Fences, Properties and a Nail Trim

Here are a few Good Fences that caught our eye lately.  If you start looking for fences around you, you may be amazed at the interesting ones that turn up.  Check out TexWisGirl's fabulous meme for inspiration (thanks, Theresa!).  I'm betting it will be impossible to resist contributing a few of your own next week.

Sometimes, as Theresa has noted, it is not so much the fence as the stuff around it.  These daisy-like flowers hosted a Cabbage Butterfly..

 that agreed to share pollen with a bee.

 This next one is possibly my record for three different insects in a small space (that is, assuming the one on the right is not a bee).

 Walking home after our outing that day, we discovered a hide-a-way in our neighbourhood we hadn't seen before.  

We weren't sure if we were on private property,

 but the only warning signs informed dogs not to do their business.

Black Jack's "business" was acceptable (I think) since no one asked us to leave.

 This is the oddest excuse for a fence we've seen in our part of town.  Fence art?

The next day, we biked around the Coal Harbour route.  Though I've shown the Rowing Club before, 

 I thought its reflections that day..

 were especially awesome.

Bill, by the way, says "Hi" to Theresa and to her fence-loving posters.  Here, he patiently holds my 500 mm lens while I go to a smaller one for the longer view.  

The day after that, we rode in the opposite direction to Olympic Village Park.  The streams are wall-to-wall algae these days, most likely because of the drought.  (The good news is that rain is supposed to arrive tomorrow and is expected to last for several days.)  Sunlight on the algae left some rather neat fence shadows.

 My own image was startlingly clear.

 No fence here, but I spent a little time looking closely at the algae and noticed some bees in its midst.  One bee appeared to me to be struggling.  That triggered the question: "Can bees swim?"  At this site, I found some interesting information.  Here's a quote from it:
"From what I have observed, bees swim on their backs and use their wings to drive themselves along. They tend to curl up head towards tail, but they can't retain a vertical position in the water so they flop over on their left side. I haven't seen any flop over on the right side yet but it's possible. Maybe they do in the southern hemisphere. Flopping over means that when they swim they don't swim in a straight line, but in circles. These can be quite wide, so even though they can't swim directly to a place to climb out, they will eventually luck out and either hit the side of the water barrel or a piece of floating wood.  The only time I have seen them get into trouble is when the water is cold and they get chilled when they fall in."

I was still left with the question of whether the bees might get trapped under the algae and not be able to right themselves.  Perhaps, there is a bee-expert reader who also happens to likes fences :) 

On August 24th, Bill and I had no idea of our destination when we set out on our bikes.  We started up a rather steep hill, and perhaps Bill sensed I was flagging because he suggested locking the bikes up and exploring the area.  In fact, as we started to walk, I realized we were not all that far from The Pet Shop Boys on Cambie Street.  Every few weeks we go there because David does nail trims for dogs.  The charge of $10 is very low and he is the only person we know who does a completely stress-free trim for Black Jack.  That in itself would be enough, but there's a huge added bonus.  ALL of David's earnings for nail trims (at least a few hundred dollars each month) go to animal rescues. He and Christopher (and the other staff) decide together on the rescue of the month and I for one, deeply appreciate their commitment and concern for animals in need.  All to say, we made a snap decision to walk up to their shop and get Black Jack's nails trimmed.  I didn't want to bother David for yet another photo of him, so the one below is from June, 2014.  Don't you love his smile?  

But, back to fences.  The streets along our walking route were delightful.  Such a range of colourful and unique houses greeted us, and yes..

 the fences and gates..

 were unique and wonderful too.

 The house above is a heritage Queen Ann cottage, built in 1895, as described below.  It dates from the early European development in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver.

Bill and I both liked this little bridge-ramp leading down the path to the house.

The colour schemes for each house were fun,

with no two alike.

I loved this blue fence..

and we were both impressed with the lights in the pillars..

by the gates on this property.

The fences were kept in good repair..

and the gardens behind them, even in the drought, seemed quite healthy.

There were some cute critters..

and some character art..

and something to admire in just about every property.  Bill had his hands full..

curbing Black Jack's desire to squeeze between the railings.

McClean House, one of the grander houses we admired, was also a heritage..

building with an interesting history.

The long stairway in the building next to it was guarded..

by this happy gnome.  I loved our walk and our visit to the Pet Shop Boys.  Thanks for stopping by to view our fence sightings this week.