Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Rapids,Forest Fairy Lights,Ravens,Goldfinch, Grosbeaks, Redpolls,Otters and Red Squirrels of the Vermilon River.

The weather has determined much of my hiking time, and it has certainly been strange. Snow at night followed by a warming to thick fog and rain. This meant hiking time was restricted to Friday and the Weekend. I normally don't hike the west side of the River on Weekends. There are just too many goofballs in motorized vehicles, some even hunting. At first I was disappointed with the hikes, but when I looked at the photos I was pleased. Opposite more of the rapids, mainly because white water is attractive, at least to me.

This log is likely the deadhead that I mistook for the beaver on an earlier post. It's wedged in the rocks and creating its own white water.

This is the abutment and the chute. The light variations are incredible, from bright white to dark shadows and a burst of sun at the top of the frame.

Similarly the sun is strong in this photo turning the water a bright blue, although it's a cold blue. Normally the water would appear dark.

More fun with colours. There is a lack of colour here, except for the bright red splash on the opposite bank. They're blueberries dressed in fall red. This area is immediately above the rapids. Its bucolic look could give a false sense of security except for the noise.

As I said cold in the morning. As I began the hike a little light turned the ice on these choke cherry or pin cherry trees into fairy lights.

You can see the light prisms, but look at the two diamonds on the main branch in the close up

This close up, certainly not as arty, shows the size of the ice drips.

I don't know if this is a crow or raven because he's in flight. I suspect he's a raven because they hang out on the west side of the River. But look at that sky, all in the same two day period.

I haven't seen any goldfinch for a while. They overwinter here, but the male changes his plumage to less flamboyant colours, more similar to the female.

When I was transferring photos from memory cards to my new external hard drive, I ran across a series of shots of Evening Grosbeaks. This is a male and he was photographed in the spring as his beak is green. They change beaks from yellow to green, incredible isn't?

I never tire of woodpeckers, and this male Hairy is a prime example.

The Redpolls are here now. Both of these are males.


 Of course some four legged critters are suitable for the signature. A long shot of an Otter, and of course, a red squirrel with his usual case of the "cutes". A Post to Scenic Sunday @ http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/ and MWT @ http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/

19 comments:

  1. the squirrels are like your 'amen' on your posts. :)

    beautiful rapids!

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  2. Wonderful images Gary.. White water on a river is lovely to see and hear... and your ice diamonds are fantastic to see..
    My weather is typical of 2011 we had frost a few days ago today was warm and sunny.
    It's the weekend so I made the most of it..
    A bit off topic I saw a van the other day.
    It was sign written advertising his Alaskan Malamute dog team.
    I have seen dogs racing with wheeled sleighs in my local forests a few years ago so will be on the lookout for this local pack.

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  3. Fabulous images once again! The stream and water drop images are terrific.

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  4. I love the photos of the rapids, particularly the first one. It's so painterly. The raven is certainly a raven to judge by the wedge-shaped tail. Crows' tails are round. Another set of terrific bird images!

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  5. Your descriptions of the change of seasons over your way are so interesting. The photos of the ice drops are beautiful - but I am rather glad I am not living in that climate. I much prefer the water I kayak on to be nice and warm so I can sit in it comfortably and cool off after a strenuous paddle!

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  6. All are beautiful, but especially the two branches with water drops are full of poetry, very nice photos.

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  7. Your world is certainly full of cute critters with what seems to be fuller feathers and fur for the coming winter. The droplets of water forming crystals certainly do look like lovely gems in the forest!

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  8. nice watershots.
    why not share them at NF Waters?

    http://nfmemes.blogspot.com/2011/11/nf-waters-5.html

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  9. Gorgeous shots, all. I love whitewater. I think that's a raven (you can identify them in flight by counting the longest wings).

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  10. I was sure I had commented on this post before, because I remember the log, and the otters, and I even said I thought the big black bird was a raven, but I guess it didn't get through. I'm glad I checked.
    Always enjoy your posts, Gary. I love the ice diamonds!

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie’s Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  11. So beautiful! Reminds me of the treks in the Himalayas.

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  12. What lovely prisms of light!

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  13. Hi there - great selection of images again - the running water shots are great.

    The hay bale shots where even harder than just the changing light - I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes! Hard to concentrate when your own life blood is draining away.

    Cheers - Stewart M

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  14. Gary, there is so much beauty in this post, from the rushing rapids, fairy lights otter, squirrel to your great bird shots. All rather breathtaking.
    I noticed that the in-flight crow/raven has a very wedge shaped tail. Would that be an identification point? Our ravens here have a rather square tail, I don't know about yours.

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  15. the sparkling branch is superb!!!!!!!!

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