A Happy Visit and a Couple of Critters Too

It is Saturday and I am thinking of Eileen's Saturday's Critters post, but I hope she'll forgive me for telling you about our day yesterday, with critters posted at the end.  For those of you with limited time, scroll about halfway down to see the critter portion.  For those of you who delight in the antics of children, perhaps you will enjoy our luncheon date at Co-Zi (on Fraser) with Bill's sister, Phyllis, and her dear grandson, "M" playing with his Gruncle Bill.

After a wonderful lunch (the link above is well worth checking out!), a game of roll the train..

 was enjoyed by all.

 "M" was introduced to..

 the game of arm wrestling, with just a bit of guidance from Grandma.

 Something about a tiny hand and an adult one, clasped in trust.

 Something, too, about the identical determination in those expressions.

 "I can handle this."

 "I want to play too."

 Three hands linked and a little smile peeking through.

 "Oh no!"

 "Ah..  ooh..  the agony of defeat!"

 "Hee hee!"

 "Did you see that?"

 "Get used to it, Gruncle Bill.  I'm pretty strong!"

 We all loved this cardinal sitting in what I think may be a type of cactus.

 There is nothing quite like interacting with a happy child, 

 to bring the best smiles.

 Max and I have something in common.

We are both taking piano lessons.

Phyllis was looking especially beautiful.  She thanked us again for a scarf we gave her when Bill was in hospital, a tiny token of our thanks for her many hours dedicated to helping us out.  

It was our first time at Co-Zi Café but it won't be the last.  It is well-named, cozy, warm, child friendly and with food to satisfy a wide variety of tastes.

I always love to see art on the walls.  "Red Blossoms Abound" is by Leonard Shane, a retired BC teacher.

 "Winter Fun" was another of his works on the wall.  Both are for sale at reasonable prices.  

 CRITTERS

We had ridden our bikes to meet Phyllis and "M" and were feeling pretty good about that, as the weather has limited our riding lately.  We had a couple of significant hills on the way to the café but that meant we had some great coasting time on the way home.  I spotted this female Barrow's Goldeneye (hope I'm correct) in False Creek, 

 and Bill, ever encouraging, took care of the bikes while I tried to get the photo.

The cloudy-misty-day water patterns were rather neat.

 I had completely missed this sign, but Bill didn't :)

 "Say yes!"

 I think this was a Fox Sparrow.

 Bill spotted this as well.

The sparrow flitted about, and sometimes, we could see beneath the surface of the water.

 We both liked the colour of this boat, 

 and this shot of the Cambie Bridge gives you a good sense of the weather.

 The duck dove over and over..

 and many of my shots..

 looked like this..

 or this.

 I thought this looked like Tweety Bird.

Several times, we were able to see the duck under the water and I tried unsuccessfully to capture that.  I thought if I focused on the bubbles to the right, I might catch an underwater image, but she came up just to the left.  Nevertheless, I was one happy camper after a great ride, a lovely visit (thank you so very much, Phyllis, for always making time when you can, to see us) and a critter sighting too.  Thank you, as well, to "M" and to my dear Bill for bringing so much laughter to the day!

 I went an entire day without one photo of Black Jack, but corrected that..

 this morning.

 She says "thank you" to all the critter and kid lovers out there in blogger land.  Now, I'm hoping you will hop right on over to Eileen's Saturday's Critters.  She always has wonderful stories and photos to share.  Many thanks, Eileen!