This large building is the home of the Lefttennant Governor. Wind passing over the roof produces both lift and violent rotors. The crows in the first photo were playing touch tag and they flew into quickly descending air. They hit the roof and had to scramble back to the top as many others screeched loudly at their folly.
They often play king of the castle with the big chimney. One crow claims the position on the chimney and others approach from above, below or behind and they try to knock the other off. Looks like fun. Sometimes they simply tag the one on top and they voluntarily give up the chimney.
These squirrels often bicker over food gathering territory but today they joined forces. After this one showed me a new card trick, he joined with others of both species in chasing away Canada geese that were gobbling up acorns that were laid out to dry. They did a few quick runs through the geese and made some sounds. There were about 30 geese and they are much tougher than these little squirrels but the geese moved on without incident.
While looking for some duck weed, These otters found me. I nearly dropped the camera when one poked his head up near my hand. Unfortunately all of these shots were taken at some distance in less than ideal lighting.
If I could be any lake dweller, I would want to be an otter. They spend more leisure time than most wild things and much of their time is spent playing around. Even their "work" of fishing seems to be exciting for them. After bellies are full, they find a sunny spot and lounge or wrestle. A large gang of sea otters moved into a vacant house that I demolished. They made an awful mess. There were paw prints all over the picture windows facing the sea, so I guess that's how they got weather reports. The house was only used on stormy days and the coldest winter nights. They're smart.
I'm standing about eight feet above this deer on a rock shelf. If I were a cougar she'd be an easy kill. Most cougar sitings in Victoria happen at Swan's night club on Friday nights.
She trotted down the road and after eating a little more, she joined this buck. I tried to follow but they went into a thicket and continued to evade me until I saw a humming bird.
This squirrel was the first to sound the alarm after spotting the hawk. He kept an eye on the sky as he moved close to his tree den while kicking up quite a racket. All of the other squirrels ran for cover. The hawk departed after realizing the squirrels had detected its presence.