For Sale

I came across this on our recent visit to Vancouver, when we went for a drive in the Fraser River valley.

IMG_7250

One has to hope the price would be very reasonable.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Alien Landscape

Our Vancouver trip is pretty much over – I’m writing this from the airport waiting for our flight. Over the next few days I want to post a few more pictures from a wonderful visit to a wonderful city. This post will deal with our hike around Lynn Canyon park. The part includes a suspension bridge, similar to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, but free.

IMG_7828

Enjoyable, and exhilarating, as that was, it isn’t the main theme of this post. Today I want to focus on the incredible, almost alien, landscape in the park. I’ll start with a picture of a back-lit moss covered tree, with curving branches that almost looked like they were reaching out to you. Jan noted that if this were a Dr. Who episode, you would expect the trees to begin moving toward you.

IMG_7703

The trees curved in the most unexpected ways, like this tree that grew at an angle over the path, then suddenly turned straight up. I suppose it is an example of the lengths that plants will go to as they follow the sun.

IMG_7721

And then there was this – I really have no idea what to make of it…

IMG_7748

Everywhere you looked there were scenes that I can only describe as utterly alien – at least to me.

IMG_7698

The uprooted trees looked like a beast stalking us.

IMG_7833

But of course, when you looked up it was clear you were in a rain forest.

IMG_7695

A forest that had been logged a long time ago.

IMG_7682

The life of the current forest was growing from the old forest everywhere you looked.

IMG_7688

And when I say “growing from the dead forest” I mean that literally.

IMG_7696

IMG_7709

And of course, the running water through the canyon.

IMG_7762

I love the colour of the water.

IMG_7779

I’ll close with a picture showing clearly that even in a rain forest, there is always the danger of fire.

IMG_7835

If you have the chance, I highly recommend a walk through Lynn Canyon park. It makes a lovely outing for a sunny day.

 

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Vancouver Snowdrifts

Okay, not really snow. After all, this is Vancouver in April and the cherry trees are in full bloom.

IMG_7629

Last week the temperature dropped and a wind storm blew through and…

IMG_7634

Cherry blossom petals were everywhere. And by “everywhere” I do mean everywhere. On the ground, on the sidewalks – everywhere.

IMG_7635

I even spotted one place where the cherry blossom petals were covering the hedges.

IMG_7636

And I’m not even going to mention the fact that cherry blossom drifts are NOT the same as snow drifts. (Okay, maybe I am going to mention it…)

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Wine and Cheese

Our first stop today was an artisanal goat cheese shop just south of Kelowna.   You drive out of town along the lake, past the houses, past the cottages and then past the vineyards. As you drive the road gets narrower and more winding. It looks like you are about to drive off the end of the world.

IMG_7545

Eventually you arrive in an area that looks like the only thing it would support is goats.

IMG_7474

And sure enough, goats are exactly what you find.

IMG_7520

And where there are goats, there is a cheese shop. Not always, but in this case, very true. In the summer, the shop is packed and they can’t keep up with demand. But this is early in the season, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

IMG_7494

You can taste everything from Labne (thick yogurt) to aged blue cheese – all of it made from Goat’s milk.

IMG_7540

The view from the shop is as wonderful as the cheese.

IMG_7523

If you have the chance, I highly recommend you visit. After we bought our cheese, we had a panini (with Goat’s cheese, of course) followed by gelato made with goat’s milk. Fabulous.

Then it was time for more wine tasting. The tasting room is in the middle of the vineyard. The Pinot Noir grapes are just budding.

IMG_7566

Many of the tasting rooms have wonderful views over the vineyards and the lake. The wines are great too.

IMG_7550

Later in the summer the tasting rooms will be crowded, but today…

IMG_7554

I find it is much better to visit in the off season where you can have a long discussion about the wines, the vineyards and life in general.

I’ll close tonight with a few pictures from the pasture at the cheese shop.

IMG_7507

IMG_7514

IMG_7522

 

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Okanagan

Today we went wine tasting. Earlier this year we were in Sonoma and so we expected that the terrain in the Okanagan would be similar. Boy were we wrong.

IMG_7399

They say that to reach its full potential, vines have to be stressed to concentrate the flavours. High yields mean watery wine, while marginal conditions can lead to rich intense wines. It isn’t difficult to see why the wines here are great when you look at the landscape in the Okanagan.

IMG_7375

It also provides many stunning views.

IMG_7407

IMG_7415In some places the vines are budding, with the leaves just beginning to show.

