Head out to the Shadbolt Centre soon to catch the wonderful variety of blossoms.
Burgeoning Balcony Blossoms
The ornamental cherry near our balcony is near its peak. Several shots from mid-morning today as the sun rose over the forest.
Young, Skinny Me Teaches Kindergarten in Japan
While cleaning the garage today I ran across a brochure from a private kindergarten in Japan where I taught very basic English for many years. Yep, that skinny guy with lots of dark hair is moi, circa late 1980s/early 1990s. It was an extremely well-paying gig for just one morning a week.
Birds at Boundary Bay
I took a 3-hour stroll along the dyke at Boundary Bay, starting from 72nd and heading west, and then back again. Lots of eagles, both golden and bald, some harriers (of which I didn’t get any usable shots), and assorted waterfowl and smaller birds.
I’m thinking Golden Eagle?
Up…
Up, up…
Up, up, and away!
Bald eagle
Bald eagle in flight
Great Blue Heron having lunch
Head shot
Preparing for takeoff
American Robin in Canada
Tree swallow
Sunny Hike in Minnekhada Regional Park
We hadn’t been to Minnekhada Regional Park in a long time, so we took advantage of the superb sunny weather to ramble around for a couple of hours.
We didn’t see a heck of a lot of wildlife, but did run across a garter snake and a frog.
Yumi at a lookout near the lodge
Yumi spotted this frog
This garter snake crossed the trail to our delight, and that of a couple of other walkers
Herons Building Nests at Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC
We walked around Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC, today, spending half an hour or so observing the heron colony. It’s busy season, with herons building nests, flying in and out collecting branches.
Making adjustments
Standing guard as others focus on building
Making a ruckus
Selecting a branch to break off for nest building
Taking off with branch
In flight with nest material
And a bonus — a rufous hummingbird
No Habitat, No Fish — Ask Your MP to Help Change the Fisheries Act
It’s time to bring back laws to protect fish habitat. Read the new report released today – supported by 47 First Nations, scientists, anglers and conservation groups across Canada. Help share the news! http://wcel.org/resources/
I used to be a car guy – Vancouver Auto Show beckons
In the days of my youth (sorry, no Led Zep here : -), I used to be a car nut. I did all my own servicing until solid state and computertronics put much of that out of reach for backyard mechanics.
I bought, drove, and sold nearly a dozen used vehicles between age 16 and 25 or so…
An AMC or two (anyone remember those? Think Hornets and Matadors — relatively smaller cars for that era with punchy V-8s : -), a couple of Euro Ford Capris both 4- and 6-bangers…
A rusting-out Jaguar saloon… A Pontiac Grand Am with a 400-4 V-8 and RTS that I drove across Canada and back once, if not twice. A superb highway cruiser… A couple of trucks and vans (yes, the van was soon accessorized with big speakers and shag carpet, blush….)
Then I didn’t own a vehicle at all for the 14+ years I lived in Tokyo. We rented for weekend trips a few times, and drove my wife’s family vehicles when we visited up north in Aomori prefecture.
And when I returned to Canada, I matured into a so-called “environmental activist.”
So I/we have had one vehicle for the last 18 years, a solid, rather staid ’98 Subaru Outback.
But I feel myself wanting to go to the Vancouver Auto Show. I can check out the fantasy vehicles, the sports cars, the super trucks, and then bring home a few brochures on hybrids.
At this point in my life, I listen to my wife a lot. Wife wants a hybrid when we get our next ride. I won’t argue with that.
But I also want a truck for camping, fishing, canoeing, photography journeys, etc. A midsize one. A Tacoma would be nice…
Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park Birds
I took the cameras for a walk along Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC, over an extended lunch today.
Sparrow
Junco
Golden-Crowned Sparrow
Great Blue Heron taking aim
Great Blue Heron whack!
Great Blue Heron coming up empty
American Robin
Rufous Hummingbird
Hawk – Sharp-Shinned? Cooper’s? Goshawk?
Byrne Creek Runs Milky Green
I put in two calls to the City of Burnaby today. The first was about a house construction site where dirt was not being properly managed, creating a situation in which silt would likely flow into Byrne Creek.
Then about half an hour later on my walk, I saw that the creek was running milky green. I traced the source to the stormwater line that drains Edmonds St. above Kingsway, and then joins the pipe that runs along 18th Ave and that empties into the creek on 18th just upstream from Edmonds Skytrain Station.
Mud building up on Hedley from house construction
Sites are supposed to be managed so this does not happen, or at least immediately cleaned up. This is just a few meters from a storm drain that goes directly into Byrne Creek, where volunteer streamkeepers have been seeing coho salmon and chum salmon fry hatching out over the last few weeks.
The fish ladder at Griffiths pond
The sediment/substance appeared to be coming from the 18th Ave. stormwater pipe.
Folks, nothing should go down street and parking lot drains except rain.