adopted

Since my last post something happened to change my life forever.  I have adopted a 16 year old boy from Indonesia who had lost his parents and older brother in a car accident in the mountains while on vacation.  All the occupants of the vehicle died when it ended up crashing into a mountain ravine.  One moment your world is fine and then the next its all upside down.  So after the accident, Wahid was looking for someone that would fill the roll as his father.  He found me through a friend on Facebook, so the social media online do serve some useful purposes!

Wahid chats with me daily, as often as 3 or 4 times each day.  A bond his formed and one that is likely to stay for the rest of my lifetime.  I did offer to adopt him legally as my son but I have left that option open not wanting to apply too much pressure considering what he has already been through.  Wahid does want to finished his college education and then come live with me in Canada.  In the meantime, the FB chats and exchanges of emails will have to do.  Those of you that know me on Facebook will know much more about this. 

So,  what have you been doing this summer? 

Meantime, for those living in Canada and the United States, enjoy the long weekend, Labour Day!  I plan to take a hike in West Vancouver tomorrow on trails on the lower part of Hollyburn Mountain, so more photos are coming.  Enjoy what remains of summer, and the long weekend!

- Volker

coming of darkness

I took this image with my DSLR camera shortly after leaving work. This is downtown Vancouver on West Hastings Street at Burrard as darkness approaches.  When I was editing the photo, I cropped out the bottom of the original image as that part detracted from the rest and the focus on the light as night approached.

~ Volker

Red-shafted Flicker

There are plenty of western flickers in the area.  The western red-shafted flicker is native to the western half of North America.  This is one on a tombstone in the Fraser Cemetery, Sapperton.  - V

clock tower

This is another of the photos I took earlier in the week when we still had nice weather.  This is a clock tower on West Hastings Street at Granville Street in downtown Vancouver.  There is a schooner at the top of the weather vane.

When I came home this evening, I had a light supper and then fired up the computer the check emails and such.  The only problem was I have two user accounts set up, one for me and the other for Brad.  I clicked on Brad's instead of mine and started his up instead.  Then I had to switch users to get mine going.  I must have had Brad on my mind at the time I was getting the computer started up.  Its the first time I've done that.

Now I'm going to have a quick shower and then go to bed.  Its moving toward midnight here on Canada's west coast.  Have an awesome weekend, guys! - V

Hotel Vancouver

A couple of days ago I took a few photos before heading off to work.  This was in downtown Vancouver and just within blocks of where I work.  Here the sun was rising in the east leaving light and dark shadows on buildings.  The above photo shows the Hotel Vancouver on Burrard Street at West Georgia Street in the downtown, where our client had our Christmas dinner in December.  Its a high end hotel where I stayed once for 200 dollars a night in the off season.

I photograph what captures my interest.  Its usually something in nature but occasionally its a building or even someone wakeboarding (in the summer, of course!).  Enjoy your weekend once you get there.  As for us, we may expect more sunshine and less rain this weekend.  How about you?  - V

Art Deco

This is a photo of the top of an Art Deco-style building in downtown Vancouver taken this morning before work.  The building is on Burrard Street at West Hastings Street.  It was a challenge getting the right angle for a decent photo because of the angle of the sun at the time of morning I took the image.  This style was popular in the 1930s and there are examples across Canada dating from that time in our history.  I'll have more once the photos are all edited.  Meantime, appreciate this one! - V

sunset Saturday

This was the sunset late Saturday afternoon as seen from the western end of Burnaby Mountain with the sun setting behind Vancouver Island to the west.  I took a whole series of photos but did take a few more after this one before leaving to catch a bus home.  There were a lot of other interested photographers up there with me at the time.  I guess we all had the same idea!  Enjoy!!!  - V

view from Burnaby Mountain

I went up to the top of Burnaby Mountain late this afternoon.  It was warm (nearing 10 degrees Celsius) and because of this, and the fact the water was still cool, a mist/fog had formed over the water of the Georgia Straight and English Bay between the mainland and Vancouver Island.  The took this photo this afternoon nearing sunset.  The view looks to the west-northwest with Capital Hill (Burnaby) in the foreground and downtown Vancouver in the background (left) and the North Shore Mountains on the right.  This is one of several images taken this afternoon.  I'll have more soon.  Meantime, enjoy this one! - V

clouds from the air

Here is another shot that I took as the plane was making an approach to Vancouver airport.  You can see a bit of the sun and the many layers of clouds in the sky. This was December 23rd, 1978.  The next day it was raining but it was the only such day.  Otherwise it was cold and mostly clear.  The children loved it since the ponds were frozen over which as I understand it, usually doesn't happen in this part of British Columbia.  Sun and cold pretty well described the rest of the 2 and a half week stay in Vancouver.

