Why did the turtle cross the road?

Driving back from the Black Hills Shelley swerved to miss what she thought was a rock on the road. As she went by she realized it was a turtle. We were worried that it would get run over so we turned around and went back to "rescue" it.

By the time we got back to it, it had already made it to the shoulder. (These turtles can move quite quickly at times.)



Of course, I had to take photos!



From the top it looked quite similar to the red-eared sliders commonly kept as pets. But the underside is quite different and colorful and identifies it as a western painted turtle. These are semi-aquatic turtles that spend most of their time in the water or basking.



Hopefully picking it up didn't disturb it too much. I couldn't resist getting a better look.

In case you're waiting for an answer, I'm sorry but I don't know why she (guessing from the short claws) was crossing the road. The side she'd come from had a small pond, but I didn't see much water on the side she was heading for. It could have been to lay eggs.

First Kayak of the Summer

We got out on the river with our kayaks this morning for the first time this summer. There were the usual suspects in attendance - pelicans, mallards, canada geese with babies, and a lone grebe.

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Photographing from the kayak has pros and cons. You can sneak up on the birds easier than on foot and you have a nice low angle. On the other hand, you're always moving. Getting shots of the birds taking off and flying is always a challenge trying to pan and hoping the camera will focus fast enough and on the right thing. As usual, bumping up the ISO (e.g. to 800) helps get a fast enough shutter speed and more depth of focus.

Northern Flicker

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A loud chattering cry outside the washroom at our campground in Penticton made me search the trees for the caller. It turned out to be this bird. There were two of them but I only got photos of this male. I had a little trouble identifying it as a Northern Flicker (a type of woodpecker) because the photos in my guide (the iBird Pro app) were showing the eastern yellow-shafted form, and this was the western red-shafted. The call was their territorial one so perhaps they had a nest nearby.

Skaha, Snakes, and Skinks

Today was our last day climbing at Skaha Bluffs. As we hiked in, Shelley stopped in front of me and said she could hear something moving in the grass in front of her, maybe a bird. I couldn't see anything at first. Then a snake appeared, and then a second one. They weren't rattle snakes so we moved in for a closer look. I pulled out my camera, but they were hiding in the vegetation. Shelley tried to get them to come out but they were in "freeze" mode. She got a stick and started moving it towards them. Eventually they did move but, of course, not into the open. They disappeared into cracks in the rock. We waited and they reappeared and one of them cooperated enough to get a few shots. I think they were Western Yellow-bellied Racers.

Later in the day, I was belaying Shelley on a climb and I heard something moving in the grass at the base of the cliff. Again, at first I couldn't see anything. But I caught a slight movement and picked out a tail. I thought it was another snake, but when I looked closer (while still paying attention to belaying Shelley!) I saw it was a skink (a kind of lizard). I was a little surprised - up till now I hadn't seen any skinks at Skaha Bluffs. Once Shelley was off belay I ran down to our packs and got my camera. (When Shelley saw me running to get my camera, at first she thought I was getting it to take pictures of her, but she soon realized it must be some creature.) When I got back with the camera the skink was gone. But I figured it probably hadn't gone far. Sure enough, when I got closer I spotted it. But again, like the snakes, it was buried in the vegetation. I took a couple of shots but couldn't get a clear angle. I tried to use a stick to get it to move, but I was a little too successful - it shot out like a rocket and went straight under a rock. But I was patient and like the snakes eventually it emerged and I got a few good shots of it. I think it's a Western Skink which is a common species found all the way from BC to Baja (where I've also seen them).

I'm glad to be able to balance all the recent flower shots with something more interesting!

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Another Rainy Day

Another day of no climbing due to rain. If it doesn't improve soon, we'll bail. We visited a couple more wineries, a couple of coffee shops, and I managed to take a few photos between rain showers ...

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Rain Day

It rained off and on all day today so we didn't try to climb and headed to the Nk'mip Desert Cultural Center instead. It's a fancy facility, along with the winery, golf course, resort, etc. but I think I liked the low key Osoyoos Desert Center better. The nature trail was nice though, and I got some good shots of the resident osprey. We also stopped at La Stella, the sister winery to Le Vieux Pin that we visited the other day.

The locals keep telling us it hardly ever rains in the Okanagan. Hopefully this will be more true in the next few days!

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Rain

Not looking good for climbing this morning!

 

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Laying Low for the Long Weekend

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The May long weekend is crazy crowded at Skaha Bluffs and we were ready for a break anyway.

Friday afternoon we drove down to Osoyoos heading for the Nk'mip Desert Cultural Center but came across the Osoyoos Desert Center first. It's run by the Osoyoos Desert Society and much less commercial. There's not a lot to see - mostly sagebrush and antelope bush. But our friendly young lady tour guide gave us lots of information about all the things we couldn't see, like the snakes, mice, badgers, spadefoot toads, coyotes, etc. The most activity was in the little garden next to the visitor center. There were several kinds of hummingbirds at the feeders, a rabbit browsing, and a killdeer nesting.

On the way we stopped in Oliver at Medici's Gelateria for delicious gelato. If you're in the area it's a nice spot to for coffee or ice cream.

We ran out of time to go to the Nk'mip center, but we did find time to stop at another of Penny's winery suggestions - Le Vieux Pin near Oliver. It's a smaller winery that makes wine in French styles. We enjoyed our tasting there - great wine.

Our friend Ellen in Summerland generously offered us a place to stay for the weekend. Her house has a great view over the lake and we had some nice rainbows from the torrential rainstorm that evening.

On Saturday we went for a hike with a group of Ellen's friends up to Divide Lake in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. The day started out cloudy with slight drizzle, but it cleared up later. The hike went through the area that burned ten years ago and it was interesting to see the regeneration.