Bikes, Newfies and the letter E

Bill and I both hold Enya in high Esteem.  Her Ethereal rendition of "Listen to the Rain" reminds me that I would love to do that right about now in our Exceedingly dry province.  Perhaps, you have guessed that the letter "E" is on Exhibit this week for the meme, ABC Wednesday.  "Thank you" to Mrs. Nesbitt for starting the meme and to Roger Green, Reader Wil, Leslie and Trubes for hosting. All do an Excellent job of Encouraging us to participate.

A few days ago, Bill and I sat in the café at Harrison Galleries and this painting seemed to Eclipse all of the others in the room.  The style reminded me of Emily Carr, but in fact, it was by Vancouver artist, Charlie Easton.

I have several books of Emily Carr's work at home.  Today, I photographed these two pages.  They give only an approximate idea of the majesty of her work, but perhaps you will see some Evidence that Mr. Easton admires and Even Emulates her style.  The oil painting below is called "Wood Interior.

Below is a later work called Clearing.  I not only Enjoy Emily's paintings but also love her writing.  Her journal, Hundreds and Thousands, has remained among my favourite books for Eons. I go back to it time and time again because she Expresses herself in a way that always seems Elegantly Efficient to me.   At one point in her life, she put forests and trees aside and turned instead to portraits, saying, "[I thought] it would get a little green out of my Eye."  A couple of months later, she had gone back to her beloved trees, saying, "Trees are so much more sensible than people, steadier and more Enduring."

Speaking of green, I found the word Eau-de-nil at the Phrontistery site. It means pale green.  The Etymology of the word is interesting.  At the Wiktionary site, I learned that it translates to "Water of the Nile" and, though I've never seen that river for myself, I can easily imagine it to be greenish in tone.

eau de nil ‎(plural eau de nils)

1. A pale yellowish green colour.  [quotations ▼]

   eau de nil colour:

Certainly, if there is any green to be seen in Vancouver lawns right now, it is of the pale variety.  This is Charlson Park, one of many parks along False Creek.  We rode our bikes there Tuesday and Enjoyed.. 

the Exquisite sunflowers,

Even when they were so weighed down by their Enormity that it was impossible..

to hold their heads Erect, they Exuded an air of  Eminent grace.

Weeping Willows, by their very name, portray sadness, but this one seemed to droop with even more despair than usual.  Paradoxically, I am always buoyed by the sight of a Weeping Willow.  They Entice one to take cover under their flowing branches.  The child in this photo made a beeline towards the tree trunk.

Bill had been running behind Black Jack as she led him to Every nook and cranny around the Edge of the pond.  He finally picked her up for a moment of calm,

Though the rocks and their reflections were Enchanting, we both realized that we had never seen the pond with so little water in it.

The seagull's daily bath-time ritual must have felt rather like taking a sponge bath instead of a proper shower.  I wonder if they Exchanged complaints about that.

Black Jack was Elated that she could step on rocks that are normally under water.

This Blue Heron was Engrossed in the Endless task of finding food.

That task was less Easy because of the distance from low-level water to a perch.

Actually, the Energetic heron..

and Earnest Black Jack..

and precariously Established Bill seemed Equally focused on anything that moved in the water, be it Edible or not.

That said, at least two of us (I'm not sure about Black Jack) missed this frog until an Eagle-Eyed young man pointed him/her out to us.  We were grateful for that, since we both think Espying a frog is a big deal.

One of the "E" words found at the Phrontistery site is Essorant.  The definition given there is "soaring" as did the heron to seek out a new perch. 

I thought the landing was superb, though the seagull didn't Exactly fall over.. 

in Exultant praise.

I took too many photos (as usual) because I loved the way the heron..

blended into the Excrement-strewn rocks.

Who knew seagull poop could Enhance a rock background for a heron photo?

That said, a sunlit-water Environment makes a pretty good backdrop too :)

Several have predicted an Early Autumn  and this tree bore that possibility out.

We always Envision this rock as a magnificent walrus  and thought s/he stood out from the crowd even more with the lower water level. 

I learned three other "E" words at the Phrontistery site.

Ebberman is "one who fishes under bridges" and..

Ecdomania is an "abnormal compulsion for wandering" and..

Euphobia is a "fear of good news" and..

at least the first two could be Employed to describe the heron, though the bridge would require an active imagination :)

After our pond Excursion, we headed to a shady spot on the other side of the bike trail where we contemplated the world while looking over False Creek.  As happens with many of our outings, we had a meaningful Encounter.  Kevin is from Stephenville, Newfoundland, though he has worked in BC for some time now.  If any readers here know about Newfoundland, they will know that the connection can be felt even generations apart.  I've never been to Newfoundland but my mother was born there, and that was all it took.  He and Bill shared some laughs..

and some serious moments as well.  Together, we Elucidated the answer to the world's problems with our can't-people-just-get-along attitude, and when.. 

he told us about his Devinci (a beauty) bike, and we saw the Evidence, well that was the clincher connection!   

As it turned out, Bill and I were remembering a movie about a bicycle maker named Marinoni (I posted here about him), and Kevin, or any bicycle Enthusiast, I highly recommend that you see that movie because, as with Newfoundlanders, cyclists share an Enthusiasm that knows no age or gender barriers.  

Here's a close-up of Kevin's Devinci.  It is an Elegant design for sure.  There are a few bicycle makers in the world that still know what it is to put every ounce of their Energy and love into creating a thing of beauty. 

As the three of us sat talking, I looked out over the water and thought once again how very fortunate we are to live the life we do.  There is no Eschewing the fact that the people we meet Enhance and  Enlarge life as we love it.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Have a wonderful Thursday!