"Birds Of The Bar-B-Q, Part 2"

Birds Of A Feather......

After a week and a half the avian crowd seems to still be doing fine. Had to shoo away a few cats but when the lid is down , which is all the time, they are safe from everything except us. We treat them very well.

With faces only a mother could love we allow her to do just that. We interject no intereferance other than to take these shots when she is absent. It is nice watching her feed her young daily with worms. She ignores anything we put out.

They will probably be well grown when I get back maybe even gone but I was hoping to watch them learn to fly. The blue egg of before has obviously hatched and there are five little critters now. You can see here there metallic looking skin and new feathers. They still haven't grown into their beaks yet though.

"Frozen Steer head?"

Well that is what this frozen icicle looked like to me. You know those skeletal cow heads you see in the western movies next to rolling sage brush. At anyrate the image was as frozen in my mind as it was on this rock.

"Beamer"

 There was nothing but confused waters on our paddle in ST. Philips today with a bit of swell. Paddling to Topsail Beach we had a moderate head wind with lots of lop and confused waters as the tide was changing. Coming back we were in following seas and made good time. 40 Min's back from Topsail but an hour and fifteen minutes to get there. On the way there however we had beam and quartering seas, such as this one that well almost caught me off gaurd. The neat thing about it though is that you can see reflections os my yellow boat in parts of the wave about to break. Maybe I'm just reading too much into the wave. lol

"The Lighthouse House"

 A paddle from St. Philips to Topsail with Tony today took us past this interesting house. Not sure if there is a working light there though. Something I am sure the neighbors may not be interested in, having a light bounce off their windows. I am sure however that the lighthouse turret is probably a sun room with a most amazing view of Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Another short paddle for a bit of exercise and in noticeably colder waters. Had to have pogies on all the way and hands were cold tying up the boats once we landed. Thanks for a great paddle Tony and always good to shoot the $%#@ afterwards.

"A Boat Color In A "Round-A-Bout" Way"

Wikipedia States:Color or colour[1] is the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue and others. Color derives from the spectrum of light (distribution of light energy versus wavelength) interacting in the eye with the spectral sensitivities of the light receptors. Color categories and physical specifications of color are also associated with objects, materials, light sources, etc., based on their physical properties such as light absorption, reflection, or emission spectra.
Typically, only features of the composition of light that are detectable by humans (wavelength spectrum from 380 nm to 740 nm, roughly) are included, thereby objectively relating the psychological phenomenon of color to its physical specification. Because perception of color stems from the varying sensitivity of different types of cone cells in the retina to different parts of the spectrum, colors may be defined and quantified by the degree to which they stimulate these cells. These physical or physiological quantifications of color, however, do not fully explain the psychophysical perception of color appearance.
The science of color is sometimes called chromatics. It includes the perception of color by the human eye and brain, the origin of color in materials, color theory in art, and the physics of electromagnetic radiation in the visible range (that is, what we commonly refer to simply as light).

So this was my experiment, to produce a nice cobalt blue color, using electromagnetic radiation in the non-visible range (xrays) to produce light in the visible range of 420 nm, that would be a nice kayak deck color, using x-rays and a crystal from a gamma camera. What is known is that a crystal from a Gamma Camera in Nuclear Medicine is made of sodium iodide with Thallium as an activator. If radiation interacts in the crystal it produces light. Blue light actually in the 420 nm range. Is it a nice blue? Well I wanted to find out. I took a crystal from a gamma camera that wasn't being used any longer and took it over to xray to get some xrays shot at it and then photograph the light given off with my camera. What we did was take the crystal to xray and position it on the xray table and took sequential pictures with my camera ta various Kvp settings on the xray machine. We used 4 Kvp settings represented by 2 of the pictures above. The xray room was made totally dark. I stood above the crystal as the xrays were fired at the Sodium Iodide crystal (from Nuc Med) and timed the shot using my Olympus Digital camera based on the techs signal to start. Once the xrays hit the sodium iodide crystal they would absorb the xray energy and convert that energy to light energy in the 420 nm range which shows up to the human eye in the visible spectrum as cobalt blue light which I recorded with my digital camera and which images are represented above and voila a nice "cobalt blue" color for the deck of a kayak. I know I like the color.

