photo gallery > Landscapes - our home and native land (7) > Sun Dog at Race Rocks

Click image for full size view. In her history Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance, Jennifer Armstrong writes a description that reminds me not of Antarctica, but of the world just outside Victoria BC's terrestrial boundaries. Not every detail describes our environment here, but the spirit of the description captures our own wild coast's boisterous wildlife ensemble.

. . . All around them, too, were signs that the Antarctic winter was fast approaching: there were now twelve hours of darkness, and during the daylight hours petrels and terns fled toward the north. Skuas kept up a screeching clamor, and penguins on the move honked and brayed from the ice for miles around. Killer whales cruised the open leads, blowing spouts of icy spray. The tricks of the Antarctic atmosphere brought mock suns and green sunsets, and showers of jewel-colored ice crystals.