Illuminate Yaletown

Urban Sunflowers

I’ve never been a fan of big sunflowers, always thought they looked garish and fake. Near the Olympic Village on False Creek in Vancouver is a gardening/art project. It is unpretentious and a pleasure to explore. A friend and I were visiting just before sunset, beautiful light, beautiful sunflowers.

Photo of the Day

Chester, Nova Scotia

Photo of the Day

Best Grouse Grind ever.

A starry night on Chesterman beach

Chesterman beach was empty, pitch black and silent apart from the waves gently breaking. A few lights shimmered on the horizon from distant cabins and the far off Wickanish Inn. The moon was absent; the only illumination was from the lighthouse that was far out to sea on a small island ahead of us. I tipped my head back and held my breath as I gazed at more stars than I had ever seen. The sky was a black pin cushion pierced by stars and planets. I chided myself for not having an astronomer’s map with me or a better knowledge of the sky. A friend pointed to the Milky Way. I spoke to mum silently and gathered all of the stars into a bouquet and handed it to her.

Best sunset ever!

Getting off the bus at Lonsdale Quay I looked up and caught the beginnings of the most amazing sunset in my life. It started off light pink which then intensified into a dark fuchsia.

I ran to Waterfront Park, nearly tripping over as I scrambled to get my camera from my backpack. I kept pausing in awe as I took photos in a futile attempt to catch the vivid transformation of colour occurring behind the backdrop of the downtown Vancouver skyline.

There were a few people also taking photos and relaxing on benches, faces forward to the sun. As my breath materialized in front of me I stood in the warm glow of the horizon. Amazing.

Walking home, I felt more alive than I have done in a very long time. I was invigorated and felt more like my old self. I noticed the details around me – the steam puffing out from metal tubes from the underground parking lot, a strange small building that was a derelict island amongst the glistening high rises, the oddly depressing shop fronts.

Footnote: I did not enhance the colour of any of the above photos!

Toby

I rested my head on the side of the bath and looked over at the grunting grey mass sprawled out on the bathroom mat beneath me. I got Toby’s attention and he paused from washing his belly to flop his head back and trill at me as he started to roll around in a general state of bliss.

Toby has had a fetish for bathrooms (this bathroom, mum’s bathroom) for as long as I can remember. Try and pick him up anywhere else and he will prise himself out of your increasingly tight cuddle almost immediately. He will often make his extreme discomfort apparent by running up and over your back and landing loudly on the floor before you even have time to lower him.

Fighting mum’s embrace….

Pick him up in the bathroom however and he will gladly stay in your arms for – well I have never tested the length, needless to say, it is always me who ends it. A slightly painful aspect of these interludes is his need to claw your shoulder gently as he clasps and unclasps his paws. He also looks up at the ceiling and trills to an apparent unknown ceiling deity.

He often hangs around outside the bathroom door and if you happen to be walking past he tries to get your attention and coax you into following him in for some loving. He can do without a companion though, he has spent many a happy hour stretched out by the radiator or curled up in a ball (again by the radiator – heat is his other passion). He prefers to have a towel over him and will happily pull one down on top of himself (the towel is preferably heated) from the radiator.

Poking his head out when he gets too hot..