Winter

It was unseasonably cold here for several days - we even had a light dusting of snow - but it has warmed up a bit the last few days though still damp and cold. Here's what it looked like along the West Bay Walkway this morning.

Worth a Second Look 3

I took this photo in April 2016. Droplets on a spiderweb have been photographed by many photographers before me but what I think makes this photo worth a second look are the several ways the delicate web contrasts with the muscular cables.

Autumn

Love Locks?

On the rocky shore below the West Bay Walkway is this strange construction of flotsam and jetsam that has lately been attracting those mysterious people who like to put padlocks on fences at significant locations. Someone told me that lovers who plight their troth like to mark that pledge by locking a padlock at that location as a symbol of their undying love. Hmmm...

West Bay Walkway 4

The West Bay walkway is a great place to view the cruise ships moored at Ogden Point.

West Bay Walkway 3

This small balancing rock sculpture has been erected recently and, though I generally prefer my nature unmodified, I quite like it. It looks like a good wind would blow it over but that delicacy is part of its charm.

West Bay Walkway 2

Here's the view from Rainbow Park looking west towards the West Bay Marina at the westernmost end of the Inner Harbour.

West Bay Walkway

I've been neglecting one of my favorite spots this last few months so I returned to the West Bay Walkway for a stroll this afternoon. It offers such great views that I enjoyed revisiting it again immensely. Here we see the Coho car ferry leaving the harbor on its afternoon trip to Port Angeles, Washington.

Savannah Sparrow

Sparrows are probably our most common local bird. There's lots of different kinds of sparrows and they have a large urban presence. While not flashy, they have their modest charms and this Savannah Sparrow, taking a rest from the wind on the West Bay Walkway one day caught my eye and resulted in a photo that remains one of my all-time favorite bird photos.

One Flock of Flickers....

...and a partridge in a pear tree. A Flock of Flickers is not in the old Christmas carol but it sounds like it could be. It seems that Northern Flickers (Colaptes auratus), though I've only seen single birds or couples in the spring and summer, like to flock in larger numbers in the winter. There's only one visible in this photo (upper right) but there were four of them altogether foraging for insects in the Matson Lands above the West Bay Walkway. Like other members of the woodpecker family Flickers seek out insects in tree bark but they also forage for bugs on the ground. Perhaps that's the reason we see more of them in the city than other members of the family. (NOT the greatest bird photo but I didn't have a telephoto lens with me that day.)

Powder-puff Clouds

Yesterday just as I was leaving the West Bay Walkway I turned back and saw this view towards the West Bay Marina. Actually it was the clouds that caught my attention. Those soft, fluffy, cotton-batting clouds always make me think of warm winds and summer days even though the temperature was hovering around freezing.

The View from Swallows Landing

It was a brisk and sunny day today so I took the opportunity to take in one of my favorite views of the city, from the terrace at Swallows Landing, just above the Matson Lands in Esquimalt. As you can see, our snow has gone just as quick as it came.

Welcome to Esquimalt

The sign in the upper left marks the place where the West Bay Walkway crosses the border between the City of Victoria and the Township of Esquimalt. Generally when I write of Victoria I am referring to "Greater" Victoria, which includes much of the southern tip of Vancouver Island. However, strictly speaking the City of Victoria only occupies a small part of this area. Esquimalt lies to the west and a number of other communities lie on all sides of the city proper. What really interests me in this photo however is the way the low winter sun shines through the grass, making it glow.

Autumn Greens

We've had lots of rain lately and some fairly warm days so, as well as mushrooms popping up all over the place, there is a lot of new grass out in the open like on this little peninsula on the West Bay Walkway and, on the forest floor, lots of fresh green moss. We've not had too much sun though but when it does come out its low angle makes for dramatic lighting.

Work Point from the West Bay Walkway

Here's another photo I took on a recent walk along the West Bay Walkway. Right next to the West Bay Marina and its float homes is a small RV Park, visible on the right in this photo. We are looking southwest towards Work Point, the western side of the entrance to the Inner Harbour.

Fall Colors

We have lots of Arbutus trees (Arbutus menziesii) here and while their leaves don't change color or fall off during autumn, they do produce rich clusters of bright red berries at this time of year to participate in the season's colors.

West Bay Walkway

Due to some back problems I haven't walked along this walkway since spring but now, mobile once again, I walked along it yesterday and found it as beautiful as I remembered. Near the point in the above photo this walkway turns into the Westsong Way which carries one downtown where it turns into the David Foster Way and continues around the Inner Harbour past Fisherman's Wharf and thence along Dallas Road. Using these various interconnected walkways one could circumambulate the entire Inner Harbour.

World Wet Web

Fog doesn't just alter the big picture, it has a wonderful effect on the small scale too, though I imagine spiders are not keen it.

Foggy Morning

Regular visitor to this site, Furry Gnome, mentions that the sun never stops shining here. It's true - Victoria does get a lot of sunshine - statistically, about twice as much as Vancouver. However, it does rain from time to time and though it's rare, we even get some foggy days. Above is what the West Bay Walkway looked like when I walked along it on Saturday morning. I'm not keen on rain but I really like fog because it is almost as good as snow for changing the way everything looks.

Giant White Fawn Lily

Here's another native plant of the North Pacific Coast, the small (despite its name) Giant White Fawn Lily (Erythronium oregonum). These were photographed in the forest remanants of the Matson Lands above the West Bay Walkway. In my experience, this south-facing hillside over the water is one of the earliest spots around the city where these may be seen in the spring.