Felled Trees and Beaver

Because I had literally worn out my beloved Kodak, sweet Ron gifted me with a new camera for Christmas and I was eager to try it out. So last week when an unusually warm January day presented itself, we took off in our kayaks for a picture-taking adventure.

Hoping to capture shots of wildlife, we paddled in and out of quiet coves, saw neither a single bird nor animal. We did, however, see signs of beaver. See photos below. Click, then click again to enlarge.

 Beavers  must chew on wood often because their huge teeth are constantly growing.

 

 Here's another shot.

 Same tree snapped from a distance. It was a big tree. 

And all they did was gnaw around it.

 Another tree felled by beaver. This one toppled over before 

they finished chewing all the way around it.

A close-up of the same tree.

Many property owners around Smith Mountain Lake complain about the damage done by beavers. Some folks have lost nice trees they've planted near the shoreline. I have a friend whose weeping willow looked lovely one day. The next day it had vanished, except for the gnawed trunk. They replanted; lost another. And another.

I know beavers are considered pests, but I remember a February day several years ago when I stepped out on our deck and saw two beavers--Momma and Baby (called a kit)--climb up our bank. I hurried inside, grabbed my Olympus camera (I wore it out, too), and hurried back to the deck. The beavers shuffled around in the dry leaves and small scrub trees. I watched Momma chew off a small branch, nudge Baby, then drop back in the water; Baby followed.  I snapped a few pictures. None are very good, but they help me remember.

Note the branch in Momma's mouth, and Baby swimming behind her.

Momma and Baby

The pair was almost out of camera range before Momma stopped swimming and faced Baby. For about 30 seconds, Momma and Baby "conversed." Fascinated, I continued to watch as both beavers swam back to the edge of the bank. Momma waited in the water while Baby climbed up the bank, gnawed off a twig, and returned to the lake. I missed those pictures, and  wish I'd had time to set up a video camera for the whole event.

Baby swimming with his twig.

 Baby with his twig. Momma was behind the tree in both photos.

 I felt privileged to have witnessed this precious event, a learning experience for both Baby and me, and I'll never forget it. 

To learn more about beavers, visit the youtube sites below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuMRDZbrdXc
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZVbKwDmr-o

SCOTLAND IN SEPTEMBER: Crianlarich to Oban

We left Ewich House on day two with full stomachs, anticipation of what the day would bring--and raindrops. Soon, however, shafts of sunlight appeared over the mountains. The rain stopped.

 I took this photo through my side backseat window from the moving car.

 

Occasionally, Joyce, Larry, Ron and I all hollered "Picture!" at the same time, as we did for the shot pictured above. And believe me, it's even more gorgeous in person. Lots of other cars had stopped for a photo shoot, too. If you want to follow along on a map, we were on two-lane highway A82 in the western part of Scotland. A few miles down the road we stopped again. And again. And again. . . .

 Ron and me.

We continued on A82 to Glencoe, a village near Glen Coe, a  natural scenic area.

 

After Glen Coe, we doubled back on A82 until, at the last minute, we decided to take a short cut and turned  onto B8074. This delightful one-lane road wound through farms and along a river that changed quickly from a roaring rush (above), to a tranquil, meandering one (below).

 

I snapped the picture below from the back seat so you could see how narrow the road is. Occasionally we'd meet another vehicle, which meant that one of us would have to pull into a "lay-by"--lay-bys occurred about every half mile or so--or back up. Below is a photo of Larry driving; he drove the whole time, did a great job.
 

 Larry "getting acquainted" with a mannequin in Inveraray.

We came out on A85, then detoured onto A819 to Inveraray, a great place to purchase wool and cashmere items, then backtracked to A85 (past Loch Awe).

Kilchurn Castle on the banks of Loch Awe.

We arrived in Oban that afternoon, and spent ages looking for Dunheanish Guest House. Oban roads are quite narrow. It seemed like folks parked their cars anywhere they wanted, so sometimes getting past them put you between a car (or a rock) and a hard place--rock walls. Dunheanish Guest House had off-street parking that provided challenges. We almost decided that "you can't get there from here," but we persevered and were rewarded with a splendid place to lay our heads.

 

The walkway in front of our first-floor bedroom overlooking Oban Bay.

