December Photo Scavenger Hunt

Another month, and year, of photos completed ~

After my recent 'Twas'-ing posts, I am happy to say that only a couple of issues remain ...at this point... replacing the flashing on the chimney and adding a downspout ...  Hilary humorously and poetically replied in the previous comment section:

So many things just gushing and flowing
And so handy are you.. you must be all-knowing
You've fixed up the biggies though some still remain
I doubt 'twill be long 'til you're at it again
So when we hit the New Year, I wish this for you
May the next thing that spills be some wine.. into you

 That gave me a chuckle ~ she has the right idea.

One of the charming things about this time of year, is that I have a hummingbird visitor that perches on a twig of the blooming Mock Orange and Winter Jasmine bushes, visible from my front door window.  Here is a youtube video I made of the little bird sheltering from the weather.  My tiny fellow doesn't seem to be taking advantage of the opportunity, like Hilary's hummingbird back east.  What a wonderful video she took of her hummingbird thoroughly enjoying a rain shower.

OK, on with the Scavenger Hunt:

1.  Joy (or Bliss...)

One sunny day in December, I noticed rafts of sea lions basking in the ocean.... a close-up view shows their apparent blissful joy while soaking up the rays.

Certain humans seem to find exhilarating joy in the ocean, especially in stormy weather:

2. Together

The Trumpeter Swans have returned for the winter:

The cycle of life is apparent as the sea lions chase and catch the salmon in the sea, while at the same time, a Bald Eagle's appearance sends the gulls flying ... Being together with the eagle is not a wish of the gull!

 3.  Tree

This tree is for Flighty, who showed a picture of a lit up tropical tree on his blog.  This tree is located in the village, near our hardware store.

 4.  Ornament

While I was on a night cruise to take a photo of the tree above, I noticed a very cosy window display with shiny ornaments, and cuddly critters.

5.  Light

In the village:

~ a little white bird perches inside the star light on my tree, and it is referred to as Snowbird :)

6.  Christmas

It seems that the flock have been gathered for a Neigh-tivity scene, and are in the process of readying for a special night, or practicing for their Christmas Concert.

I know, a very baaaa'd play on words ~ and I've just made it worse ;)

7.  Sparkle

Nothing quite sparkles like the annual Festival of Lights in Ladysmith, and it is always one of my favorite sights during the season.  The headlights from a car coming up the road interfere with the effect somewhat.

Movement of the camera makes the lights look like upside down candy canes.

8.  Giving

I don't know... is she giving? taking? moving?  My camera was sitting on the table at the front window, and this person walked down the road carrying a chair... BYOC (bring your own chair?)  Is the red thing a gift, another cushion?  I have no idea, so I'm giving you an opportunity to figure out possibilities ;)

 9.  Food

Why didn't I take a photo of the golden brown turkey with crispy bacon coating, or the potatoes and vegetables, sweet potato and apple dish, dressing, cranberry sauce, steamed pudding...anything from Christmas dinner?  Too busy taking photos of ladies walking by carrying chairs, I guess.  The only photo of food I took was a plate of Double Ginger Crackle cookies that I baked and gave to the Senior Centre...

10.  Red

Little hummingbird proudly showed off its 'red' gorget as it perched on the twig at the front door ~

Oops, nearly forgot the little red sweater I knit up photoshopped for my chilly friend.

 11.  Kitchen

As mentioned previously, no photos were taken in my kitchen of food (or anything else), but this morning, lo and behold, I saw this scene through my kitchen window!

A little late for a white Christmas, however, it looked very seasonal...and fortunately stopped and all traces disappeared by the afternoon.


12.  Whatever

There are grape vines intermingled with an apricot tree in the back yard - often referred to as a grapricot. ;) In this entanglement, there is something hidden.  Can you spot it?

Guess who?

The hummingbird(s) took up a fair bit of my photograph count this month ~ I noticed that these images seem to confirm the hummingbird's preference for red.

Thank you to Greenthumb for continuing to supply lists and host the link up for the monthly Scavenger Hunt photos.

Thank you to my readers, as well ~ I love that you drop by, and appreciate all comments :)

I wish you all a most wonderful New Year and hope 2016 brings peace, health and happiness to everyone.

*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*
  *H*A*P*P*Y* *N*E*W* *Y*E*A*R*!*
*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*

'Twas three days after...

'Twas the week before Christmas ~

November Photo Scavenger Hunt

It's easy to pick a post title when only posting once a month!! ;)

Thanks to Made with Love once again for hosting this month's challenge.  There is a camera icon at the bottom of my post that also links to her scavenger hunt site.

 1.  Stranger
When I took my camera out for a stroll to 'where the river meets the sea', I came across a stranger (with a hat) who appeared to be one serious photographer bedecked in his camo gear.

I hope he was able to take some great shots of the salmon run, eagles, sea lions, etc.  He was aiming in this general direction:

 

2. Looking down
On our way out and about, I noticed a field of sheep as I looked down from the roadway.

3.  Pop culture
This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but when I saw all of these pop bottles in someone's recycling bin, I thought they were obviously people who were into 'pop culture'.  If they had taken the bottles into the bottle depot, they would have been able to exchange them for some coin.