I stayed at the YMCA Vancouver on Burrard Street.  That place has since been completely renovated.  I met a young man from Hamilton, Ontario that was staying down the hall from me.  We went to a restaurant on Burrard and I accompanied him to the Greyhound Bus Terminal which in those days was in the downtown, not at the Train station on Main Street as it is now.  The last time I saw him he was catching a bus to Edmonton supposedly to work in the oil fields and I've not seen him since.  Such is life!  We meet people and see them for years and others we see once and never again.  That was just over 30 years ago.  So, what sort of adventures have you undertaken? - V

Vancouver Island - December 1978

I came out to Vancouver for the first time in December 1978.  I flew here that time and the plan was to fly back but I refunded the return ticket and opted to take the train back to Toronto and home from there.  The above photo was scanned from one of the many colour slides taken on that trip on Agfachrome slide film.  This image shows a view of Vancouver Island from the plane as we were approaching the airport.  The plane came north from the BC lower mainland, then over Georgia Strait before heading south to the airport for the final approach.  I returned home to Ontario by train in January 1979.  There will be some more photos later after they've been scanned.  Meantime, enjoy this one! - V

A couple of days ago I was on my way home on the SkyTrain when I decided to change at Broadway Station and walk over to Commercial Station to continue on home from that point.  Once on the train I noticed a young guy seated ahead of me.  I was standing next to one of the doors not far from him.  He was wearing a cap with flaps similar to this but with cloth, not fur, a patterned design.  This guy also wore a red plaid jacket with a white background plus medium-blue cotton denim jeans and runners.  Under the jacket he had a dark blue cotton shirt with lettering on it.  His face was flushed red, from the colder temperatures outside no doubt.  Our eyes met briefly.  I'm partial to blue or green eyes but brown eyes are okay too.  What's most important is the energy coming from the person.  We can all feel a connection if we feel a positive vibe.  He was on the train when I got on, so must have gotten on at the college, VCC-Clarke.

Later the seat next to him near the window became free and he moved over.  A short while later I decided to sit down where he had been sitting but now next to him.  Busy on his smartphone, his right elbow lightly nudged me in the ribs each time his fingers moved on his device.  It actually felt pleasant, and he also looked a me a couple of times as if wanting to make contact.  Perhaps I should have!  He got off at Lougheed Station but I'm have to wait for another time to introduce myself.  Life doesn't have to be boring.  There are interesting things or adventures around every corner.  What do you think? - V

Eagle Mountain as seen from Sapperton

This is a view of Eagle Mountain as seen from the Sapperton's Fraser Cemetery in New Westminster, British Columbia, the source of three hikes this summer with more planned for 2012. For various reasons I didn't make it to the summit but this is in the plans for next year. There is a microwave tower (red and white) in this photo where there is a lookout with an awesome view of the Fraser River and some of the lower mainland. A trail follows the hydro lines to Eagle Bluff to the west (left side of this image), which has an even better view. I have seen some images that others have taken of the view from the summit of the mountain. This goal is something to look for! - V

Sapperton

The top photo is a crop of a larger one and shows the cone on a Monkey Puzzle Tree, this one in Sapperton. Below is the crown of the same tree.
I got out late in the afternoon to check out a new grocery store near the SkyTrain station in Sapperton. The weather was mostly cloudy but with some sunshine getting through the overcast sky. As you can see, it is the usual autumn weather. The rain will be back but for the moment not having it is a relief! I cut through the Fraser Cemetery on the way to East Columbia Street (200 block) in New Westminster where the store is located. The store (Thifty Foods) was about a 20 minute walk away from home, so the exercise was good and needed but walking back was mostly uphill until it leveled out some as I got closer to home. When I returned home, it was time for a quick supper with most of the daylight gone for the day. As the season advances, the sun gets lower on the horizon and the daylight hours decrease. There's a fair bit of dew in the morning but I'll let you know when it gets frosty! - V

view at Burnaby Mountain

This past Sunday I went up to Burnaby Mountain in the hopes of taking some photos of the autumn colour but it hasn't progressed as far as other places lower in elevation. The photo above shows alder trees along a road near Simon Fraser University. When they are in colour, they'll be a bright yellow which looks awesome with the sun shining through in the background.
The ferns and moss add to the greenery still present in the area.
The image above looks at the mountains on the northside of Burrard Inlet opposite Burnaby Mountain and the photo below shows the Eagle Mountain area where I had been hiking from the middle to late summer. Eagle Bluff is in the centre of that photo.
Above we look north up Indian Arm opposite Burnaby Mountain. Below is the Western Pearly Everlasting gone to seed way past its beauty of the summer past. You can literally see autumn in the air! There is some colour on the mountain but I suspect more will be had in a week or two. I'll have more photos then, at least that's the plan. Meantime, enjoy these photos!!! - V

star and heart

This afternoon while up on Burnaby Mountain to check out the autumn colour I saw this star and heart near the bottom of a cistern. I first saw it a couple of summers ago and it always makes me think of Brad. The colour is just starting. It'll need another week or two before its better. I'll post some more photos soon. Meantime, enjoy this one! - V

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

the sky

Have you ever taken the time to appreciate the beauty that the sky offers us daily? In this case its the sky over English Bay in Vancouver, British Columbia during a recent summer (but not the one we just had). That's the landing to the ferry at Sunset Beach on the right. Take the time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life! Life is over too quickly to spend it asleep at the switch!! - V

autumn colours

The autumn colours out here on the west coast vary each year depending upon the temperatures. Back east in southwestern Ontario warm days and cool, even frosty nights helped bring out the colour but here the natural vegetation will likely get you plenty of browns and tans rather than the brilliant oranges, yellows or reds like back east. Occasionally we get to see such brilliant colour but the trees tend not to be native to the region and instead are native to other regions, such as eastern North America or Japan. The photo above is one I took in early October 2008. Regardless, we do take the time to enjoy, so enjoy what your autumn season brings you! - V

Halloween or Solstice?

With Canada's Thanksgiving soon behind us, the end of October and Halloween will soon be upon us. These photos are from a series of images I took back in October 2009. Obviously the stone circle gets used because there was a remains of a fire within the circle. Just use your imagination and let it run free! - V

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