Wish I'd Said It

Weeds are flowers too - once you get to know them.

- A. A. Milne

Wednesday, April 07, 2010

This n' That n' Trout - Mostly Photos (#218)

I've collected something of a mishmash of photos over the last few months which I'd like to inflict share with you good folks. As a bonus, I'm offering a video of leaping rainbow trout! All for the incredibly low (albeit regular) price of free!

The photo below will probably become my new header picture. It's taken from virtually the same place, but in winter rather than fall. Maybe I should put it to a vote. Keep the old one or replace it with this one? (Or maybe I should have just switched to see if anyone would notice?)

Remember, if you wish, you can click each photo to see a larger version.


Last fall, in the middle of the annual salmon run, I took the following pic. You can see the shadows of the big fish in the creek behind an oblivious Benny.


The trio of ducks below, appeared to me to be lost in thought. Perhaps in the same one: "Who's that lumbering dude pointing that thing at us?


This next one goes back to last New Year's Eve. It's a snapshot of part of the table at hosts' Debbie and Mario's place. I swear by my Big Baba's apron that the view changed every three minutes as more (and more and more) food and drinks appeared and disappeared. But every view was just as festive and colourful as the one below.


A few weeks later, Hilary decided to buy a bouquet of flowers to beat back the winter gloom. They made a striking display on her dining room table. (She just up and bought them. Honest. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss a hint....)


Here's a closer look at one of the blooms on the other side of the bouquet.


I wish I could have gotten a better pic of the next subject. He was a rare visitor to the little pond near my home which hosts a large flock of mallards. He's a Northern Pintail duck. What's particularly striking about them is the configuration of their feathers (which of course, explains their name).



At Hilary's last weekend, I borrowed her camera to take a few pics of birds at her feeder. Shooting through the patio door glass obviously flattens out the picture - but the subtle iridescence of the grackle's colouring still comes through.


For several weeks, birds were avoiding both my and Hilary's feeders. I eventually became convinced we had an unappealing batch of seed. Changing the seed helped coax the birds back. But undoubtedly, the presence of the little fellow in my next photograph deterred the locals as well. The merlin perched nonchalantly in my magnolia tree, about 10 feet from the bird feeder, undoubtedly awaiting the arrival of his own feathered lunch. After admiring him a while and taking the shot (again, unfortunately, through glass) - I went outside and shooed him away.



Well, it seems I still have a few pics but this post has gone on long enough. I'll save them for another time. As threatened promised, the video below was taken about a week ago, a few minutes' walk from my house. The rainbow trout (steelhead) were anxious to get upstream to get some serious, fin-to-fin canoodling done. Part-way through the video, if your sounds are on, you'll hear an excited little boy announce each airborne fish he spots.

Enjoy.

21 comments:

Althea said...

The birds are pretty...the birds over here are pretty too. I'm finding that they have more complex calls than those that we get in Australia. I don't want to draw any conclusions from that...

And I know what you mean now, 20 C is plenty warm...

Hilary said...

Some wonderful photos and video here - some of which I've seen before like birds and flowers but that first one is particularly beautiful. It looks surreal. I love it and I think it would make a great header photo. I see you also changed your profile pic to your serious cowboy self-portrait so yup, I think I would have noticed if you'd changed your header. ;)

Leah J. Utas said...

Excellent pics. I loved the leaping trout. What were they jumping into?

Dianne said...

I'd love to see the leaping trout in person! that looks so cool

I like the current header pic and the new one, I like all your shots

I can't believe Benny was oblivious to all that was going on behind him, he must have been sniffing something really interesting

Frank Baron said...

Althea, traveling is indeed a broadening experience, isn't it? :)

Glad you like it, Hil. The light that late afternoon was amazing. And it didn't hurt that the leaden sky mirrored the frozen creek. You gotta love the shots that just present themselves like that! (And be grateful you were packing a camera.) :)

Leah, they were jumping into what's called a "fish ladder." It's a sort of upwardly graded tunnel built to one side of a dam, that allows fish to negotiate that dam and travel to the spawning water that lies beyond it. It's a real treat to watch. I never tire of it.

Dianne, Benny has certainly noticed salmon from time to time. He's chased live ones (I think Hilary once posted that video) and rolled in the carcasses of several dead ones. But his nose was leading him on a different trail when I took that shot. :)

Skunkfeathers said...

Teach Benny to handle a rod and reel, and just think of the photo ops!

Tho', you had some pretty good 'uns h'yar.

Bruce Robinson said...

For a techno newbie, that was amazing. Share your secret for making your voice sound so high without speeding it up. ;})

Tammie Lee said...

the light in your first photo is wonderful, wow.
and the film of the fish is amazing, kind of painful to watch them jumping into the cement wall though.
Thank you for your comment a while back about muskrats, you helped me to see them in a new light.

Frank Baron said...

Jeepers, Skunky! Don't give him any ideas!

Ha Bruce! I owe you a shoulder punch. ;)

Tammie Lee, I love the light in that one too. And yes, I wince often when witnessing trout and salmon hit concrete. Amazingly, out of many hundreds, I've only ever seen a handful behave as if stunned, and then only momentarily.

I'm glad you're taking another look at muskrats. They are pretty interesting little critters. Thanks for the return visit and letting me know. :)

Charlie said...

I'm with Tammie Lee re the jumping into the wall. Ouch! Then again, we human males are prone to similar behaviours when the urge to "canoodle" overwhelms us. ;)

Jinksy said...

If I'd known there'd be so much flowing water - I'd have worn my wellies, just like I aughter!

(Thanks for your rhyming comment on napple notes today and for the chance to have a paddle!)

Frank Baron said...

Charlie, there's an analogy somewhere in there about banging one's head against concrete and male/female behaviour. But I ain't brave enough to spell it out. ;)

My pleasure Jinksy. Thanks for the visit. :)

Kappa no He said...

I totally expected to see The Ben Man come jumping into the shot and snap up a trout, or at least wrestle one for a bit.

Great photos as always!

LadyFi said...

Love all these shots... so gorgeous! I really like the winter photo of the lake...

CiCi said...

Since I am new here, do I get a vote regarding your header photo? I like the one you have now. That is a great photo of the salmon. Hilary has fantastic taste, so if she bought the flowers, they must be righteously awesome. Can you tell I am a huge fan of Hilary's blog? I really like the photo of the grackle, even though you feel it isn't the best beings taken through the patio door. I think it is really nice. We have them here.

Frank Baron said...

Thanks Terrie. :)

And thank you, LadyFi. :)

Sure, you get a vote TechnoBabe. Since you're a fan of Hilary's blog, it's obvious you have good taste. :)

Sueann said...

I am a new visitor too! Skunkfeathers recommended you on The Sunday Roast...so I grabbed my coffee and here I am. Great photos and that video is so cool!
I love the photo you are using now...so that is my vote.
And I am a fan of Hilary's blog as well. Do I get points now or what?
LOL!
Hugs
SueAnn

Pauline said...

You and Hilary should publish a book!

Great photos and especially liked the video.

Frank Baron said...

Thanks slommler. (And thanks to Skunky for the shout-out.) :)

Hi Pauline. Don't be giving Hilary any ideas! Publishing a book is hard work. I like being semi-retired. ;)

Thanks for the visit, folks. :)

Barbara Martin said...

The merlin is the likely culprit for keeping the other birds from the feeder.

The other photos are spectacular.

Frank Baron said...

Thanks Barbara. Very kind of you. :)