My World Tuesday - May 7

First, to the hosts of My World Tuesday, my fervent thanks.  I am loving the opportunity to learn about the weekly thoughts and events of posters from so many different backgrounds.

Second, to Vito's human, here are the promised pictures from your wonderful walk this morning.  I hope I remembered his name correctly.  

 Seeing your sweet puppy so thoroughly enjoy himself gave me great pleasure.  

I have many more pictures, and, later today, will put an album on facebook.  (My link is in the top right hand corner.)  

 These are jpegs, but I have saved the raw files, in case you want to print a couple of them.  Just let me know.  I am unable to put such large files on gmail, but we could arrange to meet and you could transfer them with a memory stick.

It occurs to me how fortunate we and our dogs are to have miles of beach at our fingertips.  Happy romping, Vito!  I was impressed.  You didn't bother the wildlife, you listened to your human, you made your own fun and you even passed on a little of your happiness to those of us who watched you.  

And now, for the rest of my week, quite a hodgepodge of walks with Bill and Black Jack, nature sightings and one memorable dance event.  This was my only photoshopped picture.  These Rhododendrons caught the sun one day in David Lam Park, and I took the photo.  By adding definition and saturation, it seemed to me the centers looked like glowing candles.    

This little spot of sun was under the docks at Granville Island.  I think it was Bill's favourite picture this week, so this one's for you, Bill.

This seal was hanging around the area where the fishing boats come in, but didn't stay long as there were no free meals that day.  I worried at first that there was something wrong with one of its eyes, but..

was happy to see that the other eye was closed in this picture.  Maybe it was winking.

This is Woodward's Building, originally built in 1903.  It is of great historical significance to Vancouver, and there has been much in the news about it.  Here is the link, if you would like to know more.  One small point that I find interesting is that the W is on top of a mini-replica of The Eiffel Tower.  I took this picture just before we saw a dance performance that still runs shivers up and down my spine every time I think about it.

The 2012 Contemporary Arts Simon Fraser University graduates danced so professionally and with such heart, watching them brought tears to my eyes.  I include here two paragraphs out of five that were on the back of the program:

When we first started out, one of our teachers came in to observe a technique class.  She stated that we reminded her of a 'herd of wild horses'.  In many ways, looking back, it's clear that she was right.  We were so alive, full of flailing limbs, reckless movement, thunderous jumps, and fiery passion.  If nothing else, we had heart.

We have shrunk from a group of almost twenty-five, down to a group of eleven!  It seems like yesterday that we were nervously walking into our first technique class at SFU.  Since that time we have grown out of our flailing limbs and thunderous jumps, but we still have heart, and may that always stay true.

I know next to nothing about dance, but it was clear to me that these students revered their teachers, had formed incredibly close bonds with each other, and had come through a program that I think has given them a realistic chance at survival in a very tough field.  If you or anyone you know is thinking of going into dance after high school, I think it might be worth your while to check out SFU's program.

When we first started out, oneof our teachers came in to observe a techniwue 

And, on to some other focuses of the week.  For some reason, I have become more and more fond of the Dove Tree in David Lam Park.  This week, many of the blossoms have fallen to the ground.

I took this one and laid it in the grass for a photo.

The leaves are also beautiful.

David Lam died only two years ago.  I never met him, but since Black Jack and I pass through (his) park several times every single day, I think of him often.  Thank you, David Lam. You have made my corner of the world a better place and I am deeply appreciative of that fact.  

 And, to complete the big picture, here are..

two pictures showing more of the Dove Tree.  It is also known by some as a Handkerchief Tree.  (Latin name: Davida involucrata)

On Saturday, Bill, Black Jack and I did a hike up Quarry Rock in Deep Cove.  Here, we are at the beginning of the hike.  Although it was new to us, it is a very popular destination, and as you can see the tree routes are completely exposed.  

The hike was listed as easy, but we thought it might deserve a slightly higher rating.  Here, Bill carries Black Jack up the last little bit to a wonderful view.  She was perfectly able to do it on her own, but pulled in excitement, so this is Bill's strategy of "disciplining" her :)

There were two lookout points.  This one was slightly higher than the other.  As you can see, hiking did not tire Black Jack in the least.

We met a wonderful group of young people, some from Germany and a couple from France.  They took our picture and we had a very pleasant conversation with them.  I so often find that encounters like this are a huge part of the fun of our adventure days.

When I asked if I could take a picture of them, one person guessed right away that it might be for my blog.  I told them the "google words" for this address, but have been late completing the post.  I doubt they will see this, but if they do, I want to thank them and wish them well.

We saw a lot of these lovely flowers.  I believe they are called Salal.

