We three went off to Boundary Bay today in a beautiful pea green boat. (Not really, it just sounded like the beginning of a nursery rhyme and the story does involve an owl.) It was rather chilly, what with the wind coming off the water as it was and I was glad I had on my thick, wind-blocking, insulated pants. At first I felt overdressed, like I should be skiing, but I was sure glad I had them on after standing about staring through binoculars. Happily we saw three Northern Harriers flying over the swampy salt-water marsh area and at one point, very exciting this bit, one harrier startled/annoyed a Barn Owl into flight. The Barnie soared and flapped over the reeds in a jerky fashion until it settled down lost to sight. I know, silly harriers and their silly antics disturbing you.
Of course we didn't get any photos of the aforementioned birds but I included a pic of the area anyway because it is very beautiful, even in winter.

Even in winter...brrr... ( And yes, I noted the irony of wearing down whilst bird-watching. The down jacket is from Patagonia, however, and they source geese from European farms where goose down is a by-product of the food industry. The geese are raised primarily for their meat and liver (no force feeding is used). The down is collected by live-plucking at the farms and from slaughterhouses after the geese are killed. On these farms, live geese are plucked only when their feathers are ready to molt. The geese live outside but have access to the barn if they like. This is all from their Footprint Chronicle webpages so you can check out how they do things. Also the nice lady from Patagonia emailed me back right away when I asked her about the down. I love the jacket and I like knowing geese weren't killed just to keep me warm...just fed  ; )  I guess I like to eat birds but not denude them???  Weird standards. Something to think about later.)
Okay, where was I?
O.W.L is the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society and we stopped by on our way out of the area. Unfortunately it was closing time and we just missed the tour but the very friendly fellow invited us back in such a friendly fashion that we could not help but be befriended.

It was very sunny this morning as I walked the dog around the neighbourhood and thought to myself what a day it would be at the sanctuary, all sunny and blue skies. Of course by the time I had organized my gear and arrived at the sanctuary, it had clouded over and was not pleasant.
As I stood shivering at the feeder area of the sanctuary, a fellow birder came up and asked me if it was "just the usual" hanging about the feeders, i.e. Red-winged Blackbirds, Spotted Towhees, Black-capped Chickadees, various Sparrows etc. "Yes", I replied and we both watched in silence until he exclaimed, "A Downy!" and went all happy and excited with his camera. I had been watching the Downy Woodpecker for sometime actually but thought it was "just the usual".   So lesson learned, I shall always list off what I see because the poor fellow could have missed out on his chance for a good photo. And let's face it, watching a grown-up get all goofy over a bird is so worth seeing.

Winter bullrushes around the frozen pond.

Awoke this morning to a light cover of snow which always delights as everything looks clean and tidy, (including the muddy path to the back door.) I knew it was going to snow as per the radio and last night there were the first flakes falling, except they weren't flakes, they were those styrofoam balls of snow. You know the ones, they look more fake than the snow at a grade three Christmas pageant. After a little research, it turns out the styrofoam balls are called Graupel and this type of precipitation occurs when snow crystals encounter supercooled cloud droplets. The droplets aren't doing anything; they aren't frozen, or on their way to being frozen even though it is well past freezing temperature-wise. The cloud droplets only freeze up when they come into contact with something and this would be the snowflakes passing through. Now, the droplets freeze, and they freeze to the surface of the flake in tiny balls until the original shape of the snowflake is no longer recognizable. 

Graupel sample:

And something familiar:

This is painted from that terrific book, "Snowflakes" by Ken Libbrecht. It is a great field guide and has perfect photos, of course. The best thing is that he is head-over-heels in love with snow and that really shows through in his writing. So if you want to get enamoured with a flake, this book will do it.

Snow dusted the mountains this morning and we figured on having a snowshoe later in the afternoon. Hubby's work dragged on until most of the afternoon had disappeared so we decided to do a seashore walk around Lighthouse Park which turned out to be the right choice as the dog was immensely happy to not be left behind (no dogs allowed on snowshoe trails, not even good dogs). We saw about five or six Bald Eagles flying overhead chasing each other. It must be pairing up time. It is usual to see them in this location and one could almost be blase about them except this time, one chased the other into the understory of the Douglas Firs and much crashing ensued. It is really something to see such a large bird pushing through the branches, twenty feet above your head, heedless of its smooth feather perfection.

Here's Maggie, immensely enjoying herself.

I would like to be known for sharing the beauty of nature with
others through my artwork. 
As I am inspired and driven by nature, I in turn want to motivate and
inspire others to see the world with new eyes.

I choose subjects from nature that are often overlooked. It
is not just the magnificent sunset or a sweeping vista that interest me but
nature in all its complex details such as the intricate scaffolding of a
seedpod in a winter field or the delicate iridescence in a spray of seaweed. It
is these hidden things that drive my passion.

Watercolour, ink and wash (and currently oils) are my chosen
media in and out of the studio. Plein air painting and sketching is important
to me as it makes one entirely present and aware in a manner rarely achievable
indoors with a photograph.

My style is loose with a suggestion of detail to tie the
work together in a readable piece. I feel I have completed the painting only
when I have captured the essence of the subject and not worked in a too heavy-handed
and precise manner.  I am only
content when the hand of the artist is no longer present in the painting.

A sunny Saturday today and everyone, including us, decided a walk in Stanely Park would be just the thing. The usual suspects were hanging about; Goldeneyes, Wigeons and Mallards. I was looking for the Red-Breasted Mergansers and the Harlequin Ducks in their usual hangout but didn't see them, though I'm not surprised as it was a very busy day right along the seawall.
We did see a Chestnut-backed Chickadee which was a treat as you don't often see them around the garden. I'm not sure why that is because according to www.birds.cornell.edu they do not spurn bird feeders in general. Perhaps it is just not forested enough in this neighbourhood to make them feel comfortable, what with a forested region not far up the road.Come nesting time, they should pay me a visit. Apparently, CB Chickadees really, really like to line their nests with fur and with Maggie starting to shed her winter coat, we could outfit their homes with supershag wall-to-wall indoor carpeting!

Went snowshoeing last night with co-workers up to a cabin where we had
a chocolate fondue ( mango and chocolate YUM!). It was snowing quite a
bit and the flakes looked so pretty in the headlamps. The LEDs really
bring out the white sparkle of the crystals. With the blue-black
darkness around you and only your patch of glittering snow ahead, it
felt like being in your own snow-globe.

For me, February signals the wrap up of winter. Sure the weather is not agreeable but there are signs that appear to show that spring is on the way.  For example, the pussy willows are breaking out now on the branches in the park, and that, is a very nice sight to see.