Bye bye, blue sky

the weatherman says we saw the last of blue skies and golden autumn sunlight today for a while.  Come back soon!

gothic

A glimpse through the window in the attic this morning.

Crisp & Clear

we get sun sometimes in between the showers

and it could not be lovelier.

Late Autumn - Douglas Park, Vancouver

ordinary days at school

It is beautiful but we live our lives in a slope. Only this small football field is flat. Rest is uphill.

maple leaves forever

Let me stop to say a blessing for these woods: 

for crows barking and squirrels scampering, 

for trees and fungus and multi-colored leaves,

for the way sunlight laces with shadows 

through each branch and leaf of tree, 

for these paths that take me in, 

for these paths that lead me out.

           - Michael S. Glaser

                  

cold swim

Swimming season is not yet over. Mari is getting out of the water after PE lesson at the dock at school . She looks like an angel...

hard life

Dog has an injury and has resigned on the coach.

cold is best

Snow in the mountain, frozen ground, icing cold, clear air, walking is easy, breathing is easy and it is all totally magic.

Elliott and Jasper

it turned out to be a beautiful

Thanksgiving long weekend in Victoria, which

was spent with these two gentle

Savannah cats and their "mom and dad".

Now we're back to gloom and rain.... *sigh*

høstferie

Lunch at Herman, the local cafe,

playing by the seaside in the sunshine, before a lazy night with a lousy movie. Nine days off work!

vehicles into ploughshares?

transportation transformation....

bicycle planter

unused railway bed becomes a community garden

Red sky at night...

...sailors' delight

after a very gray day, the clouds broke up and let in some light
 just before sundown.

this morning

Think I am the last person on the planet. Hermansverk is gone, the road to Sogndal and the fjord - all gone.

more reflections...

 this time at an actual reflecting pool

 at "The Lagoons" on False Creek

A reflection of the sun shining through weeping willows

impromptu reflecting pool

puddly autumnal reflections

a gray day

Bits and pieces of eternity, reflected in small puddles.

Tiny Visitors

most likely a female Anna's Hummingbird
You can see the tip of her tongue at the end of her beak.
They have very long thin tongues that allow them to lap up nectar
from flowers and feeders.

appears to be a juvenile male
with the red colour on throat and crown just coming in, but
I can't tell for sure without an abundance of light  catching the feathers.
In the shade, the coloured areas can look black.

Rufous Hummingbirds is the variety typically found in the forests around here and on Vancouver Island.  But the quieter, less feisty Anna's Hummingbirds, which were once more likely to be found in California, are well-adapted to urban areas.  In the past, Anna's migrated as far north as British Columbia in the summer, but would return in the winter to the Baja and southern California.  However, with the increase in hummingbird feeders, Anna's have expanded their winter range all the way up the coast of the Pacific Northwest and will stay in Vancouver year round.

It's a bit difficult to see their beautiful irridescent colours from my apartment because I've got the feeder in a sheltered and shaded spot, which makes them feel safer as they feed.
more photos of Anna's

matja

This is my dog, in the middle of an embroidery.

an other sunny day

Got home early a Friday afternoon, and took the dog for a walk. This is taken a 15 minutes walk from the house.

September Sun

summer was late coming

but it's lingering...

and we are making the most of it.

windsurfing on a Friday evening as the sail reflects the light
 from the sinking sun