nature

An artsy mudscape

Shot on July 4 at Piper Spit. I’ve opted not to include it in the (coming soon™) gallery, but still felt it was worth putting out there.

And for the curious, here’s the original for comparison:

More black and white nature

I don’t have any photo editing apps on the new PC yet, so I decided to use the built-in Photos app to take some recent shots and make them all arty and black and white. The results are not bad.

Brunette River, from my usual observation spot.
Rail line adjacent to the river on its north side.
The river, looking to the west (the other shots are toward the east).

All shot on my iPhone 12, which has half-forgotten it’s a phone in its old age.

Lafarge Lake, black and white, November 22, 2025

I was in the area of Lafarge Lake on Saturday and despite the weather being rather soggy, took the time to stroll the 1.2 km path around the lake. I saw a surprising number of waterfowl, including:

  • American Coots
  • Buffleheads (a pair of males)
  • Canada Geese
  • Hooded Mergansers
  • Mallards

If the weather had been better and I’d had my camera, I could have gotten some decent shots. As it was, I took some scenery pics. Here’s one I converted to black and white to be all artsy.

Lafarge Lake used to be a quarry, which makes its adoption by so many species even nicer to see.

A few more fall fotos, October 17, 2025

Taken before and after my run today, and shot on my iPhone 12, now five generations behind the curve (and loving it).

Leafy river trail.
Burnaby Lake, from the turtle nesting area (turtles not included).
My feet before the run. Yes, I need new trail runners.

Early October clouds

Ominous!

The weather has been pretty typical of early October so far, though. Summer was also surprisingly normal, not too hot or humid. I do wonder if we’re being set up for an extended period of The Rains or lots of snow (boo, hiss). For now, though…it’s fine!

Image tweaked in Luminar to make it a little more dramatic. No clouds were harmed in the process.

Various early summer photos, July 3, 2025

Like the title says, everything from flowers to (toy) bombs.

The toy bomb was kind of weird.

A toy bomb placed on a railing in Hume Park.
A toy bomb placed on a railing in Hume Park.
Greenery along the Brunette River.
Greenery along the Brunette River.
Brunette River looking west.
Brunette River looking west.
A pink rose on Fader Street.
A pink rose on Fader Street.
Fun fact: This used to be cut grass. It's been left to return to a wilder state.
Fun fact: This used to be cut grass. It’s been left to return to a wilder state.
Early summer flowers, June 23, 2025.
Early summer flowers, June 23, 2025.

Fuzzy on the trail

As seen today on an unusually warm late May afternoon.

This could grow into some cosmic horror, for all I know. But right now, kind of cute!

EDIT: Nic is less lazy than I am and has identified this as a forest tent caterpillar. It grows into a forest tent caterpillar moth, which is an extremely on-the-nose name.