The moon in october

Not much to say here.... other than to remind myself of the pleasures of looking at the moon through the lens of my camera!  :-)

October 16

October 15

October 14

October 13

October 12

October 10

October 5

October 4

October 3

October 2

October 1

Sunset on Voting Day

Saturday was municipal election day here in Victoria but we didn't head to the polls til after dinner. As we were driving home, the sun was starting to cast a luminous orange glow over everything. 

Must be just a touch of smoke in the air?   There was not a cloud in the sky (bummer, as they make for glorious sunsets), but I still grabbed the camera, and headed back out to capture the last few minutes of sunlight from the top of Mount Tolmie.   

a pale orange glow spreading over the downtown

The next two shots are taken seconds apart, but the latter one is just zoomed in on the sun, trying to capture the red glow around it.

the white sun casting a red glow

Same view, captured through the yarrow plants

But mere minutes later, as the sun settled into a slight bank of whispy cloud, the image seemed to reverse itself, so that the sky turned from red to black, and the sun from white to a storm of colour, as if it had drawn all of its power back inside itself.  

Slight shifts in the clouds left the colours seeming to slide around like watercolours in a frame.

As the sun settled into the hills themselves, the close up shots brought the trees themselves into focus.

Good bye sun...... and hello moon!

A Day with Orit

 It is always a treat to have visitors.   We have been lucky enough to have my friend Orit here for visit (haven't seen her in 5 years!).  Today was the last full day, so we decided to go from the bottom to the top.  Here is a photo essay of the day

First stop:  Lagoon Road at Fort Rodd Hill

This is where Steve took Anita and Doral on their last visit, and walked them along the beach until the two of them were crispy with sunburn.  He let us both know to alert him before we got to that stage.  It was October 2, but the weather was still gorgeous, and the sky was blue.   The two them mocked me for first focusing on the Canada Geese and seagulls on the pond but.... I do enjoy trying to get a good photo of a bird! 

When the boys were young and we would come out here, we would have headed out to the lighthouse.  I was happy enough to just use the zoom lens on the camera!

 

Gotta say, it was pretty relaxing.   I could have imagined sitting on the logs for the better part of the day.  But it was just the beginning of the day,

Second Stop: Goldstream Park

We are still some weeks away from the Salmon Run, but still thought Orit should see the space where the magic is about to happen. 

 

Just hard to keep from looking up... the canopy of the trees above is glorious, as is the moss on the trunks and branches.

And also hard not to touch the roots structures left below.

I like looking up to the hills, knowing the eagles will soon be here, looking for Salmon treats....

I was also lovely looking out at the marshy area, where the Salmon will soon be arriving.

Stop Three: The Malahat Experience

We decide (thanks Gillian Calder for the idea) to go to up the Malahat to see the new skywalk https://malahatskywalk.com/.   It was a beauty.

It starts with a lovely boardwalk that slowly rises up so you are walking in the canopy of the trees.   Along the way, there are a bunch of fabulous art pieces made of found objects and drift wook in the shape of animals.  It was great happening upon them!

Super chill walk around the sides of this structure to the top, and the views were glorious all the way around.

And here is a short video from the top! https://youtu.be/PYurgSK0VV0

Fourth Stop: A restaurant on the pier in Mill Bay.   We managed to grab a photo of the moon, and just catch the head of a seal swimming across the harbour.

And several hours later, the moon is still shining her beams our way.   A gift.