Afghan Hounds

I took this photo in October 2008 on a walk along False Creek in Vancouver. I was nearing Granville Island at the time and saw a guy walking these Afghan Hounds. You just never know when you see something out of the ordinary, and this was the case. I'm re-posting this for my dog lovers. Enjoy the treat! - V

False Creek

This past weekend I decided to head into Vancouver on Saturday rather than saving it for Sunday. Its a good thing I did because Sunday it started to cloud over in the afternoon making for less than ideal photo opportunities. I love to have a bright blue sky in the photo and besides, the colours are brighter all round, but some cloud is good since it adds interest. Well, I decided upon walking along the north side of False Creek once again and these are just some of the photos that resulted. I hope you like them!

Well into the walk I noticed this artwork along the way. The top part turns with the wind and the "goose" flaps its wings in the process though slowly. The first pic is a close-up and the second is a shot taken from a distance away. I had missed this one entirely on the previous walks, so you never know what you see that you may have missed previously!

II also took some shots of the highrise condos in Yaletown. The one above and below are just two of them. There are enough parks about to break the scene, add interest and give people to meet, play ball, lounge in the sun and so on.

My next walk along False Creek will likely take me along the south side as well to check out the Granville Market once again, the one on Granville Island. Of course, birds are to be seen everywhere, such as the gull preening below.

Here's a view of the Granville Bridge with the market on Granville Island below it. There were people sunning themselves too where ever there was a patch of green grass to be found. Below is a closer view!

Sunset Beach is located just west of the Burrard Bridge where the False Creek meets English Bay. I love the small plantings to be found there. They would make great backgrounds for a photo shoot. I've been spotting out possibilities for the last year or so for such photo shoots. In the above photo we are looking through a Russian sage with the beach, English Bay and the mountains beyond. Then there's the planting with the fan palms and annuals, another interesting backdrop.

The main beach at English Bay had lots of the usual activity on a warm, bright, sunny day, such as the volleyball game taking place in the photo below.

The photo above is the scene along Beach Avenue above the change rooms to English Bay Beach. Looking at the palm trees you wouldn't think this scene was above the 49th paralell but it is. Then there are the flags along Beach Avenue where Denman and Davie Streets meet. The last photo shows a local Starbucks outlet where you have a clear view of English Bay, a great place to watch a sunset regardless of the time of year. So to conclude my time in Vancouver, from Denman and Davie Streets I walked into the downtown to get some groceries and then head off home by SkyTrain. Hope you've enjoyed these photos. There'll be more since there's a whole lot of summer yet to come! - V.

July - a Saturday at False Creek

After sleeping in until nearly 9 am (beats 5 am, the regular time I get up during the week), I had a shower, got cleaned up and had a leasurely breakfast before getting on the computer to read emails and check out some blogs. Its another hot weekend with temperatures nearing 29 degrees Celsius about double the weekday temperatures. Friday was getting warmer and clearer, an indication of what we were to experience this weekend.

Since the hot weather has returned to us, and with that higher humidity, the laptop is acting up again. It slows down and then crashes. Other than June till August and perhaps September, the computer works fine. Because of this, I am unable to post videos on the blog for now until the weather cools and the computer nolonger does these crazy things. I had hoped to post some of Scott Herman's latest videos but this will have to wait until a better time or until I get this issue resolved.

So, after breakfast and working at the computer, I got dressed and went into town (Vancouver) taking a short bus ride to Braid Station and then the SkyTrain to Main Street Station from where I started my walk along the north side of False Creek to English Bay Beach. It was sunny and hot as I mentioned, not that I am complaining about that for myself (other than how it affects the laptop). I'll post some photos I took as soon as I am able to download them onto the computer which hopefully will be tomorrow morning (Sunday).

It's now late into Saturday evening here on the west coast and after a long day in the warm sunshine, I took a warm shower as opposed to a hot one I normally take and am ready for bed. So have a great night and expect another post as early as Sunday as soon as those photos are downloaded!!! - V.

False Creek on a Saturday

Yesterday (Saturday), I decided to take a walk along False Creek starting at the winter olympic village currently still under construction but well advanced. From there I took the seaside walk on the north side ending at 2nd beach in Stanley Park (the walkway continues, I just decided to end the walk there!). These are some of the photos I took along the way. The first two photos were taken from a higher vantage point. As you can see by the clarity of the pics, it can get rather humid in these parts. This area is part of the temperate rainforest for good reason!

A couple of barges were brought in a while ago to bring construction material closer to where the work was being carried out. The top pic shows the olympic village in the background and the lower photo has ScienceWorld and highrise condos in the background.

At the winter olympic village (2010) still under construction many of the plantings have been completed. These plantings are suited to dry conditions as you can see.

Since it was a Saturday, some work was going on (see above). Thats Yaletown in the background in the photo below with another interesting planting in the foreground. There is another view below that of Yaletown as seen from the village.

Plenty of people were out walking, running or cycling. Above is a cyclist checking out what I was photographing with a closer view of the cyclist below. I'm looking at getting a bike myself, probably next year. Its been years since I rode one but I still know how. Its not been that long ago!

On the north side of False Creek you can get another excellent vantage point to view the village.

The seaside walk on the north side of False Creek had plenty of activity too and it was the first time on that route for me. I've taken plenty of walks along the southern route. Thats another scene of Yaletown in the photo above and those below.

I followed along behind this hot dude above (and pic below) for a bit before I continued on along the seaside route. Should we be in shape, yes, and can we be devilishly handsome, yes to that as well!

Above is another view along the walk in Yaletown. To my right off the photo, a wedding party was being photographed, a beautiful day for both a wedding and taking photos! In hindsight I should have taken atleast one photo of the photographer at work. What do you think?

The last photo, take a close look at what appears below the railing. There's a whole string under the railing that I haven't photographed but I plan to next time and post the results. As I approached Sunset Beach while continuing along the route westward, I noticed a guy taking photos from just behind a planting along the walk. He wasn't taking photos of the plants but was taking pics of the scene on the north side of the walk: people in various stages of dress! Some were even nude! One guy was wearing a bow around his penis and not much else. Some had tattoos, etc., but there was nothing particularly interesting to take photos of, for me at any rate. As I mentioned at the beginning, I ended my walk at the 2nd beach (I was getting tired by that point!) and so continued on off that walk and along the west side of Lost Lagoon and then back into town to complete my last errand before heading home on the SkyTrain. I hope you've enjoyed this little tour and the photos! More to come!!! - V.

False Creek - South Shore

Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day, so while I was in Vancouver I took the opportunity to take a walk along the south shore of False Creek from Science World to the Burrard Street bridge via Granville Island and then into town. Of several dozen photos I took, these are just a few to whet your interest. If you look carefully, signs of spring are everywhere. The photo above shows a weathervane/artwork at Science World and then a better view of Science World below with the row of highrise condos behind.

The work on the Winter Olympic Village is progressing as the next few photos will indicate. The last time I took images of the scene was last autumn. The photo above shows the False Creek looking west. The village is on the left and Yaletown on the right. Then there are further images showing the work that has been done at the site of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Then the photo above was taken from the Cambie Street bridge and shows Yaletown in the background. The image below looks up a small hill near the water with a forsythia shrub in bloom about halfway up.

Then there is a view of a small hill on the eastern end of Granville Island and a street scene below.

Plantings of spring flowers are present to delight the soul and there are reminders of the forthcoming cherry festival coming to Vancouver. Check out the two images below. I hope you've enjoyed this little diversion from the thoughts of winter, especially if you've still got snow on the ground where you are!