Cottontail rabbits are native, but not common in the neighbourhood. This one was on the lawn of the veterinary hospital when spotted, but quickly sprinted across the road to find more privacy. Crows are too common, and our locals are well fed by local people, but I still have no idea what this crow scavenged.
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Harbour seal swims beside us as a cruise ship approaches. Sandwich board advertise the Tasting Room at the Breakwater Bistro.
It was a prime day for pom-pom cherry tree blossoms. Then I went on a 16 km bike ride to try out the new lanes along Tillicum Road - OK from the highway to Gorge Park, but ends abruptly and one finds ones-self in a car lane struggling uphill! Snail & starfish highlighted the morning breakwater walk, but it was such a nice day that we went out again after second coffees to see how the camas lily season was progressing. As the daffodil & narcissus flowers finish the camas lily, purple hyacinth & bluebell blooms take over the colour palette.
My first ride on the Kitma Road connector from downtown/ Galloping Goose/ Lochside Trail system to the E&N Rail Trail. It is definitely better than riding on the Esquimalt Road bike lane, but it is a confusing mix of trail types. From the Johnson Street Bridge on a mixed pedestrian/ bike path to a segregated 2 way bike only path, to (who has the right-of-way) street crossings, to mixed use sidewalks, to one way shared road lane...
(My conspiracy theory is that it is a trail designed by a committee of non-users!) Oh, my Google Fit map-app gets even more confused when I ride than when I walk. Tulips are prime & plentiful, now that Spring is finally springing! We took advantage of a nice day to renew our annual memberships and get some steps in a different environment than our normal Breakwater neighbourhoods. I packed three cameras today, as detailed below. phone - Samsung Galaxy A53 These pictures were taken with my phone (Samsung), except the last 3 that were taken of me by Jan's phone (iPhone). Pocket Canon SX740HS My most versatile, handy-dandy, powerful little, always with me camera. Canon EOS Rebel T3 body with a Canon 70 - 300 zoom lens This big-old (12 years old!) canon (big, heavy beast) is a DSLR that I like to use for fast shooting - either fast subjects or a fast sequence of frames. I managed to capture an image of one little lizard today at Butchart Gardens, but not the bird or insect opportunities I was hoping for. Snapping flower close-ups from a distance gives a different depth of field effect than using other cameras in actual close-up proximity!
Breakwater lighthouse walk & circle around to Fisherman's Wharf to check on the 'pom-pom' cherry trees.
It got warm enough for me to pump up bike tires & go for a short ride to start what I hope will be a mighty fine bike season for me. All systems go! Cloud formations were the most interesting part of this morning's walk.
The rest of this post highlights steps in the process of repairing a glass lampshade. One of the (many) challenges is getting the seam to solder in a horizontal position to keep the molten solder from just running off (splatter!!) Short story - I finished & hung the shade beside my bet to sure the new bits are solid. Spoiler alert: GIG! (Spoiler alert re: previous spoiler alert: GIG = Gosh I'm Good.) :) ;) :) ... in the garage. I have enough space cleared in the garage to do some more 'work' of a glass repair nature. After de-soldering as much as necessary, I cut some new glass to replace some broken bits, and started copper foil taping for the next process. Whew, that's enough for today!
Prior to that, it was a walk down to Fisherman's Wharf: white sea anemones, a native cotton-tail rabbit, and a bushy-tailed grey squirrel. It was raining lightly, but we were pleased to watch an otter feeding inside the breakwater. A couple of starfish were close to the surface, and an eagle rested high atop a favourite lamp-pole. And then, because it was $5 Friday at QF, we went to Eagle Creek Village for our frugal fare. All along the breakwater! As I compose this post I am channelling Jimi Hendrix: All Along The Watchtower. It was a BIG day for sightings - the most special was an octopus! Not great pics or video - but enough for proof. There were several types of starfish, urchins, & chitons, too. Almost as rare as the octopus, there was also a big white sea anemone. They were abundant here previously, but I haven't seen one in years. There was just enough surface water movement to distort many of the pictures - but that can be fun, too. Also recorded today was a seal swimming by, an oyster-catcher, and a heron, as well of lots of ship & tug-boat activity, and float planes too. |
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January 2024
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