Spotted this Rufous Hummingbird during my Fraser Foreshore Park ramble in south Burnaby, BC, today.
Monthly Archives: August 2021
Gorgeous Garter Snake at Fraser Foreshore Park
I came across this beauty at the pond just west of the Byrne Creek outfall in Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby, BC. this morning.
I was at the edge of the pond looking for dragonflies when I caught some motion from the corner of my eye and turned to find the garter snake coming down the slope toward me.
I actually had to back up to get this shot as I had Big Bertha (Tamron 150-600 zoom) on my camera and couldn’t focus that close.
Odd for these very shy, harmless snakes to “approach” you, and then I realized it was just trying to get to the closest cover.
Ukrainian Readers From my Youth
Another garage find today. A couple of my Ukrainian readers from the early ’60s.
Byrne Creek Sediment Pond Cleanout in Burnaby
The sediment trap on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby was cleaned out today. Thanks to the volunteers who came out to help salvage coho, trout, lamprey, and crayfish!
The trap is cleaned out every two years as it fills with sediment. It’s meant to keep the artificial spawning channel in the habitat from filling up too quickly.
We had a Cooper’s Hawk and a Great Blue Heron come by to supervise for awhile.
Thanks to Aquaterra and City of Burnaby staff for doing the netting and heavy lifting while streamkeeper volunteers ran the bucket brigade.
Nikkei Place Farmer’s Market in Burnaby
Yumi and I checked out the Nikkei Garden Farmer’s Market this morning at the Nikkei National Museum and Culural Centre, just up the hill from our place in south Burnaby, BC.
Yumi got some plants and a bag full of used Japanese novels.
There’s an excellent exhibition in the gallery on women in STEM.
Mundy Park Walk in Coquitlam
Today’s ramble was in Mundy Park in Coquitlam, BC. Looks like there’s an invasive American Bullfrog problem. . . Then again, where aren’t they in the lower mainland now?
House Finch, Garden Plants at Stewart Heritage Farm
We enjoyed the colours of the garden at the Historic Stewart Farm in south Surrey, BC, this afternoon, and spotted a House Finch enjoying blackberries.
Remembering My Short Stage Acting Career – Mohyla 60th Anniversary
For Throwback Thursday, how about we go back to July 5, 1976, and the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix coverage of the Mohyla Institute 60th Anniversary show? Yikes!
I’d forgotten all about this until some garage cleaning today turned it up. My short stage acting career! 
I vaguely recall having multiple roles as a young romancer, a WWI Ukrainian-Canadian soldier, and as renowned Ukrainian dance instructor Vasyl Avramenko.
Despicable Behaviour in My Neighborhood
I was angry and sad to come across several of these posters on my walk in SE Burnaby and New Westminster today. They were on the urban trail that runs along the Skytrain tracks between Taylor Park and 22nd St. Station.
Over the last year or two it seems such incidents have been increasing, be it harrassment of women, or of Asians, or. . .
I’m angry that woman and people of colour walk in fear, and sad to find it in my back yard.
Northern Flicker in SE Burnaby
As I was nearing home from a Byrne Creek walk in SE Burnaby, BC, I spotted this Northern Flicker on the fence at the ball diamond. It was a bit skittish, fluttering down the fence, but I got close enough to get this shot with my pocket camera.
