Recording the days: May 26-June 3

THURSDAY - MAY 26

A Flicker in North Vancouver.  They seem to love the light standards.

FRIDAY - MAY 27

We loved, loved, loved the Pacific Baroque Orchestra playing a program that focused on the season of Summer, and the country of France. Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, op.8/2 "L'estate" by Antonio Vivaldi was thrilling.  You can hear that piece at this link although it is not the Pacific Baroque Orchestra playing.  As fine as the performance is, the one we heard had a quality I haven't heard matched in any I've listened to.  The musical skills go without saying, but there is something about each musician's passion, energy, love for the repertoire and eye-to-eyemanship with director, Alex Weimann, that is unequalled.  I love to listen to Weimann speak about the music performed.  His eyes glisten as he shares his research, excitement and deep respect for the music.  His conducting style and brilliant harpsichord playing transmit the perfect blend of  intellectual and from-the-heart interpretations to the audience so vividly, even the most familiar music feels as though it is being heard for the first time.  Below, Paul Luchkow, father to Oscar, husband to Glenys (Bill's niece) and musician extraordinaire, spends a few minutes talking with friends in the audience before the concert begins. 

This is the harpsichord (made by Craig C. Tomlinson) played so magnificently by Alex Weimann

SATURDAY - MAY 28

Black Jack and I walked to Stanley Park.  I don't know how the Vancouver gardeners manage this, but as the blooms in one place come to an end, new ones appear as if by magic. 

Pink Daisies in the grass near the heronry

Across from the heronry, a red maple tree was resplendent, even though the sun's appearances were few and far between that day.  You can see the same tree in full sunlight near the end of this (very long) post.

Normally, our walks home from the park go back along the seawall, or along Davie Street if I need to do some shopping.  However, for an unexplained reason, Black Jack headed in a different direction and I followed her.  We ended up walking through a beautiful park that I had never seen before.  That park took us to Roedde House Museum.

Gardens around the museum were..

..lush and colourful.

One of my favourite photos of the day.

The huge leaves made a perfect background for the bluebells.

On a notice board in front of the museum.

It seemed Black Jack had taken me to that tranquil spot for a reason, and I took one more photo before heading homeward.  I couldn't wait to tell Bill about my new discovery.

There was yet another discovery to make on Pacific Street.  In spite of riding by this spot hundreds of times, I had never before seen this fountain.  That doesn't say a lot for my powers of observation, but the positive spin on that failing is the pleasure each new sighting brings.  Black Jack and I sat by the water at the base of the fountain for a few minutes before continuing our slow trek home.

Donated to the city of Vancouver in 1986 by Dora and Charles Davis and family.

Definitely a day of surprises: this bridal couple marched right down the middle of Pacific Street

Our next stop was to visit this rather unusual piece of art for the second time.  It is known as GRANtable and is on Beach Avenue.

There is a great space to play around the table, and Black Jack was pleased to meet up with these energetic just-the-right-size dogs.

The last photo of the walk was of these blue flowers.  There was a jewel-like sheen around them as the sun suddenly broke through the clouds.

In the evening, we walked up Granville Street to The Orpheum for a VSO concert.  On the way, we stopped just before reaching The Orpheum to admire this mural on a wall of the Moda Hotel.  Neither of us had noticed it before.  Bill saw aspects of a kind of stylized totem pole art in its design. 

His idea made sense to me.  After some help from google, I found this fascinating blog about the project (called "Unintended Calculations") and the artists (Augustine Kofie, Jerry Inscoe , Remi/Rough and Scott Sueme). Along with the background information at that link are photographs and videos, some showing the artists at work.

I know that I will look for "Unintended Calculations" the next time I walk up Granville Street.  

Another new discovery.  As we approached The Orpheum, we realized we had never before noticed the windows at the top of the front wall, nor the outdoor balconies.  The concert itself was a lot of fun.  I confess that I really love tap dancing, and Ted Levy's numbers were thrilling.  I also love a beautifully played trumpet, and Byron Stripling's tone, especially in the more mellow tunes (the concert was called: "A Night at the Cotton Club") put me in a trance.  He is a brilliant entertainer with a repertoire of jokes that never seems to run dry.  And, I haven't even mentioned the VSO.  It's a first-class orchestra and I feel fortunate to claim it as a much-loved Vancouver treasure.  Below is  picture taken just before the concert started. 

SUNDAY, MAY 29th

*If you are wondering why the text is sometimes above pictures and sometimes below, let's just say I'm going through some struggles with Blogger.  I really wanted that train to appear under this text.

