sailboat on English Bay

I took this photo in the spring of 2008 and was thinking of Brad at the time I took it since he's such a sailing buff. This is looking across English Bay from Stanley Park. What caught my interest was the large flock of seabirds flying by at the time the image was taken. I've never seen such a sight before or since. I also posted this photo early on when I first started this blog in 2008 with Brad as my co-writer. Simply awesome scene! - V

flight

Capturing birds in flight has been a bit of a challenge for me but I think I'm getting the hang of it. To date the first photo is likely my best followed by the second. Then there are the Canada geese flying over some highrise condos along Beach Avenue in Vancouver. All these images were taken of birds flying above the seawall facing English Bay. There is the seagull (the first one), the crow (the second) and the Canada geese (the last two). You take your pick as to which one you like best. Each time I take these photos I realize that I need a better telephoto lense. What do you think? - V.

water

Summer may be behind us but there is still a lot of nice weather ahead of us to enjoy now that we're in autumn. There is something about water that we find soothing, whether it a fountain, a babbling brook or the waves at the seashore. Here are some shots I took along the seawall at Stanley Park in Vancouver during the last weekend of September. You're viewing English Bay. The rainy days of fall will soon be upon us but it's nothing like a sunny day to bring out people to enjoy the fine weather. That could mean sailing on the bay, walking their dogs, having a run or just enjoying a leisurely stroll along the water. Enjoy the photos!!! - V.

waterfowl and other fauna

Saturday I decided to take another route to Stanley Park, one I hadn't taken in some time, and this is likely why I was able to see something new and unusual. You see the Great Blue Heron in the top photo with the gaggle of Canada Geese looking on but this is not unusual. There are plenty of herons to see about the park and area. What is unusual (for me at any rate) is in the next photo, a goose not at all like the geese around it. You can see this bird to the far left of the photo below.

Then I got a closer look and here it is. It took a bit to consult one of my bird books at home before I realized that it was a cross between a Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifons) and a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis, of which there are several subspecies). You can see traits of the former in its bill, head and neck plus its webbed feet (pinkish-orange). Details of the latter species of goose can be seen in the body and the plumage there. It appears to be an immature bird and will likely have its adult plumage by April of next year. Below are a few more photos of this bird. I've been interested in birds and their habitat since I was very young, so forgive my excitement!

Swans are another interesting bird. There are a number of them in Stanley Park (Lost Lagoon). They have a robust feature to them, strong neck and big webbed feet! The Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), native to Europe, is the one species to be found in the park. There there is the Douglas' Squirrel, native to this part of British Columbia. I have a special love for this little creature as well. So, if you happen to be in Stanley Park, take in the wonders of its flora and fauna when you do visit. You won't be disappointed! - V.

today - Saturday

Today, I slept in till almost 10 am before deciding to get up. Other than the weekend, I am up at about 5 am to get ready for work, so being able to sleep in is a treat. I did the earlier post after breakfast and before heading off to Vancouver for the afternoon. Since I've got the pager and am on call, I didn't want to stray too far in the event I had to answer any important calls or have to head off to the work site to handle a situation. As things are, it's been a rather quiet day on the work front, so that's a good thing.

I took a number of photos, so I'll have some to post as soon as I get them downloaded from my camera. There are not as many as last Saturday, so it'll be easier work editing them as well. I took in parts of Stanley Park and English Bay Beach this time round.

I bought some groceries before heading back home from Vancouver. Some of the items are for supper. The fruit, such as bananas, pears and nectarines, are to last through the week. A lot of what I purchase is on sale to stretch the dollars to the best advantage.

Right now I am cooking up a stew with chicken drumsticks, a variety of vegetables such as potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, garlic (all diced) plus sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a mix of herbs to taste. I also added some water and white wine, in this case chardonnay from the pays d'oc of southern France. I'm topping up the wine as it cooks at a low heat, and if it's good enough to drink, it's good enough for the pot! I'll have some this evening before bedtime but it'll be a lot better tomorrow and certainly Monday after the flavours have had a chance to mingle.

So, how has your weekend been so far? I'm off to Metrotown briefly in the afternoon on Sunday before returning home to bake some flatbread. Then after supper it's early to bed to get ready for the work week. How soon the weekends fly by so more news later!!! - V.

antics

On my way back to the Lost Lagoon and downtown Vancouver I took the Tatlow Trail through the park. I always find the antics and activities of birds and animals interesting. Above, a grey squirrel played what seems to us as peek-a-boo but when it realized I had no food for it (its all about the food you know!), the squirrel went on its way.

I tried out some of the early salmonberries (above, related to the blackberries) but they're a bit tart yet. The birds (and others) have wasted no time in trying them just the same.

Then I took photos of a mallard duck (hen, the female) taking in some grit. She was very patient about the whole thing. They use the grit to grind their food as part of the digestion process. After that I ended up at the north end of the lagoon and headed on into the downtown to complete the last errand before heading home. - V.

the beaches

Sunday was a pleasant day, sunny with some cloud but not overly hot like during the week when we had very summer like days. In the midst of getting some errands out of the way I came to Stanley Park (Vancouver) to walk and in the process get some exercise, fresh air and sunshine. A kiosk had been set up at the main beach on English Bay (Beach Avenue is behind me) renting out kayaks. There was a reasonable amount of activity but on a very hot weekend the beaches are full.

