MAIACETUS: dog

Sunday, January 18, 2015

January 18, 2015: Havin' a Romp On The Beach

There's nothing like following up an active, fun day of surfing with a slightly mellower day of cozying up to a tasty lunch and then chilling on the beaches of Tofino!

It was a typical, soggy and cool January day in Tofino but we made the best of it with delicious lunch at a wonderful new restaurant, Wolf In The Fog. It was very affordable and deeelicious! Not only was the food good but locally sourced; I love the fact the creator's of the restaurant are inspired by their "...love of fishing and foraging in our backyard – the beautiful oceans, shorelines and forests of Tofino, British Columbia". Wonderful!

With our bellies full and feeling very satisfied we headed to the beach to play in the drizzle alongside the surf. Oh and there's something to be said about having a dog in your company...I think I can safely say the playfulness of a dog, in this case Holly's friend's dog Iggy, certainly helps brighten a drizzly, gray day :)

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

April 23, 2014: A Wee Hummingbird Chick!

365 Project, Day 174

Here is my day 174 submission to my 365Project:

This afternoon I had my first sighting of a baby hummingbird in it's nest and, doing my best to be quiet and not touch or disturb the little one, I got this shot of the baby in it's nest :)

Hummingbird nest on a cedar bough...with a baby in it!

Today was a day to get out of Victoria and head to Cowichan just north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. I was looking forward to today because my good friend, Shantel, and I were going to visit her dad's 88 acres of farm and forest land in the Cowichan Valley area. I was in need of a good day out in the sun and forest and had been craving to leave the city for the calm of the countryside.

The first thing we did after the roughly 45 minute drive from Victoria was to stretch our (and Shantel's two lovely Border Collie's, Kenda and Bella's) legs with a wander around the property; we paid a visit to the sheep, wandered through the forest looking for signs of animal life and then visited the pond at the back of the property. At the pond the dogs had a great time running and swimming while we found a multitude of Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) nests, including their eggs, on the grass and tucked within the reeds surrounding the pond (it was a true, slightly late, Easter egg hunt!). We also watched Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flying to their nests and chasing the geese and a Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) soaring overhead.

From the pond we continued on our saunter across the fields, through the forest and past another pond. At this second pond Shantel's dad showed us both a very special thing...a hummingbird nest, most likely an Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna), and it was just low enough on the boughs of a cedar tree that we could peek up over the nest and see the little chick in it! My first sighting of a baby hummingbird...what a delight!

finally back to Shantel's dad's house where we went in for a cup of hot chocolate and a snack and I admired all the antiques in the house. Shantel's dad is a hunter and avid antique collector so you can imagine the interesting mix of decor from a taxidermied cougar, beautiful old horse sleigh and old Gramophones (he used to have 26 of them!) at the front entrance to the old-fashioned radios, multiple old player pianos and other beautiful antiques scattered around the rest of the house!

It was a lovely day and so nice to spend it with my good friend and her sweet dad!