The birds are smarter than I

I've taken a hint from the birds and the deer for the rest of the summer; laying low in the heat of the day (by my weather app, anytime after 10AM), waking and walking in the cool hours. Here's what I saw on an early morning walk around Tyee Spit, 7:30 to 9 AM, 15°C. 

"Chadwick" the cougar. A DriftedCreations critter. Doesn't mind the heat.

Two big birds. Do you see the second one?

Black slug, Arion rufus, out in the open before the day heats up.

View over the estuary, at low tide, with Canada geese.

Low tide exposes a few gravel bars in the main saltwater channel. Gulls settle there, but never stay still for long.

Checker-mallow, Sidalcea sp. Growing on tiny islet in the estuary.

Wild rabbit. I've seen 4 so far, only in the mornings.

Rabbit who has seen me. Showing off his white underbelly.

This looks like those three ceramic ducks people hung on their walls back in the 1950s.

Black twinberry, Lonicera involucrata.

And then, home for breakfast.

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He decidido seguir el ejemplo dado por los pájaros y del venado que viene a comer mis rosas; se esconden durante las horas de calor (empezando alrededor de las 10 de la mañana, según el programa en mi computadora), y salen temprano y tarde, con las temperaturas templadas.

Estas cosas las vi, dando la vuelta a Tyee Spit, una mañana, de las 7:30 a las 9 AM, con una temperatura de 15°C.

1. La puma hecha con madera que trajo la marea. Se llama, dice su creador, "Chadwick".
2. Dos pájaros grandes. ¿Ves el segundo?
3. Una babosa negra, Arion rufus. Cuando el sol quema, se esconde en las sombras.
4. Una vista del estuario, con la marea baja. Y con gansos canadienses.
5. Del otro lado de la lengua de tierra, en el estrecho, con la marea baja aparecen unas islas de grava. Allí descansan las gaviotas, echándose al aire frecuentemente con gran alboroto.
6. Una flor de tierras húmedas, Sidalcea sp.,  creciendo en una islita en el estuario.
7. Un conejito. He visto 4 hasta ahora, solamente en las mañanas.
8. El conejito, habiéndome visto, mostrando el pelo blanco del abdomen.
9. Esto se parece a esos grupos de tres patos cerámicos que la gente colgaba en sus paredes en los años de mediados del siglo pasado.
10. Madreselva bayas de oso, Lonicera involucrata.

Y luego regresé a casa para desayunar.

Mayhew the Sasquatch

Yes, we found the sasquatch! And we weren't eaten!

His name is Mayhew.

He's 8 feet tall, and on the move! Watch out!

Heading for the shore.

He's another sculpture by Alex, of Drifted Creations, like the cougar I found on Tyee Spit not long ago. Mayhew is on the far side of Quadra Island. We took a ferry over, then walked and walked, the wrong way, it turned out. But our trail took us through an enchanted forest; more on that, later.

Cougar on Tyee Spit!

But he's ok; he doesn't bite.

"Chadwick Cougar": driftwood creation by local artist Alex Witcombe

I saw the first of these on the shore three years ago; a dinosaur taller than I am, dubbed (now I know; then I didn't) "Sheila the Velociraptor". There was no sign, no indication of who had made her, no signature anywhere. The artist wasn't advertising.

Later on, a raccoon appeared beside the highway. He's still there, and local wits dress him up, add hats, and for Canada Day, a flag. There's a harbour seal, an owl, a fox family which I still haven't seen.

And a couple of weeks ago, Chadwick Cougar appeared on Tyee Spit. I found him on a quick walkabout. He's life size, made entirely of driftwood (and screws), dabbed with paint in a cougar colour.

The artist lives in Courtenay, just south of here, and has a Facebook page, where more of his creations can be seen, along with a map. Most of them are close by, although he has a couple in Victoria, and another couple halfway up (from here) towards the northern tip of the island. I must go and see the Sasquatch over on Quadra Island.