Turtle Gardens. And then do the same tomorrow and the next day and the day after and every day for the next three months. King and all the TG dogs, past and present, will thank you.
Last time, Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue was first in Canada for many weeks, and suddenly slipped at the very end - losing out on the $1000 regional prize. But the big prize is much bigger - $10,000 for the first prize. And every week two prizes of $1000 will also be given away.
I've written about Turtle Gardens many times, and the tremendous work the Labatte family does to help abandoned and neglected dogs in northern BC. And they desperately need funds to continue to do what they do - including their spay/neuter program for northern communities. What do we have to do to help Turtle Gardens win some of that much-needed cash? Vote every day. Every single day. From now until April 18th.
You can only vote once a day - and please don't try to cheat the system, because in the end when the votes are scrutinized and double-dippers are removed, it only hurts the rescue.
To make this really easy, I have (with the help of several internet friends including King the dog) installed an Easy Button on the right of the screen. Just click on that and it will take you to the Shelter Challenge Page. The first time, you will need to tell them who you want to vote for, but after that it will put the name in for you and you just have to click on "vote". Please note you will also have to confirm that you are a real person by typing in the name of the animal that appears on your screen after you vote.
The good news is, you don't have to register, you don't have to send money, you don't have to give them your email address, your facebook page or your favourite dog......just click.
Please....try it out. Go to that Shelter Challenge easy button on my blog and vote for Turtle Gardens. And then do the same tomorrow and the next day and the day after and every day for the next three months. King and all the TG dogs, past and present, will thank you.
Help.....someone who is computer literate???
I'm trying to add the logo for the Shelter Challenge to my blog, but when the user clicks on it they just go to the home page where you click for food, not the shelter challenge page. I tried embedding the link in the graphic, but it didn't work.
Someone - Yvette? Alphamutt? Chris?- how do you make the graphic take the reader to the voting page???????
Someone - Yvette? Alphamutt? Chris?- how do you make the graphic take the reader to the voting page???????
Monday, January 18, 2010
Just an ordinary day - not.
The power went out sometime between midnight and one this morning. The wind howled and boughs fell and two of my neighbours lost significant portions of their roofing materials. Another neighbour decided 5 AM was the perfect time to start up his VERY noisy generator - which woke up all my crew who then, of course, wanted to dash outside to see what monster was threatening us.
I struggled out of bed, let Oliver out of his crate, stumbled to the back door where I keep the big, powerful rechargeable flashlight, only to discover it had died. Permanently. Freshly charged battery worked on the (interchangeable) power drill but not on the light. Stumbled around some more looking for other flashlights. Batteries dead. Finally found the fluorescent camping lantern which gave a sufficient but not great light - enough to shepherd dogs in and out, feed cat, find treats for dogs, before heading back to bed. Listened to Oliver thump, bump, clump around (he has NO night vision) and finally put him back in his crate.
We normally get up no later than six around here, but a very dark gloomy morning meant dawn came late so I clung to my blankets as long as I could. No coffee. No heat. No warm shower. No computer. No radio or tv. May as well sleep.
The critters, of course, had other plans, and by 7:30 the dogs had sent Allie to tap, tap, tap, tap on my neck and face until I cried Uncle and got up. Oliver and I went for a long walk (the rain had stopped by then and the wind was beginning to die down), and by 9:00 the day was beginning to look promising. I headed out with Charley and Sadie to join two friends and their dogs exploring a new-to-me park between Chemainus and Ladysmith. Great park, but did we ever get rained on! It was raining so heavy I didn't even take any photos.
Three drowned rats came home, the two-legged one hoping for a warm shower but the power was still off. The phones were also dead. The sun, however, was shining and I later learned it had not rained all morning in Crofton. Murphy's Law.
Off to my writers' group, though the piece I was working on was at home on my computer - where it would remain as printers don't work without power. (Fortunately I had another piece to share in my filing cabinet, though it was far from polished). The climax of our stories paled in comparison to the excitement generated when one of our group noticed flames shooting from the chimney of a neighbouring house. Maintaining one's focus on reading and listening is challenging with firefighters climbing up ladders just outside the window!
The power came back about 3:00 PM and phone service was restored by the time I got home. Tomorrow I will buy a new rechargeable flashlight and some batteries for the other flashlights, and that should ensure we get no more power failures for at least a year - by which time the energy will have seeped away and the batteries will be dead once again.
