Immature Bald Eagle

For a change of pace here is a photo I recently received from friends of ours. It is a photo of an immature Bald Eagle on the ocean shoreline on the east side of Vancouver Island. I presume it was taken with a telephoto lens. The younger birds don't have the characteristic white head until they are a few years old. The younger ones are also significantly larger than the older ones. This one already has "the stern look", the large curved beak and the large yellow feet.

Mainland Trip Photos

I am posting a couple of photos from our recent trip to Vancouver and the Okanogan Valley. One is from Stanley Park in Vancouver on a rainy day...a horse drawn wagon, and the other was taken in Kelowna - showing the fall colours. As I post these photos it occurs to me that the one with the horse drawn wagon might make a great puzzle photo.

Trip Photos...100th Post!

We were out on the boat over at Desolation Sound for a few nights. Desolation Sound is located between Vancouver Island and the mainland about half way up Vancouver Island. Here are a couple of photos I took. Star fish are not just pretty decorations...they clean up the leftovers. This one, at Squirrel Cove on Cortes Island looked like it was slowly heading for the dead crab just above it. The tide is low so they are both temporarily out of the water. The tide change can be 10 feet over night so when we anchor the sailboat this has to be taken into consideration. The other photo is taken from the Curme Islands looking toward the mainland...where the Grizzly bears still run free.

Other than the base cost of owning the boat, whether we use it or not, we don't spend a lot of money while we are out cruising. It is like having a small waterfront cottage with a fantastic view. We are mostly at anchor so we don't use a lot of gas and there is no charge to anchor the boat. We use our dinghy with a small outboard motor or just rowing to explore while the sailboat is at anchor. We like to anchor near hiking trails if possible so we can get some exercise on shore.