Common Murre at Brentwood Bay in British Columbia, Canada
British Columbia
Sockeye salmon 2-sided rock: First Friday Art
Today I’m sharing a sockeye salmon 2-sided rock painting I created. On one side you see what this fish looks like when it’s spawning, and on the other side you see what it looks like at other times in its life cycle. They look SO different!


Sockeye salmon travel from the ocean to freshwater to spawn. Kokanee are a landlocked version of sockeye. If you’re lucky enough to catch one, they are especially delicious smoked.
Here’s a video of sockeye spawning in the Adams River in British Columbia, Canada. The 3-minute video, by Luke Gibson of Life of Luke, shows aerial and underwater shots of the fish. I loved his creative solution to filming underwater shots on a limited budget! A true artist will always find a way to work around obstacles.
Do you have artwork you would like to share? Include a First Friday Art tag on your post.
Dolphins in Flight: Monochrome Monday
This sculpture by Robert Dow Reid is called Rhapsody. It’s located in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The artist captured their playful spirit perfectly.

Monochrome Monday
Coalmont, B.C. Welcome Signs: CWW
Here are photos of signs in the town of Coalmont, British Columbia, Canada from my archives. The signs are right next to each other but I split the photo in two to make it easier to read. They do have a unique sense of humor there. 🙂
“When, what to my wondering eyes should appear…”
Sometimes Nature gives you a special and unexpected gift. In the excitement of the moment, you click a few pictures and later find out they were not your best. Since it was such a special moment, you can’t manage to delete them. Here are a couple pictures from my archives of a caribou herd near Creston, British Columbia, Canada.
At the time, there were few records of this herd and I was pretty excited to see them. My photos helped biologists learn more about the herd. The endangered South Selkirk subpopulation of southern mountain caribou, Rangifer tarandus caribou, currently numbers only about 12 animals. Here’s a link to a recent article about them: America’s Gray Ghosts: The Disappearing Caribou
Caribou and reindeer are the same species so I thought it only appropriate to share these photos today. It was a magical moment when I saw them and I hope you find your own magical moments in the upcoming year.