I took the above picture through one of our four bedroom windows. Remember, I like shooting through windows.  Dunleanish Guest House has six guest rooms; ours had a king-size four poster bed with a gorgeous view of Oban Bay. It also had a private bath. Yay!

Superb hosts William and Linda steered us to the waterfront for dinner. We dined at EE USK (which means I Ask) located on North Pier and owned by the MacLeod Family. Dinner was delicious!!

Dining room at Dunheanish Guest House.

Dunheanish Guest House 

Dunheanish, Ardconnel Rd., Oban, Argyll

PA34 5DW

Phone: +44(0) 1631 566556

www.dunheanish.com

If you haven't read my first post about our trip to Scotland and are interested in doing so, scroll down to the next blog post.

SCOTLAND IN SEPTEMBER: Glasgow to Stirling to Crianlarich

Scotland in September is cold, dreary, wet--and fabulous! Ron and I crossed the Atlantic with friends Larry and Joyce Horne, and spent 10 days seeing much of what Scotland had to offer. Flying there tried our patience; flying home did the same. But we didn't crash, and the trip was definitely worth the inconvenience and discomfort. We flew into Glasgow, picked up our rental car, and headed toward Stirling.

We toured numerous castles, spent most nights in B&Bs, two nights in castles. I snapped so many pictures that my beloved Kodak often refused to turn off. Guess it figured I'd just turn it back on again. Larry, who doesn't mind driving on the left side of the road, is a camera nut, too, so when any of us hollered "Picture!" he pulled off the road when possible.We hollered "Picture!" a lot.

I took the above photo through the side window of our moving car. The countryside is littered with huge rocks, so stone houses like this one are common. Storm clouds like those in the picture are common, too!

Larry, Joyce and Ron in front of the Filling Station 
Restaurant in Stirling. I'm taking the picture.

Lunch at the Filling Station was excellent, as were most of the meals we had in Scotland. The soups were outstanding; I ordered soup often.

A distant view of Stirling Castle. Click on picture to enlarge.

Stirling Castle, a home for Scottish kings and queens in the 12th century, was also one of the most besieged castles in Scotland, and in the 17th century was adapted to become a garrisoned fortress.
 

Below is a statue of Robert the Bruce, one of my ancestors. That's me in the purple raincoat pointing to the statue. When I was five years old, Grandmother told me we were related to Robert the Bruce. Even though I had no clue who he was, I was impressed. After all, he was family.

I took the below photo through a window at Stirling Castle. Don't know why, but I like taking pictures through windows.

From Stirling we headed toward Crianlarich, where we spent the night at Ewich House, a converted farmhouse dating from 1811, and located not too far from Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The bedrooms were small, but clean and comfortable with a private bath. Hosts Ian and Deb were friendly and jolly, as were most of the Scots we met.

Ewich House

Strathfillan, Crianlarich, Perthshire, FK20 8RU

Phone: 01838 300300     www.ewich.co.uk

Ian and Deb served a delicious and hearty Scottish breakfast, as did most of the places we stayed.

A typical breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and bacon. This one at Ewich House also offered beans and a type of toast. A few establishments also served kippers (fried salt fish).

If you're interested in contacting Ewich House, you'll need to get the telephone code to dial from the U.S. And if you go, be sure to take a raincoat and an umbrella. And lots of money!

JONATHAN'S 8TH BIRTHDAY

Today is my grandson Jonathan's eighth birthday. Even though he died suddenly on January 13, 2006, at the age of two years and 17 days, we still count December 27th as his birthday. We always will. He was such a sweet child, loved his five siblings, enjoyed playing ball, "swimming" in the lake, toy trucks and playing in the bed of his Granddaddy's truck. He adored his big brother Jacob, and sisters Micah, Rebecca, Sarah and Susannah.

Unknown to any of us, Jonathan suffered from arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a condition in which the blood vessels in the brain rupture. AVMs are defects of the circulatory system that are generally believed to occur during embryonic or fetal development. The malformations tend to be discovered only incidentally, usually either at autopsy or during treatment for an unrelated disorder. Google arteriovenous malformations if you wish to learn more about AVMs.

Happy birthday, Jonathan. Grandmother loves you.

A BIRD AND HIS BATH

I really should be working on Christmas cards, decorating my house, baking. And I was doing that until I saw this tufted titmouse sitting in this water dish on the deck. I grabbed my camera and started shooting.

Hmmm, water. Should I?

Nobody's watching . . .