I struggled out of bed, let Oliver out of his crate, stumbled to the back door where I keep the big, powerful rechargeable flashlight, only to discover it had died. Permanently. Freshly charged battery worked on the (interchangeable) power drill but not on the light. Stumbled around some more looking for other flashlights. Batteries dead. Finally found the fluorescent camping lantern which gave a sufficient but not great light - enough to shepherd dogs in and out, feed cat, find treats for dogs, before heading back to bed. Listened to Oliver thump, bump, clump around (he has NO night vision) and finally put him back in his crate.
We normally get up no later than six around here, but a very dark gloomy morning meant dawn came late so I clung to my blankets as long as I could. No coffee. No heat. No warm shower. No computer. No radio or tv. May as well sleep.
The critters, of course, had other plans, and by 7:30 the dogs had sent Allie to tap, tap, tap, tap on my neck and face until I cried Uncle and got up. Oliver and I went for a long walk (the rain had stopped by then and the wind was beginning to die down), and by 9:00 the day was beginning to look promising. I headed out with Charley and Sadie to join two friends and their dogs exploring a new-to-me park between Chemainus and Ladysmith. Great park, but did we ever get rained on! It was raining so heavy I didn't even take any photos.
Three drowned rats came home, the two-legged one hoping for a warm shower but the power was still off. The phones were also dead. The sun, however, was shining and I later learned it had not rained all morning in Crofton. Murphy's Law.
Off to my writers' group, though the piece I was working on was at home on my computer - where it would remain as printers don't work without power. (Fortunately I had another piece to share in my filing cabinet, though it was far from polished). The climax of our stories paled in comparison to the excitement generated when one of our group noticed flames shooting from the chimney of a neighbouring house. Maintaining one's focus on reading and listening is challenging with firefighters climbing up ladders just outside the window!
The power came back about 3:00 PM and phone service was restored by the time I got home. Tomorrow I will buy a new rechargeable flashlight and some batteries for the other flashlights, and that should ensure we get no more power failures for at least a year - by which time the energy will have seeped away and the batteries will be dead once again.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday Walk
Yesterday started off dark and wet and miserable, but by noon the rain had more or less ceased, and so we headed off to Swallowfield. We chose the path to the right rather than heading to the river which would be much too high and swift - no point putting the 'we-can't-resist-the-water' dogs at risk.
So, a nice ramble down a country lane,
through fields
and across to the estuary...hold it....bog. Swamp.
Rotted fish and boot-sucking mud. Flooded, wet, muddy and stinky ----not that the dogs care.
They had lots of fun and we all enjoyed the walk.
I can't resist photographing the rosehips in rain:
And I think my camera skills with action shots are improving a little.
But I still need to work on the timing though!
And I should pay attention to composition too. I love this picture of Lily, despite the branch in front of her face:
But I love this one even more, if only it didn't have a seedpod or bit of leaf right over her eye!
On the way home, I stopped for a shot of a couple of snowgeese. They are wintering over in the fields everywhere - anything from two or three to hundreds in a field. The trumpeter swans also winter here, and although I have seen them many times I have yet to catch of shot of them.
Back at home, I shot this little guy through the window, eating from the newly placed bird feeder in the front yard. Allie believes I did it all for her amusement - she sits and watches them for hours.
It was a very good day. Good thing, too - because it poured all day today and other than a short walk with Oliver and a trip to Karen's for some much needed grooming for Sadie and Charley, we were a bunch of couch potatoes today.
So, a nice ramble down a country lane,
through fields
and across to the estuary...hold it....bog. Swamp.
Rotted fish and boot-sucking mud. Flooded, wet, muddy and stinky ----not that the dogs care.
They had lots of fun and we all enjoyed the walk.
I can't resist photographing the rosehips in rain:
And I think my camera skills with action shots are improving a little.
But I still need to work on the timing though!
And I should pay attention to composition too. I love this picture of Lily, despite the branch in front of her face:
But I love this one even more, if only it didn't have a seedpod or bit of leaf right over her eye!
On the way home, I stopped for a shot of a couple of snowgeese. They are wintering over in the fields everywhere - anything from two or three to hundreds in a field. The trumpeter swans also winter here, and although I have seen them many times I have yet to catch of shot of them.
Back at home, I shot this little guy through the window, eating from the newly placed bird feeder in the front yard. Allie believes I did it all for her amusement - she sits and watches them for hours.
It was a very good day. Good thing, too - because it poured all day today and other than a short walk with Oliver and a trip to Karen's for some much needed grooming for Sadie and Charley, we were a bunch of couch potatoes today.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Continuous Mode
The Continuous Mode setting on my camera produces some interesting sequences that the human eye misses. Here's my favourite from the other day:
Tarben meets Jazz
Ooooh boy...
What's his problem? Sumthin' in his ear?
Here, buddy, want me to have a look?
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