Tri-coloured maple

A year ago last Sunday, the leaves were turning red.

Taken from Westham Island Bridge

They're at the same stage this year, but much, much soggier. It's still raining. Feast or famine!

As good as a rest

Coming home this afternoon, we were tired and footsore, but the colours were so tempting in the first nursery we passed, that we had to stop and walk all around the tables of bedding plants and the big yard full of trees and shrubs.

Statue in the shade, and Laurie in the background, blending in.

Basket stuffers

Almost green dogwood

Pink stripy dogwood

Lilac buds

White lilac

And red, red maple

Water droplet on hosta leaves

And on the hosta next to this one, I found a spider:

Long-jawed orb weaver. A common enough spider here in BC, but I'd never seen one. She was hanging in her web with the legs close together, underside out, so she looked more like a dried pine needle than an animal. If you look closely at the web, you can see bright dots of glue at the junctions.

When I shook the leaf, she dropped to the edge. At least I got a side view. Her head, compared to the abdomen, is quite short, and half of the apparent length is taken up by huge "jaws", actually the chelicerae. The male's would be bigger still. 

 "... The better to eat you with, my dear," said the wolf.