We took a morning ramble around SE #Burnaby. Did the Byrne Creek Ravine Park trail, had fun spotting salmon fry in the creek, and saw several thrushes and Anna’s Hummingbirds. Not much people hugging going on these days, so hugged a cherry tree in Taylor Park :-).
Old prairie Ukrainian churches in ruins. From my photo archives, Oct. 24, 2008.
If I recall, these are all north of Dauphin, Manitoba. I wonder how many of them and their bell towers are still standing 12 years later. I would love to do another road trip around the area some day. . .
From what I could see of the land, this was not a friendly area to farm. Lots of rock piles in the fields, perhaps the immigrants didn’t know what they were getting into back in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Just a hundred miles further west in Saskatchewan the land was much better, from what I’ve seen.
I’m not a very religious person, but I admire these Slavic ancestors who put faith in faith. They pulled together in the harshest conditions and built churches, community halls, schools . . .
Some broke their backs and their hearts, but others prospered, and gave back to their communities.
These photos may seem sad, but I see strength and love in them. And memories eternal. . .
Blossoms in south #Burnaby shot on, and from, our balcony today:
We heard a Barred Owl on our pre-dinner Byrne Creek walk in south #Burnaby today. It sat for several minutes before swooping off.
Thankfully I was carrying a DSLR and quickly set the ISO to 3200 and even 6400 in the poor light. My pocket cam would have really struggled with this.
Doing the horror movie head turn 🙂
Love how light objects floating in water create visible tension. Shots from our Byrne Creek walk in SE #Burnaby today.
Alder catkin
Cherry blossom
We took a long walk along Byrne Creek and around Byrne Creek Ravine Park in SE #Burnaby today, as we do several times a week. Good to see people physically distancing, but getting some exercise and fresh air.
We love to spot birds and bees and other beasts as we ramble the trails. Today was a good day. . . 
Great Blue Heron
Thrush
Flicker
Peekaboo cat
I didn’t realize that Yumi and I are reflected in all of these bubbles in the sediment trap until I downloaded the photos!
I am by no means an expert in arachnids, but poking around online makes me think this is Goldenrod Crab Spider. It was tiny, as you can see in the next photo of where Yumi spotted it on a dandelion.
Spotted Towhee
There were lots of robins about
We had an order to pick up in north Burnaby today, so we took the opportunity to stretch our legs on trails near Eagle Creek and Squint Lake. Access to the lake was closed, but other trails were open, and there were almost no people using them.
Happy to spot a Northern Flicker grooming, a Downy Woodpecker, and assorted flora.
It’s interesting that in some parts of Burnaby salmonberry blossoms are nearly done, while in other areas they’re still strong. Different elevations and microclimates. . .
Another home project: got 60 liters of soil and a bag of seed potatoes.
We don’t have garden space to speak of aside from our townhouse balcony, but we do have a wood half-barrel that we can move to a sunny spot beside the garage.
The barrel is in pretty sad shape, with the hoops fallen like old socks, but the wood is still pretty solid so I think with some TLC I can revive it.
Haven’t grown potatoes in over 40 years, but this should be fun.
Moving the old barrel into place and fixing it up a bit
Adding soil and seed potatoes
Finished. Plenty of room to add soil as plants grow. . .
Yumi is the green thumb in our little family, but she says I’m on my own for this one 
.
Total cost was $6.50 for the soil, some of which Yumi will use for potted plants and flowers to help support our balcony mason bee box. Add a buck or two for the seed potatoes, and if my foray into farming is not very successful, it’s not like we’ll be out a big investment!
Obi (kimono sash), kame (turtle), piano, light saber still life.
Noticed this beam of light zapping the piano lamp as I headed up from my basement office to get a coffee this morning.
The only adjustment I made was to move the turtle a bit. . .
I have reached the end of 2007 in my stay-at-home review of my photo archives. Deleting some redundant shots, and posting some old “finds” to FB.
Here are a few from today:
Northwestern Garter Snake on the Byrne Creek dike in SE Burnaby, BC in October, 2007. We used to run across snakes at least a few times every summer, but the last few years sighting have dwindled to near zero.
Black-Crowned Night Heron in Inokashira Park in western Tokyo, Japan, October 2007.
Juveniles?
Ruddy Kingfisher, Nagasaki, Japan, fall 2007.
Koi, Nagasaki, Japan, fall 2007.
Egret, Nagasaki, Japan, fall 2007
Herons on the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, Japan, fall 2007.
In this overall view, the herons are top right, on the flashing at the second ring from the top.