It's been too long ...

Since we visited these favourite spots.

Deer Lake, Burnaby, spring of 2006. We used to come here often, to see the ducks or to visit the Art Gallery. Or both.

Minnekhada Park, 2006. Laurie knew the park and took me once. We always meant to go back, but never did. Too far away on the far side of Port Coquitlam, too much traffic. I saw a mallard here, trying to swallow a small frog, who very strongly disapproved of the plan. The duck won, eventually.

Bridge dividing artificial pool from the Fraser River. New Westminster, November 2006. A freezing cold day. We still drop in occasionally, if the weather is good.

At least two of these places are still within reach. I think I'll pencil them in on our calendar.

A Skywatch post.

Out on their own

... but not quite grown up yet. Sparrow chicks, New Westminster Quay

House sparrow, eating grass and weeds growing between the paving stones.

Still wearing his baby feathers.

A white-crowned sparrow chick, still fluffy.

Orange

At the New Westminster Quay:

18-spot ladybug

Lilies

Pansies

Deceptive succulent. The prickly stem is another plant.

Succulent, unidentified.

Escape route

Reading about the ongoing horror that faces the people of Japan: the threatening nuclear disaster, the task of rescuing - happy! - or body-bagging - so tragic - the victims, the continuing shaking, the eruption of a volcano nearby, the nagging uncertainties: I am almost ashamed and embarrassed to be found appreciating the beauty of a spring flower or a quiet sunset.

What can I say? The world is here, pleasant and terrible; we can't ignore either one or the other, not if we want to be whole people.

Yesterday we attended the memorial service of one of Laurie's best friends. A celebration, really, with more laughter than tears. "J" was a funny, thoughtful, irrepressible, open-hearted, open-handed man; we need many like him. And this is what I brought home with me: a reminder to receive joy enthusiastically, and, equally, to extend a hand where it is lacking.*

'nuff "filosofussing" (Laurie's word.)

After a busy day in and out of stores, foot-weary, we dawdled too long over coffee and tea in the mall. When we left the parking lot, it was past 5:00, and traffic was building up. But it had stopped raining, and there was a patch of bluish sky, so we left the line-ups heading to the bridges, and went down the hill to the New Westminster quay. Supper could wait.

The sun beyond our bridge, peeking under rain clouds.

A few shy crocuses, hiding under the shrubbery.

Sign on the dotted line. Pine tree, with woodpecker markings.

In the women's washroom at the playground, an elegant cellar spider waits for supper.

First rhododendrons I've seen this year.

In the pools around an apartment block, four large golden carp swim lazily.

The water was murky and dimmed the view. Clicking on "AutoFix" gave me this fiery beauty.

"Leaving already?" says Mamma Duck. "No, no, no, no! There's still daylight!"

But we were cold and the bridge was empty. Time to go home to a nice, hot supper.

A late Skywatch post.
*Remember to donate to a relief fund. As I wrote a couple of days ago:

Red Cross: Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from your phone. This will donate to the general Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, so if you want to ensure that it goes to Japan specifically, donate from their Web site.
Salvation Army: To contribute to earthquake relief, text 'JAPAN' or 'QUAKE' to 80888 to make a $10 donation or visit SalvationArmyUSA.org.
From Watching the ripples ...

And Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) is attempting to reach the worst hit areas of northeast Japan by helicopter, to bring medical aid.

Blazing farewell to 2010

The last day of 2010, the sun put on a show for us. At dawn, it set the clouds on fire:

7:56 AM. Sunrise is at 8:07.

In the early afternoon, we drove in to New Westminster to check out the plantings along the Quay. It was chilly, barely above freezing (it had gone down to -6 overnight) and the air was clear. It seemed like nothing was between us and the sun. And it was outdoing itself, making up for all those dull days last week; I had to dig out my darkest sunglasses. On the quay, what with the sun glaring at the glassy river, the big-windowed offices and hotels, and all the white railings, my camera rebelled. "Too much light!" it said, blinking madly at me. I closed down the aperture, sped it up to its maximum, forgot to reduce the ISO. The camera kept blinking. Any photos I took turned out mostly white.

Laurie's camera was a bit more co-operative, but not much.

There's always a way around difficulties. We could take advantage of those shining windows, and take photos of the view in the reflections:

In a dusty window, a "vintage" photo of the river and the Alex Fraser bridge.

Coming around a building, I happened to look right up at the sun. Even through my sunglasses, it blinded me for a while. But for that instant, I saw a rainbow-like halo around it. Ice crystals.
This photo, taken through a corner office window, shows the halo, as I had seen it.

Logs and barges on the far shore, and the glare off the water.

I found a shadowy window, and got a photo of the mountains, the Port Mann, and the Skytrain bridges.

Paddlewheeler.

Another solution was to zoom 'way in, take macros, which reduces the light entering the lens.

Miniature cotoneaster.

Moss

White ornamental cabbage. Looks better close-up than at normal distances.

Or find bits of shade and then zoom in:

Lichen on a black tree trunk. 

Pansy under a hedge.

I even tried taking a photo through my sunglasses:

Ornamental cabbages and kale.

Laurie took photos of the reflections underneath the promenade:

White railings and the blackness under the pilings.

On the way back, now close to sunset, the light was dimming, finally. And with our backs to the sun, we didn't even have to squint!

Viburnum. I love how it flowers at New Year's every year! No leaves, just the flowers and buds.

Unidentified tree that keeps its leaves, long and skinny and curly, all winter.

We went up to 6th and 6th for tea. It was a relief to drive into the dark basement parking lot. When we left, just before 5, night was falling. Beautiful blue night!

A Skywatch post.

Not quite speechless

It's been warm and sunny for a few days; time to check out the spring flowers on the New Westminster Quay.

What can I say? They are so brilliant this year; I am overwhelmed.

Tulips come in many colours and shapes.

There's a spider in this narcissus. Do you see it?

Rhododendron.

Wallflower. We stopped to smell these, too. Mmmm!

The center of a tulip.

Yellow tulip.

Pansies

These monkey faces always make me laugh.

And, to clear our palates, a beautiful black rove beetle on grey cement. But look at the blue of the folded wings under his jacket.

And a sparrow, in delicate greys and browns. I needed that.

More later ...