Sunday, October 26, 2014

Back to Nature Weekend


We had a very nice weekend away on Quadra Island at the Taku resort.  It is low season on the island and very few tourists go there this time of year - a fabulous place to enjoy some peace, quiet and nature.  This post is a little photo heavy but it was hard to leave out any of the pictures(click on any photo to enlarge).   

These seals were right out front our resort lounging about on some logs attached to the marina.  They were just watching us when two got spooked, swam away then realized we meant no harm so came back, flopped back up on the log and gave us the big stare.  The photo above I believe is the baby harbour seal and the photo below is either Momma or Pappa.  Usually you just see their cute noses above the water but Friday they were not that shy.  They are such curious creatures.


Pappa, Momma and Baby

The Tlingit Tribes named Taku as the nesting place of birds.  We saw plenty of different types including this loon.

Friday was rainy (it has rained 25 days straight now after months of drought-like conditions) but it did break for 2 hours so we spent those on the beach and marina enjoying the wildlife.

I love nature of any kind and am fascinated by these anemones attached to the dock.  They were very healthy and plentiful, a sign of a good ecosystem.

As we were heading back inside we encountered this doe and fawn about 15 feet from our front door.  The fawn was busy eating but unfortunately the only picture I got of it was a bit blurry.

Doe keeping an eye on us.

Fawn completely ignoring us

Blue Heron
 I believe the fish in the picture below spotted off the dock are baby sturgeon (I am sure they are not salmon or trout) which grow to extremely large fish but are only 3 inches long here.



This duck is called a Harlequin duck and I believe from the markings is a Drake (male).  These guys are very shy as I see them a lot in Comox and usually cannot get close enough to get a decent picture.  The water was so peaceful on Sunday this guy was unconcerned by us and posed.


It rained almost all day Saturday so all these pictures were from Friday and Sunday.  On Saturday despite the rain we went for an hour walk on the beach with our umbrellas but got cold so went back and spent the day reading and watching movies.  Sunday the sun came out for the first time in over 3 weeks and it was a very nice day.  We went for a 1.5 hour walk at Rebecca Spit (a sandspit is a long slim finger of land with water on either side) which was directly across the harbour from our resort separating us from the Straight of Georgia (Salish Sea).


View of Rebecca Spit from Taku Resort


I love taking pictures of jellyfish, they are such beautiful creatures.  This one was particularly luminescent and right near the surface of the water.  I don't ever recall seeing so many jellyfish in one spot as how plentiful they were near the marina.

Walking on Rebecca Spit


I photo-stalk all creatures great and small.  


If I have misidentified any of the creatures in this post please let me know - I am certainly no expert, just like taking their pictures.

We are now preparing for Tropical Storm Ana that is supposed to hit Vancouver and Vancouver Island by late Monday night/Tuesday.  This is quite rare for Tropical storms to land so far north but it has happened in the past.  We have lots of candles, water and food, and will stay warm and cozy by the natural gas fireplace should the power go out.    Wouldn't you know that Tuesday is the day we scheduled the arrival of our new bed (our 1 year old bed is going to my stepdaughter, hubby's back is getting worse and we needed more support), scheduled a repairman for our washing machine and scheduled Doctors appointment.  I certainly hope Ana doesn't get in the way!

21 comments:

  1. Looks like it was a nice quiet get away weekend, despite the rain. Waht a pretty resort and so much wildlife. Love the colours on the Harlequin duck!

    Hope that Ana doesn't hit you too hard.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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    1. Quadra has lots of neat hiking areas - Vancouver Island and the Islands surrounding are your kind of Islands - I can so see you and Kevin here!

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  2. Thank you for all the beautiful photos. I felt peaceful just looking at them. So much wildlife and so many beautiful views. I'm glad the rain didn't keep you from enjoying it all, but it looks like a lot more is headed your way tonight. Hopefully it won't be as bad as they're predicting. Stay safe.

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    1. All the predictions of the storm were over the top - we only lost power for 1.5 hrs in the middle of the night and the wind did not reach nearly the speeds they predicted - thank goodness!

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  3. Wow! I wouldn't know how to thin out the photo selection.

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    1. There were a bunch more I didn't include but one can only stand so many shots of other peoples weekends away lol.

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  4. WHAT an amazing trip!
    THANKS for sharing all those GREAT PICS!!!

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  5. I've never seen a seal out of captivity, how wonderful! xxx

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    1. They usually are quite shy and prefer to remain under water but these guys were just lounging about. It is the first time I have been able to get some nice shots out of water. We are so fortunate to see seals on a monthly basis here - I do love where we live!

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  6. Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. So makes me want to visit Salt Spring!! Good luck with the storm. Hoping you get to finish up your planned activities before it hits.

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    1. Sounds like you need some Island time! All went well and nothing was interrupted - you get used to the fall wind/rainstorms here pretty fast.

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  7. Beautiful! I always love non-tourist season. It is much better. Jelly fish are gorgeous, but I am scared to death of them!

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    1. Our jelly fish here are mostly harmless - not like lots of other places in the world. I have been stung in Mexico waters by similar varieties and it amounts to something similar to bee stings. We do have to be careful to wear watershoes when walking in the sand to avoid any dead ones though - just in case.

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  8. Great photos. Nice nature pictures. Our leaves are showing some amazing colors and snow on tip of peaks in mountains.

    Coffee is on

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    1. We have lost most of the leaves now due to all the wind this past weekend with Tropical Storm Ana and there is a touch of snow on the highest part of our mountains - fortunately that rarely touches down in the valley where we live lol :)

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  9. Stay safe and keep us posted about the storm. I worry, you know this.
    And awesome pictures! Thank you for sharing.

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    1. No worries = all is safe and calm. They really over dramatized it - just a normal fall storm.

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  10. What a difference a little sunshine can make eh? That picture of the Harlequin duck is amazing - like an oil painting! What a nice weekend and I'm certainly happy to hear the ecosystem is in good shape!

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    1. You cannot believe how many pictures of those Harlequin Ducks I have tried to take in the past - they are very camera shy! This guy must have felt safe as he was just a few feet away and was acting like he didn't have a care in the world. Life is so plentiful in these Pacific waters!

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  11. Did you find out what kind of fish they were? - Margy

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