Searching

Everywhere we looked, animals were ducking for cover, which was essentially what we were doing. We got higher than we’d been since November. The clouds quickened. A rabbit jumped off the trail. Squirrels had left their cones shredded on the deadfalls. A small falcon tested the wind, curious enough to hang around and get a good look at us. Several light-coloured swifts flew like bullets through the timber. They must have an amazing navigation system. Thrushes, robins, and juncos scattered, disturbed by the two of us early on the trail.

And the quiet was wonderful, exactly what the ears needed.

We stopped below a rock bluff with a view north. The valley bottom was long gone. We could see storms forming above Baldy, sheets of misty rain rolling closer while the clouds directly overhead kept flowing north. A great collision, perhaps. Would the rain get through?

We spotted a large black bear below, near where we had come from. It was accompanied by a few crows and several grey jays perched on the top spikes of spruce and pine. We kept our eyes on them as they turned back down the mountain. We wished them peace, and for them to stay hidden, the same wish for ourselves.

The northern clouds won. Hail and snow started to fall. It wouldn’t last; it was spring after all, and blue sky was already showing through.

***

The other day I was cut off by a tourist in a shiny little sports car with all its windows tinted black. All the stuff I had on my seats ended up on the floor when I slammed on the brakes. If Willow had of been there she would have crashed into the dashboard, which she has done before on similar occasions.

I cursed, not at the driver, who had long sped off, but at this reminder that we are again on the verge of another busy tourist season.

Orchids

A couple of days ago, Lisa mentioned that the Calypso orchids should be blooming. I’m usually on top of these things, but I don’t get out into the bush as much anymore without Willow spurring me on.

Today I left the gardening behind and headed out to see how spring in the mountains was progressing. To make things even better, the kids lent me Lola to tag along.

Lola is a wonderful dog — well behaved, sweet, and kind. She’s recovering from an injury, so I have to keep her close, which is no problem at all. Although she’s a big dog and can look a little menacing, she is anything but.

This is how a conversation with Lola goes:

Chipmunk chirps somewhere off in the distance.

Lola: “Did you hear that?”

Me: “Yep.”

Lola: “What was it?”

Me: “Sounds like a chipmunk.”

Lola: (worried look) “Do you think it’s friendly?”

And this is how a conversation with little Willow went:

Willow: “Bark, growl, bark, growl, bark, bark, bark!”

Bear runs and climbs tree.

Willow: “Did you see that?”

Me: “Yes. You scared the bear up a tree.”

Willow: “It’s lucky I can’t climb trees, or I’d go up there and kick its ass.”

Then she’d scrape her paws on the ground like a bull getting ready to charge and puff out her chest like she ruled the mountains.

Lola and I did find some orchids growing on the soft, mossy forest floor. We even sat together and watched the sun rise above the mountains and warm our faces.

Two years ago, on May 10 and 11, we experienced an incredible solar storm. Lisa and I spent the night outside, and neither of us had ever seen anything like it. Auroras pulsed and waved in every direction and continued throughout the entire night.

This photo is from that unforgettable evening

Early May

A Bighorn of the pressured Swansea herd. Photo by Lisa.

The Starlings outlasted the Flickers for the hole in the tree to build their nest. They are busy darting in and out. I try not to look at them as they get nervous with their eggs. Each day I put out a few peanuts for a Crow that is back to watch over the garden. The Crow used to bother Willow.

Not much moisture yet. I dug out some old raspberry canes that had stopped producing to make room for some squash plants. My kids are excited for the garden this year as the price of produce skyrockets. The thing about Lisa and I is we come from a long line of people who had very little, so it’s in our DNA to be able make do with not much.

Meanwhile the tourists and second home owners are flowing into the valley tearing it up.

Killdeer

A Kick in the Groyne

The Akisqnuk First Nation, which is part of the Ktunaxa Nation, has recently opposed a couple of projects regarding Lake Windermere.

The first was dredging a portion of the lake to create a boat marina at Thetheway Beach. Thetheway is a vacation home area in Windermere. The new boat docks would be for the exclusive use of Thetheway residents, most of whom are from Alberta.

The second is the refurbishment of a boat launch at Athalmer, located on District of Invermere property. At one time, the District considered buying a crane to expedite putting boats in the lake. That’s probably still coming.

The general consensus among many residents is that there are already too many jet, motor, and wake boats on Lake Windermere.

