Up a Creek Without a Paddle

My goodness.  No link-ups with memes in the last post, but critters seemed to pop up as we went about our day yesterday, and I love to highlight some of the "artsy" treasures Vancouver offers on a daily basis as well.  With many thanks to the wonderful hosts, I'll link-up with: 

Unknown Mami's Sunday in my City 

Eileen's Saturday's Critters

It was a hot one, so the just-right air conditioning at Harrison Galleries added a lot to our pleasure as we sipped lattés, munched on treats, and enjoyed the art.  Chris and Jennifer Harrison are taking a much deserved break today and tomorrow.  Bill and I hope they will enjoy this very rare two-day vacation.  In the mean time, I noticed Nicholas Bott's oil painting for the first time. I love the colours and the life in it.  Its title is North Slope, Hudson Bay Mountain.  ( Sorry not to have cropped out the edge of another painting at the bottom.)

  

A cormorant was the first critter sighting of the day as we biked along False Creek.

 Black Jack and I left Bill on a shady park bench while we walked across the stepping stones to a tiny little island that we visit every once in a while.  I'm not sure why, but I always like to check the graffiti on this rock.  I liked this red image of a laughing character yesterday. 

 We walked over some boulders to a spot we hadn't explored before where we could peer under the bridge.

 Though I know it was probably teeming with wildlife, the only bird I managed to capture was this one..  perhaps a young finch?

Returning to Bill, I thought you might like to see his view across the creek.  There was an insanely loud band playing on the other side, and I wondered for the umpteenth time why people want to drown out the sounds of nature with really, really obtrusive music.  Seriously, it made conversation difficult all the way across the water.  Surely, this was music that they could enjoy in their own homes or at least with head phones so everyone around isn't forced to listen along for the ride. 

 Black Jack was happy to add her body heat to Bill's :) 

 Some bushes right across from Bill were alive with fluttering birds, but they hid when I approached, so I concentrated instead on the very lovely..

 and colourful berries.

 We continued on our way after that, happy to leave the music behind.  Our next stop was at this pond.  The heron remained on that boulder for the entire time we were there.  Though it appeared here that a catch was imminent, it didn't happen.  Such patience!

 I photographed this beautiful dragonfly (don't you love the blues?) and..

 it turned to give me a rather grouchy-looking stare.  (Sorry, fella.)

 A cat, believe it or not, crossed our path.

 It was very strange to see an unsupervised cat in this area..

 and I worried for its safety (coyotes and eagles, etc all around) but a passer-by told me he sees the cat every day and believes s/he is a happy camper.  The cat lay right in the bicycle path, but the fellow told me..

 it is savvy about  moving when bikes come along.

 So friendly and happy!  Stay safe, beautiful one.

 We continued on from there to Granville Island.  Oh the reflections..

 and the blues!

 Bill spotted this otter first.  I was so happy when he pointed it out.

 The water looked polluted..

with slicks from the marina that I hope won't jeopardize the health of such a neat critter.

 It disappeared and I took another couple of..

reflection shots..

 that seemed particularly hard to ignore yesterday.

 Then I realized that the otter was about to climb onto the wharf..

 to investigate the pail where fishermen leave their scraps.

I cropped this a lot, but think it shows a score for the otter.

 A fish head, I'm thinking.

 S/he explored a bit more..

 before slipping into the depths and reflections of False Creek.

 I had left Bill holding the Black Jack :) and saw that they were people-watching, so I..

 took a reflection shot of the bridge..

 before joining them to people-watch too.

 Oh, how I would love a small, silent boat (maybe not a kayak because of cramped knees).  I was thinking of all the exploring we could do..

 though I admit the hard work of moving that boat to and from the water did occur to me.

 Then, we noticed that the fellow in the blue shirt left..

 and the other two gentlemen, who had noticed us watching them, grinned a bit sheepishly.

 They told us then that they had forgotten to bring the paddles.  Whoops :)  It didn't seem to matter, though.  They seemed to be just a great couple of easy-going, friendly guys, not about to let one small error spoil a good day.  We loved their grins and I loved this hat!

 Bill gave them our blog address and it was then..

 that he came up with the title for this post :)  You added a lot of pleasure to our day, gentlemen.  I hope you had a great ride and spectacular evening watching the fireworks.

 We walked our bikes just a tiny bit ahead to see the pond on the other side of the creek.

 There are some great benches there, but we didn't sit.

 One "impressionistic" shot and then we were on our way..

 over the Burrard Bridge.  The starlings were singing up a storm, 

 one that I enjoyed.

 I looked over the Burrard Bridge to the Granville bridge and Granville Island on our right..

 and a view of the cycling route that takes us back to our apartment.

 There were critters decorating the top of the bridge..

 and blues popping up everywhere.

 Such a beautiful old bridge.

 Black Jack started through the protective fencing..

and then at me, indicating it might be time to move on.

 "Oh no you don't.  Not another photo of me," said Bill, 

 but it was too late :)

 Home for supper and then out again to see the fireworks.  

 Once we get going, there's no stopping us :)

 I don't use a tripod and didn't even manage the required background that makes..

 photos of fireworks successful,

 but some abstract results..

 were rather..

 neat, I thought.

 Bill called this one a mushroom.  I liked it a lot, loved our day, and am now happy to have finished this very long post.  Happy Pride Day to all those in the parade.  We won't be attending.  Just too much heat and so many people, but I hope to find a way to bring a little of its happy flavour to you tomorrow.  Thank you so much for stopping by!  Happy Sunday everyone!  I hope you might find a few minutes to check out one or two of those memes!