Two walks on Wednesday

The Vancouver rain stopped yesterday after dripping fairly steadily for a couple of days. Yay for being retired and able to get out before it started again.  There is usually a red bike attached to this railing.  It seemed like magic to find a white one matching the light.

Autumn colours have passed their peak but shuffling through the leaves is still possible. 

 I loved coming across these two young people who so generously allowed me to slip in behind and take pictures.

 Beautiful!  To the patient girl who insisted this didn't hurt her knees, I am going to put a few more pictures of you on my facebook account later today.  It is public so you can access it from the icon at the top of this page.

 After passing under the Burrard Bridge, this view always stuns.  The sun burst through the clouds behind us, and the sky in front suddenly seemed extra blue.

 Two kids and their mom explored Sunset Beach.

 Flowers seem to pop up all winter long in Vancouver.  I am rarely able to name them, so if..  

 you nonchalently slip in some I.D. help, I am always appreciative.

 The Barrow's Goldeneyes were posturing as though it is already time to select mates.  Two males are trying to show off their "I'm taller than-he-is" stretching ability. 

 Jonathan Livingston, I presume..

I used my big lens and have cropped this.  All to say I was a long distance off, but I could swear this cormorant gave me a who-are-you-staring-at look.

 Never, ever, in the 14 or so years I've been in Vancouver, have I seen a Snow Goose by Sunset Beach.  This one appeared to be content to hang around on the ground with the pigeons.  I hope s/he wasn't lost or injured. 

 An orange-headed lady in a skirt.

 The letter "R" in a tree by Stanley Park that I forgot to include in my post yesterday.

 Black Jack's entertainment.

 The "treat" word got her attention.

 Striking colour in these.  I've only noticed them in one spot of the park.

 A mallard by Lost Lagoon.

 And, an American Coot right behind it.

Maybe the mate to the other mallard.  Hard to resist them yesterday.  

These were at the side of a building on Chilco Street where I lived for a year.  I moved in, thinking I would be okay in a no-pets building after Scott died.  Nice place right by Stanley Park, but still a dumb decision.  For any new readers, you can learn about Scott and a little more about me by checking out this long ago post called My Seven Factoids. Number 6 is no longer true, and I have cut down on my raisin consumption in the interest of keeping my teeth for a few more years :)

The hydrangeas were the most wonderful mix of colours.  They were also beside my old building.  I loved the couple who were caretakers there because they put a lot of TLC into the surroundings.  It was just the no-pet thing that drove me to find a new place.

 These next two pictures were taken from the roof of my building at sunset, 

 and not part of either walk.

After supper, Bill and I walked East along the seawall and came across a unicycle hockey team.  Very difficult to get decent pictures, but I was most impressed with their friendliness and their athletic skills too.

 I never get tired of this view at night.

I asked Bill to do this pose in front of Bosley's Pet Store.  Sort of a man-and-doggie-in-the-window pose, but on the wrong side and the store wasn't actually closed.  Bill is the most cooperative model any wannabe photographer could ever ask for.

No, he wasn't proposing :)  Just another idea I had for a photo.  The idea wasn't so great but I love the photo for the fuzzy-happy-warm feelings that flood back.

Handsome couple, don't you think?  Black Jack didn't come through very clearly but she was trying to get her nose into Bill's pocket.  She had suffered enough torture looking into the pet store when it was OPEN and couldn't figure out what we were doing playing around outside.

I took this through the window and hope the dog wasn't too embarrassed.  Actually, protection from Vancouver's weather is needed for some breeds so don't laugh too hard.  This coat may actually be quite practical.  Don't worry, Black Jack. I'm not getting any ideas :)

I hope you enjoyed coming along on our walks.  Thanks for stopping by!