sitting butterfly

this butterfly floated into my place one sunny day and couldn't get out so i helped it back on its way. once i brought it outside though it was so exhausted it just wanted to hang out on my hand. the novelty wore off shortly but i couldn't get it to take flight. a good ten minutes later its friend, or mate, happened by and they went along together.

busy bee

this little one was loaded with so much pollen after rolling around in this zucchini blossom it could hardly fly away.

red harvest

i harvested the radishes and planted some new ones. they were by far the quickest growers in the garden. the new ones are almost ready to start eating now.

racing stripes

i came across this slug the other day. the brightest i've ever seen. and fast too, aerodynamic ridges i suppose :) . of the arion variety i believe.

sea shore head

i found this skull in the forest close to the water. possibly an otter? or mink?

growing garden

here are some shots of the garden growing. they were taken a while ago. radishes, zucchinis, mixed salad greens, blueberries, and the flowers on a wee tobacco plant. all are bigger now. the radishes started to swell and split after a rain so they have been picked and replanted.

newt

found this little newt the other day. 

no hands

bike rides! i did the west road/heriot bay road loop today in 31 minutes, a new best. you can see a map here. its around 14 or 15 km.

down by the bay

here are a few shots of the water front at the site of the trail work.

in the woods

i've been doing a little work reclaiming some trails. here is a before and after shot of some of the work and a look up at the canopy.

young stunner

this little one flew right into my sliding glass door as i sat at my drawing board. it flopped around a bit then managed to get to its feet but was still in shock, it just sat there blinking and closing its eyes. loosing its balance and righting itself. i went and sat down beside it to have a look and noticed it had a tick right under its eye. i went inside and grabbed tweezers then went back out to see if i could remove it but it wouldn't come out so i used some nail clippers and cut it out. the bird was still in shock and just sat there blinking on. i smeared the tick on the step and an ant came promptly to eat away at it. i sat with the bird for a minute and removed another little insect that was clinging on to its feathers then went back to the drawing i was working on. every once and a while i'd steal a look over at the bird, still staggering and blinking. after about ten minutes it regained its senses and flew off.

nettle seeds

i went back to the nettle patch to harvest some seeds. boil them to make tea.