Rainy Saturday with Bill

Before I get to my day with Bill, there is only one bird in this post, and it was taken near my school on Friday. You guessed it. A crow. I think the crows in that area are beginning to know me. They don't seem to fly away from my camera as quickly as they used to.

And, this picture, taken Saturday morning, in a lane on the way to Jericho Park, before Bill and I got together. Wet leaves, shiny and red and beautiful against the green.

I took a few pictures in the park, but the steady drizzle posed quite a challenge to keep my camera dry. I had a white "doggy bag" around it, but it was tricky getting it off, focusing quickly, and putting it back on again. None of my pictures were postable, but I did see some fascinating little birds with white tails. It struck me that there's at least as much wildlife action on rainy days as there is on clear ones.

Three photographers were by the bridge, and I could tell immediately that they were enjoying the day. One took a picture of me. I tried to be gracious, thinking of all the times I have wanted to photograph strangers, but didn't dare ask. The man said he was doing a "Vancouver in the Rain" story. He had a beautifully designed rain cover on his camera, and I decided on an afternoon trip to Broadway Camera to see if I could find something similar.

I took this picture of a Flamingo Plant when Black Jack and I arrived home from our walk. Bill gave it to me over two years ago. I'm not particularly talented with plants, but this one has flourished in many different light conditions. It spent the summer on my balcony, and is now brightening a corner of my sunlight-starved living room. I love it all the time, but especially on rainy days.

I called Bill and we tried, rather aimlessly, to come up with a plan for the rest of the day. I mentioned the camera cover, and also that I was thinking about a new pair of glasses, and we thought a bit about movies, but neither of us were feeling very decisive. Finally, we came to the conclusion that the best plan of action would be lattes at The Wicked Cafe before moving on to a more definite plan of action. Those lattes were particularly good. I rated mine a 10.2.

When we left the cafe, perfect leaves on the ground and on the sidewalks seemed to say, "Look at us." I picked up one, and then another, and then Bill picked up a few, and before we knew it, we were looking for a place with a bit of shelter from the rain, so that I could photograph them. We found a spot nearby, and Bill began to arrange our selection for the photo shoot.
He wasn't quite satisfied with the arrangement, and here, tried a casual approach, gathering the leaves, and dropping them in a pile.
That didn't quite work. We liked this one, but thought it needed something in the centre.
We moved just a bit to the side, for a cement tile background, and decided to tuck the stems under.
A solo shot..
A duet..
And, a trio.
With each arrangement, I felt my energy picking up. We were laughing like two kids, and it felt good. Bill has so many sides to him - the artist, the comedienne, the guy's guy and the sensitive soul. More too, but those were the ones that came forward on Saturday.
As we finished our leaf project, he said, "I'm going to give these leaves a proper rest spot." He laid them gently at the base of a tree.
Black Jack was waiting in the truck, all curled up in her bed, with a towel over her. She posed for a picture. She had no worries about looking funny with the purple towel around her head. Maintaining her body warmth is serious business to her, as is her love for Bill.
But then she yawned, and we laughed some more.

That's it for the day's photos, but it went on to be one that I know will stay with me. Bill held Black Jack, waited while I had my eyes checked (the right one, as I suspected, needed a stronger prescription) at Image Optometry Broadway, picked out new frames, talked to the guys at Broadway Camera, helped me choose a rain cover, encouraged more picture-taking, raved over my Caper's deli supper, walked to Limelight Video, held Black Jack who goes nuts waiting for the biscuit the clerks always give her, and watched a slow-paced, quirky, and somewhat interesting movie (Medicine for Melancholy) with me. Just a perfect rainy Saturday. Thank you, Bill!