Monday, January 30, 2012

January 2012 Photo Scavenger Hunt!

Thanks to Kathy from Postcards from the P.P. for starting us off on another year of scrounging ;)

Here's my summary followed by individual photos:

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1. Soft

I happened upon a Pussy Willow tree just beginning to bud ~ what conjures up softness if it isn't a brand new Pussy Willow?

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...unless of course, it is a Downy Woodpecker

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...or perhaps, the first snowfall of the year freshly imprinted by a rambling deer.
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Oh, my goodness, we're still on number 1.

2. "2"
This ball rolled into view as I continue to sort and organize my garage. It is a rubber ball with a good bounce. (OK, so I took some time out to bounce a ball and also had my eye on the skipping ropes ;))

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I had these two eagles in mind, spotted through my kitchen window, but I have already posted them on a previous post.  Here they come again!

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3. Blur
Finding a blurry photo isn't too much trouble at all! This photograph of the BC Parliament Buildings was taken when I was in Victoria. Over 3300 energy efficient lightbulbs outline the buildings, although is this photo you'd never know!  No use making this any larger!

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4. In season
Winter Jasmine is blooming at my front door and is a pleasant reminder that there are flowers still willing to thrive in the winter months, and give promise that spring is on its way
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5. In my bathroom
Well, not actually my home bathroom, but rather the one in the hotel in Victoria where I stayed.

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6. Mess
A mess wouldn't be hard to find either, but I decided on showing the messy slush in the neighbourhood after our snowy storm ...

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...and my messy painting pants

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7. Information

While in Victoria, I came across a plaque that read:

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This small islet and the adjacent shore were once an indigenous encampment connected with the village at McNeill Bay, Chikawich, to the west. The people living here ate over 20 species of fish and 15 species of birds, as well as deer, sea mammals, raccoon and marten. Across the water lies Trial Island, Tlikwaynung, a place where there were lots of seals.

My search for more information led me to Burnt Embers blog, which not only tells more about the area, but contains excellent photography from Victoria and area.  If you have time, search through his photos!

The first time I stopped the car to take photos of the view, the sun was shining in my eyes;  I noticed a couple walking towards the Adirondack chairs.

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It wasn't until later on in the afternoon, when I drove back again, that I noticed their colours ~

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8. Company
While standing looking at the view, I had the company of a bald eagle flying overhead ~
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but what I chose for this category was a photo of some cute Bushtits at my bird feeder in the company of a friendly Chickadee (on the right)
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I could have picked a group keeping company with each other as they were beach walking in Victoria.

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9. Warning
What I really wanted to take was a photo of the hugest lit up "Do Not Enter" sign on a parkade, but I didn't have my camera that evening. Instead I took a photo outside the entrance of the Greater Victoria Library warning bicyclists not to joyride in the Courtyard.

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What struck me was how many bicycles were parked outside the library ~ transportation easy on the environment, and also showing that the library was keeping busy! There was also another warning sign just in case you weren't sure which door to use:

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10. Odd
Hmmmm....where to start.

On my drive down to Victoria I was stopped in my tracks on one of the back roads that I gravitate towards. There were so many apples on the branches of this tree...not sure if there were an 'odd' number of them, but it was a very odd sight.

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and how odd is it to see a Buffalo/Bison head on a a log house restaurant wall?

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11. In the distance
Thankfully, one of the photos of the BC Parliament Buildings turned out fairly well...here it is in the distance:

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... although I nearly chose this photo of the view of the mountain in the distance, from my front door now that the leaves are off the deciduous tree. We used to have a fairly good mountain view when we moved in nearly 19 years ago, but trees have since grown!
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12. Entrance
I chose a photo of these two welcoming heron statues near the entrance to a home when I was parked looking at the view in No. 7.

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So that's it for this month's scavenger hunt! To see other entries, click on the link to Kathy's blog at the beginning of this post. Thanks for checking out my photos, and please leave a comment :)

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Heading south!

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Heading south to Victoria for a couple of days, so I'll leave you with more of nature's wonders ~




Sunday, January 22, 2012

Basking cheek to cheek!

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If you listen closely, you can hear the chorus ;)

Friday, January 13, 2012

Thursday, January 5, 2012

I missed this one!

I am going to try and keep track of birds that visit my bird feeders. I didn't realize last year just how many different feathered friends came around. Now that I'm more familiar with their identification, it is even more enjoyable watching their antics.

One bird that I didn't put in my posting about birds awhile back was the Wren. I see it often and even on the bird feeders. Here's a couple of photos of the wren on the lawn.

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Today I have dismantled all signs of Christmas; this project seems to have taken much of the day! I have enjoyed the bright and cheery lights throughout the season...and with no snow to hinder travel, it has been a merry time.

I have now settled into my hibernating 'reading' mode ~ finishing the latest Flavia de Luce novel, I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, by Alan Bradley .

When I get 'into' an interesting and enjoyable novel, I forget time. For instance, Flavia was finished in one sitting, and the next night I began reading the first of the 'Jane Austen Mystery Series' by Stephanie Barron. I snuggled into the couch, and when I finally finished reading it, I had no knowledge of the passing of time...until I looked at the clock... 3:30 a.m. Good grief! I will try to pace myself a bit better! I have started the second novel in the series, and stopped reading my kobo after a couple of chapters.

Thanks to Flighty for mentioning me in his recent post! It was also a reminder that I've been blogging for nearly four years. I have been retired for two years (December 31), and that is just amazing in itself. Time hasn't slowed down at all!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Happy New Year! edited

A Townsend's Warbler visited on New Year's Day. He's such a bright little character, adding sunshine to the beginning of 2012.

Thanks Adrian and Flighty for letting me know there was a problem with the video. I have removed the video for now.  I was trying something different ... I created the slideshow in Photoshop Elements 9 and somehow it was saved as an mp4???? Although it plays for me in Photobucket, it doesn't seem to translate to Blogger. I will attempt to figure something out later on.

In the meantime, here is the cheery little fellow looking into the  new year.
When I looked closely at the twigs, I could kind of see the letters for Happy New Year...of course, I have an imaginative eye ;)

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Here he is tweeting  Auld Lang Syne ;)

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