Feels Like Summer

Well, officially it's still spring but when the temperature gets into the mid twenties (Celsius) or mid seventies (Fahrenheit) like it did this week, it sure seems like summer. Here's a sport that's popular with many Victorians, golf. This foursome is pictured on one of the greens of the Victoria Golf Club. The course lies on both sides of Beach Drive and is bounded on the east by the rocky coastline and some pretty awesome views.

Mount Baker

In the winter it's too cold for me but as the temperatures rise here I head for the summit of Mount Douglas, a favorite spot to sit and wait for birds. I have seen birds while sitting on my favorite rock there that I have not seen anywhere else in this area. When I was up there a few days ago there were surprisingly few birds visible but Mount Baker was looking as majestic as usual. And when I lowered the camera down a few inches I was rewarded with the Raven below who was also enjoying the view.

Volcano

I am often thankful that I have spent most of my life in locations that did not experience extreme natural disasters or weather. Victoria is no exception (imagine the sound of me knocking wood here). While the rest of the continent/planet seems to be plunged into blizzards, tornadoes, droughts, floods, tidal waves and earthquakes, Victoria remains pretty much the same as usual - weather that generally ranges from mildly uncomfortable to fairly pleasant. And, although the volcano pictured above (Mount Baker) seems to be looming over the city rather ominously, it's actually about 80 kilometers (50 miles distant). It looks closer through the 400mm telephoto lens I was using a few days ago when I took this photo from the summit of Highrock Park in Vic West.

Beach Time - Willows Beach 2

People go to the beach for a lot of reasons but let's face it, beaches are mostly for aimless play, loafing and goofing off. Among the many activities available are balancing on a log and framing a volcano.

The View from Pickles' Bluff

I mentioned in yesterday's post that Fern and I visited John Dean Provincial Park in Saanich. The park consists of the summit of Mount Newton and is about a half hour's drive from Victoria. The parking lot is fairly close to the summit and we chose a trail that led to Pickles' Bluff. It overlooks the eastern side of the Saanich Peninsula. The two nearest islands are James Island and Sidney Island, both in the Canadian Gulf Islands. Further out we are looking across the Canada-USA International Border. The sandy looking island is in the USA. It is Spieden Island, one of the San Juan Islands. It is currently home to a number of exotic species of sheep and deer whose ancestors were imported during the 1970s as prey when the island was a private game preserve. Hunting is no longer allowed on the island. That is Mount Baker that can be seen in the distance. I have not been able to discover how our viewpoint, Pickles' Bluff, got its name but the apostrophe leads me to think that "Pickles" was the name of an early settler who homesteaded nearby. There are several other homestead sites on the mountain, one of which was owned by John Dean, after whom the park is named.

Telephoto Fun

This city has a nice location lying at the foot of the towering peaks of....Just a minute there buddy, this is Victoria. See the red roof and spires of Craigdarroch castle on the right and the Shoal Point Condominium on the left. (Click the photo to see a larger version.) Where did that humongous mountain come from? The photo was taken from Albert Head Lagoon Regional Park using a 300 mm telephoto lens. The vast peak in the background, while it is occasionally visible from the city, is never so large as it appears in this photo. Its immensity is because of the foreshortening effect of telephoto lenses. The further away something is the more it is enlarged in proportion to closer objects. The mountain is Mount Baker in Washington State, about 130 kilometers (85 miles) distant from where I took this photo.

Oak Bay Panorama

Last week after enjoying the Oak Bay Tea Party parade I rode along the beach front past the Oak Bay Marina and I had to stop when I looked out over the water and saw this panorama. I realized that it was the perfect time to try out the panorama feature of my new camera. This is the result. If you click the photo above you will be taken to the half size original which, 6400 pixels wide, is still pretty big. You may have to click it again to see it full size since it may be larger than your screen. I'm pretty pleased with this feature. It's easy to use (just pan the camera with the shutter release held down) and the stitching between frames is invisible. That perfect snowy peak in the distance is Mount Baker, an extinct volcano about 80 km east in the USA.

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As visitor Paul in Powell River points out, Mount Baker is NOT an extinct volcano but is in fact the second most active volcano in this area, the most active being Mount Saint Helens. My thanks to Paul for this correction. See this entry in Wikipedia for more information about Mount Baker. If you want to see some beautiful photos of the Sunshine Coast, take a look at Paul's photoblog, A Powell River Photo Blog. I am particularly fond of his header photo of some Harlequin Ducks in flight.

Oak Bay Twilight

I happened to be in Oak Bay last night and was amazed to see Mount Baker in Washington State catching the last rays of the setting sun. Mt. Baker is often visible but seldom so clearly. It is about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) distant.

Mount Baker

It was a beautiful day yesterday so I thought I would sample the bird life on Victoria's eastern shores and went over to Cattle Point. While I wasn't lucky enough to see any birds I'd not seen before, I was rewarded with this spectacular view of Mount Baker in Washington State, USA. The mountain is always there but the atmospheric conditions seldom render it so large and clear. Wikipedia has a good article on this lovely local volcano.

Koma Kulshan

Koma Kulshan means "Great White Watcher" in one of the local native languages and was their name for Mount Baker, clearly seen in the background of this photo, taken about 16 kilometers west of Victoria. As the crow flies, Mount Baker was about 130 kilometers (80 miles) distant from where I was standing, almost due east. That little sprawl of buildings in the foreground is the city of Victoria. Please click the above image to see the larger version because this is a BIG photo....

Mount Baker is a volcano on the mainland of Washington State rising 10,778 feet (3,285 meters) above sea level, much taller than most of the other local mountains. But it is not often so clearly visible from here. If you take a look at Chuck Pefley's City Daily Photo Blog for Seattle you can see the same mountain from a different angle and many miles away. Or take a look at Mount Baker from Port Townsend or Port Angeles or Vancouver but for a real dose of Mount Baker, visit the Stanwood City Daily Photo Blog. It's a big mountain.