Along with the usual mallards on the lake, there were a few cormorants and coots and a few other types of ducks. Here are two cormorants, with a skyline of Metrotown Burnaby in the background.
A few of the birds seemed to have found a very shallow part of the lake, so it looked odd to see them just standing there, apparently in the middle of the lake. The cormorant seemed to say "Hey, look at me, I'm standing on the water."
I was surprised to see a hummingbird this early in the season. Could it have stayed here for the Winter, or is it really starting to be Spring? I looked back in my blog, and in 2006 I didn't spot my first hummingbird until April 27, and in 2009, I didn't say when, but my first attempt at photos was July 15. So this seems to be very early in the year.
Too bad for poor Cypress Mountain, there are some Olympic events planned there in less than 3 weeks, and they are trying to push snow reserves down from the top of the mountain, and keep up the snow-making to fill in the shortfall this year. Last year was no problem, we had LOADS and LOADS of snow. So I am praying that with the rain forecasted in the next couple of weeks, that the temperatures will drop a bit so that the local mountains will get snow instead of rain. In Whistler - Blackcomb, where most of the outdoor events will take place, I hear that the snow is really good this year. Blackcomb is blessed with a glacier, so they have good skiing long into the Spring.
Anyhow, back to Deer Lake. I took my daughter's small Kodak digital camera, since my Canon is too heavy to carry for such a long walk. So she enjoyed taking some photos too. Many were blurred or out of focus, and much of that will be corrected with experience. But she seems to have an eye for artistic shots, such as this one which I quite like:
I'm trying to encourage her to start a photo blog. What do you think?
I like that picture, too. But, what is it? I think you should definitely encourage her to do a blog. What a fun creative outlet for her! :) I'm amazed (and a bit jealous) that you have a hummer so early in the season.
ReplyDeleteIt's never to early to begin a blog. It's a great artistic outlet as well as a great exercise in story-writing, etc. That's a great photo, and (like Kate) I'm wondering what it is.
ReplyDeleteYep, that makes three of us encouraging her to start a photo blog. I think the photo has a very artistic perspective. I am curious, but I'm not sure I want to know what it is, it might diminish, for me, the enjoyment of the interesting geometric shapes, colors, and textures. I like it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Hank, I think the more traditional angle on this item diminishes the magic of the shapes, colours and textures which my daughter's image captured.
ReplyDeleteAh Deer Lake is gorgeous this time of year. Last year at this time most of the lake was frozen. There is always something interesting going on.
ReplyDeleteYour daughter's photo is great. Hopefully she will take up that blog idea. My girl (5yrs) just got a camera for her birthday and has started taking to following me outside as I take nature pictures. Her a couple steps behind, snapping away. It's wonderful to share a passion with your kids.
Laura - One the many wonderful benefits of blogging is being able to look back and compare between years. Thanks for pointing that out, about Deer Lake being frozen last year. What a radical difference in weather.
ReplyDeleteKids are exposed to so much more nowadays, and much of it is good, like being able to experiment with a camera. I didn't have access to a camera until my 20's, I think. Good thing for digital cameras, though, or we may not be as excited to pay for the developing.