Thursday, January 21, 2016

Early November Fences and a January trek.

I have some Good Fences photos to share, today, with TexWisGirl's meme. Thanks, Theresa! Your meme definitely encourages us to keep an eye out for fences (and walls and gates and railings) around Vancouver.

Here are a few from November 5th, 2015:

As Theresa pointed out a few times, it is often not the fence but the changing view in front of or behind it that makes it photograph worthy.  You can just make out a tiny portion of the seawall in the bottom right hand corner of the next photo.  The tide was quite high and we were amused at this fellow walking on a pole. 
He did very well, I thought.
He made it to a comfortable rock where his friend recorded the moment.
Black Jack watched the fellow as well.
Then she had a great play in the sand.
These stone steps lead to the bike and walking paths and to some wooden fencing that appears from time to time along the trail.
From our spot on the beach, it was amazing how many fences we could see.
Bill found this pole and had a momentary urge to test its weight.
It was pretty heavy..
but Bill is pretty strong!
A bit further on, this fence encloses the food and washroom area as well as the swimming pool by the ocean.

It was a couple of days later (Nov.8, 2015) when I took photos of the pool, and beyond it, the ocean.
Even in dreary weather, that pool, fence and reflections..
are often fun to photograph.
It was hard to stop,
but I finally made the water slide my last shot.
On the way back to our bikes, Bill suggested to Black Jack that she walk the fence (okay, the slackline), and because she trusts him totally, she gave it her best shot.

I have a bit of a plan (tentative at best) to show some catch-up and some recent photos in each post, so here are a few more current shots taken a week ago.

Dec.13, 2016
Our friend, Jock, had told us that a King Tide was to arrive in Vancouver and he even sent a little schedule so we would know the best times to view it.  We walked across the street around 8:40 in the morning to look over False Creek
The water was the highest we had ever seen it.  There had been one time before that had come close, but that time, we had still been able to use the walkway along this section.
This time, the entire walkway was flooded so we had to walk along
the ledge above the walkway.
Some American Wigeons had gathered in front of these steps.
Later in the afternoon, I took a photo to show you how the walkway usually looks.
We had decided to walk the route that we usually ride.  We admired the Heather in front of this fence.
There was quite a stretch of it to admire.
Just before the Burrard Bridge, we always enjoy this water spillway.  The sun had come out, there was a seagull at the top, and our shadows made us smile.
Here's a closer view of our shadows and the colourful stones under the water.
The approach to the Burrard Bridge is littered with fences.
A restaurant is behind the fence on the right.  We passed it and went around..
the corner like this random cyclist I happened to catch.
This is the view from under the bridge just a moment later.  The blue sky was stunning and I loved the tree (that I cannot name) at the right.
We let Black Jack have a run on the beach.  Here, she is leaping over a log (sort of a fence) to return to us to tell us to hurry up and join her.
Then we turned up Bute Street and admired this little community garden.
Someone had clearly invested a lot of love and labour in this beauty.
One more view to show the finer details.
The next fence we spotted was just around the corner.  I sentenced Bill and Black Jack to five minutes in the doghouse just for the heck of it.
Help!  Let us out!
We walked from there through Davie Street Village.  Note the rainbow colours and the fellow running..
with his dog.
We continued past a picket fence with a welcome sign, 
and a dog park with a..
community garden in front of it.
Behind the fence, we could see the dogs playing "King of the Castle".
I am going to close with a couple of amazing heritage homes with fences galore and Christmas lights still bringing cheer to the day, even in mid January.
The house next door also had a delightful star under the top eave.  Thanks for joining us on our fun walk.  Bill says "hi" and I say "bye" and Black Jack says "bow wow" for now.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

Some new and some old critter photos

Posting to Eileen's Saturday's Critters today.  Thanks, Eileen!  I appreciate seeing your backyard birds, your travel photos and the critters of loyal followers from all over the world.  Your blog/meme is a gift to critter-lovers for sure.  If I am mistaken in any of my identifications, do please let me know.

