Coho Salmon returning to spawn in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC.
Coho are usually very shy, and while this one appeared to be pretty fresh and in good condition, it was not hiding. . .
Hmm. In the last photo you can see Yumi has walked past it, and it still hasn’t flushed. You can see the Coho at the bottom left of the photo.
Possibly affected by 6PPD-quinone tire chems off the roads?We have had repeated kills of Coho salmon in Byrne Creek for well over ten years, both at the smolt stage and the spawner stage.
While we were looking for salmon spawning in Stoney Creek in NE Burnaby, BC, today, this Great Blue Heron came gliding in and landed beside the creek.
It was very chill — we followed it around for 10-15 minutes taking photos.
We noticed it was watching both the creek and the bank. It was likely looking for smaller fish like trout that gather to try to steal salmon eggs when salmon are spawning, and perhaps also keeping an eye on the bush anticipating rodents nibbling on salmon carcasses. . .
We had the day off today, so Yumi and I headed up to Stoney Creek and the Brunette River in NE Burnaby, BC, to look for salmon. We saw several chum and a coho.
While we were exploring, a Bald Eagle made a brief appearance. We then heard, and eventually spotted a Belted Kingfisher, but true to form it was exteremely skittish, so I didn’t get very good shots of it.
Grain elevators in the distance against a brooding, snow-coming-soon sky during a trip to Saskatchewan last week.
I left Saskatchewan in the mid-80s, but damn, I’ll always love those skies. . . Sunny, stormy , . .
They are all gorgeous.
I lived and worked in Japan for nearly 15 years, and since then I’ve lived on Canada’s west coast for over 20 years, and love the mountains, the ocean, the rivers.
Paying a visit to honour my paternal grandparents and my Uncle Paul in Saskatchewan in late October.
It’s important to remember where you come from. . . It keeps you grounded and connected.
The days of a family on every quarter-section of farmland are long gone.
The church is closed, and emptied, in case of vandalism.
But the graves remain. There is a cemetary fund, and a cousin keeps the grounds groomed.
There has never been much First Nations recognition to my knowledge in Saskatchewan “pioneering” and farming communities.
There were vastly differing worldviews.
Nomadic lifestyles vs a “new nation” seeking “hard-working immigrants” to “break the land.”
I honour and respect my ancestors for the huge leap they made from the “old country” to Canada, to work so hard to make new lives, and to give future generations like mine a much better future.
This was my chariot for a recent visit to Saskatchewan and Manitoba to see relatives and friends. A Jeep Wrangler Sahara.
I flew into Saskatoon, and had a car booked at the airport. When I got to the rental desk, the gal behind the counter asked if I’d like a Jeep for the same rate.
Having heard there was snow in the works for western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, I said “sure!”
I’d never driven a Jeep before, but it proved to be a trusty ride on snow and ice. Stiff and bouncy on the highway, but what the heck. . .
Was listening to some Chris Isaak on Spotify, and remembered attending a concert at the PNE in Vancouver in 2011 where I shot a bunch of photos with a Nikon D300.
