Well don't just lay there.......

I came across these two just as I was heading into the mountains the other day. With the kind of hike I took I should have laid down in the grass with them!

A couple more Lichen shots

Have to include these two shots from the other day. Aparently many types of lichen can be eaten to sustain ones self in a survival situation, don't imagine it would be very tasty though.

Mother Nature's astro-turf

I came across this nice thick "carpet" just below a natural spring. The bright green was such a contrast to the gray granite rock you couldn't miss it.

Coral and seaweed.

Actually this is lichen, a dual organism composed of fungus living with green algea.

Went for a hike and couldn't really see anything worth taking pictures of until I looked down at my feet. Suddenly there were pictures all around!

Marshlands

The old logging road crosses through the marshland just a half mile from where I live. Both these shots are taken from the wooden bridge that spans the stream, top shot facing South and the bottom shot facing North. Regretably I didn't have my Sigma 10-20 or I could have gotten more in each of these pictures. Oh well there is always another day!

Looking for a little sun

I was out hiking and came across these flowers fighting for their share of the sunlight. I took this photo fromthe other side of the valley with the Tamron 18-250 lens. It was odd seeing a spot of bright yellow among the granite rocks. You can just barely see the flowers in the center of the photo.

Breezy

Last few days have found the North Island bathed in Sun! Hopefully this is a trend not an exception... Allong with the sun comes the wind, fine by me... This is a view looking North out of Hardy Bay towards the Mainland Shore.

Night shots

After a bit of trial and error I was able to get a few nice long exposure night shots of the creek out behind our property... Funny though that blue and green seem to be the only colours in both these pictures.

Hoping to be big one day

I went for another monster hike yesterday and came across (and crossed) a large stream with some small fish in it. I didn't think I was going to be able to get a shot where you could actually see them but with a little tweaking in photo shop I ended up with a decent photo.

You can't sneak up on me

This big guy wondered into my yard the other day and decided to take a rest under a little shade tree. I was definitely more leary of him than he was of me. I'm 6'2" tall and anything as tall as I am when it's all on fours will always get my respect!

Couple more bird pics.

Took these two shots same time I took the Seagull pics. For whatever reason neither of these birds minded me being close enough to get these shots with the 18-135 lens. Lighting wasn't bad either...

Not a pretty picture

You have to wonder why a sign like this is even necessary. Why would anyone in their right mind "molest" a dud??? You'd have to be nominated for the Darwin Awards if you were out on an artillery range looking for unexploded shells.

Seagulls

Out the other day, windy but sunny. Perfect day to take a few pictures. Both of these shots are with the Nikon 18-135.

The Mighty Oak

The leaves have started to sprout and I caught this oak leaf just a day or two after it had opened. It's on it's way to being a pain in my butt when it falls off the tree this fall and onto my porch with thousands more.

But until then it is on it's way to being one of many that will shade my yard from the 100 degree temperatures this summer.

Welcome Sign

Welcome to Port Hardy Sign, Seagate Dock in background.
Normally I don't take the time to take pictures of Welcome to signs, but on this ocasion the lighting was just right (about 15 min. before sunset) and I couldn't rest the colours and contrast of the scene, it was so vivid...

More beach stuff

The local name for the critters in the upper picture is "Gumboots". I don't know their real name but they are related to slugs and snails but have a segmented armoured shell covering their body. On the underside is a large suction pad. These I have eaten (you eat the pad) they are tough but tasty when cooked.

A couple of colourful "Starfish" which arn't really fish at all. Aparently they belong to the echinoderm family not that I know anything about echinoderms or anything...

Little Baldy

No, I'm not talking about myself, that would be big fat baldy if I was. Little Baldy is the name of the hill in the photo.

Unique Crow

This fellow has been hanging around Port Hardy for the past year or so. Never seen a crow with white tail and wing feathers before. Finally got some pictures of him in a parking lot from my truck.

Between a rock and a hard place

This tree gave it it's all but in the long run the space just wasn't big enough for the tree to grow for long.

April Showers bring May Flowers...

Spring sucks, cats don't care about flowers... Can't we just get to the Summer part!