AUTUMN 2011

Autumn has definitely come to the lower mainland of BC.

I do love Maple trees. The leaves turn such fantastic colors.

I thought these, below, were some kind of maple tree. They look similar. I think they may be called Sweetgum trees. Seems to match the leaves and spiky nut thingies that I found on a Google search, though I could be wrong. The colors of these trees turn in a similar way to maple.

OSTEOSPERMUM

I blogged a photo of this flower (or one from the same bed anyways) earlier this month. I think they are Osteospermum, which, from what I understand, is a type of African Purple Daisy. One of my parents' front flower gardens is full of these. They are absolutely beautiful.

FUCHSIA FLOWERS

My mom always has a beautiful fuchsia hanging basket in the front of the house.

I'll have to read up on photographing dark pinks / reds, because the color seems... not right somehow. Still beautiful though.

SQUIRRELS, SPARROWS, AND BEES, OH MY!

I was outside yesterday trying to take pictures of little birds that hang out in the big tree in the yard behind me. I saw this little fuzzy staring at me. I like squirrels. Unless they are decaying between the walls of my townhouse. But otherwise, I quite like them.

House Sparrows, aka English Sparrows, 2 males and a female, I'm told by someone who is more astute in regards to birdy business than I am. I love these little guys. They're always flitting and hopping around. They've been known to tease poor Tibboh the Terrible (our cat) through the sliding glass door to our back yard.

This poor bee seemed to lose its way on a chilly September night. I found him/her covered in dew on my wind screen in the morning. It was still alive. I'm kind of hoping he just flew away when I started my car (though I rather know this is unlikely when they're wet like this). But you never know. You never can tell with bees.

METALLIC BLUE MIDDLE BITS

Many of my latest photos have been of wild flowers, but this one is from the front garden at my folks' house.

I've no idea what it is, but I love the pretty violet petals and the metallic blue middle bit.

LIVING NEAR THE AIRPORT

When you live and work near the airport, you get used to seeing and hearing airplanes overhead.

In fact, there is only one time I recall NOT seeing or hearing a plane in the sky (the afternoon of 9/11) and that was completely eerie and weird.

At this time of year, when the clouds roll in and cover us for what feels like months, the sounds of planes seem 100 times louder than on a sunny day. I'm sure there's a brilliant scientific reason for that, but I don't know what it is.

I took this when I was at work, a couple of years ago. I should have taken it with a street light in the shot, so you could see some perspective.

We're not that far from the airport, so this isn't an unusual sight. And though I occasionally worry that one (or bits of one) may come crashing down on top of me, I think I'd much rather see them up there, flying around, than not.

CONFESSION TIME

I have a confession. And I know it's going to throw the world into chaos. Black will be white, up will be down, blue will become a flavor. Brace yourself.

Here it is. I'm just going to say it.

I don't actually like Slurpees anymore.

I know, I know, it's a big concept to try and grasp all at once. Take a few deep breaths.

I suppose the Universe was trying to tell me something when it threw my digestive system into complete and utter higgledy-piggledy, earlier this year. I cut a lot of things out of my diet, including pop and Slurpees.

I've had fewer Slurpees this past summer than I have had during some of our coldest winters. And I started buying small Slurpees. But it was never the same; the love never came back. They are too sweet or... something. I can't quite put my finger on it. I just don't care for them anymore.

I knew they weren't GOOD for me. Heck, I even knew they were rather BAD for me. And now that I have a kid, I knew that it was a habit I had to break because I didn't want my 'little monkey' seeing and doing every bad habit that lead me to complete digestive meltdown.

Sorry 7-11. You must be feeling the pinch.

Goodbye, my dear, too-sweet friend, and thanks for all the memories.

PS: Blue will forever be a color, not a flavor.

STEVESTON, BC

There is a fishing village near Vancouver, called Steveston. You can buy fresh fish on the dock at certain times of the year. There are a few fabulous fish & chip shops. It's quite a cute little village.

There are some enormous boats that come up the Fraser River to drop off what must be hundreds of cars. They get dropped off down the river and go by train and truck throughout BC, and likely beyond. These boats are HUGE. I've seen smaller apartment buildings.

This is a shot of the Fisherman's Memorial. The Steveston Fisherman's Memorial is a freestanding memorial commemorating the lives and deaths of fishermen working out of Steveston, BC. It takes the form of a giant fishing net needle and stands a few meters from the sea, at Garry Point Park (from Wikipedia).

Here's a couple of shots of the memorial from father away. You turn your head for one second and another boat will show up in view. I love Steveston!