The Akisqnuk First Nation’s stance is that there is a state of lawlessness on and around Lake Windermere. Docks and boat launches are being built off the ever-growing number of lakeshore second homes. Buoys are being placed along the shores to moor motorboats. There is also the claiming of shoreline ownership by many second-home owners, even though land up to twelve feet above the high-water mark is designated as public. In addition, there has been the takeover of public rights-of-way to the lake by homeowners.

These homes along the shores of Lake Windermere are worth millions and are mostly owned by people from out of province who feel entitled to do as they please.

The District of Invermere is very much in favour of this takeover by vacationers of Lake Windermere, as they reason it brings money into the valley. Since the District’s mayor and councillors are made up of people who own businesses, I can understand why they would want to support the agenda of second homeowners as it puts money in the pockets of businesspeople, and they are, above all, who they represent.

Also on the agenda is the potential removal of the rock groyne at the mouth of the Columbia River at the north end of Lake Windermere. Every year, at least a few expensive motorboats are damaged when they run into it, even though it is clearly marked.

The groyne has been there since the 1800s, and it is unclear what its purpose was. It could have been to deepen the channel to make boat passage easier, or it may have been used for fishing when salmon spawned in the area. It may also have been built to prevent Toby Creek from changing the channel.

Regardless, boaters and the District want it gone.

I am glad the Akisqnuk First Nation has stepped in. Someone has to try to protect the lake from this kind of unchecked development.

Slow Release Rain

That’s as far as we are going up that road.

A good snow storm blew through. Lola and I were caught out digging Willow’s grave. Big flakes, heavy falling straight down, the mountains and valley bottom obscured. By the time it stopped there was about a foot where we were and a few inches in the garden. It will do everything good.

We got Willow’s name carved into a rock. She is going far off the trail. No-one will ever find her unless they know where to look. She would like that.

Crocuses before the snow hit.

The Crocuses are just coming out. I had expected them earlier considering our mild winter. The Osprey’s are back, also on time. The back roads are muddy as the frost comes out of the ground. This is the time I usually get stuck, pushing my luck along the mountain creeks trying to get back to November high. It’s easier when the frost is going into the backroads. Wet snow doesn’t help.

Lola is coming back from a pretty good injury, so her and I just poke about.

This guy will overlook Willow’s spot. She always gave this stump a bark then looked at me embarrassed. I wonder if he knows The Birchman.

Spring Zodiacal

Sirius, Orion, Jupiter and Pleiades caught in zodiacal light.

A pair of Flickers have been fighting with a couple of Starlings for a hole in the top of the poplar out our window. Whoever has the upper hand usually camps out side the hole keeping the competition away. Sometimes it’s the Flicker sometimes it’s the Starling. I know how it’s going to end, because I saw the same show last year. Neither species will use the hole to nest, both considering it too dangerous because of each other.

Lisa and I saw and heard a few Meadowlarks below Swansea. Such a song. We look forward to it each spring.

I dug the garden, loosening up the soil with a pitchfork. There were plenty of worms. The garlic is all up and it looks like we should have a good crop. We are still eating last years. The daffodils are also up, despite the fact I thought I had dug them out. The garden is ready for some seeds. Within the week I hope to poke in some carrots, peas, beets and lettuce. It’s early but they can handle the chill. By May 24th I’ll get the rest planted.

Venus, just above the horizon at dusk.

Watched the sun set and waited to see if the zodiacal light would appear. Orion is in the west close to setting at dusk. It will be washed out by light soon, only to reappear to signal the coming fall. Venus was bright right on the western horizon. Jupiter was above Orion and Gemini ruling the sky. Sure enough a triangular white glow appeared with Pleiades caught in the light. Very fine spring day.

Mid March

The kids are on spring break. I have been lucky to spend my days off with them hiking a few trails. They move faster than me and go ahead, stop and let me catch up. Every once and awhile Scarlett stops and proclaims she can’t go on. Cooper encourages her, and then she is off running again. I wish I could get a second wind so fast.

Yesterday we hiked north of the lakes and spotted a large flock of swans floating in the wetlands. Today we went to the start of the lake to assure the ice was completely gone from the two lakes.

This is early for the ice to be off the lakes. It was as late as anyone can remember freezing over (after Christmas), making it the shortest time ice has covered the lakes. The ice was never that thick through the winter. I didn’t even try to get the truck out on the ice this year.

Today was warm, clouded over, windy with a spit of rain here and there. Amazingly, we saw several ant hills with the red ants on the top moving slowly getting their house in order. The ice may be off the lake but the frost is still in the ground. These insects are early. Amazing creatures. We also saw several caterpillars crawling about. It might just be my imagination but the lake seems a different colour at ice out then in years gone by.

