It’s just a memory now, but what a spectacular one! The plant in the photo above began life as a volunteer in our garden last spring. I wasn’t sure what it was at first and almost yanked it out, since it was growing fast and taking up precious space that could be used for food … … Continue reading →

Our mostly mild, wet February has prompted a burst of new energy among the mosses. Their sporophytes are pushing up, each long stem topped with a capsule, getting ready to burst open and release the spores carrying the next generation. When I captured the image above, the bright green baubles of the sporophytes were still … … Continue reading →

We saw no whales on our boat trip this past summer, but some of their smaller cousins put on a surprise performance for us on one very memorable morning. We were anchored in Tenedos Bay, a popular spot in Desolation Sound—a place we would never have expected to see whales or dolphins. So you can … … Continue reading →

I captured the photo above as we were cruising along the north side of Pooley Island, after leaving BC’s fabled Fiordland on BC’s North coast, in the heart of the Great Bear Sea. The deep greens and smooth curves of Pooley’s rainforest slopes and valley were less dramatic than Fiordland’s massive snowy peaks, but no … … Continue reading →

Thanks to the great work of the bees, we’ve had a wealth of sunflower delights in our garden over the past month. The plants, now about 12 feet high, have been hugely popular with our backyard birds, including the Downy woodpecker above, and an ongoing rapid parade of Chestnut-backed chickadees, like these two: For the … … Continue reading →

Bees have been plentiful and active in our garden all summer, though almost always moving too quickly for me to photograph. But the other day, when I had my camera conveniently in hand, I noticed that high up on the now-very tall sunflowers, bees were moving ever so slowly. I watched through my telephoto lens … … Continue reading →

There was no real herring spawn in our area this year, so the hordes of sea lions attracted by that early spring feast were absent. But happily, on one of the few days that we managed to get to Drumbeg Park for a walk, we were treated to a brief sighting of a trio of … … Continue reading →

Two days after we left Philip Inlet last June, we reached our second “new-to-us” anchorage – a secluded little hurricane hole in the Kittyhawk Group of islands in the Hakai Recreation Area. The spot we’d chosen was guarded by an even narrower entrance than at Philip. Luckily it was low tide when we entered, so … … Continue reading →

Northward on our ten-week Great Bear Sea trip last summer, the first “new-to-us” stopover was Philip Inlet, a small notch on the east shore of Fitz Hugh Sound just south of Addenbroke Island. As you can see from the photo above, it was raining steadily when we arrived, making it challenging to spot the narrow … … Continue reading →

With another Arctic front heading our way, I find myself thinking about sea otters – specifically, how well suited (literally) they are for winter. Their incredibly thick, waterproof coats must be cozy even on unseasonably chilly days. Sea otters have the densest fur of any animal on earth, which is why they were hunted almost … … Continue reading →