"Below"

 The new Nordkapp LV looking fine below water as much as it does above water. I was lucky to get to try Malcolm's Nordkapp LV, the newest of his arsenal, but I found I was not outfitted for the seat properly. Though we compared the Nordkapp and the Nordkapp LV today both on and off the water I believe our conclusion was that a lot of the differences were somewhat subtle. Personally I liked the Nordkapp better because I found that for me it handles much nicer, for some reason I felt more bounced around in the LV but again this was probably the seating. The boat did not come with the seating ordered but with some kind of fabric seat that had no side to it so my hips felt kinda loose. Otherwise still a wicked boat.

"Water...Tanker"

 Well was paddling today in 15-25 knot winds not so bad really in the Nordkapp but have you ever tried it with a third hatch full of water? I did. Not purposely I might add. After lunch on the beach we shoved off again for a warmer up paddle out around the headland of Brigus again. I really didn't notice any thing unusual until Tony and Malcolm rafted up next to me on the way in the harbour and alerted me to an open third hatch. Nothing had been in the hatch as it was removed during lunch...but not sealed obviously. The boat however was not unstable as you might expect and as Malcolm suggested is probably because it was full. I don't really recommend this and we did paddle to inside the harbour to rectify the situation, but now I know I can. LOL. Luckily also the hatch cover was tethered. I was paddling in pretty rough waters for about 15-20 minutes while this was open. Another kayaking tale for sure.

"Recycling"

I saw a program last evening on plastic recycling and how it is polluting our oceans and waterways. They calculated that all the boats commercial and fishing, in the world, would not be able to accommodate the waste in the ocean. There are just not enough to make a clean-up feasible. California has an excellent project on the go whereby they filter their waste water and get an amazing amount of recyclable tonnage of plastic a year. One of the major chemical processors in the USA states that the solution is to control it at the source, that is plastic production. I think I agree with this. Make refundable or at least disposable depots available for reclaiming the waste may be one way to capture the plastic. Finding other biodegradable containers may be the other.

At any rate you see lots of plastic on the waters that you kayak in, certainly in Newfoundland you do. Partially from very bad garbage mentality and not recycling and partially by virtue of the fact that we live on an Island and are predisposed to the waste of the oceanic world. Either way plastic is so unnatural when you see it in a paddling perspective.

There are times though when you see the remnants of just a fish, a cod carcass made clean by gulls I'm sure after the food fishery here in Newfoundland. The great thing about seeing this waste is that ya just chuck it back in the water and let nature do it's thing. I just think we need to stop making plastic, it really is out of control.

"I saw these two Clowns today...."

 and they were looking for the "eye clinic", seeing how the Nuc Med dept. is just next door to it I showed them the way. They were grateful and said they'd be keeping an "eye out" for me in the future. lol. I was having such a hectic day today and they just happened by. I had to chuckle at them but in retrospect the joke was on me. I thought they really were going to the eye clinic as part of a birthday joke or something as I type this I am realizing I've been duped. They must have seen I needed a laugh. Just thought I'd share the humor....especially at my expense. Dah!!!!

"Getting Under-Way"

 Well we literally got underway this morning at about 10 am for a paddle out of Bay Bulls, Newfoundland. This ferry looking boat or tour boat was anchored in the bay and it is not often that you get to kayak under a boat....so we did.

"Cod Jigs"

 
Hey Tony these are the Cod Jigs made by Wade Blagdon of Newfoundland Charters. Can't wait till we get a chance to use'em.

"Syringe and Needle"

 Just a first impression from the inside of the Michener Institute in Toronto. Sept.23rd, 2008.

