nature, Photography

Spring Birds

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Over the last few days I’ve noticed that the ducks and geese are beginning to prepare for new little ones.

Canada geese.

The geese mate for life but something about their recent behaviour tells me that they’re becoming expectant; perhaps they’re waiting for the double-digit warm weather so that they can build nests and raise their young.

Hooded merganser ducks.
Coots.

At this point, the coots just seem to be eating; of course, many of them will soon be migrating to their nesting grounds.

And then we have the mallard duck crew. They’re pairing up too. Here’s a short video showing how quickly they come running and flying toward us for a quinoa snack.

Snack time!

Happy Thursday.

Commentary, nature, Photography

Lonely February Beach

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I recently took a walk on the beach beside the Penticton marina. It’s a small one tucked away on the east side of the lake, away from the bustle of the many hotels and restaurants on the west side.

Except for a couple of busy mergansers, it was completely empty. There were lots of duck tracks in the sand, but this day most of them were off somewhere else.

In the warmer months, this beach is very busy with swimmers, lots of families, sailboats going past, and picnickers. I’ve even seen people in early November, wearing light jackets but sitting on the beach in their lawn chairs, still enjoying the sun and the view. It’s laidback and unpretentious …

… and the scenery is rather fantastic. I’m glad that this little beach, bordered on one side by a park, to the north by the lake, to the east by the marina, and otherwise by nearby homes, is quietly available. But once we begin warming up, it won’t be lonely for long.

Happy Sunday.

Commentary, nature, Photography

Will the Real Spring Please Stand Up?

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According to the groundhogs, we’re supposed to get an early spring. If memory serves, six weeks earlier. And since spring starts on March 16, then the early version should be underway now.

Certainly, we’ve had stabs at it for a bit here and there, but then the wind comes out of the north – there may or may not be a rain and/or snow accompaniment – and reminds us that there are glaciers and icicles way up there.

At least the sun has been shining and the sky has been blue! But I guess the lesson here is that I shouldn’t rely on weather prognosticators, either rodent or human.

Happy weekend.

Commentary, musings, Photography

To Answer or Not to Answer …

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… that is the blogging question. With apologies to Shakespeare, I’m referring to comments left on your blog. Do you make a point of answering all of them?

You can’t stop the ducks from making lots of comments!

Unless it’s spam, disrespectful or rude, I always answer comments, and if I should happen to miss one, I feel a bit upset when I spot it later on – I hope I haven’t missed any, but since I started this blog in 2012, I unfortunately probably have. It certainly hasn’t been intentional, however. Nevertheless, I make efforts to ensure that I answer anyone who takes the time to comment, even if the commenter has only left a generic “nice post” comment.

Comments about the Rocky Mountains? Definitely!

I sometimes find it mildly annoying when I leave a comment and there’s no response, especially if I’ve taken an inordinate amount of time to think carefully about what I want to say or if there have been responses to other comments but not mine. I give the benefit of the doubt – maybe my comment was simply missed – so this has never lead me to drop a follow.

Autumn colours are often comment-worthy.

How do you feel about unanswered comments? Do you have firm rules or are you rather laissez-faire? Do you feel it’s not necessary to answer all comments?

Sometimes, life is like that.