One of the best tafoni spots

Gallery October 2, 2014 stweedale@gmail.com Leave a comment

the classic tiny pits … like a moonscape

unusual tafoni in that they’re regular square chunks

this tafoni looks like someone used a breadknife to cut slits in the stone!

Last week we ventured out to Salamanca Point. The access path opened to a stunning view— the open strait, from NW to SE— but it was the tafoni that was particularly awesome. Galiano's sandstone shores are a great place to study tafoni — the intriguing shapes sculpted in the sandstone— but I think this particular spot is one of the best on the island.

The slant of the afternoon sun called attention to the variety of shapes with patterns of shadow and light, gentle curves and straight lines, the regular pitting and the random swoops and hollows.

Watch for further photos of tafoni in later posts. Its one of my favourite 'subjects'.

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an eye on arbutus bark

October 1, 2014 stweedale@gmail.com Leave a comment

the extraordinary colours of arbutus bark...(click to enlarge)

I've been asked about the image on my Curious Spectacles Welcome Page, so I thought it best to post a special post to respond to the question.

The photo is a close up of a piece of arbutus bark that caught my eye. It was quite a large curl of the delicate and brittle skin that's characteristic of those precious trees, and I was struck not just by the size and colour, but by its own 'eye' design as though it were looking back at me.

I figured it was an auspicious image*, just the right thing for this blog.

*I've enlarged and edited the photo to simplify the pattern, using Topaz Simplify with Aperture (my main photo app).

Sunrise

Morning by morning…

Image September 30, 2014 stweedale@gmail.com Leave a comment

morning stillness — morning by morning, this still beauty... for now (click for full sized image)

Every morning is different. And beautiful. My early morning venture out with 'the girls' (our two Golden Retrievers) is not only for their benefit. Clearly. It is for me too, as I breathe the morning air, and revel in the daily beauty. Today again, the stillness of the water, the reflections of the clouds, the congregation of gulls on the rocks, the warm glow of the rising sun— all of it.
Soon perhaps, it'll be winter storms, biting cold wind, and raucous waves. But for now, this is what we have. And its glorious.

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These daily excursions outside and the morning by morning-ness of the wonders I see remind me of a line of an old and fine hymn that remains with me: '...morning by morning new mercies I see...' Maybe that's the tune for the day today...?

Sky and Seascape Spectacles, Sunrise

Sunrise, just before the rain

September 29, 2014 stweedale@gmail.com Leave a comment

sunrise as rain begins — the early sun glowing through a slit in the clouds

The reward for venturing out with our two Goldens this morning: the rising sun spread its light through the one opening in the cloud, lit up a path of light on the water, and gave a rosy gold hue to the underside of the clouds.

In the brightness, just to the right of centre you can see the outline of the mountain peaks of Washington State. The southern shoulder of Mt. Baker, just barely discernable in the centre of the light. (Click on the image to see it full sized).

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Happily the time of sunrise is getting later: one of the benefits of autumn. I'm grateful not to be sleeping through the glories of the early morning light-shows like the one I was grateful to see and posted here.

Introduction, Welcome

About Me

September 28, 2014 stweedale@gmail.com Leave a comment

I am a mum, grandmother, wife, friend, pastor, photographer, aspiring writer, and 'partly retired', living amidst a vibrant and creative Gulf Island community, a ferry ride away from Vancouver and Victoria.

Ever since I was small, I've been a passionate and curious observer of my natural surroundings, taking delight in the birds and animals small and large, the way the light plays on the water, the cycles of the tides, variations in weather and the way the extraordinary is always present amidst the daily doings of life: the trips to the mailbox, or grocery store, dog walks, and cooking dinner. These daily marvels are to me signals of the grace and mercy that is ever present, the love of God beyond our imagining, and God’s kindness-beyond-comprehension. As Gerard Manley Hopkins so wonderfully expressed: The world is charged with the grandeur of God. (The poem God's Grandeur in full here)

So why write about this publicly? Why do I want to share these 'Curious Spectacles' with you?

Simply because noticing these things gives such joy to me. And joy, it seems to me, is to be shared. I just can't bear to keep these glimpses of beauty and wonder to myself. You may be a person who appreciates these things deeply too, and so together we can add a little bit to the pulse of joy in the world.

This blog is a place to stop, and see, and think a bit, maybe of beauty amidst the ordinary, and even beauty in the most unexpected places of hardship and groaning. And maybe, just plain beauty and wonder — the kind that makes you exclaim: Wow! Did you see that??

Preparing this blog feeds my soul. And my hope is that in some curious way, it will feed you too.

Sky and Seascape Spectacles

Awesome Clouds

September 26, 2014 stweedale@gmail.com Leave a comment

For sheer magnificence and awesomeness, nothing to me surpasses the wide sky looking out across the Strait. This view is looking north from our spot in the Gulf Islands, toward the mainland and Vancouver, and up Howe Sound (left). The clouds gathering over the North Shore Mountains are stunning, and the sweep of cirrus... a wonderful contrast. It all underscores the drama of the daily weather.

glimpses of the extraordinary amidst an ordinary day