Total Lunar Eclipse April 14, 2014

We are in for a rare occurrence in North America, where 4 total lunar eclipses can be seen every 6 months for the next two years. This is called a tetrad. So, on Monday night we on Salt Spring Island were anticipating watching it. Alas! We had nothing but heavy clouds and wind.

Many islanders gave up and went to bed. Being passionate and stubborn, I decided to set my alarm every 1/2 hour, taking peeks outside - just in CASE the wind had swept the clouds away. At 1:15 AM I thought, "This is the last. If the Moon is not visible, I am going to pack it in for the night".

Well, there she was in all her glory, just emerging from being blood red in the total eclipse. I took photos of her for the next two hours, watching her gradually get brighter and brighter.

I hope you enjoy a few of these photos.

Lunar Eclipse Emerging out of total

Lunar Eclipse 1:20 AM April 15

Lunar Eclipse April 15

Lunar Eclipse Almost back to Full Moon

Seal Splash - Hang in There!

This seal was surprised by the waves of a passing boat.

Moon of the Frog Chorus

Moon of the Frog Chorus

7 March 2012

My neighbours, Joan and Aubrey Cobham, invited me to photograph the rising full moon over Burgoyne Bay and Mt. Maxwell. Since none of us have roads to our homes, I took my boat and Shepadoodle dog, Daisy with my tripod and camera to their home across Sansum Narrows. It was a spectacular evening - and cold. We waited for the golden moon to rise over the mountain while dining on hot chilli and home-made corn bread.

Sure enough, a golden glimmer appeared in the clouds, announcing the appearance of Mistress Moon. Dashing outside, I hunkered down with my camera and watched in awe as this moody moon rose over the shaggy fir trees, lighting up the swiftly changing clouds. The moon actually rose over my own home, Bold Bluff, and not over Burgoyne Bay.

Thoroughly satisfied, I drove the boat home in the dark with a golden river of light spilling over the ocean. I was up at 1 am and again at 5 am to photograph this glorious moon when it was totally full, and when it was setting over Vancouver Island. It is always a surprise what you will get when attempting to take photos of the full moon. Often it is raining, or cloudy, but you must get up anyway to peek outside or you might miss something spectacular.

Has anyone heard the frogs sing yet? We have lots of robins back, eating yummy worms.

Frost Moon

Yesterday I woke up at 5 am with a bright light shining into my bedroom. I thought it was the moon, and jumped out of bed with my shepadoodle dog, Daisy, at my heels. It was a tug boat plying Sansum Narrows and shining its search light over the landscape. We raced down the boardwalk to check if the moon was out, and found it stupendous, one day short of full. It hung low in an indigo sky and soon was to sink behind Vancouver Island.

I fetched my camera and tripod, and brought it to the boardwalk to watch and photograph the bright moon which set at 5:45 am.

Waxing Frost Moon Sets over Vancouver Island

Today I woke at 6:30 am and just missed the full February moon setting over Vancouver Island. Tomorrow, rain is forecast, so it looks as if I have missed the real full moon setting this month. It is challenging to get photos of the full moon setting every month due to rain, snow, fog - and pure sleeping in too late.

Branded Sea Lion

Branded Sea Lion

From October through April we have Stellar Sea Lions hanging out at Bold Bluff. They are fun to watch as they enjoy physical contact and often snooze together in groups, creating aquatic ballets. The males can weigh up to 2,500 pounds when they are fully grown. On a recent Bold Bluff hike, I was surprised to see a sea lion with numbers branded on its left side. Never have I seen this before.

At home, I sent a photo to Orca Network on Whidbey Island, WA to see if they had information on branding sea lions. Susan Berta and Howard Garrett tracked this sea lion down to Rogue Reef, OR in 2001, when scientists branded 179 sea lion pups. (Hence the "R").  This sea lion was #23 of the 179 branded that year.

Through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in WA state, I found out this was a male who swam to SE Alaska where he hung out for 5-6 years. Recently he has been seen on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and now at Bold Bluff, Salt Spring Island, BC. The scientist who provided this information, Pat Gearin, thinks he is heading back down to Rogue Reef, OR where he will attempt to establish a breeding territory - when he is a bit bigger - in a year or two. (Neither the USA or Canada brands marine mammals anymore).

Branded Sea Lion 23R at Bold Bluff

Orca Party

What a gift of a day! On April 15, 2011 my neighbour phoned to say there were two orcas travelling south in Sansum Narrows. I found them by Burial Island and followed them for 45 minutes in my Boston Whaler with my Shepadoodle dog, Daisy. They were a beautiful sight, surfacing together and diving. We left them at Cherry Point and on our way home the ocean simply exploded in action near Burial Island, a tiny rock where seals haul out. Transient Orcas eat seals, so I assumed these were Transients having a feast.

My memory card was full, so I zipped home and fetched the 2 fellows pruning my orchard, begging them to come out and see the spectacular sight - a once in a life-time encounter. Dave drove the boat, I took photos, and Raj got to experience it! There were lots of babies and we thought there were at least 40 - 50 whales. I had no idea what the whales were doing because I was behind my camera, snapping photos wherever action occurred.

These whales hung out and had a boisterous party for six hours in front of my house! At home, I alerted Graeme Ellis and John Ford,  marine mammal biologists in Nanaimo, BC. They came down to Bold Bluff by boat and recorded 31 Transients. This is highly unusual, as these whales usually travel in small groups of 3 - 8 whales. Not until I downloaded my photos did I see what they were actually doing.

Transient Orca Party!

If you look closely, there is a baby in this photo. Can you see it?

Baby Heron - Biting off More than You can Chew

This summer I watched a baby heron stride down a slippery sea weedy rock into the mud flat ocean. Wading in eel grass, it struck its beak into the sea and brought up a treasure - a huge flounder too big to swallow. This baby would not let it go. For over an hour it tried to stuff it down its throat. Then it flew off with the fish bulging its neck and landed on a bluff rock. An older heron flew into the cove and I turned my attention to it, so lost track of the fate of that flounder.

Biting off  More than You can Chew

Gulp! An Impossible Bite!