winter is nearing but...

Although winter is nearing we haven't seen any snow on the ground here in the valley, well, anything that's going to stay that is.  This is how Queens Park looked like after a snowfall but this was a couple of years ago.  The best we can do now is a few frosty nights.  Well, we know Jack Frost has been busy!  The mountains on the other hand have had plenty of snow.

Friday evening after work I stopped by the pharmacy in downtown Vancouver to pick up the rest of my meds. Then it was a quick stop at Chapters before starting the homeward journey.  On the train I saw this cute blond-haired guy with green eyes sitting in the opposite row of seats, you know, a dark brown leather jacket, blue denim jeans and the hair swept forward.  I got off at Sapperton station to head over to the grocery store and he stayed on likely heading over to Lougheed station like a lot of other hotties!

Today has been spent taking it easy, not doing anything especially straining or stressful.  I bought another small tree to dress the dining room table for the season, a cypress with a lighter green foliage than the one I have had for a couple of years.  I once had an Italian cypress tree that was bought as a small 8 inch tree in 2000.  It had blue-green foliage and was re-potted twice before I sold the house and left it with the new owners.  I would leave the tree outside from early spring until late autumn (usually October) and then bring it inside for the winter to spent its time in the front bay window.  It was around 3 feet tall when I gave it away, like I did with my other plants, though I should have given some of them to my cousin, as I later found out.  He and his wife would have appreciated them.

So, how's your weekend been? - V

snow!

There's snow in the forecast for us here on the west coast, more in the upper elevations and just a dusting for the valley, but we will see how this all translates in reality.  It may be a different world by Monday evening but then the rest of the country has had its share of the white stuff, so its our turn.  With Cypress Mountain resort open early and likely others to follow soon, the skiers should be very happy!

Meanwhile, as the weeks go by it is getting colder and colder at night and the day time not as warm.  We've had a few frosty nights this month so far and can expect more.  I was just checking The Weather Network and temperatures on the prairies are cold, extremely cold, in the -20 to -30 range.  All this is on top of the snow they've had over the weekend.  For us it won't get as cold as all that but we have heard that our winter will be drier and colder than most winters previous.  Let's see what happens!

Good Night, guys! - V

snow

We had snow here in British Columbia's lower mainland overnight from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. When this happens, the bad drivers here are worse, and there are enough of them. While waiting at the bus shelter, I was splashed twice, the last time from head to toe by someone speeding along in the curb lane where, of course, most of the snow and slush on the road was located. I didn't have enough time to get out of the shelter and run for cover. It was most inconsiderate and selfish! Its hard enough for a pedestrian to walk along the sidewalk in such a situation as it is without such inconsiderate behaviour along the way.

In the meantime, the rain is coming, so much of it will be gone before too long. Have a good night! I'm up at 3:30 in the morning to get ready for work. - V

snow scene

The winter of 2008-2009 offered us some snow as well, not just in November 2006 as posted previously. Here children are using a snow-covered hill in New Westminster's Queens Park to full advantage with seemingly boundless energy fully absorbed in their task. Snow in the British Columbia's lower mainland is not as rare as people might think. Fifty years ago or so this was the norm! - V

snow II

The weather reports were indicating that we don't often get severe snow storms in British Columbia's lower mainland. Well, that isn't entirely true as you can see from these photos I took when I was living in Surrey (Guildford) near 104th Avenue and 148th Street. These were taken in the latter part of November of 2006. December of that year brought a great wind storm that damaged a lot of trees on the windward side of Stanley Park. Anyways, the snow, it started on a Friday and continued through the weekend. These images show the scene after the snow had stopped but before it was trodden upon.
There has been snow in the years after this one but not as much. I still remember the parking lot in the apartment complex being unploughed. It remains so and only the rain that came after washed away the snow but that took about a week. It was not so bad for us that walked and took the bus but those that had to drive, the parking lot was a nightmare! Feel free to comment and share your own stories! Have a good night, guys!!! - V

the weather

Well, arctic air has moved south. It was snowing lightly as I went to bed Thursday evening and its snowing now but a bit heavier. The temperature of +2 Celcius is to drop to -2 over night. The weather warning issued today calls for some accumulation of snow. I'll let you know Saturday just how much that has translated to. The colder weather (for here) is to continue through the weekend but things are projected to warm up a bit by next weekend.

The ski slopes at Whistler north of Vancouver have opened up for the winter season. A week ago or so there was about 40 cm of the white stuff and more to come. This should be welcomed news the the skiers and snowboarders out there.

Looking at the local mountains, they are dusted with snow and the mountains further inland have a greater amount of it. Here in Greater Vancouver we are largely free of the stuff though this morning there was a slight accumulation in south Burnaby as I observed from the passing SkyTrain.

