Puppy Season

Puppy -- as in baby seal pups! 

Every late July / early August since we moved to Victoria, we've seen the yearly gathering of momma seals and their babies on Colvile Island, which is just in front of our home. This year, we also saw them on an even smaller island just a little further west of us. 

The lighting was particularly good a couple mornings ago so I got out there with my camera before it changed. 

I was just about to head back inside when I realized that Andrew, who'd headed out earlier for a walk, was also busy taking photos of them! He got a bit closer than I did, plus has a larger telephoto so I'm sure he got some really good ones! 

 

Fall Road Trip 2023 - Astoria to Victoria

It felt good to be getting closer to home! We splurged and spent a lovely evening at the waterfront Bowline Hotel in Astoria and had a great meal at our favourite Astoria restaurant, the Bridgewater Bistro. 

Evening light over the water. From the lounge/restaurant of the Bowline Hotel.

The Astoria-Megler Bridge is 4 miles long and connects Oregon and Washington.
It's the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

Right beside the hotel, we could hear some sea lions. We went out a while later and found this cutie having a nap on a lower level. We assume he got up there when the tide was higher because it was a long way to the water. 

The next morning, a younger looking one was there. I just love the eyes and whiskers. 

Our view during breakfast at the Bowline Hotel.

We took our time driving to Port Angeles, stopping for coffee again at Elixer Coffee in South Bend, another of our favourite places along this stretch of the coast. 

Relaxing in the lobby of the Olympic Lodge in Port Angeles.

It was surprisingly not very busy on the Coho Ferry coming home. All the American Thanksgiving holidayers were probably going the other way. The water looked ready for a very smooth sailing! 

Home is in sight!

Last blog post of the trip is done! No one is more surprised than me that I actually kept up with posts this time and got to the end of all this. The strategy this time was to post as we went, rather than try to group things into categories (e.g. landscape, flowers, animals, etc.). The past few trips where I've tried to do it that way has meant that trip posts never get finished because, once we're home, I'm on to other things. So, moving forward, hopefully I continue to improve the way I do things. 

Despite being sick most of this trip and some of the things we had planned to do not getting done (e.g. overnight backpacking, Andrew paragliding) it was a great trip. We saw such a wide variety of landscape and I'm really happy with some of the photos I got. Things are improving there too!  :-) 

Seals, Their Babies, and other Harbour Sightings

For the third summer in a row, the tiny island (Colville Island) near our home has been visited by mother harbour seals and their babies. Just one the past couple years but two momma seals and babies this year. They are fun to watch! 

 

On one of the days Andrew and I were out taking photos, they came close enough to the main shore to take some video. So playful! 

Of course, there's always lots of other things to take photos of as well. ;-) 

We spotted this momma deer and her two babies when we dropped Penny off where she was house sitting in Oak Bay. 

Kayaking - Sights and Sounds

I'm generally not too motivated to go out kayaking (and it's always Andrew who initiates it, plus goes out a lot on his own) but I'm always happy when I do! 

Our "paddling" is more along the lines of meandering and taking photos and we saw SO much today! It was awesome!

The folding kayaks make it so easy to get out. I really shouldn't have any excuses!

The Coho Ferry arriving. 

Bald eagle. We spotted the white head quite a distance away.

Andrew had seen a family of racoons as well as a baby deer on previous visits out here. Today we saw single racoons in two different places, the momma deer as well as two babies. 

At one point, we were stopped and just looking around, but in amongst some thick seaweed. Andrew could feel and hear something banging against his kayak. I looked over a it was a crab snapping it's claws at the back of his kayak. Andrew must have stopped right on top of him and he didn't like it! I didn't get my camera out in time but then saw this one a bit further on.

There were lots of Canada geese and other birds. We also came across a very curious seal who gave us a good look and actually rolled over and had his flippers in the air for a short time. Usually it's just their head poking out of the water. Again, by the time either of us got a camera out, he was gone!

And then when we got home, this baby rabbit was in the yard just outside our door. 

Spring in Beacon Hill Park

I had a rest day from the gym today so decided to take a stroll through Beacon Hill Park with my camera.  

Squirrels are definitely not the most cooperative photographic subjects but this little guy was so intent on his lunch that he stayed in one spot for quite a while and actually let me get reasonably close! I even got a little bit of decent video although, being hand held, it's a little shaky. 

I have always loved the colourful feathers of the male peacocks.

There were SO many wildflowers out. The daffodils in particular carpet many areas of the park. 

The relationship to the land defines our identities as Lkwungen people. The language is the foundation of the teaching of the ancestors and this foundation is attached to the land. The land and the environment that allows the people to live, harvest, hunt and fish, are all "Sacred sites." The land, creeks, rivers seashore and ocean are all living breathing entities. The land that you walk on today is the traditional territories of the Swengwhung, one of the seven family groups which inhabit this part of Southern Vancouver Island. 
Burial site and Cairns are places to connect people of Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, with the ancestors. Recognition and acknowledgement is vital to our beliefs and the ancestor's teachings. 

The manicured flower gardens were also very lovely but there were more people around that area so I didn't hang out for long. Too cold today to see any turtles in the ponds so I'll have to go again when it's warmer. It was a really lovely day!