Critters and Bike Rides

Bill and I went out on our bikes again yesterday, and this time, we recorded the occasion by taking photos of each other.  Our critter-sightings were of the more familiar variety but this little family afforded me many moments of pure joy that I am happy to share with other critter watchers at the Camera Critters and the Saturday Critters blog memes. Thank you, Misty and Eileen, for the time and effort you put into providing these places for us to see each others' captures.

For those of you familiar with Vancouver, that is the Edgewater Casino behind Bill.  We had passed under the Cambie Bridge and if we had continued, would have come to Granville Island.  (Next time, perhaps.)  The geese are just down the embankment behind Bill.

 We set up these photos so that Bill's fans can see how well he is doing.  

 It isn't so long ago that I feared I might never again see him on a bike.

Perhaps you can tell I was a happy camper.

Black Jack is very comfortable in her basket.  She sits up for a bit but then lies down with her chin on the edge.  

There we go, Black Jack pointing the way.

After our little photo shoot, I put on my big lens and caught some more goose photos.  The goslings were running with their stubby little wings doing their best to flap up and down.

 Siblings just strollin' along.

 Parent keeping a close eye out.

 This was directed at a nearby crow.  I guess the crows are predators of the young.

 Right foot up.

 Left foot up.

 This is the younger sibling (I think).  "Hey, wait for me!"

Younger one again..  venturing off a bit on his/her own.

I left Bill and Black Jack to try and locate a bird that was calling loudly from a nearby tree.  Bill waited with Black Jack.  She wasn't behaving quite as well as he would have liked, but picking her up always seems to work.

He put her on the ground so that she could greet me (and get her treat) as I returned, after an unsuccessful search for the bird.  Do you ever have that happen to you?  A sound so clear and so loud coming from the trees, but its source remains a mystery.  

Bill drew my attention to the water exploration happening at the shore line.

"Watcha' got there, Mom?"

 "So much to see!"

 "So much to do."

Bill came back to that tree with me and his sharp eyes located the bird.  It took at least another ten minutes of enormous effort before he was able to direct my eyes to the motionless Flicker that had given up calling.  It was too camouflaged by branches to get a photo but at least we had confirmed the source of the original (very loud) call.  The three of us had fun after that riding through city streets to Harrison Galleries for lattés and cookies.  We worked together on a crossword, but my brain was a bit tired and I suggested we put it aside.  Bill got his second wind here and suddenly came up with a whole lot of words that had been evading us.  I love these pictures for the focus and pleasure I see in his face, and also for the artwork behind him.    

 This is part of a series called Tea Time..

by Olaf.  I was thinking of the meme Orange You Glad It's Friday, but it doesn't come around again until next Friday, and I am trying, for now, to record our adventures day by day.  I'm sure more orange will appear in my world.  It is amazing how that colour jumps out at me, now that I've been introduced to Maria's fine meme.

 Back home again, I realized Black Jack's exercise had been limited to mostly riding in a basket, so we went out for another short walk before supper.  One of "my" crows visited.  I took this with my small lens (50 mm) so that gives you an idea how close s/he was willing to come to me (and to Black Jack!).

 The crow left and Tupper arrived.  Some of you will know about the friendship Bill and I have established with this seagull named for her upward pointing tail feathers.  What I love about this photo is the couple watching in the background.  They are waiting to be sure I get the photo (again, with the small lens) and the kind smiles on their faces warmed my heart.

 Tupper came right up to us as well..

 and continued to follow us as we walked along the seawall.

 I couldn't resist one more "orange" shot..

and one last critter (bushtit?) before calling it a day.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Happy critter-watching, everyone.  You can find many more at the Camera Critters and the Saturday Critters memes.