4. Weather
We have had some weather!  A mixture of rain, bright sunshine and freezing temperatures, the odd blustery day ~ the first snowfall on the mountain... and today, when moving the deck furniture into storage, a cover on one of the lounges was full of water which had frozen into this beautiful ice sculpture ~ 

 

5. Big
The main venture this month turned into a bit of an expedition.  Ended up travelling the Pacific Marine Circle Route ~ another link ~ leaving home about noon and not getting home until 10 p.m.!  During that time and enroute, I stopped to see my brother who offered to give my vehicle an oil change ~ couldn't turn that down.  The 'big' category gets aptly filled by the Harris Creek Sitka Spruce. 

I also tried to compile a vertical panorama from a few shots to try to capture how tall it was ~ much more impressive to see it live, of course.

6.  Sign

and then...

8.  A glimpse of the gorget of a hummingbird at the bottle feeder...that looks nearly ready for a fill-up.

8. Out and about
As mentioned earlier, the drive along the Pacific Marine Circuit Route took some time.  Fortunately we made it through the remotest section in  daylight, arriving at Port Renfrew about 5 o'clock, when the cafes close on a Sunday ;)  Oh oh...  We eventually found supper around 7 p.m. at Sabhai Thai Restaurant in Langford, and very good it was too.   A lovely sunset was enjoyed from the Botantical Beach viewpoint.  The rest of the journey, of course, was driven in the dark, although seeing the moon shining on the ocean was memorable.  I have taken this trip once before since the logging road has been paved, but next time I will choose a time of year when the sun doesn't set at 5 p.m.!

9.  Hat
Since there was a hat in the first picture with the stranger, I chose a photo of a feathery plumed 'hat' perched on a tree ~ looking as if it is imitating the branches ~

10.  Hole
If you look very closely at the oyster in the Black Oystercatcher's bill, you may see a tiny hole.

Was the Black Oystercatcher successful in opening this oyster catch?

 Yes.

In fact, he was so pleased with his success,  he jumped up and down with exuberance. 

(Did you notice four oystercatchers in the photo above?)

Afterwards, he stood proudly ~ satiated and happy :)

11.  One
The Roman Numeral I is located on the clock face of the telescoping card I made for my son this month, as we geared up for his birthday...

If you'd like to see the card in action, here's a short video I took ~

12.  Whatever

Back to the beginning of this post where the stranger was focussed on the ocean and its wildlife ~ I managed to take this photo...  If I had been set up with a tripod and a huge lens, too, it could have been much clearer and closer...however, I caught a catch!

That's it for this month ~ and the list has already been posted for December ~

December's List

Joy
Together
Tree
Ornament 
Light
Christmas
Sparkle
Giving
Food
Red
Kitchen
Whatever you want

October Photo Scavenger Hunt

Thank you for your responses to my previous post.  I appreciate all comments :)

October has been quite wonderful weather wise, with a mixture of sunny days and expected wind and showers.  It is interesting to go through my month's photos to remind myself of some of the places I've been and sights I've seen.  On with October's photos:

1.  Question
Apparently there are 130 Visitor Centres throughout BC to answer any questions, ...identified by their distinctive, blue-and-yellow logo, these Visitor Centres provide a wide range of visitor services, including professional visitor counselling, helpful travel information and literature, and accommodation reservations. Visitor Centres specialize in community information and provincial itinerary planning and their service is friendly and personalized.

 2.  Cream
Not ice cream, but a cream coloured mix of seaweed where a creamy Sandpiper is camouflaged in the mass.

3.  Number
A chalk artist decorated the beachfront walk with a colourful display of rainbows, and a Halloween Hopscotch ~

4. Lattice

Here is an October rose supported by lattice work on either side of this bright welcoming door.

 5. Familiar
A familiar October sight ~ trees displaying leaves in their autumnal splendour.

 6.  Ring

I discovered that guests have been coming to a certain resort in October for many years.  They have become like family, and one of the ways they celebrate this occasion is to ...what else, but decorate their own noodles with rings of pool noodles and go for a chilly swim.  The lady who told me this was one of the crew, but at 91 years of age, said she was no longer a 'beach babe'.

 ...so did anyone actually swim in the salt water?

7.  Today

Well, the 'today' I took this photo, I was at the Tibetan Happy Festival at a Buddhist Temple and grounds ~ so a very peaceful way to spend an afternoon ~

8.  Down
I caught a glimpse of dark feathers and shadow against the rocky shore as I looked down from the beachfront sidewalk.

9.  Writing
At the Tibetan Happy Festival, a selection of beautiful Native American Spirit Flutes were on display, and the writing on the posters introduced Terry Mack, who played one of the flutes, adding to the harmony and ambiance of the afternoon.

10.  Many

Of course, during October most of the autumn leaves fall and are swept into gatherings!

11.  Broken

I spotted a few juvenile Bald Eagles at the estuary, some finding broken posts as vantage points.

12. Whatever

Here's a fine chap at the beach,

however discovering he was chosen for 'Whatever' rather than being Number 1, he looked a bit down in the mouth and maybe even broken-hearted...enough to cause a double take...wait for it...

To finish off...I noticed a few young crows and their mother at the beach.  When I downloaded the photos, there appeared to be a log monster behind one of the young ones...so...