Swan Lake Fall
Swan Lake is in Saanich, just north of Victoria. It is somewhat peripheral to my surroundings these days, but until 3 years ago my office was close enough to walk around it at lunch time. Yesterday my wife and I went for a walk there, and sure enough we ran into a friend of mine, so not all that peripheral. Swan Lake is within the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. It is terrific place for a walk, or to find a bench and watch nature – birds in abundance, turtles in season, insects and a lot of other things going on. Even though surrounded by urban development, it is a thriving natural environment with a lot of excellent interpretive programs and facilities. Our visit today was dry, but it had rained and the sky was mostly overcast with flat lighting. I took a lot of photos, many of them hand-held macro shots of vegetation and fruit and rain drops and other common themes in my pictures and a few are keepers, for now anyway. So, I am starting today with Swan Lake close up in the autumn. Later this week I will show more of this place, including some setting shots. I need to go back there when the light is better, there is a lot to photograph.
Cat Paradise
What could suit a Cat more than a comfortable wool blanket next to a wood stove on a damp and cool autumn day?
As per usual She commandeered the most comfortable chair in the house, in the warmest place, with the hummingbird feeder (cat TV) in view. Now if only She could train her humans to be quiet during nap time.
Sunset Windows
Today I have some pictures of a recent sunset seen on Harling Point as reflections from windows, windows that are near and far. Above are the tiny cottages at the end of Penzance Road across from the Chinese Cemetery.
Gonzales Hill Observatory
Views of Gonzales Observatory surround me. I see it from my back yard, as I walk down the street, when I ride my bike the last mile or so home from work, from pretty well anywhere on Harling Point and many places in south Oak Bay. On a nice day, or when caught in sunlight, it draws the eye to the top of Gonzales Hill. The building is now within a park, but is still a functioning scientific laboratory, in use by the University of Victoria for atmospheric biogeochemistry research. Their website gives the following history:
Ross Bay Cemetery
Ross Bay Cemetery is located not far from my home along the waterfront in the Fairfield neighbourhood of Victoria. It is a formally planned Victorian era cemetery/park and is pretty much full now, with only a small number of burials each year in family plots or the few remaining empty ones. Many of British Columbia’s more famous settlers are buried here, and other notable people such as the artist Emily Carr. So, if history interests you, it is worth a close look or even taking a guided tour with the Old Cemeteries Society. If you like planned park-like spaces it is worth a broader look, and taking a moment to marvel at the foresight of the designer who considered how trees would grow and age and how the space would take shape over a hundred years or more.
Johnson Street Under Construction
Victoria has seen a lot of construction in the past decade, and even though the economy is weaker these days, new buildings are still under construction. This building is quite striking with its protective blue covering and the yellow debris chute. Unfortunately, I think once completed the white frame is going to jar a bit on the horizon and generally look less interesting than it does during construction. Maybe it will be eye catching in sunlight against a dark or stormy winter sky.
Fall Flowers
In spite of it being fall, there are many plants still flowering, as if summer is not over yet. In the front garden cape fuchsia dominate (partly because there are too many of them – overdue for a hard prune). The montbretia (crocosmia) will soon be done as their foliage is getting a bit tatty, but their orange blossoms are still cheerful. The mauve geraniums stick close to the ground but are always lovely.
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