Tag: 1aDay Page 3 of 6

Here’s a cause that I think most of us can get behind. (Click on the photo to see a larger view of the poster.) Small magazines and small presses have been a huge part of my life. This poster is being distributed here in Victoria by Susan Sanford Blades, one of the editors of The Malahat Review. She sent this to an editors’ group that I belong to:

I’m writing from The Malahat Review on campus; we’ve been launching a campaign against the proposed federal cuts to small magazines, which will affect all literary magazines in Canada. I have a poster sized ad that we’ll be running in our next issue, and I’m wondering if this could be printed off and put up on your bulletin board, or passed on to students in the creative writing courses? I’ll attach it here. Please let me know what I can do with this, if I should forward this to creative writing professors, send hard copies to you, etc.

I think we should all send a letter to the Minister and one to our MP. As the poster mentions, you don’t even have to put a stamp on the envelope.

Democracy is not easy – it takes work to keep it working.

Dogs get blamed for everything, originally uploaded by Dave Traynor.

The things you see sometimes while you’re waiting for a ferry. It seems to me that leashing the dog might not be the most important thing to worry about if people are eating children. But I guess it depends on your priorities.

Standing Guard in Sgaang Gwaii, originally uploaded by Dave Traynor.

Last summer, we spent a week kayaking in Haida Gwaii. It was an unforgettable trip, filled with images and sounds and experiences that were unlike anything I’ve encountered before. The scenery was spectacular but the visits to the Haida villages, like SGaang Gwaii (Anthony Island/Ninstints), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, were the highlights of the trip. It was powerful and sad at the same time. While there was something elegant about the way that nature is reclaiming these sites, there is a sense of loss as well. All too soon, the evidence of these people will be gone or relegated to recreations and photos. But meanwhile, the watchmen care for the villages, welcoming visitors but keeping the sacred safe. It was a privilege to be invited to participate and I’m grateful we had the chance.
UPDATE – I amended the title of this photo and the location of the village, after reading my notes more carefully.

Heading down to the ocean
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

Colquitz creek is a beautiful bit of water that winds its way along the edge of the park near our home. Fresh water flows down from the north, working its way through neighbourhoods, parkland and along roadways winding through Saanich. From where I’m standing on a bridge that spans it at the south end of the park, it’s just a short paddle out to Portage Inlet, the large body of water at the end of the Gorge Waterway. The creek here is subject to the large tides we have in Victoria and it changes every day from a flowing river to more of a series of mudflats at low tide. But there’s lots of wildlife and it makes for a great paddle. We’ve seen otters and herons and lots of ducks. People say they’ve seen seals in the past, but there haven’t been any for a long time. It was a great salmon spawning area at one time but that seems to have stopped, at least in the last few years since we’ve been here. But there are efforts underway to try to bring the salmon back. That would be a pretty amazing sight to see in the middle of the city.

Crossing the finish line
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I’m turning the feature photo over to my wife Heather today. She snapped this pic at the end of Jaime’s first half-marathon, which she ran on Sunday. The race was in Comox. Jaime had originally planned to run it with her roommate but when she had to pull out, Heather decided to take her up there so she could race it herself. (Jaime, that is, not Heather.)

Jaime said it went better than she had hoped for. She ran the first half at a good pace, but realized at the half-way point that she could go a lot faster. So she spent the second half of the race passing people ahead of her — great fun for a kid that never gets tired of competing. When she was rowing in high school, she used to race the dump trucks driving along the shoreline in the morning.

This was her first half marathon – in fact, it was her first distance race of any kind. A very impressive first outing. She’s already looking forward to the Vancouver half marathon in May. She may have caught that running bug that’s going around – fortunately, I’ve dodged it so far…

A Forest Path in the Morning
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

I have a thing for paths that head out of the picture. I like to take shots that include trails or roads rolling away into the distance. Combine a path with early morning light and some sunlight bouncing off the greenery and I can’t resist. This is one of those shots. I love the shadows of the trees. They look like they’re curving around the path. It’s a nice illusion.

Today’s photo is going to need an explanation. (Click on the pic to see a larger image on my Flickr site) You’ll have to take my word for it when I tell you that the birds you see flying around (they are the black specks floating around the top of the photo) are Great Blue Herons. They’ve established a rookery in the park near our home.

Their long-established rookery used to be in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria until a bald eagle destroyed it last year. Local birders were concerned that they wouldn’t re-establish it anywhere in the area, but then they showed up in our park. Last year, there were only a handful of nests. Now there appear to be dozens.

Today, I was out walking and I happened to look up to see about 35 birds flying above me. While I grabbed my camera, they circled, then settled into the trees. It was an amazing sight. They have a huge wingspan and float effortlessly into the trees. When they move from branch to branch, they spread their wings and just move over to the next branch. They seem to defy gravity.

Unfortunately, I have a small camera, with a short lens. So the beauty that I was watching today was for my eyes only. If you get a chance to watch these remarkable birds in your area, take the opportunity. You’ll enjoy it.

Here’s a link to a Wikipedia page about the herons, if you want to read some more about them.

A reflecting puddle in a ditch in North Saanich
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

Today’s photo is another shot from my miniature series, although this shot was taken in North Saanich today. A series of culverts ferry water down the roadway. Occasionally, the flowing water gathers in a small pool This one was just a few inches across. The small rocks and twigs stacked up beside the pool and the stones under the water create a nice mix of textures. And the sky reflecting off the surface creates more depth.

I’m not sure this picture is finished yet but I’m about done for tonight, so I’ll post this now. (Click on the photo to see a larger version on my Flickr site.)

Moon setting over Victoria
Originally uploaded by Dave Traynor

With apologies to Ansel Adams, who once saw the moon rise over Hernandez, New Mexico, I saw the moon setting over Victoria the other morning from my bedroom window and I couldn’t resist shooting my own version. (Click on the pic to see a larger version on my Flickr site.)

I always like it when the sun rises just as the moon sets. But my favourite time of the year is late summer, when we get those enormous harvest moons poking up on the horizon, just as the sun sets in the west. It’s magical.

Did you know that the moon is part of one of the world’s most-viewed optical illusions? The next time you see a large moon rising in the east, when it looks so large, hold up your hand and measure the size of the moon. It’s usually about the size of your thumbnail, or a dime. Then try it again when it’s directly overhead and it looks so much smaller. You’ll be surprised to find out that it’s actually the same size. There’s something about its proximity to the horizon that makes it seem larger. I used to think the view was magnified by the atmosphere but I was wrong. It’s just an illusion.

UPDATE – Here’s the link to the Wikipedia article about the moon illusion