It’s nice the kids let me tag along.

Snow

About 8 inches of wet snow fell last night. The roads turned slick. We were due in Calgary, but decided to reschedule.

I have included another couple of pictures of the eclipse. I was happy to be able to capture some of the stars around the moon, usually impossible during a full moon as its shine drowns them out. Regulus can be seen above the moon and several stars from the constellation Leo.

***

I changed the oil and filters in my truck yesterday. I haven’t done that in a real long time. I usually take the truck down to Cranbrook an hour and a half down the road for service. People ask why I don’t get it serviced closer to home. The answer is: I’ve always done this. At one time I knew most of the mechanics in the valley and I didn’t want to dislike them. Mechanics are notorious for fucking up and it’s never their fault. Granted they have to keep up on ever changing technology and it can’t be easy. So I drive 150 km out of my way. That way if I’m pissed off at the quality of the work it is at a place out of sight and not at a mechanic I play hockey with on Sunday night, or see at the school picking up their kids.

Now, I have to admit, it probably cost me more to change it myself. First, I bought synthetic oil and a good quality filter.

Second, I had to make a trip to the hardware to buy a six point 15mm socket because the goddamn oil plug was in so tight. The wrenches I had were twelve point and I didn’t want to round off the plug, or I would have been going to the mechanic for a real big bill, and the mechanic would not have spared me from letting me know what a fool I was.

Third, I checked online to see where to take the old oil for recycling. The first place I took it wouldn’t take it, the second place said they stopped taking it. So I drove it over to the landfill who said they don’t take it, but gave me the name of a place that did, and surprise, an hour and a half later and a few litres of Trumps expensive gas, I finally got rid of it.

And fourth, my pants and jacket become thoroughly dirty from lying on the ground, requiring me to spend more time and detergent washing them. Actually, I’ve kept them hidden waiting for a good time to show them to Lisa.

So there you have it, done in by my own hard headedness. Which is a common occurrence.

Eclipse

We were very fortunate to see the lunar eclipse on the morning of March 3rd, especially considering how cloudy it has been this winter.

I have included another photo from that night. Photographing the moon can be difficult. If you expose for the moon, the landscape often turns out very dark. If you expose for the landscape, the moon becomes completely blown out. I have always preferred photographing the moon in a blue sky at dusk or dawn. Doing so allows you to choose an exposure that works for everything in the frame.

I try to keep my astrophotography simple. Most of my images are single exposures. Occasionally I will take multiple images to create a panorama when I want to show more of the scene than a single frame can capture.

During this eclipse, however, I did something very common in astrophotography: I took two exposures of the same scene—one exposed for the moon and one for everything else. This allowed me to capture detail in the moon without it being blown out. I achieved this by adjusting the ISO and shutter speed between shots. In Photoshop I stacked the images and used masking to combine the best parts of both exposures. It is a bit of a trick, and I admit I feel somewhat guilty for doing it.

This method is widely used. Photographers often take many exposures of the sky to reduce noise, along with separate exposures for the landscape and the stars. The images are then aligned and processed in Photoshop to create a polished final photograph. The Milky Way can really pop when this technique is used.

However, this approach isn’t really for me—not because I believe there is anything wrong with it, but because it requires more concentration and planning than I enjoy when I’m out photographing. I prefer to roam around with my camera, capturing single shots as I go.

There are also many photographers now using AI in astrophotography. For me, these images are usually easy to spot and make up a large portion of astrophotography found online. They can be striking, and again, there is nothing inherently wrong with these methods. I know of several landscape photographers who place the Milky Way above well-known mountains in directions where the Milky Way never actually appears. The images sell well for them—and why not?

Perhaps it is because I grew up in a newspaper shop that my instinct with photography is to document. I try to make the best photograph I can with the equipment I have, paying attention to composition, colour, and the rule of thirds. But in the end, what I am really trying to capture is a place, a moment in time, and an attitude—something that may not exist in quite the same way in the years ahead.

Lunar Eclipse

Rolled out of bed early to get a look at the eclipse. Once in full eclipse it was brilliant red. It is intriguing as it goes from full moon to eclipse. Once the moon is in the shadow of earth the stars come out. Including the rising Milky Way in the east.

This is a quick picture. This is the first time taking a lunar eclipse with a higher resolution camera. I will look over the rest of the photos in the next day or two.

Willow would have really enjoyed the morning. So strange without her keeping the perimeter.