Coast Mountains and some thoughts

Saturday afternoon, late before the sunset, I was up on Burnaby Mountain north of where I live to take in the view of the snow-capped mountains to the north.  The photo above is just one of a series taken that afternoon. The scene here looks out toward the mountains from the north side of Burnaby Mountain.  The boats in the bottom of the photo are heading up Indian Arm.  There were a number of boats out that afternoon, including a sailboat.

The temperatures have gotten warmer and are around 10 degrees Celsius at the moment.  The rain is back but there are plenty of signs of spring around.  Crocuses, spring heathers,  forsythias and other spring flowers and shrubs are in bloom now, even the first magnolias.

At work, I have someone working with me into the second week and we get along great.  He's a Gemini, like Brad, and he loves it where he's working now.  If you don't know, I'm a Leo!  It made me think of what it would be like working with Brad.  That was one of the original plans, and I'd see to it happening if he's still interested and up to it.  With a year or two here he'd be a changed man with a broader, deeper understanding of life and what its all about.  It would be awesome to have a hiking companion too!

Well, I'm going to have a quick shower and then head off to bed.  Its nearing 10:30 pm and the morning comes fast enough.  Have a good night, or good day, guys!

~ Volker

the mountains and other stuff

On the way in to work this morning I noticed that the nearby mountains, the Coast Mountains on the north side of Burrard Inlet, have received a good dusting of fresh snow. The sun was out in all its brilliance and the sky was a clear blue. It was a beautiful setting to see the mountains in an otherwise green landscape. Surprisingly there is still plenty of autumn colour to be seen here in British Columbia's the lower mainland despite it being well into the second week of November.

Its Remembrance Day tomorrow, Thursday, a day to remember the armed forces Veterans on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. As honourable this is, WWI was to be the war that ended all wars and here we are still fighting each other in various parts of the world. If we removed greed for money and power plus avarice from the picture, and allowed people to live their lives in peace we'd have a much greater world but the reality is that people are no different than countries: they get in each other's business! Instead we have unrest and war over resources, water and who knows what else. I think you get the picture.

You've probably heard it before but often we have to learn the hard way as opposed to the easy way. When mankind is totally sick of it and fighting and gets back to its senses, we'll have an end to war! Meantime, it continues with the next world bully stirring the pot to foment more of the same as if we've learned nothing at all from the last two world wars! That's enough on that subject and we'll move to something more positive.

So it looks like rain on Thursday, so I'll likely get some laundry out of the way and do other work that needs doing around the apartment, like cleaning the kitchen and bath! The reason why I have a day off work is because where I work is a financial institution and all of them are closed on statutory holidays, which is what Remembrance Day is classed as. So what are you doing that day?

The Italian Stone Pine I bought the other week is doing quite well. I even can see some beads of resin oozing out on some of the branches on the crown. The plan is to re-pot it in the spring something that needs doing with a number of other plans in the apartment. The pine will spend most of its time out on the balcony and only be in the apartment for Christmastime! The poinsettia that I bought last Christmas is also doing quite well and is the longest I've had one live past the holiday season and here we are closing in on another Christmas. Hope things are well! - V

more Admiralty Point Trail pics

The Admiralty Point Trail runs south from its trailhead in Belcarra Park in the village of Belcarra and continues south to Burns Point via Cod Rock and Admiralty Point. This is a selection of photos I took on the Saturday, August 28th hike which took three hours down and back, including to stop for photos! Aside from plenty of conifers of various types and deciduous trees like alder and such, there are lots of ferns to be seen plus a few colourful surprises.
I did take a series of photos of this conifer tree growing on a nurse stump. This is just one of them. Then if you look closely, there are signs of autumn colour in various places.
Some of the tree are tall, very tall. Then a group of kayakers started off from one of the small beaches on the way down to Admiralty Point.
I did manage to get a shot of a spider web caught in the sunlight. This shot is facing into the light! There's another shot of that ship you've seen before in the previous post on the trail.
There's a shot of a small beach and Cod Rock in the photo above and a view west-southwest looking down Burrard Inlet in the image below.
Admiralty Point and the land that includes it and Burns Point actually is Federal Crown land leased to the city of Vancouver. The end of the lease period is coming up soon.
Before continuing to Burns Point I did try to get a good photos of a Douglas' Squirrel. There was another shot taken but is was worse with a good shot of the bark of the tree but a squirrel out of focus! The little critter was busy playing hide and seek!
There are surprises here and there with some bright colour. That's Whiteshell Bank in the image below. Its along the north shore of Burrard Inlet.
Once I got to Burns Point I took a number of photos of the high voltage lines crossing Burrard Inlet, of the inlet itself, of the trig point at Burns Point and so on. There was a chirping-like sound heard from the power lines running overhead perhaps due to the water below? I hope you've enjoyed the photos. Feel free to comment! - V

Containership

A few weekends ago I was in Vancouver to walk the seawall at Stanley Park (I usually do the complete wall) and saw yet another containership leave the inner harbour followed by one entering. The shots above show the containership entering the first narrows at Burrard Inlet. The inner harbour is just beyond. - Volker

Yet more things that float

A few weekends ago I witnessed a freighter being docked on the opposite side of Burrard Inlet (North Vancouver) and this series of shots resulted. Have a look! - Volker

View from the top of Burnaby Mountain

Here is a lovely view of the valley from the top of Burnaby Mountain looking west, northwest from the western end of the mountain. The body of water seen on the right and stretching into the distance is Burrard Inlet. Capital Hill is in the centre with downtown Vancouver in the background left and Stanley Park in the centre background. The Coast Mountains are on the right (north). I plan to present more from this series of photos when time permits but enjoy this one for now. - Volker

More on things that float

I've been walking the seawall at Vancouver's Stanley Park several times this year and on a bright, warm Saturday afternoon several weeks ago I saw three cruiseships leave Vancouver's harbour via the first narrows at Burrard Inlet. Then it was on into English Bay and into the Georgia Strait. You can see all three ships together in the last photo: the Statendam, the Sapphire Princess and the Serenade of the Seas. The following day there was another ship that left the harbour on a cruise. Perhaps there were others but I didn't see them. And of course, there are always freighters entering or leaving the harbour as well. There is always something to draw one's interest. - Volker