Summer Sightings

 

Not really a sighting, but a look back. We celebrated our anniversary this past week. How young we were and how in love. Still very much in love, and not quite so young. 

We went out on the boat for a few days. Lovely sunshine, but a not so lovely wind until we were tucked away in our quiet anchorage. Chugging past the light on Sidney Spit I took a photo with Mount Baker in the background. The gull flew in to photo-bomb at the last second. 

We anchored in narrow Annette Inlet, sheltered from the wind. One of our favourite things to do is paddle around the shore in kayaks or the dinghy. I was so pleased to get close enough to a kingfisher for a good photo. They are notoriously skittish. Holding my camera steady on a tippy watercraft adds to the challenge. This little one flew off just after I clicked the shutter. I love their cheerful cry and the way they swoop up and down over the water.

Seals look so funny perched on rocky islets, head and tails out of the water. As our boat swings at anchor, the view is ever-changing. We look up from our books and discover something new every time. One hot afternoon we observed a buck deer resting near the shore in the shade behind a fallen log, almost imperceptible in colouring. He lay quietly for an hour or more then gracefully rose and walked off. 

A small heron rookery lies at the head of the inlet. Paddling by one evening one of the herons flew in front of us, dropping a large feather enroute. It wafted slowly downwards, back and forth, landing softly on the water right in front of our boat. Magical. 

Then a few days of camping on the island with my brother and his wife. Parksville is one of the few places here with a wide sandy beach (this is the rocky part). There are hundreds of little rock stacks on one corner of the beach. 

We've been following the news about the wildfires in Jasper. Have you ever visited the town and national park? It's such a beautiful spot, now partially destroyed. The fire continues and the full damage won't be known for some time. At home earlier in the week I awoke in the night to the strong smell of smoke. After wandering about the house I looked outside and saw the horizon blurred by wildfire smoke that burned my nose and throat. Fortunately, no humans have been injured in either fire. 

Temperatures have cooled, but winds and lightning are contributing to a difficult fire season. 

Time for another walk along the beach.