Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Senior play date

Al taking a picture of me taking a picture of Amy
Al sent around an email last week asking if any of the Senior Trailblazers might be interested in a snowshoe outing before the weather changes. Three of us showed up early this morning and spent the day in the High Country on snowshoes! We left foggy and overcast Bellingham and headed up the Mt. Baker Highway to find sunshine and warmer temperatures. It felt almost balmy, until a breeze picked up and kept us wearing our coats all day.
Taken at the parking lot with my iPhone
On the way to the meeting place, I realized I had forgotten my camera, and there was no time to go back for it, so I decided to make do with my iPhone camera. Al brought his camera, so these pictures are a mixture of his and mine. I was very pleased with the quality of the pictures I was able to get from a cellphone, but it doesn't have a zoom and makes decisions for me that I would not make on purpose. Not perfect, but WAY better than no camera at all.
We headed up to Huntoon Point from the Heather Meadows parking lot. We really didn't need our snowshoes, since it has been at least a week since it snowed, and we were mostly hiking on what is affectionately known as "Cascade Concrete." The only time it was serene and quiet were the few moments we were in untracked snow.  A storm is due any time now, which is why we decided to go today.
The sunshine left us as we saw a bank of clouds building, but we had magnificent views of our two favorite mountains. Here's Mt. Baker looking regal in the sun, a picture taken with my iPhone. As we continued our upward trudge to Huntoon Point, the snow became marginally better as we gained altitude.
Also taken with my phone, this picture shows Mt. Shuksan with Al in front, as we reached the point. If I had my regular camera, the mountain would look much larger because I would have used my zoom. As it was, I had to crop the picture anyway because my thumb was over the top part of the picture. I'll need to get better at this if I keep forgetting my camera. We sat down to have lunch, and one of our favorite friends, the grey jay (also known as the camp robber) showed up. I fed him a few bits of my trail mix and put together this collage. Pictures are all taken by Al.
You can click on the picture to admire it properly
I have done this before, putting some nuts in my hand and letting the jay take them. The feeling of his little sharp claws on my hand is interesting. He wasn't going to let go or leave until he had crammed every last bit in his beak. I watched as he picked up one, two, three almonds, stopping for a moment to pose for the camera before taking off.

It was a wonderful day spent in the mountains a mere hour or so away from town. Thursday the rest of us will gather for a hike that is predicted (again) to be in rain.  But I don't really mind; I had today in sun, clouds and snow, and Friday I'll be in Florida!
:-)

21 comments:

  1. awesome photos w or w/o your regular camera. :) loved the jay feeding from your hand. and i like the new header, too!

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  2. Hi DJan! Looks like a fantastic day in the snow. Weren't you experiencing a deep freeze last week? It's here now.

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  3. omg...how cool feeding the bird out of your hand! bet that was an awesome journey and tiring as well trudging on that snow...

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  4. Your photos are great DJan, the cell phone did well. I love the shots of you feeding the Grey Jays, I miss seeing those birds. I used to feed them a lot while camping in AK.
    The sunshine is amazing. I would love to see a little of it here.

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  5. I just love those pics of the bird in your hand. Lovely!

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  6. ...and I'll bet there was tremendous effort taken to enjoy the fantastic views.
    I always flinch when birds land on my hand and if course they are spooked.
    Have a great time in Florida.

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  7. Who would have imagined a wild bird eating from your hand....simply amazing.
    The snow looks pristine, the kind you could make a snow cone out of and not worry about what's in it :0
    ~Jo

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  8. You look like a real mountaineer up there! We had another day of fog, freezing this morning. But I did get outside to do some yard cleanup before the rains begin.

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  9. Loved all of the photos....and smiled at the one of the "Stop" sign.
    You have a beautiful place to hike/snowshoe...just gorgeous!

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  10. Amazing photos-- Gotta love that iPhone! The pics are so clear I could almost taste the clean air.
    Wow.
    xo jj

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  11. Oh my goodness....a jay feeding from your hand? I am soooooooo jealous. Wow. Awesome photos DJan. And I tried walking in snowshoes [without the ski poles] and it's NOT an easy task.

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  12. Walking on snow shoes looks very hard, but the snow scenes are so pretty, it is worth the effort. I would like to hand feed birds, but I've never done that. Cool cap--I like pink and sparkles too.

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  13. Gorgeous photos and what a great hike.

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  14. WOW - the photos of you feeding the birds are really nice. I opened them up to get the big view and OOH SO NEAT. You certainly do have some wonderful experiences every time you go out. We got new snowshoes this year and have been out but no mountains here, however; still fun to walk about the woods n trails. Lovely photos DJan.

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  15. Looks like a gorgeous day! iPhone may not have a zoom, but it takes good pics nonetheless. The grey jay: amazing that it takes stuff from your hand.

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  16. What fun to hand feed the Jay..beautiful views. I bet you are all packed for your sunny vacation:)

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  17. What a great snow day. You got some great shots all in all. And how fun to hand feed the bird.

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  18. Wow! That's amazing! I've never fed a wild bird right off my hand. The photos are fabulous... but brrrrr... it looks so cold.

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  19. Wow, what a great hike. I especially love the bird-in-the-hand!

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  20. The pictures of the Bluejay feeding from your hand made me smile. My grandpa feeds many birds in backyard, including Bluejays, who come for peanuts he sets out for them on the deck. One year he even trained the jays to fly into the house and get the peanuts off the floor! It was always a highlight of a visit to him if we got to help feed the jays. Thanks for prompting that memory.

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  21. Actually you can zoom with an iPhone, just place two fingers on the screen & spread them apart. You can adjust the zoom by how much you move your fingers in & out. Hope this helps!

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