Winter stroll

...or at least what goes for winter in this neck of the woods.




and of course beautiful Mt.Baker - that's where 70-300 comes handy.

Three exotic birds

These three guys live in Victoria Butterfly Garden - quite magical place some photos of which I'll add in the future. This is kind of place where grown-ups wander around with childish smiles on their faces.

This is Leo - green parrot with piercing eyes:



This is green turaco:


Finally the most sociable one. You can often find him doing one of two things: playing with someone's shoelaces

or feeding fish:

Dreamy town of Sidney

Favorite place for stroll along the seaside,



amazing views along the way




stroll toward Sidney Marina

and marina with beautiful yachts



Walking those cute streets of typical resort town
don't forget to drop by to Janet's Special Teas; if you are a fan of a good tea you are guaranteed to find quite a few to your liking. Just ask Janet to open some of these jars and heavenly smell will help you chose:

Oh, and take another walk near the ocean shore at the sunset

Fisherman's Wharf

This is quite an interesting place, especially if you haven't lived on the ocean. Look at these houses. Yup, they are floating ones. Boats are parked next to them as we park our cars on our driveways.
There are stores and restaurants,
whole streets,

ships, historic and working ones, many go out to a sea daily and return with fresh catch.
To envision this lifestyle, imagine sitting on this deck watching floatplanes landing and taking off:
Some don't even look like houses:

Residents must be very patient folks to put up with endless tourists snapping their photos (yeah, much like these you are wieving), feeding seals
and just imagine this endless bustle right outside your porch:


If you are intrigued - well, one of those houses above has "For Sale" sign, noticed?

Treasures in your own backyard

A week ago we took visiting friends on Eco-cruise. That was kind of "be a tourist in your own town" thing for us - and what a delight it turned to be. Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Comfortable boat, shown beached at one of the stops:

Enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide (thanks again Brian!):

Picturesque rock formations:

Quite a few of these cuties getting their suntan:

Flocks of birds all around:

Beautiful landscapes (seascapes?) wherever you look:

And even sailing regatta for the dessert:

I could think of zillion ways to spent 2 hours worse than that, and way fewer ways to spend it better!

PS. For gearheads:

1. 70-300 is a delightful lens for this kind of shooting - amazing reach and very lightweight. All the animals and birds above are shot with it. Good light helped keep the apperture around the sharpest for this lens (8-11) while still having decent shutter speed (1/640 - 1/800)

2. The boat vibrates, even if so slightly - keep your Image Stabilization on.