Little things that were good yesterday

I'm linking up to LIttle Things Thursday today for the first time.  Many thanks to Kim for hosting.  Here are a few of the little things yesterday that made me smile or wonder or just inspired thought.

We didn't see Tupper for a few days.  She turned up on Tuesday but wouldn't come down from the lamp standard for her usual salmon treats.

 Yesterday, the fire alarm was accidentally set off by the plumber in our building.  Even though we knew the alarm was false, everyone must vacate the building.  I ran down 8 floors (elevators disabled) with Black Jack in one arm and my camera on my back.  Tupper not only showed up but accepted her treats and stayed to watch Bill and I talking with..  

 some of our favourite neighbours and their little dogs.  This is Pamela with Shadow, a rescued dog who thinks life is grand.  He and Pamela adore each other and we adore them.

And here is Cathy with Frankie.  We adore them too.  She and Bill laughed while Frankie (also rescued) and Black Jack wondered what all the fuss was about.

 From the left, Frankie, Shadow and Black Jack.

 Here is Don with his 17-year-old dog, Bear.  I've been admiring Bear ever since I moved into the building four years ago, and have exchanged lots of greetings with Don, but only learned his name yesterday.

I was happy to finally be able to call him by name.  He and Bear have an understanding that makes me smile.  Bear doesn't like to be rushed down the front steps.  He likes to stand at the top and look around, greet the many people from the building and the neighbourhood that he has come to know, and then, when fully ready, he hops down the steps at a very good speed.  Don always accommodates his wishes and stands with him on the steps, also greeting the neighbours, until Bear is ready to proceed.  I find this to be a beautiful thing.

 Shadow and Bear greeted each other before..

 Bear continued with his explorations.

Even though the fire alarm was false, the firemen had to come.  Elevator restored, and all declared safe, a quick departure had to be made to respond to another call.  I appreciate our firemen and the excellent vigilance over our building.

Later, we headed to Harrison Galleries for our treats, crosswords and daily exposure to wonderful art.  There were new works displayed yesterday.  This was signed "Drew"..

 as was this work below.  My photos don't do either of these paintings justice.  I'm not sure if Drew is the Drew Keilback listed at Harrison's site but will talk to Jennifer or Chris Harrison when I get a chance to learn more details.  Yesterday, I confessed to Jennifer that I have a small yen to learn to draw.  She encouraged me, perhaps not realizing just how little I know :)  Her suggestion was to take a course in Continuous Line (Blind Contour) drawing.  Here's a video that explains the process.  She added that learning to draw is learning to see, and that makes a lot of sense to me.  I love that she finds time to talk with us.  We are so very grateful that Harrison Galleries and the Buzz Café exist.

 "Reflection in the Pond" by Grant Ball has also gone up on the wall recently and I find it to be quite compelling.  It is a mixed media work that you can read about here.  Again, my photo doesn't do it justice as there are window reflections included :)

 After completing a very challenging crossword, we cycled with tired but happy brains to Stanley Park where we locked the bikes and walked with Black Jack around Lost Lagoon.  This squirrel gave me only a split second to catch its magnificent tail in one shot..

and its adorable face in the next.

 I thought this crow was beautiful..

 and for some reason, I liked my topsy turvy shot of a goose and a duck (domestic?)..

 that rushed by in a very big hurry to reach the pond.

 The lagoon is not very large but the vistas are lovely.  Just behind the tree on the right is a building where I lived for a year after my last dog, Scott, died.  I talk about Scott in No.5 of my factoid post. The building was wonderful except for one thing.  No dogs are allowed.  I thought I would be okay with that, since Scott's passing had been so terribly painful.  In fact, within a couple of months, I realized life is just a whole lot better when enriched by our beautiful pets.  

 Enter Black Jack :)  She loved every minute of her walk yesterday.  What does she see?

Oh..  yes..  I should have guessed.  These critters are so cute..

but so, so quick.  Luckily for them but not for my camera skills.

The Jubilee Fountain had only one stream coming from it yesterday.  Quite unusual.

 One tree has turned the most outstanding shade of red since we last visited.

 I loved watching these people on the other side of the lagoon because of their reflections..

 and because of the super-keen walker in front.

 Someone had built a little fence around these ducks.  

 We saw only one heron, standing just outside that little fence.

 This pair of swans seemed very comfortable together, the male

 perhaps the one to keep track of.. 

my whereabouts..

and those of Black Jack.

 Bill and I both love the willows..

 and I tried to capture them, reflected..

 

and over his head as he held Black Jack to calm her down from critter-frenzy. 

Bill noticed this fountain for the very first time..  ever!  So many walks, but only yesterday, 

 it appeared as though it had been waiting there since April, 1986 for us to notice it.  I do not have more information and can't read all of this inscription, so more detective work will be necessary.  Perhaps, it is there simply to provide more info about Jubilee Fountain.

 This sumac tree..

 was especially colourful yesterday.

 As I said, Black Jack was thrilled to explore Lost Lagoon..

 and as you can see, Bill did a marvellous job of keeping her out of trouble.

 That also left me free to explore the tops of some very tall trees, and it made me super happy to discover this bird.  I'm thinking it may be a Yellow-rumped Warbler, but whatever it was..

 just getting the photo was a thrill.

 Bill loved this green log..

 and we both enjoyed the half moon next to these trees.

 I zoomed in on it..

 before noticing this grocery basket protected from the rain.  Bill and I wondered about Vancouver's laws concerning tents and other structures in the parks.  I explored that a bit this morning in this article, but as with a few other things here, more detective work is needed.

 A lone wood duck..

 and a beautiful sunset were two more pleasures in a very good day.  Thank you for stopping by.  For more pleasurable "little things" in people's lives, do check out Kim's meme.