When it rains ...

... we go to Mud Bay. Sometimes, anyway; we can't spend every second day there. (Will summer never come?)

Here's Mud Bay in the rain:

Northern shore of Mud Bay at high tide, looking west towards Tsawwassen.

The weeds love the rain. Unidentified brassica.

The muddy shore, now bright with grasses and alfalfa. And a red, red dock.

I had never seen dock this red before.

"Dock ... produces 3,000 to 4,000 seeds per plant" (BC Gov. site)

There are 4 different saltmarsh plants here. The only one I can identify is the pickleweed (Salicornia virginica) on the far left.

Update: the tall stems of green flowers (pale yellow when mature) are sea arrow grass, Triglochin maritima. The tan flower heads in back are sea plantain, Plantago maritima ssp. juncoides. The salt-tolerant grass is still unidentified.

Detail of the flowering stems.

This pretty little moth sat for a brief moment on a tansy leaf.

Wet railroad tracks with starlings on a rail and on the fence. In the distance, three eagles perch on a pair of snags.

I love the way the mist separates and outlines each layer of trees. In the foreground, a rotting old fence that I always call "the teeth".

Red barn far across the fields beyond both branches of the Serpentine River, looking as if it were just a stone's throw away.

The rain stopped. At least here; it looks like it's still raining over in Tsawwassen. 

Looking east and south, the water is blue; looking west towards the hidden sun, it takes on a purple sheen.

Before we left, I picked a big handful of new, tender lambs' quarters. At home, I stir-fried them with onion for supper. Delicious!