This was the view from the second lookout point.  

There were some interesting stairways to take hikers over some of the rougher terrain.

There are more pictures to come from this hike, but I've saved them for Wednesday's ABC post, so the last one I will show here is this tin sculpture of a lovely heron. It was in front of someone's house, near the beginning of the trail.

On Sunday, we walked in Bridgman Park in North Vancouver.  It is a beautiful walk along the edge of Lynn Creek.  Here, Bill was telling Black Jack to look at me.  And she listened!  

Lately, Black Jack is really loving water.  

Ocean or river, it doesn't seem to matter.

The sun cast a warm glow over these rocks.

Just in case you're thinking of doing a family hike, here's the map.

This park is a favourite for many dog walkers.  I decided that one day, I will take pictures of as many dogs that we meet as possible.  For now, here are just a couple:  a white beauty, 

and this gorgeous Rhodesian Ridgeback, but without the ridge.  We learned that this happens fairly frequently.  I love the way the shadows played along with the sweet wrinkles in her face.

One of my favourite wildlife sightings was this butterfly.  I have looked at the National Audubon "Insects and Spiders" book that Ship Rock gave me and believe this butterfly is known as a Question Mark.  I think that's neat :) 

I loved the moss on branches, 

and the view from the bridge.

This Merganser pair was sitting on a rock in the creek.  For some reason, they looked much larger than usual, perhaps because we don't see them out of water very often.

I've been playing more and more with camera settings, and shooting in Manual mode most of the time.  Here, I had the shutter speed very high, and almost froze the water in its tracks.

For the first time, we decided to extend the walk by leaving Bridgman and entering the trail for Lynn Canyon.  

At this spot, the water was an emerald green.

Here's a very, very tall tree,

and a taste of the terrain.

We took pictures of each other when we again crossed the bridge to enter Bridgman Park.

Home again, later that afternoon, Black Jack lay in the grass of David Lam park and soaked up the sun.  This might not be her most intelligent expression, but definitely denotes bliss. 

Here, she barely managed to open her eyes to pose for the camera.

The sun picked up the turquoise-green highlights of this cormorant. 

After supper, Bill and I headed out again, this time taking the aquabus to Granville Island.  This Canada Goose was lying in the grass, perhaps sitting on eggs.  She watched us carefully as we passed by her. 

From this little bridge, I have watched seals and otters, but there were none that evening.  Black Jack was happy to lean back against Bill and watch the scenery. 

She couldn't take her eyes of the water.

Walking back afterwards, we saw another goose, this one on a small roof of what may have been a storage building.  

It was eating the moss from the roof.

As we waited for the aquabus, Bill pointed out the soft light on the Granville Bridge and marvelled that the bridge is old enough (1954) to use rivets in its construction.  This Wikipedia page tells a little of its history.

The sun was setting as we enjoyed our boat-ride home.

Bill always sits so that Black Jack can have the best possible view, and she definitely appreciates that.

This morning, Black Jack and I started out on a short walk, but just sort of kept going.  We checked on the herons, and could hear the sounds of chicks in some of the nests, but there was no sign of action around Stanley and Stella's nest.  I thought this heron looked like it was shrugging its shoulders.

We saw this hummingbird on a telephone wire,

 and some Wood Ducks on a log near the little bridge.

 Another one was sitting nearby.  When I looked around, I saw several other males, 

and then a lone female came into view. 

 This squirrel was in Ted and Mary's Garden.  It was eating the entire blossom from a plant that could be called Mayday, but please correct me if I'm mistaken.  

I've never seen this before.  

 When I looked around, there were several other squirrels also enjoying a flower feast.

The House Finches were having a wonderful time on David Oppenheimer's head.  He was the second mayor of Vancouver (late 1800's).  I don't think anyone will ever build a statue of me :)  However, if they did, I would be happy to have finches playing on my head.  I hope Mr. Oppenheimer would feel the same.

This pair flew off after what I'm fairly certain was some Hanky-Panky.  Now, that may be stretching the limit a little!

 They are one of the most colourful birds in the park, and I always love to see them.

 I conclude with a picture of Black Jack.  I had her long leash on, and she climbed down to the beach, over some big rocks.  I stayed at the top, and thought I was generous in letting her remain there for about ten minutes while I stood waiting.  Finally, I asked her to come back.  Here, she's trying to decide whether or not I'll come through with some treats.  I can absolutely feel her, "What's in it for me?" attitude.  To her credit, she did come back, scooting up and over the rocks with such agility, it did my heart good.  To my credit, I did come through with the treat :)

And, that sums up the high points in a very good week.  Thanks, as always, for dropping by.