There was more activity at the 3rd beach (see photo above and those below). Note the kayaks! I had hoped to get a shot of a guy trying out his skimboard but when I set up the shot, I wasn't as thrilled with the outcome, so I let it go. There'll be another opportunity soon enough. In the pic just below, that's Hollyburn Mountain in the background with West Vancouver developments creeping up the mountain side.

The photo above shows the view of the 3rd beach from the top of the stairs above the beach. The public washrooms, lifeguard station and a food kiosk are behind me. Speaking of the lifeguard station, a lifeguard was preparing to wheel down a lifeboat on a trailer as I was up there, so I took a few photos of the event. He wheeled her to a certain point and then turned the boat and all about before proceeding down hill. It takes lots of strength to accomplish that feat but what comes down must come back up. Good thing I'm not the one doing that! These fit men are far better for it. I hope you had a great weekend, however you chose to spend it!!! - V.

restful Sunday - not exactly

Well, Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest, sort of, after an active day Saturday. On my journey Saturday I walked down to Queens Park near home and then on toward Fraser Cemetery in Sapperton before heading on to downtown Vancouver by SkyTrain with Stanley Park being the focus that day. I did a bit too much walking and got a bit more sun than was wise, so I thought of staying at home today. That meant a leisurely breakfast, checking emails and such and then getting some needed laundry done and out of the way. After that was done, I cooked up some soup (rice with vegetables, pork) and then prepared a bread dough to bake around suppertime. As the bread (olive) was baking, the aroma of fresh baked bread filled the entire apartment. I'll take some in to work over the next two days along with soup made today. I also spent some time listening to music on Radio Canada's "Espace Musique" that was playing various kinds of music from Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, etc, and then I got down to playing some cds toward evening (Austrian and Bavarian folk music). With the warmer weather my computer shuts down unannounced at the most inconvenient times, so posts may be sparse during hot weather. It likely has to do with the heat generated by the new hard drive which is not exactly as the old one it replaced but a new one that fits this machine would cost me over $600. I opted for a cheaper hard drive and put the money into a new work station. Anyway, more posts coming, including Saturday's activities. Have a great week!!! - V.

Checking out Stanley Park

Saturday was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. It was 23 degrees with a cloudless sky though you could see the mist off in the distance. This area is known for its temperate rainforests, so this shouldn't be surprising. I took a number of photos during my trip into Vancouver, the main destination being Stanley Park. The photo above was taken near the entrance to the park on West Georgia Street. Off in the distance (looking east) you can see the Coal Harbour development. A Canada goose (there were a few) is seen on the grassy boulevard on the northside of West Georgia Street.

The swallows are back at Lost Lagoon (above). Here are a few at a nesting box at the north end of the lagoon.

Near the rose garden in the park you may spot a bee house-hive for the blue mason bee native to this part of the British Columbia coast (see pic above). The bees even have their own garden with flowers suited to their needs. The alliums (below) also keep them busy collecting nectar for making honey.

A couple of "lions" guard the entrance to the Lion's Gate Bridge crossing the first narrows on Burrard Inlet between Vancouver and North and West Vancouver on the northside of the inlet. The photo above shows one of the lions. Below is a view of part of the seawall as seen from the bridge.

Downtown Vancouver can be seen from the bridge just beyond Stanley Park. The view includes one of the tallest structures at West Georgia and Thurlow Streets. Then there is a view of the bridge looking up (below).

Another view of the bridge is shown above, this one from the Stanley Park side and a close-up view below.

Prospect Point, to the immediate west of the bridge, has an awesome view, this one looking to the northwest across to West Vancouver (Hollyburn Mountain in the background). There are all sorts of wild flowers to be seen on the walk between Prospect Point and Ferguson Point on English Bay (see below).

The above photos shows a fern frond unfurling and there are all sorts of stumps to be found, all put to good use as "nurse stumps" (below).

I did manage to see another couple of bald eagles. If you look carefully at the centre of the above photo, you can see an eagle. When I spotted them and took this photo, that one and its partner obscured by the trees took off westward. This was the best I could do with my telephoto lens and reason enough for me to get a bigger one! The clearing have all sorts of wild flowers, such as the buttercups below. I did want to get a close-up shot of a bumblebee but it took off rather quickly unlike the garden variety that are used to having people about.

The fruit of the blackberries are starting to form (above) and below you can see a view of one of the clearings. A number of clearings were created after the big wild storm of late 2006 (I have photos of before and after with dramatic changes).

Above is a view of English Bay as seen from Ferguson Point. Then below is a photo of rock art which can be seen along the seawall between the 2nd and 3rd beach on the English Bay side of the park.

People were braving the water at the 3rd beach (above) and there's another view of the beach from the lookout above the beach itself (note the fan palm).

A view of English Bay's main beach near Denman and Davie Streets can be seen below. Despite the warm temperatures, people are well clothed for the most part, even in the heat of the summer. Back east in southern Ontario, beaches there would display a lot more skin. This something that immediately struck me when I came here to stay in 2006 but a couple of factors come to mind that might account for this: an awareness of the damaging affects of the sun and perhaps, in part, a British prudishness to cover up, something that has been tossed away back east though sunscreen is well used there. The benefits of exposure to the air and the sun's rays is the body's ability to produce vitamin D plus drying out the skin (we all know what moist skin is the breeding ground for!). Anyway, that's my journey through the park for Saturday. I hope you've enjoyed the photos! Hope your weekend was a pleasant one too! As for today, I spent the day resting up after all the walking I did yesterday. My right foot and knee have not healed up enough yet, so both (especially the foot) were a bit sore after the end of the day. Take care!!! - V.