Boobies!

Thought that would get your attention you perv.    So below is the Nazca Booby. It's found in the Galapagos, on Clipperton Island and a few islands off the Baja Penninsula. Adults lay two eggs but once hatched the siblings will fight and one will get pushed out of the nests. The two eggs also serve as protection just in case one of the eggs is stolen or doesn't hatch.

Here is a napping male and female. A nicely symetrical matched set. Weird Nazca booby fact: unpaired adults will sometimes try to single out chicks and bite, groom or occasionally try to mate with them. Science doesn't know why yet.

And here is a nice new fluffy chick who has commited siblicide.  He is extremely well fed and healthy so its parents are doing a good job bringing back food for it. These birds are quite friendly and unafraid of humans. We were able to get close without stressing the birds. At the first sign of them being upset the plan was to back off and leave them alone. Neither the adults nor the fledglings had a problem with our presence.

Aquarium Notables

Give us the CUTTLEFISH!  You are fantastic if you get the reference. If not here is a cuttlefish. The Vancouver Aquairum heard our wishes and have 6 dwarf cuttlefish which have apparently been breeding so hopefully more are on their wy.  They communicate with those tentacles on their faces and their bodies flash different colours because of awesome.

The difficult to spot Giant Pacific Octopus was not at all hiding being all squashed up against the glass.  Geordie got this lovely photo of his sleeping eye all ringed by tentacles. He is one of our favorites and the last 3 times I have been there has been very visible. In the same place too....

Jack, one of the rescued harbor porpoises is turning into a huge ham. He loves attention and having his picture taken. Here he is looking right at our camera to make sure we get his good side. He has gotten so big. I remember when he could fit in my arms. I love how well he is doing.

Snowshoe Peak

Behold the glorious peak of Mount Hollyburn and the vista that is Vancouver...... Yes.     Apparently on a clear day you can see Mt. Baker.  Could not have climbed that without snowshoes. I was told the best way to descend with snowshoes is just running downhill. I prefer sliding.

More Who Trees.  Nice and bowed over with snow.  Those are tree tops. The snow is so deep and packed that we were walking around the tops of trees. It doesn't look that way but there was at least 10 feet of snow beneath us.

And it wouldn't be an outing without a spherical panorama. I love the vista at the top of the photo. It gives a new perspective. This is taken just below the peak of Hollyburn Mountain. To get here you have to go into the back country about one kilometre. This was taken near where the snowshoer fell of a cliff but we are careful and we did not go much past this point. In the back country caution always wins.

Fanciful Frozen Forms

Both Geordie and myself were intrigued with snow covered trees. Hemlocks in particular look like 'Who Trees'.  Like the ones in 'The Grinch Who Stole Christmas".  Sometimes you can see fanciful shapes.  Geordie had to point out to me the elephant head formed by the snow and tree below.

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In a meadow up on Hollyburn the ice had created these beautiful feathery formations.  So delicate.  We lacked a decent macro lens for a detailed close up.  Or perhaps it looks like tiny trees.  In such a tiny thing there is so much detail. So amazing.

This is a neat bit of landscape too.  The snow built up along the one side then it looks like the tree blew or pressure from the snow pushed it to one side.  It looks to me like a white hand or maybe a tentacle coming to grasp the tree. Tree type I think may be a hemlock.

Snowshoers

Last Sunday was the first time I had snowshoed since high school.  Geordie and I explored the winter wonderland that was Hollyburn mountain. We went into the back country a wee bit. Maybe a kilometer.  I think that is where the picture below was taken.

The trail was packed really hard. Probably could have done it with shoes but there is nothing a snowshoer hates like deep holes where silly people have gone in up to a hip.  You can break a leg on those. The trails are marked green for easy, blue for moderate and red for difficult. It is similar or same as the diamond system for skiers and boarders.  We started easy, than moderate and than ended up climbing Hollyburn Mountain. 

Last time I wore snowshoes they were wicker bear paw style.  Still saw the odd one wearing something similar.  These are light plastic and have metal claws so you can do vertical slopes.  That is my toe sticking up.  You don't need fancy shoes. Just warm hiking shoes or snow boots.

Ecuadorian Rainforest

This post has come unforgivably late.  Over a year ago Geordie and I took a plane to Coca, a motorboat down the Napo River, a half hour hike through the jungle and then a dug out canoe through waterways unknown to our wood and thatch hut at La Selva in the Amazon Rainforest. 

Beyond the BC interior it is one of the most exotic and remote places we have ever been.  There was no electricity at night. Everything was built from native materials.  And the wildlife..... nighthawks, hoatzin, frogs and Orapendula birds nesting all around us along with anacondas and howler monkeys, bats, capucins, while owls, tarantulas, agoutis and whip scorpions came out in some of the blackest nights that we have ever experienced. 

Christmas Lights

Every year Geordie and I take a bike ride around to look at lights. This year we split our time between a walk around the west end and a bike ride to the Fire Fighters Burn Fundraiser. Lights aplenty. It was very different this year as previously there were these sheds filled with rather busy and deteriorating dioramas.  The miniature train goes around too but is expensive and the line is insane.

One of our favorite things this year was the tree on top of the condo in the West End. Anyone who has been to English Bay has likely seen this. This year the owners had it nicely done with its branches all outlined in bright white lights.  It is stunning.

 A perennial favorite is this tree also at English Bay. It looks like a ball of lights and last year they added some twinkle down ones.  Geordie and I don't do lights in the apartment but we are do like looking at other peoples efforts.