One minute I was happily walking along a riverside trail, camera in hand, and the next I was tumbling head over heels onto a mixture of maple leaves, tree roots and rocks. I had tripped over exposed tree roots crossing the trail and as I headed towards the ground I did manage to get my hands out in front to me to try and break my fall. Hitting the ground, I heard a loud ‘smack’ and thought “oh, oh”.
These huge tree roots across the trail can be a real menace
The ‘smack’ wasn’t my arm, shoulder or neck thank goodness – it was my camera, with the lens extended, hitting a tree root. Even before I managed to get up on my feet, I checked my camera to see if the back display screen was cracked but it looked fine. I tried to retract the lens but I got an immediate ‘lens error’ message. It was only then that I finally got to my feet and figured out I was o.k. and hadn’t broken any bones or torn up my knees.
Paulette was smart – she had a big walking stick (to hit Bears)
Paulette was behind me when I fell and she yelled thinking I must have done some real damage to myself but I assured her I was just fine. Realizing I was o.k., I quickly returned to my camera and the lens problem. It looked to be dead and wouldn’t do anything but after repeatedly hitting the on/off key it magically sprung to life and, apart from a new scrape on the bottom, appears to be working as normal with the lens extending and retracting o.k.
It was only after we had continued our hike along the trail that I began to think I missed a real opportunity. If I had been thinking a bit faster, I would have made sure my G10 camera hit the ground hard enough to break something. Then, I wouldn’t have to rely on Santa Claus to bring me a brand new Canon G15 camera as I could have just gone to the store and bought one now.
After spawning, Salmon die amidst the gravel beds
We took the long 5 mile loop trail along the Cowichan River and were able to witness firsthand the river’s salmon spawning grounds. It was sad to see all the salmon lying along the banks. All Pacific salmon die after spawning. But, it does signify the beginning of a new life cycle for this amazing species as in the next 2 to 6 months the eggs laid in the gravel will hatch into tiny larvae called alevin.
From an egg, salmon emerge into Alevin and then Fry
These alevin have a sac containing the remainder of the yolk, and they stay hidden in the gravel while they feed on the yolk. When the yolk has gone, they must find food for themselves, so they leave the protection of the gravel and start feeding on plankton. At this point, the baby salmon are called fry.
From Fry, they progress to Parr
As summer ends, the fry develop into young fish called parr. Parr feed on small insects, worms, snails etc. and are camouflaged with a pattern of spots and vertical bars. They remain in this stage for up to three years. As they approach the time when they are ready to migrate out to the sea, the parr lose their camouflage bars and undergo a process of physiological changes, which allows them to survive the shift from freshwater to saltwater.
Clear water like Holt Creek with gravel beds are perfect
At this point, salmon are called smolt. Smolt spend time in the waters of the river estuary while their body chemistry adjusts to cope with the higher salt levels they will encounter in the ocean. Smolt also grow the silvery scales which visually confuse ocean predators. When they are about 15 to 20 centimetres long, the smolt swim out of the rivers and into the sea.
After about 3 years, young salmon head down to the estuary
There they spend their first year as a post-smolt. Post-smolt form schools with other post-smolt, and set off to find deep-sea feeding grounds. They then spend up to four more years as adult salmon in the oceans. Then, in one of the most amazing, extreme migrations known to nature, the salmon return from the saltwater ocean back to the freshwater river where they were born, like the Cowichan, to spawn afresh.
In addition to my tumble, the other problem we had was keeping Molly and Rylie away from all the salmon lying along the river banks. They just wanted to roll around in them – gross!! We were mostly successful but driving home in the Civic we could tell didn’t succeed totally. Back home, it was into the tub for those 2 and a good wash and shampoo – that’ll teach those muttzo’s!!
Have a great Saturday, and thanks again for visiting!
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