If you are in the midst of winter-like weather, enjoy it if you can making sure to dress warmly and for the conditions. Have a great weekend! - V

snow

We've had rain over the last couple of days, especially during the night, but there's also talk of that other four letter word, "snow", here in the valley. The mountain tops currently have a dusting of the white stuff, so it only follows that with colder temperatures here we may well get some too.

There is just another day of work before the weekend when I can devote more time to working at the computer here at home. My eyes are burning from not enough sleep, so I will soon call it a night and head off to bed. Good night all!!! - V

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

snow but not here on the coast

Today I learned that the northeast (US.) is digging out of a heavy snowfall. Mostlikely this is also the case in the Maritimes on the Atlantic coast in Canada. The U.S. south is also experiencing record cold weather. Meantime, here on the west coast it has been rain along the shore and snow at higher elevations.

I had expected to chat with Brad online but with the snow I can appreciate why this isn't happening this evening. Once they dig themselves out, things should improve but Brad would be able to explain their weather a whole lot better than I. I hope to hear from him soon. Meantime, have a good night (or good day)!!! - V.

more snow pics

During my first year here in the lower mainland of British Columbia once I got settled I was living in north Surrey. Toward the latter part of November 2006 this snowstorm started on a Friday and continued through the weekend. When the snow had stopped coming down, I took these photos. So in addition to the one that I sent Jared, here are some more from the series. Shots are taken through the livingroom and dining room windows facing east plus another window facing north. When the sun came out, it made for a surreal sight.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Meantime, I did some research afterwards and learned that this is actually "normal" weather for this region. What has been the case for the last 50 years or so is actually above normal. That being said, the main roads were fine but side streets were not ploughed nor were parking lots. The apartment complex I lived in at the time never bothered to arrange for a plough and left the snow nature to melt. That took just over a week. People have no idea!

Back east in southwestern Ontario the main roads would have been cleared the first night and then the side streets would have been next. The streets and sidewalks would have been cleared within 2 - 3 days but then they have the equipment to move the snow, here they don't. It does look beautiful when untouched by man nor beast, so enjoy the pics. There will be more from the series at Haliaeetus, my other blog. I certainly welcome comments! - V.

snow then,none now

Back in December 2006 I allowed my blogger friend, Jared, over at Completely Naked to post one of my photos. This one is of a series of photos taken after a snow storm which started November 20 had ended. The snow was fresh and untouched by man nor beast. The camera is facing east, northeast and the sun is off to the south (right off the frame). The sun made its appearance through an opening in the cloud cover to the south of where I lived at the time in north Surrey, British Columbia. Its looks very pristine and surreal at the same time but the driving afterwards was terrible. The side streets were never ploughed (the city just didn't have the equipment) though the main roads were passible. What for me was "normal" where I came from back east, was a disaster here in the lower mainland on the west coast where such snow hadn't been seen in more that 20 years. This photos makes for an awesome Christmas pic. Sadly, this year we had a green Christmas. What snow we had (a dusting), melted in the rain that follow about two weekends ago or so. When I find the disk that has more photos from this series, I'll post a few more. Have a great festive season!!! - V.

its back but not for long

Yes, the snow is back. Its been raining off and on for the last couple of days but this afternoon the white stuff started coming down. The Weather Network calls for 5 to 10 cm of snow this evening and overnight and up to 15 cm in the valley but it won't last. The ground is too warm and a night temperature of -2 degrees Celsius won't keep it for long nor will daytime temperatures in the 5 to 9 degree mark. I could hear the grumbling at work this afternoon and more of the same from a person that got off the bus with me this evening. Spring is just around the corner. There are signs everywhere if people look carefully.

Today was the first time I saw Gregor Robertson, the mayor of Vancouver, in person. He rode his bike to the venue where a news conference was being held and looks younger than photos of him in the newspapers would indicate. In 2003 Gregor was voted one of the top 40 under 40 by The Globe and Mail. Previously I had only seen photos of him in the papers, especially during the municipal election a few months back. You can read more about him and his team by going to http://www.votevision.ca/ .

Well, there are two more work days to go before the weekend. Should the weather be reasonable with some sun I'll be out taking some photos. Burnaby Mountain is a distinct possibility if the right conditions prevail. A trip to the conservatory at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver is also a strong possibility where, even if its raining, it won't matter because what's to be seen is indoors. This indoor venue has all sorts of interesting tropical and subtropical plants and flowers plus birds flying about. More on all that later.

Now I'm off to take a quick hot shower before getting back to the computer for a bit before bedtime. Have a good night (or good day, depending on where you're at) and chat some more later!

