new year's day 2013

new years day heather and i decided to go look for snowy owls at boundry bay beach.  heather heard they were there in record numbers.  new years day was also the day of the polar bear swim.  i have long courted the idea of participating in a polar bear swim.  before taking to the trails we took to the beach to watch the shenanigans.  to my surprise i saw quite a few people from our ward, including the bishop and also the iwasas.  heather and i stationed ourselves at the water's edge to get a good view.  the fog was so thick we could barely see each other.  just kidding, but it was super thick.  though we were standing right at the water's edge, somehow people kept getting in front of us and we would manuever in front again.  we thought we were smart.  but then we realized we were surrounded with would be polar bears. at this point heather had a concern as to whether we would be carried with the crowd into the icy waters (which were one degree warmer than the outside that day, i'll have you know). maybe if we were in new york that would have happened but this was a canadian event, what could happen? i busied myself taking documentary clicks.  one thing i like about kooky events like this is the kinds of get ups that people will come out in.  kooky people and their get-ups are the best, man.

 the poor dolts who had to wade way out there with the bell and have a bunch of half naked crazy cold canadians splash spiritedly towards them.

 there they go, to their fate.

everyone's ready...

 excuse me but there were three vikings and this pink fleshed fellow was one of them.  nothing to set the mood like some vikings!

 naked toes on the beach on january 1st.

 the point of this pic, is that i enjoyed the get up of the lady with the fur lined hood and the thigh high galoshes and i enjoyed the contrast of these warmly dressed ladies and the blatant nakedness all around them.

and they're off!

 this kid has already made it there and back.

 get ups.  like i said.

 i like the arms raised in victory faintly off to the right.

 my vikings return victorious.  also my bishop is in this pic, which i didn't realize until editing.  ha!  also why does that girl's head look so squished? and additionally, why is that woman waving her shoe in the air like an olympic torch? yet again, who would wear some angry bird onesie pjs to a polar bear swim?  moosteries.

after the hubub of the polar bear swim, heather and i headed off for the trails.  we never saw any owls, but we did see some eagles and lots of beautiful wintry-ness.

 the blackberry bushes had all these frozen droplets on them.

 heather pointed out the iced wild flower to me..

 

 red berries and bare branches = winter beauty.

 

heather fit into this scene perfectly.

 bye!