Monday, April 26, 2010

Harbourside Encounters

Back to work today, so for once, I must try to say more with less. Never my strong suit, but there is a first time for everything. The weekend was busy and fun, with dinner and a drama performance on Saturday with our friends, Dianne and Doran, and a day along the harbourside in North Vancouver on Sunday. Encounters with Graemej (his Flickr name), with MarianneBill and a message from Shiprock all adding to the unforgettable experience of osprey encounters. The bottom line about osprey names is that the last poll did not feel conclusive. I'm trying one more time, and again, have to apologize for the font/background colour problem.

Name choices, in order, as shown in the poll, are:
  1. Jonny and Jewel
  2. Lawrence and Olivia
  3. Ozzie and Harriet
  4. Sherlock and Shirley
  5. George and Amelia

There are at the moment two osprey nests - the one I have usually posted about is, for now, only inhabited by one male osprey, who, as of Sunday, was still doing his best to either find his old mate, or attract a new one. The other nest is established, but hard to photograph, since it is very high up. However, I saw the pair mate yesterday, and now feel a connection, which means I think they should have names too. So, with this poll, I am thinking the names receiving the second highest number of votes will go to them. Now for the pictures taken Sunday. All osprey photos are of the lone male, except for the last one, which shows the other pair, just before mating.


The Lone Male Osprey

I can never resist a seagull.

Check out the talons

Straight to the nest

Very long stick

Beautiful wings

View from the back

The next four are of a French Mastiff named Molly. She was young and sweet, but as you will see in the last picture, she did have a limit, which she indicated as necessary. What you don't see is that the two dogs again played beautifully, after the warning.




The second osprey pair, just before mating.

I didn't meet the person with these dogs. If anyone knows him, I think he would enjoy the pictures. Just one posted here, but I have others I would pass on if he wishes.

We enjoyed meeting this sweetie, named Tia. She wasn't sure about this posing thing, as her adorably serious expression shows in the second picture.


As is often our habit, we left Harbourside, and went to JJBrean for another superb latte made by Jonny. One of the osprey name choices is in honour of him. Then, we continued on for a walk at Bridgman Park. I asked Bill if he would like to pose on this log. He thanked me for the offer, but wasn't so sure, given that there was water all around it.

Always the good sport, he decided to go for it.

Thanks, Bill, for yet another absolutely great day.

6 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh … Molly’s face is SO expressive! I think I know someone who looks just like that. I'll stick with the names Sherlock and Shriley, although any of the other name pairings would also be excellent.

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  2. I don't know why, Carol, but the colors in the photo of the seagull immediately made me think: "lemon meringue pie"!

    The osprey images (including previous posts, when I was too under the weather to comment) have been gorgeous!

    Like the one of Bill and BJ on the log--that's something I might ask Al to try, but only if he were in the right "frame" of mind (pun intended). As much as he likes taking photos, he hates posed or "artificial" shots--even the couple of weddings that he has done have had a minimum of posed shots, then 100's of candids, both during and after the ceremony. Come to think of it, he will sometimes miss a shot of me doing something with a horse and ask me to do it again--sometimes I'll humor him, but if I'm training, I won't, and he'll just have to deal with it!

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  3. I like online polls since I don't have to go to a polling station, wait in a long line and then use those stubby little pencils they give you.

    I know it is supposed to be a secret ballot but I may have voted for Lawrence and Olivia. Bill, husband of Marianne, suggested these names. The two names together sound like Laurence Olivier, the famous British actor.

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  4. Thank-you for adding the photos of Tia on your Sunday "Harbourside Encounters" they are wonderful shots!
    As we stood watching the osprey mating, I thought it incredible timing, as your camera clicked and captured the many images.

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  5. Thanks for the comments, everyone!

    Penelope, I am trying to imagine that person:)

    Sorry you were under the weather, EvenSong. You know, I missed the yellow in that seagull until I read your comment and saw it on my desktop. (It doesn't show up as much on the laptop.) You're right - lemon meringue pie! And yes, candids usually work better, but in this case, it was the water around the log that deterred Bill:)

    Thanks for voting, Fred the Dog, and for giving away your secret:)

    You're welcome, Brenda:) Tia is a sweetheart! It occurred to me as well that the timing was one of those perfect moments.

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