More snow

Its been a slow day here but I've been busy reading emails, then trying to get this place organized by taking out the garbage and recycle material. The recycle bins are getting full after the holidays and the weather (lots of snow), getting more recycle material out may be an issue. I wanted to get some laundry done but the machines are in use (I need two) and there are 4 washers and 4 dryers for a six floor building, not enough for such a building, but I'll manage!

We're expecting 5 to 10 cm of snow and some areas may see as much as 25 cm of the white stuff, especially the higher elevations. This is on top of what has already fallen, some of which has melted because of rain and warmer temperatures we received during the week. People here are not at all used to the snow, not in the valley (i.e. lower mainland) anyway. Places that have the snow during the winter also have the equipment to move it to clear the main roads first and then the side streets and lanes plus sidewalks etc. That's what I'm used to coming from the east (southwestern Ontario). Here they're lucky to get the main roads ploughed and perhaps some hills. The side streets are left and people there are left to their own devices. That snow is left for nature to melt, whenever that is! So, here's to more snow!!!

You might want to know I was chatting with Brad again this afternoon. We've been chatting on the phone this week as well. He's got a hot, sexy voice, very soothing to listen to. Good to hear he is alive and well. Getting him here is a high priority for me. By air will be the only way at this point but with him, everything for both of us will click together just right. Brad just has to be here to see it all, to experience life fully and to appreciate the benefits of what a true friendship can offer.

Meantime, I'm back to sorting and such with breaks to do other necessary errands. I hope you've all been having a great weekend so far. More later.

Changing temperatures

This was the scene in New Westminster's Queens Park last Sunday and most of the week until temperatures changed overnight. It was snowing yesterday but that changed during the night. When I looked outside my window this afternoon, I could see water dripping from a Japanese maple outside my bedroom. A robin was perched on one of its branches. I managed to get a shot but the robin had disappeared by the time I showed up at the window again with my camera in hand. I'll keep you posted.

Friday evening I was turning off the Grundig radio I keep in the kitchen and turned off the power switch on the electrical cord when the switch sparked and a flash came out and blackened my finger. I guess I was lucky enough not to get a shock! I immediately unplugged the radio. This morning I checked to see if the radio was working but found nothing. The switch is gone at the very least and perhaps the entire cord will have to be replaced to get the radio working. There's a lot of history in that radio. I used to listen to shortwave radio back in the early 1970s with my brother and often spent hours on my own listening to radio stations around the world, such as from Radio Netherlands from Hilversum, or Voice of America from Washington, DC/USA, Radio Moscow, Radio Japan, Radio Australia from Melbourne, New South Wales, or Radio KUSW from Colorado/USA and so on. The furthest away station was one from a transmitter north of Perth, Western Territory/Australia where I caught a variety show early in the morning after returning home from work. The sound was so clear, as if it was from a station in the city where I lived. I continued to listen to the radio for years after my younger brother passed on. Like I said, lots of memories! Let's see if I can get this thing working again!!!

Meantime, I have been busy today sorting stuff and separating that which is to go to the auctioneer apart from that which I am to keep. Its a chore. More coming, including photos!

Sunday update

This afternoon I took the time to take a shot of the view outside my dining room window. There are quite a few condos in this area. That is Queens Park in the background. On foggy and rainy days the cloud cover is so low that it is obscuring the top half of the tall trees. That is part of the golden arches of a McDonalds Restaurant you see at the lower left-hand corner of the photo. I haven't been there, nor do I see many fast food places of any kind, or much in the way of restaurants as well. I eat at home or take food with me to work and rarely venture into a restaurant, except perhaps a Starbucks! Going into a restaurant alone is not my thing, though going to such establishments with a friend is a worthwhile endeavour. Anyway, the snow last night was just a dusting, if you know what I mean. By the way, those are the baren branches of a Japanese maple in the foreground.

My photos of the Lions Gate Bridge are no where to be found, except on the old hard drive for certain. That will be the only place I can retrieve them short of going there again on a good day to take more photos. There goes a day's worth of photos and all the work it took to capture the images. Oh well! Now I am trying to look for a series of photos I took along the south shore of English Bay this summer. I know I downloaded them and put them in folders but can't seem to remember what I named the folder and so where I put these images. You try sorting through 5,000 digital pics and you'll know what I mean about the frustration.

I got my load of laundry washed (whites) but the realized I didn't have enough in the way of funds on the smartcard to complete the drying, so I'm air drying everything in the apartment. This means there is laundry about where ever you look. I'll try recharging the card on Monday. There is still some more to do (colours). I thought I had more than 4 dollars on the card but I guess I must have been mistaken.

Hopefully, you had a good day! Have a good work week where ever you are!

It's snowing!!!

