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 Serving Trays

Add a touch of nature and elegance to the kitchen and dining room with this floral-themed serving tray!

Marigolds aren't just eye candy; they've been used for culinary (teas, salads) and medicinal (anti-inflammatory) purposes for hundreds of years in European cultures. These beautiful, aromatic and showy blooms bloom all summer long into fall and even until the first frost. They are a natural mosquito repellent, and may also keep flower munchers like deer from the pride and joy in your garden. Photographed in mid June and mid July 2016 at local public and private gardens.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

A Medley of Red Yellow and Orange Marigolds Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room and serve up a side of cuteness with this whimsical, wildlife-themed serving tray! 

They're back! On a surprisingly cold and rainy morning, two flocks of Bushtits (10 in each) flew in for brunch on the flowering carrot, butterfly bush, and California Lilac bush. Some took baths on the wet leaves, and these five guys were huddled on the plum tree for warmth. It was tricky trying to get the catchlight in everyone's eyes (and all of them facing the camera (more or less))--but without a doubt, these little birds are naturally and undeniably photogenic. Photographed in early July 2016 and featured on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's allaboutbirds.org website.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Heartwarming Cute Bushtits Songbirds Family Photo Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this wildlife-themed serving tray! 

As Buffleheads don't congregate in large flocks (4 is generally the maximum) but do keep their distance from humans and potential predators (with the exception of the odd sentry, who investigates all comings and goings of creatures other than itself), it was a pleasant surprise to see both conventions broken in early December 2016, when we spotted a flock of 30 at one of the local ponds, swimming very close to the edge of the pond -- and even anticipating handouts of birdseed! Clearly, these seaducks have become accustomized to the presence of creatures like us!
 
Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Getting My Ducks in a Row: Four Buffleheads Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this floral-themed serving tray! 

Japanese Andromeda aka Pieris Japonica is one of my favorite shrubs. It is one of the first plants to flower in the spring--making it an early and obvious choice for pollinators like bumblebees and honeybees--and its slow growing nature makes it an easy-to-maintain natural border plant. Its medley of young dark red leaves, mature yellowish green leaves, and white bell-shaped flowers contrasts nicely against a blue sky and makes for and makes for spectacular landscape shots.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Japanese Andromeda Bonfire Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this wildlife-themed serving tray! The perfect choice for bird lovers! A few minutes after leaving Westham Island, we came across this Ring-Necked Pheasant by the outside of the fence of an old farm, somewhere near Brunswick Point. I had never seen one before, either in a zoo or in the "wilds of Ladner." He did spot me trying to sneak in a photo, and hunkered down under the fence and tiptoed in the ankle-high grass. After a few moments--figuring I was gone, since I hadn't moved--he popped right back up, and that's how I got this photo.

A Ring-Necked Pheasant Crosses the Road Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this wildlife-themed serving tray! 

My introduction to the Satyr Comma / Anglewing. Apparently these little, bright orange butterflies are supposed to be skittish, but don't tell this beauty that ... it posed for several shots on a blade of marsh vegetation. Photographed on July 2, 2016 at Campbell Valley Regional Park.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Beautiful Orange Satyr Comma Butterfly Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this wildlife-themed serving tray! 

Among the largest birds we see here, Greater Sandhill Cranes are common sights in Metro Vancouver. These elegant wading birds actually prefer to be handfed bird seed at the local bird sanctuary, and I have found them to be much more delicate and precise eaters than Mallards and Canada Geese. They are quite well behaved about it, too; there is no infighting or scrabbling among their kind to be fed first.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Elegant Profile of a Greater Sandhill Crane Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this wildlife-themed serving tray! 

My attempt to photograph a Rufous hummingbird feeding from the hot pink fuschia flowers on a sunny evening in late June 2016 ultimately proved to be fruitless ... but this Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly who came to pose in its stead was a wonderful consolation prize!

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Beautiful Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly Serving Tray

Add a touch of nature to treasured memories and moments with this wildlife-themed binder! The perfect choice for bird lovers!

Although this fierce-looking falcon looks very much like a Peregrine, it's actually a Gyr-Saker hybrid falcon. Falconers crossbreed both in captivity with the hopes of producing a hybrid with the best traits of both species: in this case, the stamina of the large Gyrfalcon with the speed of the Saker falcon.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Gyrfalcon Saker Hybrid Falcon 3 Ring Binder

Take a bit of nature with you, wherever you go with this elegant, floral-themed drawstring backpack! 

Sometimes a mistake can be the path to a new technique. This Crested Iris was actually photographed outdoors under natural daylight after I forgot to reset shutter speed and aperture settings from the previous photo.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnaturev

Elegant Floral Crested Iris Japonica on Black Drawstring Bag

Cute Chillin' Mallard Mom Duck & Baby Duckling Notebook

Mallard Mom with Duckling Onboard

My first-of-year-Mallard-mom-with-baby-on-her-back (one of eight) sighting at the local pond today. Both are sitting in a little grassy area just off the water. These ducklings couldn't be more than a few days old, and already they were swimming and floating like little corks under the watchful eye of Mother Mallard (who was anything but a Mother Hen).

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

WWN Cute Chillin' Mallard Mom & Baby

Keep notes, reminders, and more in this whimsical, wildlife-themed journal!

Red squirrels on Galiano Island are undeniably bold and saucy, even going so far as to scold photographers and other two-legged creatures who wander into their territory. Photographed on Galiano Island in the early morning of July 4, 2017.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Saucy Red Squirrel in the Fir Notebook

Add a touch of nature to the kitchen or dining room with this floral-themed sandstone coaster, which features a trio of yellow and pink daylilies isolated on a black background. Photographed in mid-July 2018 at a private garden at sunset. 

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Elegant Trio of Yellow Pink Daylilies Floral Coaster

Elegant Great Egret Wading Bird in Reeds Clock

Elegant Great Egret in the Reeds Canvas Print

Finding this Great Egret in the winter grass and reeds fronting a Langley farm on December 31, 2018, was a great way to wrap up the year. My subject was neither disturbed by the trio of photographers capturing its every move, nor by the traffic roaring down the 2-lane road, and in fact, ventured to with 15 feet of me to feed. 

Whatever caused this migratory heron (which is an ultra-rare bird in Canada) to spend its decidedly non-tropical vacation here instead of at its regular winter stomping grounds in Miami, Mexico, and Guatemala is a mystery -- but one that I am very grateful for.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

WWN Elegant Great Egret in the Reeds

By far, Columbian Ground Squirrels are the most entertaining wildlife at Manning Park, and the first ones to greet us in the parking lot of Manning Park Resort. These Prairie Dogs of the West were positioned near their network of holes in the ground (or in rotted tree stumps) and often calling in an upright position like meerkats or groundhogs (when they weren't chasing each other around or kissing). We found plenty at Manning Park Resort and Lightning Lake (particularly near the picnic tables). Columbian Ground Squirrels spend the short summer bulking up on fat reserves for their hibernation period, which lasts for seven months!

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

A Medley of Red Yellow and Orange Marigolds Serving Tray

A Medley of Red Yellow and Orange Marigolds Serving Tray

More from Walks with Nature

Other serving trays from various stores