A Christmas Fence and a Christmas Wish

Christmas Day has come and gone here in BC and I saved a fence that reflects the warmth of the season for Theresa's Good Fences meme.  She reaches out to her many followers so very faithfully, something that bears mentioning at this time of year when we look for signs of the Christmas spirit.  Wishing her and each reader here, whether or not Christmas is a tradition observed, days filled with the things that enrich life!

The fence was..  

around Engine 374.

And outside that fence, there was a railroad track with a mini-train that children and adults..

have been riding over the Christmas season.  I appreciate the train museum in our neighbourhood and the volunteers who take time to teach us about a part of our history.

I'll leave fences for the moment, although there a few more before the end of the post.  This is Gillian with Black Jack.  I'm thinking many of you will recognize her.  She is the talented artist and blogger of PS Whimsy - Behind the Brush.  We've met a few times but it was really special to spend some time with her at Harrison Galleries on Monday.  Here, she gives Black Jack a little treat.

Quite a few of you have seen this before, but this seems a good time to show it again.  Several years ago, as Bill and I walked in a lane behind his former home, I saw a cat peeking out what I think was a special cat door.  (For purposes of this post, perhaps we could call it a kind of fence.)  I snapped the photo and posted it.

It wasn't a brilliant photo but Gillian saw the potential in it and came up with this wonderful drawing that I think brought the photograph to life.

 Thanks, Gillian, for letting me take (and post) these photographs of you with Black Jack.

Bill and I really enjoyed spending time with you!    

So did Black Jack :)

On Tuesday, Bill and I rode our bikes to English Bay. The weather was brisk but I took a few pictures, including one of the Burrard Bridge with its tower balcony fence that always makes me think of Rapunzel.

In front of the Burrard Bridge is a False Creek Ferry station.  You can see the blue fence.. 

leading down the ramp to the pick-up point.  although the gazebo-style structure is mostly hidden behind the ferry, it does sport of kind of fence around its perimeter.

We didn't stay at the beach very long.  Bike riding with a small dog in a basket at this time of year has to be planned with lots of warm-up strategies.  This is the point where False Creek ends and English Bay begins, so I took a moment to check out the ocean view, 

and I tried (not very successfully) to catch some of the bird action, 

and we made sure to give Black Jack (and Bill!) a run for..

some fun and excitement (love Black Jack's ears when they curl inward),

Then we hopped back on our bikes and headed to Harrison Galleries.

This was taped on their cash machine (or is it called a computer?).  It seemed so very appropriate, given my recent dental challenges (I'm doing better, though more visits are booked in the new year)  and it made me laugh.  That's gotta' be good! 

I took a couple of photos of paintings at the gallery. I've shown this one before; it is part of John Lin's Emit-Flow-Sea series, but I took the time to really appreciate just a small portion of the mixed-media work. The more time I spend with it, the more I love it!

I think I've also shown this one by Stewart Jones before, but it's another I'm coming to appreciate more and more.  It is titled Cuba Street, and guess what, there are some fences in it to admire :)

Our Christmas Eve outing was a quiet one (as was our Christmas Day), but enjoyable and full of reflection.  We braved the cold and a fairly brisk wind that didn't seem to daunt a large flock of Barrow's Goldeneyes and another of American Wigeons.  I didn't get close to them, so here is just a tiny sampling of two female Goldeneyes. 

Even with my big lens, I couldn't catch much of a photo of those ducks, but you will have to trust me that there were a lot of them.  What I did see (and hear) was a gentleman with his guitar on the stepping blocks over the water.  His hands must have been quite cold, but he was making some very pleasant music.  

Then, I spotted a familiar gentleman.  He often rests in that park, and I always wonder whether he has a home.  He appears..

to be warmly dressed but I'm feeling ashamed as I look at this picture that we've never spoken to him.  In fact, I've never seen him speak with anyone, but I see now what appears to be a Christmas gift cradled between his arms.  Someone, perhaps, had also noticed him, and thought to make his Christmas a little brighter.  Bravo to that person!

As we stood looking across the water, a young dog thought he might like to play with Black Jack.  Sadly, Black Jack wasn't really interested, but we took some time to learn that the dog's name is Kash (after Johnny Cash).

I enjoyed taking some photos of Kash.  

What a beautiful and happy dog he is!

Bill and I spent a little time getting to know James, his human, and learned that Kash's past life was spent mostly in a crate.  It seems that he suffered from separation anxiety, and with his former human away for long hours at a time, things were not going well at all.  James also shared that, though things are much better now, he fell on some hard times himself recently.  He and Kash have traveled together through several Western provinces looking for a place where they can settle and create a life that works for both of them.  I could see that their bond is a close one.  I will be keeping them in my thoughts and hoping that life is now on the upswing for both of them.

Black Jack had a little run after that, and then we rode our bikes to English Bay.  The wind..

was so strong that Black Jack needed three layers to keep warm 

In the end, we decided to turn around just before the entrance to Stanley Park.  Bill and Black Jack tolerated the cold long enough for me to snap this photo..

in front of this Christmasy-looking tree,

and then the three of us agreed to turn around so that the wind was finally at our backs.  

Happy to be home again in the warmth of our comfortable apartment, I thought of the people we had met.  This evening, I searched for a song by Kash's namesake that would reflect some of my thoughts about Christmas.  One short line from "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day" spoke to me so I'll adapt it just slightly and pass it on as my Christmas wish:  "Peace on earth.  Good Will to Men" (and to women and to every living creature).  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Don't forget to stop by to visit Theresa's Good Fences.