View allAll Photos Tagged kamloopsbc
Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.
~~~ Maya Angelou
Winter gives the silence you need to listen
Winter goes gray so you can see your own colors...
~Terri Guillemets
McArthur Island park,
Kamloops, B.C.
North Thompson River
at Dairy Road
I took quite a few shots here trying to get the trees across the river. I didn't think any were going to turn out because of those damn trees on -this- side of the river. So I'd have to say it was mainly my camera that found this. :-)
I escaped the confines of my condo again today to enjoy some fresh air, sunshine and scenery. I got some river views, some birds, and, of course, some more marmots.
"Black and white creates a strange dreamscape that color never can."
~~~~~~ Jack Antonoff
Here is another shot along the river bank that I chose to show in black and white. I was afraid that people might think I was trying to show bleakness again and my "I'm done with winter" sentiments. While I am tired of winter that was not the focus of this shot. I won't say what I was trying to express but let you take from it what you will. :-)
... but I'm not the only one.
I hope someday you'll join us.
And the world will live as one.
---- John Lennon
The view from Knutsford BC
I went farther afield today than I have in a long time. I took a 20 minute drive to Knutsford.
Knutsford is a small rural community at the outskirts of Kamloops. Technically it lies within the city boundaries but, as you can see, it's not very city-ish. Knutsford is at an elevation of 865 m while the bulk of the city is way down in the valley at 345 m.
Right in the centre of the photo is Mount Paul with its distinctive shale face. To its right, forming the highest point of the saddle shape is Mount Peter with an elevation of 1097 m.
Thompson River
Tranquille
Kamloops, B.C.
A light dusting of snow came down on the hilltops a couple of nights ago.
Rivershores Golf Course,
Kamloops, B.C.
In Explore 2017-03-14 (for an hour)
I think I said recently that I wouldn't be posting any more snow pictures. Luckily for me, this isn't snow but ice! This is marshy farm land along the edge of a golf course. There must have been a fair depth of water there before winter temperatures hit as it seems like there is still quite a bit of ice.
Happy Bench Monday!
The other day as I went to shoot some pictures along the river, I had to walk up a small hill (actually a dike built because a huge subdivision was built in a flood plain). Anyway, as I started up, I noticed this bench. And I said "wow" aloud and grabbed for my camera, much to the amusement of someone walking down. He didn't see what I saw I guess -- a bench on the top of the world!
Fact is, it isn't really on top of the world. ;-) On the other side of it the slope down is very short. I knew this. But sometimes you suddenly see things you never saw before.
We've had two snowfalls in the last four days and it's only October. I don't remember having snow this early before. They say it is supposed to warm up in the next week to more seasonal weather. I hope that happens and this early taste of winter will be but a freakish memory.
Here's a shot from the same spot a month ago.
Classic old fence,
Kamloops, B.C.
For my inaugural entry in the Fenced Friday group, I chose this classic wooden rail fence. Yay for fences! HFF!
North Thompson River
Westsyde
For the last year I have taken photos in this area every couple of months and I swear that boat has never moved. That boat is begging to be put in the river!
Sun Peaks ski resort
Kamloops, B.C.
It was about -16 C when I took this shot but it didn't seem to daunt the skiers. There was no wind and the sun was shining. This was the quiet end of the slopes but the main chair lift had a fairly long line-up.
... is more marmots!
During the strict stay-at-home days, my weekly outings to see the marmots really brought me so much joy.
McArthur Island
Kamloops, B.C.
I'm not a birder and I don't really have the lens for bird photography but I could get into it, nevertheless, if they were all as easy to photograph as this attractive fellow. Until a bit of internet research, I'd had no idea that magpies were members of the crow family. It explains a lot -- they're inquisitive, clever and a bit cheeky.
Petting zoo
Centennial Park
Westsyde BC
I don't really know if the goat is old or not but he looked to me like he was. He is one of the residents of the children's petting zoo at Centennial Park, a park which I never even knew existed before. It's a really cute little place where children can go mingle with some farm animals -- a variety of goats, llamas and a pot-bellied pig.
