Eileen's Critter Post #82

In just five days, it seems quite a few critters posed for my camera.  They are not exotic, but each lingers in my memory.  I am sharing them today with Eileen's 82nd posting of the Saturday's Critters meme.  Thank you so much, Eileen!

This goes back to Monday, July 6th at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park.  It's not a great shot, but the dragonfly looked me in the eye just before I clicked it. 

This next set of photos was Tuesday, July 7th at Granville Island.  We sat listening to this lady busker.  She was cheery and unassuming and the mood of her songs was just right for the day.  Best of all, we saw her later, some time after she had finished her performance, still humming a tune to herself as she walked.  Oh, yes, the critters.  Mostly seagulls and pigeons.  Parents love to bring their children to this spot.  Kids stamp their feet and laugh uproariously as they disturb the pigeons or seagulls eating up the pieces of white bread and other junk food people throw on the ground.  The parents seem to love this.  They take photos of their kids and everyone thinks it is cute. I know it is a rite of passage for kids to feed ducks and pigeons and other birds.  Wouldn't it be just as much fun for the parents, and a life lesson for their children, if they fed seeds or other fare that is designed to keep the birds healthy?  And would it be so against that rite-of-passage if the beginning lessons to treat all life with respect were instilled?  They could watch the birds, follow their flights when they choose to fly, admire their colours, and find a more gentle way to enjoy them.  I would love that.

As we sat listening to the busker, this pup noticed Black Jack on Bill's knee.

Black Jack wasn't interested at first,

but then there were two.  I admit Black Jack will almost definitely never wear a sun hat, but perhaps the idea was to protect the Chihuahuas' eyes, or perhaps they were just meant to be cute.  Whatever the reason, I could tell the pups were..

contented, stimulated..

and well-loved.  Black Jack often sits like this (there's a similar shot in the previous post), so I guess that is..

the Chihuahua in her as well, although her pug component assumes belly-rubs are required, even if perched on Bill's knee.

I think she may have been a bit miffed that she was completely ignored..

while everyone gave the two Chihuahuas their attention..

and admiration.

Only this little guy seemed oblivious to their cuteness.  He was more interested in dancing to the nice lady's happy music.

The following day, we rode our bikes along the Coal Harbour route and stopped to enjoy some quiet time on a park bench by the water.  This Flicker (perhaps a young male?) was happily hunting in the grass.  He was not at all disturbed by my camera, or for that matter, by Black Jack (she has no interest in birds).

I left Black Jack with Bill and moved on to take this photo of a bee..

that was feasting on nectar,

The Flicker seemed to follow my path and finally settled by the flowers.

I left him and walked around the corner to the pond. The lily pads hosted many..

water bugs too tiny to show in any detail but I sure felt their presence.

I returned to Bill and Black Jack and caught them smooching, as they often do :)

I sat with them for a while and suddenly noticed this impossible to miss dog with a pink (champagne) tail.  As with my comment about sun hats, I know that Black Jack's tail is likely to remain black for the appreciable future.  However, as with the comment made about the Chihuahuas, this dog was stimulated,

well-loved and very, very happy.  All that really matters to me in the life of a pet.

This is Sami.  His human told me that Sami was turning 8 on this very day (the 8th) and that, apparently, evokes champagne symbolism.  

I confess to not fully understanding that symbolism though I did google this site.  Perhaps someone will fill me in.  In the mean time, I know a happy dog when I see one.  Happy Birthday, Sami!  May you continue to live a full and very long life.

I followed Sami, surreptitiously snapping photos, but he and his human moved out of range of my camera.  Just as they did, this bird popped up from under a bush.

A young sparrow or finch..  I'm not really sure, but loved the sighting.

I went back to Bill and Black Jack at this point, wanting to show them a kind of circular jetty that I hadn't noticed before.  We looked over the harbour together and noticed a couple of seals.  They hang around this area hoping that the fishermen will throw them scraps when they return with their catch.

There were many cormorants around as well,

and every once in a while, this Blue Heron flew by.  The air was hazy because of forest fires (quite a distance from us but we sure feel their affect), and it seemed to me that the heron was struggling to breathe.  Or, perhaps it was the heat that made him/her seem to be struggling.

A seagull and I watched as the heron..

returned a minute or two later (I feel sure s/he was the same one.)

On the way back to our bikes (Black Jack rides in my basket), we passed a pond and stopped to gaze into the water.

On Thursday (the 9th), we walked around a good portion of False Creek.  We didn't see many critters, but this House Finch (I think) posed for a moment..

and this cormorant seemed to give me an indignant look.

I know this isn't a critter but we have passed by it so many times, and only..

that day did I take a moment to discover that it was critter-related :)  I checked out the web site of the artists.  The quote at the top says: "We get together.  We come up with ideas.  We create.  We feel better."  Sounds like a plan to me.

Yesterday, (Friday, July 10th), we started out on our bikes to English Bay but stopped almost immediately to check out these "critters"..  okay, maybe not officially critters, but surely, not quite your everyday humans :)

They were playing Bubble Ball.  You can see videos of that here.

Bill was curious and approached one of the organizers, who was happy to share information about the sport.  It sure looks like fun.

And, just to prove critters were never far from the scene, this little dog raced around the field, oblivious to the Bubble Ball game.

We finally tore ourselves away from the game and rode to English Bay.  

Black Jack loves that Bill takes her pretty well anywhere she wants to go.

She loves to explore the shore line..

sniffing out anything that could be categorized as edible.

It was a perfect day for cooling one's toes in the water.

Bill spotted this critter.  I feel I should know what it is, but even after checking..

my insect book, I'm not sure.

Behind us, I noticed for the first time how the rocks form a sort of throne.  I asked Bill to sit on it.  He is King of my Castle :)

I saw the same insects (as the one two photos above) scurrying around in the rocks.  Black Jack saw them too.

I show these next three photos because I am amazed at Bill's strength.

Carrying Black Jack in one arm, he stepped nimbly up, with never a moment..

of instability.  I followed, but touched down with my hands more than once.  As for the way we got down those rocks in the first place, it was the same story.  I didn't quite have to sit on my derriere but I can verify with certainty that I didn't make the descent look pretty.  Bottom line, though, is that we both had a great day!  Hope you enjoyed it along with us.  Happy critter watching!  Until next time!