The above photo was taken at the train museum beside The Roundhouse.  The museum is dedicated to the preservation of Engine 374 and to the history surrounding its time in Vancouver.  Although I live right around the corner from the museum, Bill and I had never visited it.  We saved that pleasure to share with Bill's sister, Phyllis, her train-loving husband, Barrie, and their equally passionate-about-trains grandson, Oscar.  As you can see, two-and-a-half-year-old Oscar was right at home.

Here, he looks quizzically at his granddad.

 It was great fun catching a few of his expressions.

I'll stop for a photo, but could you hurry, please?

Okay, let's go, Grandpa!

It was no mean feat to keep up with him but Bill and Black Jack were up to the challenge.

Phyllis is a retired teacher, recently returned from a trip that included volunteer teaching in Argentina (Buenos Aires) and in Chile (Uspallata).  Here she is with brother, Bill.

Black Jack really likes Phyllis.

It was a short, but wonderful visit, concluding with a few minutes by the seawall before we said good-bye until the next time.  Lavender had appeared, seemingly overnight.I loved its fragrance and the way it was framed against the city background.

Later that afternoon, Bill and I returned to the seawall with Black Jack.  We did some recall work (more like play), and here, Bill sends her off to me.

For some reason, she had her tongue out in nearly every shot I took of her.  It pointed down..

..then up..

..seemed to settle into a happy smile..

..but returned for a starring role in this shot.

The day was turning into a beautiful one, and the dragon boat racers were in fine form.

We decided to try Black Jack in her basket without the wire cage (shown in my last post).  Here, Bill rides my bike, testing out the feel of the steering and Black Jack's stability. 

Black Jack looks rather precariously perched, but in fact..

..she was well settled and very relaxed in the basket.  (One of my colleagues saw this picture and commented that she wasn't sure who was cuter, Black Jack or Bill.  I agreed with her, and had to conclude they're both adorable:)

We stopped shortly before arriving at Granville Island and I took a few pictures..

of these lovely Purple-Irises.

We watched a family of Canada Geese that appeared to have an extra adult - maybe an aunt?

The goslings had just about lost their yellow colour, and I'm guessing they were about two to three weeks old.  I've just checked out a site that says they fly at about six weeks of age.

We watched an eagle fly overhead,

and a crow in a tree.  It posed for a moment before..

flying away.

There were house finches,

lots of seagulls,

and song sparrows. A few were willing to spend a moment or two in front of my lens.  

WEDNESDAY - JUNE 1

I rushed home from school to watch the first game of the Stanley Cup finals between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins.  Don Cherry was in fine form and Ron MacLean tried, when he could, to get a word in as well.  (I took these pictures from the TV screen.)

Near the end of the game, Alex Burrows was accused of biting Boston player, Patrice Bergeron, and lots of debate followed over the next couple of days.  Alex said Patrice put his fingers in his mouth and he had no choice but to bite.  What can I say?  Isn't the game of hockey exciting enough in itself?  Do we really need these side stories?  What do you think?  Is the ref having fun yet?  

Thousands of people gathered at the CBC plaza and on Granville Street to watch the game on huge screens.  People were, for the most part, really well behaved.  This link will take you to a You Tube video of everyone singing O Canada.  As you can see in the picture below, the game was very close and emotions ran high.

Some were worried that there would be trouble with so many gathered, but I was happy to see that people were having a good time together.  The news the following day stated that there had been very few problems.  I love the range of expressions in this TV shot.  One fellow at the very front is blowing a bubble.  Some look happy, some look worried, some look like they are just concentrating - and in the end, it was a good one for the Canucks.  They scored in the final few seconds for a 1-0 win over Boston.

All around town, people were getting into the Stanley Cup spirit.  CBC even showed two men who were trying to keep their identity somewhat quiet.  They had managed to get to the monument, "Girl in a Wetsuit" and dress her in a Canucks shirt and cap. They also gave her a white towel to wave about.  Just a bit of what I saw as harmless fun.  You can see her in her original state at this link.

FRIDAY - JUNE 3

I took a short walk in North Vancouver during my lunch break, and found roses all around the school. 

Their fragrance was as sweet as their beauty.

Jewel appeared to be sitting on eggs.

   some white flowers as well (for the first time this season).

A White-crowned Sparrow was singing lustily.

Lawrence was putting on a spectacular show for Olivia.

He was determined to..

..catch her attention.  This post had way more pictures loaded and was far too long.  Moments ago, the second half of the post disappeared.  After searching Blogger, I have come to the conclusion that it would take a computer Einstein to figure out how to recover them.  My thought is that it was too long anyway.  Before I lose any more of it, I've decided to post what remains. To be continued......