Not much fear of letting the cows out right now. :-)
Normally the rough track here leads into a big pasture with hundreds of cows in it but now, due to high water in the river, there's a lake deep enough to canoe in. I know it's deep enough because when I took this shot there was actually a couple paddling around in a canoe.
Peterson Creek,
Kamloops, B.C.
Meet my latest obsession: sagebrush. Everywhere I go it seems to jump out at me, "Take a picture of me!" Hopefully this phase will end soon or my photostream will start to look rather boring. :-)
This shot was taken within Peterson Creek Nature Park which is a protected watershed preserve covering 423 hectares. It starts within the city boundaries and follows the creek for 30 km. It is full of hiking and mountain biking trails (and sagebrush).
Paul Lake Rd,
Kamloops, B.C.
Much as I love fences, sometimes it is nice to see a vast expanse of grasslands (yep, there's grass under there) unbroken by a fence.
North Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
This is a privately built bridge running from Westsyde road to the right over to the privately owned Jensen Island on the left.
This is the third photo I have posted involving the bridge but each has a different focal length and looks like a different scene (or so I like to think, anyway). For this one, I was drawn to the long shadows which decorated the sandbars and river banks. If you zoom in close you can see some trumpeter swans along with the ducks in the foreground.
North Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
It snowed a couple of days ago, just a light dusting in town but it made the hills white. It was a foreshadowing of what would happen today -- 10 cm of snow down in the valley. And it is supposed to snow again on Thursday. Winter has arrived.
Tranquille on the Lake
Kamloops. B.C.
In Explore 2017-06-30
Some things speak louder than words. To me those crossed sticks in the fence carry far more threat than the sign. I mean ... those are sharpened stakes for gosh sakes! Maybe it's just my vivid imagination or perhaps it's the abandoned buildings inside that fence which are rumoured to be haunted...
Happy Fenced Friday!
Paul Lake Road
Kamloops, B.C.
(best viewed large)
I drove up into the hills today, where it's still pretty snowy, and to one of my favourite places for taking photos. It's a ranch nestled in its own little valley with several old log structures on the property. People who have had me as a contact for a while will have seen umpteen shots of the place in all four seasons. I hadn't been there in quite a while and it was like greeting an old friend. It certainly hasn't lost its charm for me.
For humans and dogs alike, it was a beautiful day for a walk along the banks of the North Thompson River. These two dogs were in doggie heaven as they charged around sniffing at every little bush, and there were lots of them!
Near Tranquille Farms
Kamloops, B.C.
Lately, a few people have been expressing the opinion that they don't really want summer to come because then the leaves take over the trees so that you can't see the form of the branches. I initially scoffed at the idea.
But after looking at this photo of mine, I begin to agree. When the leaves come in, you won't be able to appreciate the slender, curving grace of the line of trees on the right nor the craggy, broken shapes of the one to the left. And you wouldn't be able to see the nest either. Or the hills through the branches! Yes, I do understand after all.
This is where the two rivers -- the North Thompson and South Thompson -- meet and become simply the Thompson River. The North Thompson comes in from the left and the South flows in under the two bridges straight ahead.
The nearest bridge, the one with the train on it, is the one we jumped from as teenagers (just in case anyone wondered, haha, I have told that story so many times now). Most of the ice flowing down the river comes from the north as the South Thompson doesn't freeze right over.
Vesper sparrow (I think)
I'm not a birder, hence my tentative identification. I just fell in
love with this little guy though when I came across him on a
beautiful morning. He was singing his little heart out.
I discovered this location along the North Thompson River for the first time this winter and went there several times. I had not been back since the snow had melted though until today. What an amazing sight! The hillsides are only green like this for a short time, two months at most. By the end of June, they will be a golden brown colour.
Below is a shot of the place in December. It's at a different angle but it's the same hills across the river.
I accidentally took my macro lens along with me on a photo-taking walk in the fresh snow. I kept wondering why my camera bag seemed so darned heavy.
Note to self: start taking macro lens on walks more often.
