Empty Shells & Smoky Skies

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CRACKING A NUT is messy work so I was impressed with the tidy hole a blue jay left in the shell on my patio. Sprouting from the ground like a pea instead of from a tree, the legume (or peanut) was relieved of its two tightly packed seeds. The clever bird caused the least damage possible during its dining maneuvers. As a result, some tiny creature in the wild could conceivably re-purpose the shell for storage, a bed or a boat. Birds get a bad rap for small brains but clearly this blue jay gets an A-plus for conservation.

Air quality remained poor as a result of the fires so my walks were curtailed ... the bird flew away before I could take its picture. I was, however, sent a photo with permission to post (below). It was taken during a visit to Golden Ears Provincial Park last weekend. Instead of the usual translucent and picturesque coastal mist, a dusty curtain of smoky haze was all the campers could view or breathe.

Camping Grounds, Golden Ears Provincial Park, Maple Ridge, BC

Thankfully, back at Crescent Beach (below) in Surrey by the end of the week some sky blue was starting to peek through.

Crescent Beach, Surrey, BC, Photo by Maria Pavlik

Go to more horizons from around the world at Skywatch Friday.

See OUR WORLD to explore more sights from around the globe.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride to view more West Coast scenes.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Comments

  1. Pat @ Mille Fiori FavoritiAugust 24, 2018 at 1:08 PM

    Our skies in Colorado have also been smokey this month form all the western fires. It has been a bad year fro the forests and our lungs

    ReplyDelete
  2. Spare Parts and PicsAugust 24, 2018 at 1:52 PM

    Thankfully the smoky skies have abated in my neck of the woods. Crescent Beach looks beautiful! Enjoy your weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lady FiAugust 24, 2018 at 10:04 PM

    Sorry to hear about all the fires. That last shot is pretty.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Powell River BooksAugust 25, 2018 at 8:25 PM

    The blue was short lived in Washington where we are visiting. It only lasted for part of a day then back to the smoke. - Margy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aditya Narayan MohantyAugust 25, 2018 at 11:53 PM

    Wow capture . Please tell something about my captures on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. David M. Gascoigne,August 26, 2018 at 3:25 PM

    Stay safe out there. When I look at the map it looks like most of the province is on fire. We were on Vancouver Island in April and I see there are fires there too. Is this a portent of the future?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sallie (FullTime-Life)August 26, 2018 at 7:50 PM

    The smoke has been awful here in Eugene too -- and now there is a new fire in the mountains quite near, so it isn't going to get better any time soon i'm afraid. Guess this is our new summer reality.

    There's a book called "The Genius of Birds" by a naturalist whose name I can't remember just now, but it argues against the misconception of 'birdbrains'.... shows examples of how they do think and learn and how their behaviors aren't all mere instinct. (But I do wish they'd learn not to fly into windows!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carol @Comfort Spring StationAugust 27, 2018 at 3:52 PM

    I hate forest and brush fires with smoky skies. I feel for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. TheChieftessAugust 28, 2018 at 3:37 PM

    I laughed when I read your description of the peanut shell!!! And coughed when I saw the photo with all the smoke! We've had our share of fire smoke as well. Amazing how bad the fires and smoke have been from California (I'm in the LA area) to BC...hoping your skies clear soon and the fires OUT!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sharon WagnerAugust 30, 2018 at 8:34 AM

    I don't think I've had a visit from you before. Thanks for stopping by. Smokey skies make for good sunset photos from afar, but not close up. I hope things are clearing out and up.

    ReplyDelete

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