IMG_7433

Many of the hills are also covered in bright yellow flowers.

IMG_7389

IMG_7387

There is still snow in the mountains, and the streams are running as the snow melts.

IMG_7451

Of course, there was also more than a little wine tasting. Maybe tomorrow I’ll include a photo of that.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Cheese Shop

Over the weekend we drove up the Fraser River valley to visit a very small cheese shop.

IMG_7223

And when I say small, I really do mean small. It is family-run, they make their own cheese, and just outside the store the children were feeding the baby goats.

IMG_7222

They also sell farm fresh eggs, though unfortunately they had run out by the time we were there.

IMG_7224

Later we went for a walk along one of the many little parks around Coquitlam and enjoyed the scenery and the fresh air.

IMG_7291

IMG_7293

More interesting pictures of trees, apparently healthy in spite of a hole right through the base.

IMG_7294

And as you can see, the path was very crowded…

IMG_7297

Today we are going wine tasting in the Okanagan. Hopefully I’ll have some interesting pictures to post.

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Vancouver

When we left Ottawa on Thursday, our patio looked like this.

IMG_7108

The view from the patio here in Vancouver has quite a bit of white as well, except in this case, it’s flowers.

IMG_7204

The effect, to say the least, is not the same. And it just gets worse when you look around.

IMG_7213

And by “worse” I mean better, as long as I’m writing this from Vancouver.

IMG_7193

We went for a walk yesterday in Mundy Park, a small urban park near Vancouver, and marveled at how everything was in bloom. (Not so much in Ottawa.)

IMG_7169

One of my favorites is skunk cabbage – it looks so much better than it sounds.

IMG_7174

Mundy park was logged a hundred years ago, and later set aside as a park. The contrast of new growth (now getting quite old) and signs of old stumps, creates many interesting effects.

IMG_7158

IMG_7127

In other cases, you just have the remnants of old trees.

IMG_7134

IMG_7135

There are also signs of more recent activity, some of it from storm damage…

IMG_7109

And some of it from clean up activity.

IMG_7152

It can create some interesting effects. This is a closeup of the grain of one of the trees that snapped.

IMG_7111

I’ll leave you with a couple more shots from our walk.

IMG_7122

IMG_7114

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Almost Cherry Blossom Time

It has been almost two weeks since my last trip to Washington DC. I was able to get out and see some of the usual sights. I never tire of it.

IMG_7046

It was late March. The locals were saying it was the coldest it had been all winter. I’ll admit it was a bit raw, but you still had this…

IMG_7061

The worst part was the wind – it really was biting. But it also created opportunities.

IMG_7021

It was near sunset, and the full moon was just rising. Perfect timing.

IMG_7066

By now the Cherry blossoms are no doubt past their prime, but then, with the cold weather, they were still holding back.

IMG_6997

Of course, “cold” is a relative thing. This evening when I looked out my front door, I saw this.

IMG_7103

Tomorrow it’s off to Vancouver and then to wine country. I can hardly wait.

 

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Best View

I’ve flown enough over the years that I’m really not all that interested in window seats. I much prefer being able to move around whenever I want, rather than being able to look out the window. The one exception is when I’m flying into Washington National. A straight approach would take you over the White House, which of course is controlled airspace. So instead, the plane approaches from the west and makes a sharp turn just before landing. And when it does, you get the absolutely best views of the mall. Of course, it all depends which way the wind is blowing, but on this trip I was in luck.

IMG_6983

Once I’m in the window seat, I can’t resist taking a picture of the sunset.

IMG_6968 (2)

 

Posted in Photography, Travel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Finally

At long last we are seeing the first signs of spring.

IMG_6883

And the first, very tentative, signs of new growth.

IMG_6888 (2)

As you no doubt are beginning to suspect, running water is one of my favorite things about spring. It brings out the kid in me, and I have an overwhelming urge to play in it. I usually manage to resist…

IMG_6907

Of course, I’m talking about the first signs of spring, so there is still lots of ice and snow.

IMG_6921

IMG_6925

It is still freezing at night, so crystals form as the sun begins to set.

IMG_6900

Very cool – in both senses of the word.

IMG_6960

Yes, all these pictures were taken today. When I said “first” signs of spring, I really wasn’t kidding.

IMG_6936

IMG_6876

IMG_6891

And if you needed anything more to help you understand why I chose “Finally” for the title of this post, here is a typical street in the neighbourhood. Yes, today.

IMG_6872

Posted in Canada, Photography | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment