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Something seasonal, something not

February 1, 2011 by sunwatchers

Dear Sunwatchers,

[This was written, and I thought published, on January 31.  Sometimes WordPress has a mind of its own! Sorry about the confusion which perhaps some of you experienced.  And now this is in the February archive instead of January where it belongs and it precedes two other short posts made February 1, so please scroll down after reading this one!]

There’s been a lot of progress in the past few days.  Today sunrise was at 7:46.  The sun set at 17:06.  We are just shy of one hour later for sunset (8 more minutes to go!).  We have gained 22 minutes in the morning already!  I always feel that once the sun is setting after 5 p.m. we can relax again.

I’m afraid I don’t have any really spiffy photos of the local progress toward spring this week.  I do see lots of trees in blossom.  The kind that make allergy-sufferers suffer.  So watch out–here comes the pollen.

I got interested in old photos this weekend and spent my most productive time making them digital.

A couple of cheery items from my distant past (in a place beyond Hope and the Continental Divide).

Hooded Ladies' Tresses Orchid, Ontario

These are tiny little flowers and I think the photo is from the Bruce Peninsula but memory and record-keeping lack perfection. I don’t like it as a record of the flowers but I like its decorative quality.

If anyone has read Jane Urquhart’s newest book, Sanctuary Line, you will have read of this phenomenon.

Monarch Butterflies, Point Pelee, Ontario

Both photos taken in 1979!  No, I wasn’t knee-high to a grasshopper then.  But I owned a camera distant in memory now.  The Monarchs gather at Point Pelee before crossing Lake Erie, the first major physical barrier to their flight to Mexico.

I included these photos with the thought that they would encourage you to think of sun, sunshine, progress, lengthening days, and all good things unfolding.

Until next time, when I hope to have some local and seasonal photos of interest, I remain,

Your bulletineer and friend,

Daphne Sunwatchers.

P.S. This apparently didn’t get published on the 31st of January as I thought!

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Thin Green Line Strikes Upward

February 1, 2011 by sunwatchers

The Thin Green Line

Dear Sunwatchers,

In my lunchtime walk today, I found this Thin Green Line pushing upward in the sunshine.  Take heart.

Daphne

P.S.  For those of you who are bothered by the title, I did your basic research and here’s the critical part of the Wikipedia article:

The Thin Red Line is a term for a thinly spread military unit holding firm against attack. The term originates in a journalist’s description (a “thin red streak tipped with a line of steel”) of the appearance of the red-coated 93rd (Highland) Regiment and parts of the Turkish army as they stood before (and repelled) a vastly superior force of Russian cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. The phrase later took on the metaphorical meaning of the barrier which the relatively limited armed forces of a country present to potential attackers.

In film and literature:

Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem Tommy that has the lines “Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ Tommy, ‘ow’s yer soul? / But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,” – Tommy Atkins being slang for a common soldier in the British Army.

end of quote.

I’ve omitted more recent references because I knew my thought dated back in time.  I was actually thinking that the reference might be to even earlier military episodes.  So, you know… wikipedia goes only so far and I’m no military historian!

 

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Driving to Sunrise

February 1, 2011 by sunwatchers

My first morning commute in the light! That’s progress!
Driving alongside the gorgeous sunrise this morning, I wish for a camera mounted on the car with controls on the steering wheel. The best colours had weakened by the time I got to work. Was this why several people were missing their exit and having to make strange manoeuvres on the freeway?
The best views are from the top of the bridge BUT. . . .

Sent from my iPhone

P.S. I was NOT driving when I took this photo.  I was well parked but the most vivid colours, believe it or not, had faded.  So it wasn’t worth while to walk out where I could get a better photos.

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Green Arising

January 24, 2011 by sunwatchers

Dear Sunwatchers,

There is green arising.

Green Arising

This was taken on the 22nd of January.  I was standing on little pats of snow along the edge of the pathway!  So these shoots are toughing it out and up!

Even on Saturday there was a lot of moisture around.  After today with a downpour all day, it’s WET underfoot and in your shoes!  Good day for those colourful rubber boots some people wear.

Winter's Moist Matting

I had a lovely encounter with another photographer who told me about this subject.  I was so amazed by this portion of the poor corpse that I wanted to share it.  The deceased owl lay spread-eagle on the ground. The other limb looked like a furred paw since this part wasn’t so apparent and the amazing feathering looked like fur.  But this is the really interesting one.  The owl’s beak looks quite innocuous compared to this powerful appendage.

Owl's Foot

Since I don’t want to end on a tragic note, here is my favourite beauty shot for the day.

Fern-Oak Toss

And now for the wonders of the Sun’s wanderings (or ours).  The “normal” temperature is now up to 7 and the low to 1 (previously 6 and 0).  The previous average high and low held for a long time.  So we can look forward, on average, to warmer days.  Let’s hope they are not any wetter than Monday, the 24th.  On the 24th, the sun rose at 7:54 (a gain of 14 minutes of light) and set at 16:55 (41 more minutes of light).  So we have almost an hour more of daylight in just over a month.  We’ll soon pass the 17:00 sunset time and then we really start to rush toward spring.

Until next time,

I remain your friend and bulletineer,

Sunwatchers’ Daphne

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Progress

January 17, 2011 by sunwatchers

Dear Sunwatchers,

As I sat down to write this morning, I looked out the window as I started to type and here’s what I saw!  I don’t recall seeing one in the Western Sky. Usually I see them over the mountains here and can only photograph them through windows. But today, behold:

Monday Morning Rainbow

Yesterday, I was up the mountain since, when the sun came out, it looked most interesting of the close locations to the east.  I consider this photo shows signs of progress toward Spring.

Greening on Burnaby Mountain

And this the best sign yet, except for tree pollen allergists.

Tree Blossoms

The mosses are writing their messages.

The Writings of the mosses and lichens

And yet remnants of the the last cycle remain.

Last Season Hangs On

We’re not back before 8 a.m. yet but we’re close–another 2 or 3 days should do it.  The sun rose this morning at 8:01. The sunset is scheduled for 16:44.  That’s a full half hour later than our earliest sunsets.  Now that’s PROGRESS!

Until next time enjoy the breaks between the “showers” and enjoy the added daylight provided by our big friend in the sky,

Sunwatchers Daphne

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