Glacial Grooves

Wherever the bedrock is visible on the coastline of Victoria you will see these large grooves gouged out of the rock. They were made by glaciers grinding across the rock as they flowed down to the ocean, about 15,000 years ago. I read up a little on ice ages today because it suddenly occurred to me that the planet has had great periods of temperature fluctuations in the past. There have been about a half dozen ice ages in the last couple of million years, times when it got very cold and much of the world was covered with ice and then it warmed up again, all without the benefit of our pollution. The scientists' best guess at this time is that these global temperature fluctuations were caused by cyclical wobbles in the earth's spin and orbit, possibly in conjunction with changes in the ocean currents due to the shifting of the continents. Apparently we are still in an ice age since the defining characteristic is that there are areas that are permanently covered with ice, though these are rapidly receding.

Moonrise

When the moon finally did escape the clouds enough to be seen it had not risen over the skyline like I imagined but much further south. Oh well, it was a nice way to spend an evening. I suspect the moon does rise over the skyline here but not perhaps until next spring.

Sunset Skyline

The reason I was out on Macaulay Point a few evenings ago was not to catch the sunset, although it is a good place to do that, but to catch that big harvest moon we had a few nights ago. I wanted to photograph it rising over the city,somewhere near the center of the photo above. As you can see, it's not there. I'll explain why in Monday's post.

Macaulay Point Sunset

Macaulay Point Sunset

I want to start using what photographers call the golden hour just before and after sunset and sunrise. I just came in from Macaulay Point in Esquimalt where I took the photo above. Here we are looking south towards the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula in neighboring Washington State, USA.

Fleming Beach

On the western side of Macaulay Point is a small area known as Fleming Beach. It's a small bay protected by a breakwater and used as a boat launch by sport fishermen.

Thrift

Yesterday's photo was taken facing east. Here's the view facing west, towards Metchosin. The pink flowers somehow thriving in the gravel are known as Thrift and are often found along the seashore growing where no other plant can survive.Saxe Point is visible in the distance on the right and beyond that the Fisgard Lighthouse can be made out by the sharp-eyed.

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@JoJo: This view is the answer to your question on yesterday's post.

Macaulay Point

The entrance to Victoria Harbour lies between two points, Ogden Point (where the cruise ships dock) marks the eastern side of the harbour entrance and Macaulay Point (above) marks the western side of the entrance. In the photo above we are looking at Macaulay Point from its western side. If we walked over the top of it we would see the harbour and the city spread out before us. I didn't go so far today because I got sidetracked by the rich profusion of Camas Lilies among the rocks.

Sculpture Splash

I mentioned the Community Arts Council Sculpture Splash that was held on the weekend. It was really a terrific show with a large number of exquisite and professionally executed pieces displayed in the beautiful surroundings of Buxton Green. We'll have a look at some of the individual pieces over the next few days.

Sculpture Splash

This remarkable sculpture is just one of many on display this weekend at Buxton Green in Esquimalt. The event is called the Sculpture Splash and gives local sculptors an opportunity to show their work in a spectacular scenic setting. I went yesterday and was impressed at the variety and obvious professionalism of the works displayed. I'm going back today to take a closer look and also to collect the name of the artist who created the stunning sculpture pictured above.

Ships That Pass In The Night

Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing,
Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness;
So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another,
Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence.

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

While waiting for the moon on Saturday night.

One more from Saxe Point Park

Here's another from Saxe Point Park, looking southeast towards Macaulay Point with some more of those thunderheads on the horizon.

Points

I took this photo standing on Saxe Point looking east. The next point in view is Macaulay Point. On the upper right of this photo you can see some green meadows - those meadows are on Macaulay Point. Out of sight beyond Macaulay Point is the next point, Work Point, which marks one side of the entrance to the Inner Harbour.

Rail Fence

Here's a feature of most of the parks in this area - rail fences. Sometimes they are used to provide a barrier such as on the edges of steep drop-offs but mostly they are used as in this photo, to protect areas that the groundskeepers are trying to restore to native vegetation. Most of the local parks' "wild areas" are overgrown with introduced "invasive" species of plants that compete with the indigenous species. Sometimes the introduced species such as English Ivy or Scotch Broom completely take over the environment and native species are in danger of extinction. Rail fences are used to protect areas where native plants are growing and where their health can be monitored and competing species removed. This particular rail fence protects such an area on Macaulay Point.

Macaulay Point

Last week I posted a panoramic photo taken from Saxe Point Park. Moving eastwards along the coast, the next point is Macaulay Point. Above is the view of the city from the western side of the Macaulay Point.

Red-letter Day

A couple of days ago Fern and I went to Macaulay Point at sunset to capture the full moon rising over the city. Unfortunately the rising full moon was hidden by a low bank of cloud. Nevertheless, the sunset was dramatic enough to make the trip worthwhile. But what really made the day for me was the little dim, blurry photo to the right, taken after sunset. It's not a clear photo but it's clear enough to enable identification of a bird that is new to me. This is an adult male Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata). Despite the poor quality of the photo the distinctive head markings identify this bird clearly. When even the Surf Scoter was no longer visible I turned the camera to the skyline to capture the lighted dome of the Legislative Assembly Building towering above the houses of James Bay.

Fisgard Lighthouse

On January 2nd I posted a photo taken from Macaulay Point with the Fisgard Lighthouse just visible in the far distance. Here from nearly the same vantage point but with a much more powerful lens is a closer look at my favorite model. To the left of the lighthouse one of the gun emplacements on Fort Rodd Hill can be seen.

Looking Westward

Yesterday's photo was taken from Macaulay Point looking east towards the city. Today's photo is also taken from Macaulay Point but looking west towards Esquimalt Lagoon and Metchosin. In the foreground you can see the Fleming Beach Breakwater. A bit beyond that the red and white Canadian flag identifies Saxe Point. Beyond that and to the left you can see the Fisgard Lighthouse, also red and white.

Skyline

We'll start off the new year with a photo from a few days ago of the Victoria skyline seen from Macaulay Point, just west of the entrance to the Inner Harbour. The rocky area in the left foreground is Work Point. The two red and white ships are Canadian Coast Guard ships moored at the Coast Guard wharf. The tallest building near the center of the photo is the Sussex Building and below it can be seen the red brick towers of St. Andrew's Church, both on Douglas Street. If you click on the photo you can see a much larger version (3,000 pixels wide).

I Couldn't Resist

I know, I know, another sunset picture. Hasn't the world had enough?? But no, when you have a camera in hand and the sky is such an amazing palette of colors you have to, don't you? I do. - Fern