I used to call this tree the Eagle Tree. Now that it no longer bears an eagle's nest, I am not sure what to call it and it looks a bit lonely without it,
I still love the tree though, It's like an Arthur Rackham illustration with its stark and jagged lines.
Ring billed gull
This gull had enjoyed a nice long bath and general clean-up in the river. Then it stepped out and began to shake its wings vigorously to dry them off.
Setting sun warms up the sky
Cold Creek Road
Kamloops, BC
There are patches of snow up in the hills but no snow down in the valley. It's looking like we might not have a white Christmas this year.
McArthur Island
Kamloops, B.C.
I took a lot of autumn pictures today for it may be the last chance I get. It is supposed to snow 20-30 cm tomorrow plus I am off to Victoria for a convention for four days. It should be an awesome day for travelling (not!)
Flickr friends: I'm not sure if I will get in any time on Flickr till Monday. Will catch up soon I hope!
A small section of irrigation pipe sits amid the tall grasses. Who needs irrigation when the grass is so tall and green without it?
Just when I thought the smoke was gone, it's been back these last two days. They say it's not from BC wildfires this time but blowing up from California. Despite the smoke, I headed out with my camera this morning before it got too hot (it got up to 38 C yesterday). I was surprised at the results.
You can't really see the smoke in the photographs, only its effects on light. It bathes everything in a yellow-orange wash. I spent a bit of time in Lightroom trying to get that out but then decided to just go with it as is.
Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
Even though it's cold and there's snow on the ground, I don't mind winter when it looks like this with blue skies and sunshine.
This is the river that we are looking across. Some of it is snow covered sandbars but about half of it is water, much of which is frozen. The ice came fast.
After two months of mainly staying at home, getting out more now and seeing spring happening everywhere is really amazing to me. I'm just loving the greenery!
This is actually the view from one end of my balcony, zoomed in of course. Mt Paul isn't quite that close to my condo. :-) Even so, it's still quite a nice view.
It snowed quite a bit over the weekend and I was too busy to get out and take pictures so ones from my balcony had to suffice.
Pioneer Park
Kamloops, B.C.
I love how winter reveals the lovely shapes of the branches and also such hidden delights as bird's nests. On the right is part of the long approach to the historic Red Bridge. The main part of the bridge is elevated to allow for boat traffic beneath it. At one time, paddlewheelers used to ply the waters here.
Thompson River
Kamloops, B.C.
A few days of above zero weather saw the snow on the river melt, turning what had been a vast white expanse into a patchwork of sandbars, snow patches and bluish river ice. There was a snowfall the night after this photo was taken and the river is again all white.
The numerous alkali ponds which dot the hills around Kamloops can be counted on to provide lovely reflections.
This view will look quite a bit different after it snows this weekend. I will try to take a picture then,
Thompson River
Viewed from McArthur Island
This was one of the first days when the wildfire smoke began to ease its grip on the valley. Too little too late though. Summer was almost gone and we'd not had time to enjoy it.
It may not look very smoky in this shot but it was still there a bit, seen in an orangey-yellow cast to certain things, mainly evident here in the colour of the water.
Near Tranquille
Kamloops, B.C.
I sometimes wonder if I was a rancher in another lifetime for I love looking at these vast fields full of cows, especially at this time of year when they hold mamas and their calves. It always makes me laugh when prolonged mooing, like a bellowing noise, is heard followed by the sight of a calf scrambling to get to his mother's side. The calves like to play with each other but if they wander off too far mama will get perturbed.
Mallard in a snow storm,
McArthur Island park,
Kamloops, B.C.
I had a blast this day watching the ducks slither around on the snow-covered frozen pond. It was even more fun to watch them land on it.
Back road,
Kamloops, B.C.
I took this picture because of the colourful trees, many of them still bearing their leaves from last autumn. However, when I look at it now all I can see is the road that I thought was going to rip off the underside of my car! I'd been along it a few months before so had no fears turning off the main road onto it. Alas, it had changed as the melting snow ran in streams across it, washing away the dirt and leaving deep holes.