Wordless Wednesday...

Tales from the blue lagoon...

Yesterday was the most glorious of spring days here on the Island

so my pal Irma and I took our cue and headed out with the dogs

to Esquimalt Lagoon. Long been a favorite spot to 

ramble and wander on the beach and through the woods.

We started out on the more busy side where it was evident that

so many others were enjoying the sun.
The lagoon is divided between the ocean side...

...home of the Fisgard Lighthouse at Fort Rod Hill...

 ...and, of course the lagoon side...

A stretch of road runs between them and signs of it's sea level dangers are posted here and there.
 You have to be careful here because you never know what may happen!

In other words...RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

 This side is a bird sanctuary, home to many water birds.
More on them later.
We scrambled along the coastal trail, through the arbutus lined groves...

 ...scrubby, old little oaks line the cliffs...

...skeletons of the old...

...perfumed blossoms of the new...

Leftovers from winter...

 Striking patterns from the choke cherry trees bark...

...Indian plum just starting to bloom...

 The walk along the upper road was glorious and at many turns
we were in awe of the beauty of the weather and the scenery...Ahhh spring on the coast!

We sat on the beach with our picnic and caught up on each others lives.
We hadn't seen each other since Christmas so we also celebrated each others birthdays
which had come and gone.
Quite a number of years ago I had done a little water colour of Griff's brother Frank
and this year Irma reciprocated by giving me this fantastic
rendition she painted of Griffin in a typical Griffin pose...

 If you know Griffin, you'll know that he'll sit in the water like this forever and
not give up the stick. Not much of a fetch game but he seems to get a thrill out of it!
She also gave me the sweetest little art mirror...

 How cute is that?!

 As well as this card...

We'll forever inspire each other through the beautiful things we find and do.
After our picnic we made our way back to the other side and were treated
to some close visits by the birds...

 There were lots of different ducks but the stars of the show were the swans.
The black beaked ones are trumpeter swans. They are the largest and one of the rarest swans in the world as well as being an 'at risk' species...

 The other orange beaked ones are called mute swans.
So named not because they're mute but because they're less noisy than other swans.
They are introduced and a bit of a threat to the native species of trumpeters...

How impressive they are!

How these birds even get off the ground is truly amazing!

Irma stayed up top of the beach with the pups, while I got down close to them.
Some people were feeding them so I was treated to some pretty close encounters...

This one was really curious about me and got pretty close...

A wee tiff over food...

 How gorgeous!

Pin tails, mallards, Canada goose came to feed as well...

When you're this close you really get a sense of their size...

Aside from their smudged colouring, the young mute swans are
almost as big as their parents...

hello!

Their feet are so incredible...

REALLY big and very reptilian.
In cases like this, you can see how birds are related to dinosaurs...

Look at those nails!
So a gorgeous day to be thankful for this beautiful place we call home.

Finding new purpose...

The other day I went to gather my annual bunch of pussy willows at the beach.

There's nothing that says spring

like the tender, fluffy buds of the willow...

...soft, sleek little harbingers of warmer days to come...

 They found a home in a pretty teapot that never poured very well...

 ...a place to mull over seed catalogues and dream of the gardening year ahead...

Two other finds made my day.

The first was half of a scallop shell...

 ...ready to use as a pendant or maybe an accent on a bag someday...

 I wonder if you can tell the age by the layers of shell?

 The pearl like finish created by tumbling around in the ocean..

 How pretty the light is when shining through...

The second find was an empty sea urchin shell...

 It's not very often you find these in one piece around here...

 ...rough, rocky shores are not kind to these delicate works of art...

 ...this one is a small one, about the size of a large golf ball.

The larger ones are a delicacy in Asian markets (the inside meaty bits)...

I had seen this idea on Pinterest and was hoping to try it one day.

One empty sea urchin shell plus one air plant and a little bit of fishing line and..

 Presto!

other worldly jelly fish!

 Have you ever had an air plant?

They're super easy to care for and just as the name suggests,

they don't need soil...

 ...they take their nutrients from particles in the air. 

all you need to do is soak them or spray them with water once a week...

 It was a good day on the beach and the rain held off for a few hours of treasure hunting.

Today its been pouring all day...more day dreaming ahead in the forecast.