Nikki's Photography

Sunrise, Waskateneau, Alberta

Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada and Canola field

During the summer in northern Alberta, the sun can be seen on the horizon late into the night… 11 p.m. Edmonton, Alberta

Thunderbird Park, Royal BC Museum, Victoria, BC

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Victoria, BC harbour, Parliament Building in lights

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Severe and spooky Summer storm in Calgary, Alberta

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I have yet to see a tornado in Texas since we moved there, yet here is the first one I’ve ever seen, about to touch down in Airdrie, near Calgary Alberta while we’re on holidays. Watching it form is surreal, and though it’s not far away I don’t feel in any danger. It formed a perfect funnel then I watched it pull back again, spawning a skinny long string-like tornado, then dissolve. The associated clouds are ominous and dark in contrast to the sunny neighborhood where I’m standing. I learned later this afternoon that the tornado touched down in a farmer’s feild for a few moments.

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Arbutus trees, first thumbnail, only grow in the Pacific Northwest, here on Salt Spring Island, B.C. and in parts of China, nowhere else in the world. They are popular carve-your-name-in-the-trunk trees because the bark heals into a soft well-defined scar. A few trees on the island have been abused like this. Still, they couldn’t take the beautiful away! Groups of three and four Fluted Swallowtails spiraled in and out of the sunlight as I walked down the mountain road on Salt Spring Island. Fortunately one briefly settled on a fir tree.

“Rude Awakening”…making way for new, large condominiums along White Ave. in Edmonton, Alberta

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Raccoon family and below, Canada Goose gosling, Ottawa, ON

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Niagara Falls, New York USA and Ontario, Canada

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Morning light shining through hazy forest, Sarsparilla Trail, Ottawa, ON

Back yard afternoon shadows, Ottawa, ON