Camellia in Bloom

Spring has arrived here on Gabriola, and the Camellia in front of our house has been blooming for the past week or so.  We hear that spring has been late this year, and the flowers and shrubs have been late blooming, but coming from Alberta this is a bit hard to comprehend.

Camellia Flower

This bloom was right at the top of our tree, and I captured this image from the front porch with a 1,000mm lens (500mm + 2x extender).

Roughskin Newt

We discovered another visitor to our yard this afternoon... a little Roughskin Newt (Taricha granulosa).  A friend of the garden, they like to eat insects, slugs, and worms.

However, their skin contains a very potent poison, so we will have to supervise the cats more closely when we let them outside.

Roughskin Newt (Taricha granulosa)

Roughskin Newt (Taricha granulosa)

Roughskin Newt (Taricha granulosa)

Roughskin Newt (Taricha granulosa)

Rufous Hummingbirds

We recently bought a hummingbird feeder, and received another as a house-warming gift (thanks, Connie!) and we put them up over the weekend.  Within a few hours, we had several little feathered friends hanging around the front garden.