Yesterday's Younkers and Yens and the colour Yellow

It is letter "Y" week for ABC Wednesday.  Here are a few new words learned from the "Unusual Word that begin with Y" site.  Thank you to Mrs. Nesbitt for starting this fun meme and for the youthful spirit of the many energetic volunteers who keep it going.

Yellow: It is a colour but it also means to bellow or to yelp (though those words, to me, are very different.)  

Younker: a young person

Yealing: person of the same age

Yantra: this word can stand for anything that has symmetry and organization.  It is best explained here, but for purposes of this post, will be defined as a geometrical shape used for meditation.  I've put an example below.

I'm going to try to give you a feel for the youthful spirit we encountered yesterday (Canada Day) and you may notice more yellow than normally appears in my posts.

We biked along the north side of False Creek, but stopped here to stare across the water at the younkers on the other side of the water at Granville Island.  We had no yen at all to join them, but have to admit they knew how to party.

 Well over 15 years ago, when I lived in Montreal and had my dog, Scott, my mother and a couple of friends joined me for Canada Day festivities.  I made this collar for Scott (he was more than 4X the size of Black Jack).  There was tension between the English and the French, so I made sure to include the Fleurs de Lys, a symbol on the Quebec flag.  I found it yesterday and Black Jack was happy to wear it..  

 although not perhaps..

 as respectful as she should have been.

 My mother had a youthfulness to her nature that I thought of yesterday.  She would have..

 laughed out loud, as I did, to see these pictures of Black Jack.

 She had only been yawning, but even when the yawn was over, there was something..

hilarious about her expressions.  She is such a confident dog.  Our laughter, to her, was a sign that she was doing something right, and that her yen for treats might be satisfied. 

 I love ladybugs and one landed on my camera bag as I was photographing Black Jack.  Perhaps, the patterns in this photo could be a kind of yantra.

 Bill had to help me a lot to get this photo.  He guided the ladybug onto his arm.  

 where I took a few more photos before carrying him/her to a nearby tree.  I loved the way the ladybug moved into the bark of the tree and felt sure s/he appreciated her new home.

 Lots happened before this next picture.  We walked along Davie Street, wishing there wasn't quite so much yellowing (bellowing and yelping), but had a good lunch and did most of a crossword as well.  Then we walked along Barkley Street.  I peered into a garden..

 and found all..

sorts of treasures.

Bill got into the spirit as well.  The more we looked, 

 the more we discovered.

 There seemed to be an endless supply of treasures..

 to delight..

and warm..

our hearts.

There was a sea pirate..

 and this fellow was wearing..

 the cutest little yellow hat. 

In fact, it seemed..  

 the colour yellow..

was showing up..

everywhere we looked.

We looked up to the right and saw this crow gaping in the hot sun,

 and then we saw this one doing the same thing on the left.  "Can you get them both in one shot?" asked Bill.  I was using a 70-300 mm lens because of my still unsolved camera problems.

 Sure enough, I not only got them both in the shot, but discovered a younker on the left, also gaping as s/he tried to hide behind the parent.

This finch was our last sighting before moving along to Stanley Park.

 Black Jack was definitely in "younker" mode, even as she (mostly) accepted that her yen to catch a squirrel would most likely go unsatisfied.

 More yellow blooms..

 than I've ever seen before appeared around us.

 The geese, swans and ducks had a yantra (organization) to the way they assembled.

 That arch overhead is the little bridge that crosses the lagoon.  The geese were out in great..

 numbers, doing several processions in either direction under the bridge.

 I couldn't take my eyes of this Wood Duck.

 The swans were hoping for food, but we didn't feed them.

 Racoons were everywhere and Black Jack yellowed (yelped) to tell us about each one.

 The organization of the critters' colours, of the reflections and ripples in the water,

 of the shapes..  

 and shades all about us,..

 yielded a feast of yantras..

 that became even more pronounced..

 when we spotted this beaver hauling a long tree branch.

 Talk about geometric shapes!

 I thought I saw Y-shapes as well,

 and it was Bill who saw the tiny ducks at the left (middle)..

 that not only trailed their patterns along with them..

 but on closer inspection, turned out to be a mother and her only younker.

 Younkers, in fact, were everywhere..

which led to a couple of yelps (see lower right)..

 but didn't upset Black Jack at all.  Her legs dangled in total relaxation even as her eyes..

 darted about from the safety of Bill's arms.

 I was seeing Y's (and now, yantras) in the trees, 

 when Bill's youthful silliness.. 

 not only made me laugh, 

 but inspired some out loud laughter, 

 from two other yealings (people of the same age in spirit for sure)..

 we enjoyed meeting.  This is Al, 

 and this is Mayau (sorry if misspelled).  She and Al had known each other over 20 years earlier but had just met for the first time after all those years.

 I saw one more "Y"..

 and lots of..

 yantras..

 but Black Jack was ready for a snooze and some supper..

 and even these lovely park benches didn't revive her energy.

 She wanted to follow the other cyclists on that happy trail homeward..

 so she and Bill took a final look at the vista before them..

 while I photographed an umbrella for Penelope..

 and one more bit of yellow, before calling it a good day.

Thanks for dropping by and Happy Wednesday to each one of You.  For more interpretations of the letter Y, head on over to ABC Wednesday if you can.