Today has been a slow day though the week has been far from that. I slept in until nearing 10 am but then I'm up by 5 am on work days, so weekends are good times to catch up with some sleep since six hours a night is about all I get during the week. After having a shower and getting cleaned up, I made breakfast followed by some work behine the computer where I'm trying to find some photos taken of the Lions Gate Bridge last summer (2007). I must have them on a disk since I can't find them on the laptop's drive nor on the external hard drive. If I can't find them, I'll have to take some new photos (they are on the old hard drive but its debatible if I can retrieve any files off of that one, for now anyway).

By late afternoon, I was busy in the kitchen cooking up some soup from scratch: diced onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, cubed beef, green peas plus seasoning like ground pepper, sea salt, italian seasoning and oregano, along with freshly boiling water. Then the soup was allowed to slow-cook on low heat and then after an hour or so, supper was ready. I'll have the rest Sunday at suppertime. Its good on a cold day and warms up the insides! The pepper mill is broken but there are others coming out of storage, so I won't bother to replace it.

Weatherwise, it was snowing, then raining and then snowing again all day Friday. Today was cool (just above freezing) with the sun appearing during mid-day but that changed this evening when the snow arrived again. This time the snow was accummulating some. The winds are currently out of the east with large flakes (wet snow) falling. The temperature is expected to drop to about -4 tonight. I walked over to the grocery store at the mall across the street to get some groceries but on my return to the apartment complex, someone from a second floor balcony asked me about the weather now that I've been across and back. I told him it wasn't too bad. I put up with a lot worse in Ontario (those in the lower mainland of British Columbia are really spoilt in that sense, weatherwise). The thought of driving in a white out with the snow coming down so hard that seeing beyond the windshield was impossible and then having to feel my way off a highway to less harsh weather conditions came to mind when I said that. Most of Canada gets to experience winter conditions but here they are blessed with mild winter conditions if there is any snow at all. I am sure those of you that live where there are real winter conditions can come up with some real stories to pique our interest.

In other news, I am on to coming up with a name for a holding company and also for a new website for my photographic work. This was going to be the case with Brad here but once I've got all that decided, I'll go forward to purchase a domain name for the website and work on acquiring some nice web designs for the new site. I'll look at purchasing some new camera equipment, along with studio lights, starting in January. If Brad had been hear by now, this would have been well underway by now but perhaps there is a method in all this madness. I have been taking land and seascape plus wildlife photography up to this point but I plan to branch out into taking photos of some hot guys, so soon after the equipment is bought, I will be looking for models. Brad was to be the first one as well as a partner in this effort. Once the website is established, I plan to post the link on this blog. There will be more news as we get closer and into the new year.

The movers will be here on the 20th, a Saturday. I am looking forward to getting the apartment properly furnished. Its been rather baren up to now and after that day, the apartment should be in better form to receive guests. That's the plan! When I set up plans and details that go with them, I am focused in getting them completed. Carry through on what's been started is my motto.

Things are set up for the auctioneer. The sorted items are to be picked up after January 7th when the auctioneer returns from vacation. More on this and other matters later!

Snow - lots of snow

Mac over at YOTD had a couple of comments concerning snow. Well, here are a few photos of a series I shot in November of 2006 (north Surrey) after a snowstorm. Since people are not used to such snowfalls in the lower mainland, some had a bit of a challenge to get through the week or so until the snow melted. That year I used the first photo in an email Christmas card and a blogger friend of mine in San Francisco, Jared at Completely Naked, asked me if he could post it in his blog. Its nice to see fresh, undisturbed snow! What makes these photos so surreal is the sun just starting to shine through a break in the cloud cover to the south. Since the sun is low on the horizon, it adds a certain something to the scene. Enjoy!

winter scene

As Christmas approaches, this also means winter and the snow it brings, well, to our mountains in any case. Here is a winter scene from the top of Burnaby Mountain, a photo taken in early February 2008. The western end of the mountain is quite active during the winter months. Something to look forward to!

Signs of snow

There are signs of snow, in the mountains of course. Before I went on into Vancouver on Sunday, I stopped by the Fraser Cemetery in Sapperton (New Westminster) to have a look at the view from that vantage point. As you can see, there are signs of snow in the nearby mountains. The rain we had over the last few weeks has contributed to the accumulation but we are long from seeing any snow here in the valley. The snow should make the skiers happy though!

The cherry trees are all stripped of leaves as I've found is the case throughout the region. You can see more snow in the mountains to the north. Below, the signs of nature's handiwork and the birds in particular and seen now that the trees are free of leaves.

The cemetery also has a lone monkey puzzle tree. There are other good examples in the region such as on Capital Hill and the Heights in north Burnaby, at the Lions Gate Bridge (Stanley Park side) and Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver amongst others. Are you ready for winter when it comes? - Volker