Moody Spring Weather

Typical Spring weather on Northern Vancouver Island... Rain, Sun, Rain, Sun etc... Not that I'm complaining, this is better than snow any day!

Is that a drop of water on my head?

Until I can get an ultra-wide lens I guess this will have to do. This was from two days ago on a trip up a small valley looking for "things".

Must get out more...

OK I admit I'm having to scramble to take enough interesting pictures to post here every day! Good excuse though to keep the camera within arms reach wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

Here are some Frog or Salamander eggs I've been keeping an eye on for the past week or so. Not much change yet since I first noticed them. Be interesting to see what they turn out to be.

The view from up here

I went for another hike today and came across some old gold mine claim markers. This one was on top of the ridge about 40 feet above one of the old mines. There were two mines within fifty feet of each other and both were within the same claim. I was hoping to find the last claim marker because you can sometimes still find the old claim titles stuck inside a jar or can inside one of the claim markers.

I couldn't go into either of the mines because they were both filled with water.

Beach critters

Interestingly enough both the "China Caps" above and "Snails" below belong to the same family as "Slugs","Oysters" and "Clams" all are "Mollusks". A bit of trivia to keep in mind next time you sit down at a fancy resturant to enjoy "Oysters Rockefeller" or a steaming plate of "Escargots". YECH!!

The take off

I thought I would stay with the bird theme and put up this photo of a buzzard just taking off from his roost. He was about 100 yards away and way up hill from me so I had to shoot fast and through some tree branches. I think he had just gotten one flap of his wings when I snapped the shot.

Get your ducks in a row...

I don't know who came up with that phrase or what exactly it means but it seemed like a good title for this picture!
This picture is another from my poor old Nikon 70 300g. It was very soft and fuzzy which would be great if you were looking for slippers or something, so I worked it over in PhotoShop for awhile and here's what I came up with.

Stalking the big game

I went for another long hike yesterday and came across this big fella. I was able to get about 300 yards from him before he got spooked and headed off to a hiding spot. I really am going to have to get a bigger zoom!

So totally busted!

Need I say more? I'll let the picture speak for it's self...

The Intrepid Photographer

Do I try to make the jump or not? I decided I was too old and fat and it was still a little cool to end up on my back side in a couple of feet of water so I looked for a better place to cross this creek. I do look good in shadow form though! LoL

Interesting rock formations

Found this interesting sandstone rock formation last weekend. Sandstone is common enough around this part of Vancouver Island though finding it with groves worn into it like this is not. Just goes to show you never know what you are going to find when you start hiking around some.

This shot was a real turkey!

I came across two of these toms the day after it snowed here, the first day of spring if you remember. They were scavenging the ground to see what they could find to eat.

What is that!

Looks kind of futuristic, like something you would see in a sci-fi movie or something.

In reality this is a gravel loading facility for ocean going ships. Leading up to this is a 1/2 mile long series of conveyor belts and a number of huge piles of gravel of different grades and sizes. Most of the gravel is shipped south to California, Oregon and Hawaii.

Leave it to someone to figure out how to get rich selling rocks... by the shipload at that!

Clouds on the water

I went for an early morning walk yesterday and came across this scene on the nearby lake. The small picture on the blog doesn't really do it justice because everything seemed to be reflecting off the water at the time and it's hard to see in a small photo.

Airborne! The flying dog...

Check out this lucky shot, caught "Maggie" in mid air!

Gone to the Dogs!

Last few days have found us with a third dog as my Son is working a great deal of overtime... Two dogs is alot of work, three dogs is a handfull! A few more dogs and I'll be looking for a sled and some snow to go with! LOL

The First Day of Spring

I think daylight savings time has got Mother Nature all screwed up. I went out yesterday for a while to get some shots of the first day of spring. It was a pretty miserable day and I think the animals would agree with me!

It was 28 degrees with snow and 30 mph winds. The day before was 75 degrees and sunny.

Down at the Seine Floats

When time permits I grab the camera and head for the waterfront. There always seems to be something or other to take a picture of down around the docks.


Todays picture is of several fellows taking the net off a Seiner. There are several of these large nets piled neatly on the nearby floats. As I understand it, different nets are reqired for different locations and species of fish and most of these boats are able to carry only one net at a time.

Heart Rocks

Was it real? The first heart on a pedestal was a real photo. The heart rock is a well known landmark in the mountains here. If you talk to the big brains around here they all say it is a natural formation but if you actually look at it and pay attention to where it is it becomes obvious that it was placed where it is by humans. The pedestal and heart are all one piece of granite.

The heart I posted today is also a man made shape (and real) and points to a valley that has several more man made "things" in it. The photo is a little decieving because I took it from across the valley. The large tree just above this heart is about 20 feet tall if that gives you any perspective on the size of this heart.

Full load

Loaded "dragger" heading into Hardy Bay with a full load of fish.

This is an extreem crop out of a much larger picture, through a steamed up resturant window, hand held, no vr and with the 18 to 135 lens... This picture really should never have turned out, but here it is.