Checking out the Blues

I kept an eye out for blue yesterday to share with Smiling Sally's Blue Monday meme.  This flower was on a bush that bordered a rather nondescript street.  Once we looked more carefully, we could see others that were hidden but willing to make an appearance for this post.  Bill held this one so that I could take a photograph.  Do you see his fingers?  I think they add a lovely touch to this flower that I've thus far been unable to identify. Edited to add that TexWisGirl has kindly identified the flower for me as Passion Flower.  I see from this site that it has many uses besides its beauty.  Thanks so much, TexWisGirl! 

The centre of the flower is especially interesting.

There's a clearly defined "Y" that I'm choosing to believe represents a fulfilling Year ahead for my nephew, Kris, and my friend, Phyllis.  They are both celebrating birthdays today.

In this photo, I've just noticed that the Y is standing up in a "glass raised" pose.  Happy Birthday, Kris and Phyllis :) 

Our walk continued to the False Creek waterway, where I took..  

two reflection shots,

before Bill noticed this tiny family.  Mrs. Mallard and her two kids..

swam to a spot just beneath us. Mom stepped out and gave her wings a shake.

I missed that shot, but loved this of one of the kids imitating with stubby little wings.

Then, Mom began to preen, a very important part of all birds' waterproofing maintenance.  You can barely see her blue patch.  I've always loved that marking on mallard females.

Here's another view of a stubby wing that will soon carry this youngster into the sky.

Before they learn to fly, preening skills must be learned, and I thought these two..

were making excellent progress yesterday.

After supper, Bill, Black Jack and I went out for a final evening walk.  We were still watching for blue.  I'm not sure what to call these but they are definitely blue :) 

I thought Bill did a very nice job of decorating them :)  He explained to me that they connect to huge hoses that can handle enormous streams of water from False Creek.  This is part of our earthquake/fire preparation.

The engines and hoses are housed in this building located in David Lam Park, very close to our apartment.  

When I took the photo, I realized the blue skies and clouds were reflected in the windows.

As we walked, we passed a young couple and my eyes immediately found the girl's one beautiful blue toenail.  She and her friend had great smiles, and were kind enough to allow me to take a photo for the blog.  I think it makes a wonderful addition to this blue post.  

The waterway, boats, buildings..

and sky all held lots of blue,

but these blue daisies provided the best background to highlight Bill and Black Jack.

Along with yesterday's photos, I will include just three taken a few days ago.  The one below was taken from a newspaper story that we read while doing crosswords at Harrison Galleries.  Amazingly, photographing the page worked out quite well.  The photograph by Ric Ernst accompanied a story in "The Vancouver Sun" by Steve Whysail, describing Michelle Round's love for the colour blue and for Hydrangeas.  You can read that story here.

After reading the story and finishing the crossword, we rode our bikes to Stanley Park.  It seemed that everywhere I looked, Hydrangeas popped up.  They were at the peak of..

perfection, and I knew Sally would enjoy them as they bring her father, who grew Hydrangeas, to mind.  If you are still craving more blue, you will find lots of it in the wonderful posts on Sally's meme.  Happy Monday, everyone!