Category Archives: weather

Sunrise

  I was admiring a picture that Derek Kite had taken from high on a ridge above the West Arm. It showed the sunrise over the distant Purcell Range. I wondered if I could capture a similar moment and went … Continue reading

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From ice to flowers

  In a lovely example of a seasonal transition, I saw ice extrusions and subalpine buttercups within three metres of each other at an altitude of about 800 metres on a mountainside above Kootenay Lake.  Typically, ice extrusions are seen when the … Continue reading

Posted in weather, wildflowers | 3 Comments

Fifty years ago

  Observe, photograph, interpret, publish. For fifty years I have been remarkably consistent with a procedure that I described for a forthcoming article in Wildlife Afield: Photography is my muse as I explore the natural world. While the roots of this behaviour … Continue reading

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Beach source

  Two months ago, in winter tranquility, I noted that most treatments of the seasonal changes of beaches consider only those around oceans or flatland lakes, but ignore the rather different behaviour of mountain lakes. At the risk of whingeing, this … Continue reading

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Two-merlin day

  I usually only get to see a merlin a couple of times a year. Yet yesterday, I saw two of them about 50 km apart. A merlin is one of our two falcons, the other being the kestrel. The … Continue reading

Posted in birds, weather | 2 Comments

Iridescent clouds

  Grey clouds have returned bringing rain and snow. Only four days ago, some clouds were variegated.

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Winter tranquility

  Yestermorn’s simple view of the Lake may constitute one of the oddest versions of a scene I have posted. I will explain that below. First, there is the story of why I took the picture. About a decade ago, I … Continue reading

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Snow or rime?

  If one is walking through a whitened forest on a mountainside, it is easy to tell if the trees are covered with snow or rime. From a distance, though it is often more difficult as details vanish and both merely … Continue reading

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Snow-rain visibility

  At this time of year, weather forecasts often tell of snow in the mountains and rain in the valleys. The forecast sometimes gives an altitude where the transition takes place. Leaving aside the appearance of the transition on the … Continue reading

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Icebreakers

  Kootenay Lake has three (semi?) aquatic mammals. By medium weight they are: the beaver (~ 23 kg), otter (~ 8 kg), and muskrat (~1.2 kg).  It is difficult enough to obtain decent pictures of any of the three, but … Continue reading

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