Close enough

Low tide, a bit of sunshine, just enough wind to create white-edged waves, masses of white clouds. A good day for a walk on the shore.

All the above, and some rocks. And a gull.

More rocks, including two glacial erratics.

Looking at the photos, I'm surprised at how far away those erratics seem to be. It only took 20 minutes walking to reach the closest point of land to that furthest rock. It's all a matter of perspective.

From this point, it seemed to me that there was something moving on top of that first erratic. I could never get close, since it was, even at low tide, far out in the water. I did manage to get close enough for the camera:

An otter, resting on top of the rock.

He was having a bit of trouble making himself comfortable. He turned and lay flat, stood up again, checked an itchy spot, settled down again to look at the horizon ...

On all fours

Grooming

That feels better.

And then he rolled himself into a tight ball and went to sleep. I walked on, to look at that second erratic; I could see black bird shapes. 10 minutes later, I was as close as I was going to get.

Half a dozen cormorants.

Zooming in. I love those glossy blue-greens!

When I passed the otter's rock on my way back, he was gone.

A Skywatch post

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La marea baja, un poco de sol, suficiente viento como para coronar las olas con espuma blanca, cúmulos de nubes blancas: todo lo hacía un buen dia para caminar en la playa.

Foto #1: Todo eso, y rocas. Con una gaviota.

#2: Y más rocas, incluyendo dos bloques erráticos.

Mirando las fotos, me sorprendió cuan distantes parecen estar esos bloques erráticos. Desde este punto, de donde saqué la foto, me tomó solamente 20 minutos para llegar al punto en la playa más cerca de ese bloque en la distancia. Todo es una cosa de la perspectiva.

Desde este punto, me parecía que algo se movía encima del primer bloque. No pude acercarme mucho, ya que, aun a marea baja, la roca estaba a una buena distancia entre el agua. Pero llegué suficientemente cerca para que la cámara pudiera alcanzar a sacar fotos.

#3: Una nutria, tomando el sol encima de la roca.

Parecía que se le hacía difícil acomodarse. Dió unas vueltas y se acostó, se volvió a levantar, atendió a un poco de comezón, se sentó otra vez para mirar el horizonte ...

#4: En cuatro patas.

#5: Buscando las pulgas.

#6: Ahora se siente mejor.

Y luego se hizo una bolita y se durmió. Yo seguí caminando, para mirar mejor ese segundo bloque errático; se podrían ver encima formas negras como de pájaro. En 10 minutos, estaba tan cerca como pude.

#7: Media docena de cormoranes.

#8: Haciendo zoom. ¡Me encantan esos verdes lustrosos!

Cuando pasé por el bloque de la nutria, camino de regreso, ya se había ido.

Un post de Skywatch. 

Grey otter

Nature doesn't need a chainsaw to make log carvings. She does quite well with wind and water.

Otter, Oyster Bay dunes. All he needs is whiskers.

Update: He has been also identified, on Facebook, as a harbour seal, or else as a Komodo dragon. If he's the dragon, he's out of his normal habitat.

Granny Dressup, Smiley the Elk, and a Snarky Princess

Still rescuing old, forgotten photos ...

Every place we go, we always visit the antique/secondhand/thrift stores. No telling what we'll find, and each location has its own quirks. At Willow Point, in Campbell River, LJ's  Past and Present Curios is a favourite. The owner has three stuffed BC mammals. (She's not responsible for what's happened to them in the past, she says, but at least she can give them a good home now.) She loves to dress them up with her wares, trying to fit their personality.

Granny Otter, with her reading glasses and shawl.

A cheerful elk. Not For Sale, the sunburst on his nose says. Sometimes the antlers serve as jewelry  holders.

How do you tell the difference between an elk (Canadian usage) and a moose? The moose is bigger, although you can't see the size here. But the moose also has a heavy, drooping nose (see here); the elk is more deer-like.

In Europe the moose is called an elk. And the elk is a wapiti. Which is a kind of deer. Latin is better; the same everywhere. Alces alces is the moose. (Yes, you can translate that to Elk elk. Just to keep you properly confused.) And the elk (our elk) is Cervus canadensis. Cervus means "deer".

The snarky Princess. I think she's an ermine or weasel.She's standing on the counter, maybe 16 inches tall.

The animals are pets, after a fashion. They are not for sale, but their clothes are. This summer, they were outfitted differently.