Slacker!!

Yes, I know...I've been clearly absent form this blog of mine.

Seems like these days of a busy life I can't seem to put in the time to 

write, edit photos and post. 

Actually to put it more honestly, it's not that I can't, it's more 

like I'm just not there in that head space right now.

We are in the process of moving after 17 years here on the farm...more on that later...

and it's an all consuming task.

One other reason for my tardiness at blogs doors is that my main camera lens

seems to have crapped out on me and I have not had the time to tinker with it

or take it to have it repaired.

I am relying on my zoom lens or my phone camera for now which is somewhat limited.

But even though I seem to be in a 'moving state of mind'  I am still taking photos.

Anyway a little montage of my favourites as of late.

Hope you are all well and happy and healthy and enjoying the bliss of summer days!

 The waters off of our shores are a gorgeous shade of azure blue due to a 

rare phytoplankton bloom which surrounds itself with microscopic bits of limestone...

 For these usually dark Pacific waters, seeing this colour around here reminds me of Nicaragua...

Walks on Island view beach with my dad one morning revealed this lovely driftwood structure...

...always the walker...

These cliffs have been known to uncover ancient mammoth teeth...

The full moon amongst the trees is something I never tire of...

Georgia!!!

The dreamer in me sends myself into the clouds...

...wishing to land on all that puffiness...

...to look down at the earth through different eyes...

This little fox sparrow by the lake one morning sending out his song...

Tiny summer mushrooms introduce themselves in the middle of the pathway...

Spotting wee spotted fawns around the place...

I am forever trying to capture the small but mighty hummingbirds...ready for take off!!...

Zooming in to the agapanthus...

...a few quick sips of nectar...

Making lavender tea for a hair rinse...after steeping for a few hours the flowers are pale...

...and the liquid a gorgeous shade of purple!!

I showed my mom a few needle felting techniques and she's a real natural! 

Here's a few of her pieces...

A little buzziness to sign off!

 

Ciao for now!

Wordless Wednesday...

Sometimes you get lucky...

It's that time of year around here when I go through white sugar 

like a candy crazed toddler.

No, not for me but for those tiny miracles of the bird world...

The hummingbirds.

I have 3 feeders right now as opposed to one during the winter.

The Anna's hummingbird sticks around all year and I keep them fed

through rain and snow and sleet and hail.

Then around the beginning of March, the Rufus hummers show up.

These guys are small but mighty and VERY territorial.

They chase the Anna's away constantly and chase each other and 

anything else that gets in their way.

Capturing their picture can be quite challenging.

Sometimes they play peek-a-boo...

Sometimes they just become a fiery, whirling blur...

Or you catch a bit of those magical light defracting grating feathers...

Maybe you'll get a glimpse of the power of those tiny wings that can beat up to 80 times a second!!

Think about that...can you count to 80 in a second?!

And then there's the moment you get lucky!

Just clicking the shutter button at the right time...

To catch a shot of these small wonders is such a treat...

They are so busy just trying to stay alive...sucking back all of that nectar to keep

up their strength to fly up to speeds of 55km /hr or 35km/hr backwards!

To keep that minuscule heart beating at rates of up to 1,260 beats per minute is a lot of work!

Their wee lungs can take up to 250 breaths a minute...

And then at night they sleep...deep sleep...torpor it's called.

 A type of hibernation that allows them to conserve massive amounts of energy

by lowering their body temperature and almost shutting down their kidneys.

They can lose 10% of their body weight at night.

Then at first light in the morning, you hear them...that delightful buzzing sound and they're at it again

So here's to these, the smallest of bird species, 

 for sure the busiest, 

certainly one of the most entertaining

and definitely one of the sweetest!

Wordless Wednesday...