I am catching up so this first set of photos comes from an outing on October 29th.  We took the bike path along English Bay and Sunset Beach (Vancouver) where we saw two mystery geese.
I would love some help identifying them.
They were hanging out with the Canada Geese.
We went as far as Stanley Park, enjoying the fall colours..
and beautiful trees.
We parked the bikes and walked with Black Jack around Beaver Lake.  A black squirrel accepted a few seeds from us.
A Black-capped Chickadee,
a Chestnut-backed Chickadee..
and a Towhee also posed for photos.
We love this trail around Beaver Lake (though it is a pond and not a lake).
I thought these branch reflections looked like a giant pair of glasses.  Black Jack isn't interested in reflections, but found lots to entertain her, nevertheless.
A Wood Duck came so close to my lens, I had trouble..
getting the photo.  Always love the colours and details in these ducks.
I missed the tail of this Douglas Squirrel but still thought s/he was very cute.
There were a few Fox Sparrows around as well.
We left the pond and walked up to the Rose Gardens.  At the end of October, the gardens are not in their prime, but we found a few roses..
as well as some other plants.  This branch had broken off a bush and was lying, neglected on the ground.  Bill thought it deserved some attention..
and though he wasn't in the market for a new hat, we agreed this certainly had possibilities.  I finally suggested we leave it for the gardener to replant, as it didn't match his jacket :)  (Some sort of butterfly plant, perhaps?)

I'll jump ahead to January sightings now.  Black Jack had a lovely run under the Cambie Bridge when the sun again burst through a mostly overcast sky.
Jan 2
I'm still enjoying the Anna's Hummingbirds at our window feeder. This one posed for a moment in the tree beside the balcony.
Jan 6

Jan 7
On Thursday, we saw a large flock of Barrow's Goldeneyes in False Creek.  It was overcast and they were too far away to get much of a shot, but here are a few of them.  I've never seen so many of them appearing to lie on their sides.

Jan 8
Yesterday, after our trip to the post office to mail some very late presents, we walked along False Creek in Spring-like weather.  Bill always admires this bush with yellow flowers. 
There was one pair of Hooded Mergansers in the creek.
Black Jack was in fine form and made me..
laugh with her begging-for-treats balancing tactics.
She has a big chest for such a little dog.
We heard the unmistakeable sound of angry hummers, and Bill caught sight of one, though I wasn't able to get a photo.  This Dark-eyed Junco was making.. 
a strange clicking sound that continued relentlessly.  At first, I thought that sound came from the hummer, but watching the Junco, it seemed certain I was wrong.
I wonder if s/he was trying to raid a hummer nest.
One thing for sure, there was a disagreement of some sort in progress.

December 25
Whoops, one more set of catch-up photos, these taken on Christmas Day.  It was another of those overcast days when the sun suddenly burst through the clouds as we were riding along the False Creek bike path.  A kind gentleman took this photo of the three of us.  I'm still using an old bike jacket over two other coats as a way to keep Black Jack cozy in her basket.  That's working really well, as is the hat we bought recently for colder days (shown in this post).
Many of you will know that we love to go to Jazz Vespers concerts on Sunday afternoons.  A lovely lady named Jane always welcomes Black Jack, and on the Sunday before Christmas, she brought her a bag of treats (that were clearly delicious) with a suggestion to save them for Christmas Day.  Well, that gift was so, so appreciated,
as you can see!
Bill took this photo of me after I had taken the two little videos of Black Jack that you can watch below if you have the time.  Sometimes, if he gets the light just right, you can barely see the wrinkles.  It's an illusion, but one I rather enjoy :)
This one is just 6 seconds long, showing Black Jack dancing for her treats.
This one is 21 seconds long.  Bill gives her the treat and we say a "thank you" to Jane.  It is such a delight to not only hear wonderful music at these concerts, but to visit with warm-hearted critter-loving friends!  That's the post for today.  Many thanks, as always, for stopping by!