Saturday, January 23, 2010

Extraordinary moments

There were no unusual bird sightings at Jericho on Saturday, but as I listened to, and watched crows and seagulls and lbb's (little brown birds - a term learned from EvenSong), there wasn't an ordinary one in the lot.

Crows display the widest variety of blue-black tones I can imagine.

In grey light, I saw navy and cobalt and purple and turquoise and light blue.

No matter how much water is available, birds seem to designate a bath area and then go about their thorough cleansing with enormous energy and what I perceive to be great pleasure.

This song sparrow (I think) seemed proud to show its fanned tail.

I am wondering if this could be a Golden-crowned Sparrow. It had a tiny bit of bright green grass in its beak.

How do birds manage to seem perfectly comfortable on branches of sharp thorns?

A Dark-eyed Junco athlete gave me a view of its belly,
and then of its lovely wings folded back.

The two ladies arrived for their twice-daily visit to feed the rabbits. Seagulls arrived with them. Apparently, they like their veggies too.
Most announced their arrival, but this one was particularly vocal.
Skilled turns..
and smooth landings.

I tried to capture the crows' arrivals as well, but mostly failed. I did like this wide-winged view.

Convinced that this was the perfect hiding spot, a beautiful red dog watched..
this rabbit, who wasn't the slightest bit concerned, though its ear showed evidence of previous battles with dogs? coyotes? other rabbits? It was eating and moving well, so I don't think the ear was infected or painful. The dog watched for a long time, before making a half-hearted run, as if to acknowledge defeat before it started.

Along the trail homeward, I watched this mallard couple go bottoms up in perfect unison.

Bill enjoyed the reflections in a very still pond.

This squirrel, and many others, were watched with the greatest of interest by.....

How did you guess?

We left the park for an absolutely perfect latte at The Wicked, and then a bit of shopping. On the way back home, Bill spotted this rainbow, and followed it in his truck, trying to find the perfect spot for a photograph. In spite of his very best efforts, I was not able to come even the tiniest bit close to capturing the beauty in front of us. Still, for the record, here it is.
Its warm glow cast a spell over the ocean and land as far as we could see.

We went to Fifth Avenue Theatre later that evening to watch Crazy Heart. I loved it enough that I hope to buy the CD of songs. I almost never say that, and I'm not what you could call a country music fan.

Just a few extraordinary moments on Saturday. Thanks for reading.

5 comments:

  1. I just discovered your blog and wanted to say what FABULOUS photos you have posted! Makes me quite homesick!

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  2. You captured many picture perfect moments but I have to say the rainbow is magnificent. I was on the freeway out of Vancouver when I think I saw the same rainbow. As I sped by, for a few seconds, it hung over the roof of a bright orange barn. The contrast of colors was so amazing drivers stopped at the side of the road, their cameras out. Magic happens when the sun drizzles through the rain.

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  3. Thanks LDF. Lovely to have a new reader, and I'm in the process of spending some very enjoyable time at your blog as well. I lived in Northern BC my first year in the province, although perhaps not as far north as you (Fraser Lake).

    Rainbows and Penelope go together in my mind. I like the thought that you and I were admiring that rainbow around the same time. Would have liked to do a better job of showcasing its beauty, but overall, am just very grateful to have had the privilege of seeing it.

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  4. Carol,
    You are getting SO good at capturing the small details! My favorites are the little fan-tail, and the "cobalt" (great descriptive) crow against the bright yellow-green moss/lichen.

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  5. Thanks, EvenSong. Great to have your feedback:)

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