Yep, the coast is clear.

Head first is the only way to go!

Now that was refreshing!

One more time? Why not?

Ready, set . . .

Go!

I'M SO PROUD

I've always been proud of my grandchildren, but when my grands planned how to help families in need I almost burst with pride. On Thanksgiving day they sat around our dining room table and studied the World Vision, Smile Train, and Food for the Poor catalogs and leaflets.

Instead of giving Christmas gifts to each other, they used the money they would have spent for:

• job training for a woman
• a deep-water well for up to 300 people
• equipment and supplies to help mothers keep their newborns alive
• a share of a home for an orphan
• a year of school for an orphan
• mosquito netting
• sheep
• 5 fruit trees
• clothes
• medicine
• help for a disabled child

Adults were there to guide them should the children need assistance.

They did the same thing last year, spending at least two hours each year working on their Christmas gift.

Lessons learned? How to work together. How to speak up when you think something is important. Math, and the power of the dollar in third-world countries, that their money can make a difference in someone's life. How good they have it compared to millions of others, to be thankful for what they have. Compassion. Pride in themselves and each other.

Between them, they donated around $450.00 this year to help others have a better life. Yep. I'm so proud of my grandchildren.

Nature Photography

I like the  photo below, an early-morning shot snapped from my deck on November 5th.

The last of my petunias on a fog-shrouded morning. 

Trust me; there really is a lake--mountains, too--in

the picture.

Yep, I thought my picture was really great. And then I looked again at photos nature photographer Fred First had sent me. I sighed. My photos are okay. Fred's are exquisite. You've heard of folks gasping at something so gorgeous it takes their breath away? Well, that's exactly what happened to me when I uploaded his pictures. Be sure to click on his photos below to enlarge.

Photo by Fred First.

 Another photo by Fred First.

Another Fred First photo.

These three pictures by Fred are only a few of the many incredible photos he will be showing during his presentation at the Moneta/Smith Mountain Lake Library on Thursday morning, November 10th at 10:00.

The presentation is a multimedia celebration of the natural history and rural landscapes of the southern Appalachians. Fred will be discussing basic elements of photo composition, offer original vs. post-processed shots for comparison of photo-editing impacts, and describe the synthesis of his writing with digital photography and the photo-essay format.

The event is free and open to the public. Y'all really should come.

LOVE AFFAIR WITH ALASKA: Part 14

In my first blog posts about Alaska, I exclaimed about the sights in Anchorage, the views from the train rides, the wildlife in Denali, the beauty of our 49th state, the Alaskan people. Later I ohhed and ahhed about the cruise itself, the glaciers, the side trips, the magnificent scenery. Now we're nearing the end of our land tour and cruise. And you know what? My love of Alaska hasn't diminished one bit.

I spied this little slice of heaven on the way to Ketchikan. I could 

live here. If you click to enlarge, you'll see the boats and seaplane.

A view of Ketchikan harbor from the ship.

Cruise ships loaded with eager tourists dock at the Ketchikan waterfront--and Ketchikan adores tourists and the money they spend in the numerous jewelry shops, gift shops, and restaurants. Years ago this town was rough and rugged. Lumber mills and salmon fishing abounded, although the loggers and fishermen didn't like each other. Then hard times hit; making a living here wasn't easy. That all changed when cruise lines discovered "tourist gold." Now entrepreneurs hustle their wares in every way imaginable.

Different transportation methods are offered. The 

Duck Tour vehicle can travel on land or water.

Many homes in Ketchikan display their own totem poles in their front yards. Totem poles fascinate me. If you understand the symbols, you can "read" the family's history.
 

We visited the Totem Cultural Heritage Center and the Potlatch Park Carving Center where I learned to appreciate the work that goes into creating a totem pole.

While at the Potlatch Park Carving Center, we watched the native woman below carving a totem pole she designed. She needed one long log for carving; two years passed before she found the perfect tree. She has worked on this one for two years. Until the last few years, women were not allowed to carve totem poles.
 

Ketchikanians (Is that a word?) live and work in the buildings built over the water. I took lots of pictures.

 

Ketchikan is the salmon and totem pole capital of Alaska. 

Click to see salmon swimming.

Imagine my delight when I saw the dogs in the window above and below. When I asked a shopkeeper about them, he said that when it's sunny they wear sunglasses. I watched them watching people for 15 minutes.