Chinese Cemetery Redux

Fern's off on a road trip to our southern neighbor so I'm back on Sunday posting duty. I mentioned a couple of days ago I had returned to Harling Point. I found the tide out again - I really should trouble myself to check some tide tables. I found that the altar pictured above has been freshly painted since last time I photographed it and it looks quite different. I am posting another photo of it today because it's such a peaceful and slightly mysterious scene. You have to keep in mind that this scene is urban Oak Bay - little more than a hundred meters back is a dense residential neighbourhood. Click HERE to see some past posts of Harling Point.

Brodiaea

Victoria generally has a long and lush spring but about this time of year it dries out and, while I love the rich greens of spring, I am always pleased to see the lovely purple flowers of Brodiaea among the dry grasses. These were photographed yesterday at Harling Point. I'm beginning to realize (to paraphrase the popular song) that when you go out with a camera you don't always get what you want but you will probably get something.

Harling Point

This is the view from Harling point looking in a westerly direction. This is not the view I went there to photograph. The subject I wanted to picture is that huge whitish boulder down on the shore on the right. However, I realized when I got there that for the photograph I had in mind, I needed the tide to be in and it was low tide. I'll go back in about ten days or two weeks.

Chinese Cemetery

I went to Harling Point today to work a little more on landscape photography. The point is also the site of the Chinese cemetery which has been closed for many years though it is still maintained. Pictured above is the altar where memorial ceremonies take place. The cemetery site was chosen according to careful interpretation of Feng Shui principles and it does seem to be a special place.

Harling Point

As part of my continued exploration of landscape/seascape photography here's a photo of Harling Point, just around the corner from Gonzales Beach and below the old Chinese Cemetery. I am quite pleased with this photo - the rocks on the right make it work the way I like landscape photography to work.

Harpoon Rock

On last week's post about Gonzales Beach I pictured one of the glacial erratics that is on that beach. Here are two more. Both of these are located at Harling Point, which marks one end of Foul Bay (Gonzales Beach). Harling Point is also the site of the Chinese Cemetery and in addition to these glacial erratics is geologically interesting because it lies directly over the intersection of two giant tectonic plates. The erratic pictured above has a name, Harpoon Rock, derived from an old Lekwungen folk tale. A man was hunting seals here when he was visited by "the Transformer" who turned him into this stone.