"Changing Rivets"

 I always find it interesting sitting in the window seat of a plane. I do not like flying but try to keep myself engaged or should I say distracted and taking pictures can be a distraction. What I find kind of neat is how the plane shell changes color in various temperatures and lighting. This shot of the Jet Engine mount to the plane on the right wing and the horizon in the sky made it feel kind of surreal. None-the-less when I looked at the flight path and altitude on the TV thingy on the back of the seat in front of me we were at 38,869 ft travelling at 612 mph not that I was counting or anything but a long distance from the ground or the water for that matter and when we hit turbulence and the wing started to flex up and down I was hoping those rivets were nice and tight.

"Above The Sky, Beneath The Wing"

 On the way home from Toronto yesterday the sunset was spectacular from the plane and you can see part of New Brunswick beneath the wing as we were heading for a stop-over in Nova Scotia before going on to Newfoundland.

"Web Of Lights"

 Two evenings ago a spider created this beautiful web between an apple tree and a light post on our lawn. The web was huge. It was misting outside and the street lamps in the background added a spooky ambiance to the outdoor spider culture. The spider is actually whited out in the center from the flash and looks as if it might be an albino, but it was not. Spiders thrive in and around our home and we always give them their space. It seems such a shame to wreck the amazing wonder that is a spider web.

"The Headless PAddler"

 Now there were tales of a "headless" paddler in this area, yeah right!, we jested...paddle on I did up the gut of rantem and low and behold lying under that bridgeway was a site to behold, and behold I did as I shot this visage of the "headless paddler". Startled at first, I was expecting something to happen, what could he say....he has no head. I turned to Tony, are you seeing this? and back again the "headless paddler" was gone.

"what the ....."

 Well ever now and then ya got to have a freaky picture. While we were cleaning our boats in the fresh water at St. Philips this evening after our paddle we were all bobbing around in the water so I thought I'd get a shot of "me mug" with my head and my camera under water. Man I wish there were better subjects for my underwater photo practise. The camera does work under water though.The camera is an Olympus 1030W and I still have to get use to it but the "odd" picture does come out!!!

"Raindrop Rapture"

The raindrop from the heavens is captured by this plant. You can see on closer viewing that the image of the leaves beneath the drop is refracted so that you can see an image of the leaves on the drop. "....and raindrops keep falling....". One of the reasons I guess that this drop stays together is that the H20 molecules have an affinity for eah other (cohesion)and the reason the water droplet has a rounded appearance and just hasn't dissipated is due to the surface tension exhibited by the cohesive properties, such that the tension is being caused by the hydrogen bonding b/w h2o moelcules and the more polar the liquid, (greater degree of + and - charge), the greater the surface tension, or something like that. I just like the subject and the freshness that it imparts to the image and the hike I was on. Now when you factor in the crisp scents of the surroundings it allows me to appreciate more of the spirituality than the religion of the moment.

"Cormorant"

The Motto of the 413 Squadron based out of Greenwood Nova Scotia is "We Watch The Waves" something I figure we as kayakers share with this group.
The Cormorant could be a kayakers best friend. These helicopters are amazing and they fly in just about any kind of weather. They have three Turbine engines that give the Search And Rescue machine a range of 1000km and a maximum lift off weight of up to 14,600kg. Based at 3 wings across Canada, the Cormorant fleet serves both the east and the west coast. Roughly 60% of the missions are marine SAR while the other 40% is land.

If you're looking at the under-belly of this thing you are probably in a situation you much rather not be in, if ya had a choice. Such was not my case as I left work on Friday afternoon and this SAR Helicopter was delivering a patient to the hospital. I'm sitting here tonight fiddling with my VHF and hoping I never have to use it to summon this sort of help but relieved knowing it is there. Getting ready to take the VHF course next week. In Canada you have to be licensed to operate one of these so I must take the course, good to have anyway. I shot the under-belly of the helicopter as it was lifting off the landing pad. You can really feel and hear the ripping raw power these things have.

"KNL Retreat 2007"

Freya at last years retreat demonstrating some Greenland rolls. I obviously rotated this image for a unique look. From this perspective it looks as if Freya is embedded in a huge wall of mottled rock or glass. Entombed in time perhaps! We're looking forward to great clinics this year from Bryan Smith and Fergus Coffey.