Paul Cipywnyk's Blog

Quick Walk in Burnaby’s Foreshore Park

I took advantage of the sun today to take a quick walk in Burnaby's Foreshore Park. There were lots of people out enjoying the late afternoon rays.

Sony Digital 8 DCR-TRV460 Joins Photo/Video Family

I bought a used Sony Digital 8 DCR-TRV460 camcorder on EBay a few weeks ago and it arrived the other day. It works, but the package needs a few AV cables that I've got on order.

Why would I want to purchase such "ancient" technology? I have a pile of analog Hi-8 tapes recorded back in the first half of the 1990s on a Sony camcorder that bit the dust a decade ago, and the 460 can not only play those back, it can also digitize them with its built-in analog-to-digital conversion capability. Plug it into a computer with a Firewire cable, and transfer away. Then burn those old clips to DVD. Cool.

I haven't reviewed much old tape yet, but the first one I popped in had clips of Midori, our turtle, from 18 years ago when she was a third of her present size. Wow.

At least 20 hours worth of recordings dating to the early 1990s

The Three Lovely Ladies in my Life

The wife, the turtle, and the cat snuggle up together while watching TV.

What had them all so engrossed? Cesar Millan's dog show on TV : -)

Ah, Kodak, You Changed Society & Influenced Generations

I think this is the oldest Kodak camera I have. A Brownie Target Six-20 "Made in Canada by Canadian Kodak Co. Ltd." I gather it's circa mid-1930s to 1941. I'm not even sure whose it was. My late Dad's? My late Mom's? One of my grandparents on either side?

Kodak was an iconic company.

Photography was/is (think of more recent incarnations such as YouTube, Flickr) a socially revolutionary technology, and Kodak got it into the hands of the masses. Not to mention Kodachrome and other Kodak films being the basis for Life, Time, National Geographic, and on and on...

Later, following up on FB: These were/are memory machines. Families could afford to "freeze" snaps of their collective selves, and their worlds for nearly the first generation in history. Aside from aristocrats of the previous hundreds, perhaps thousands of years of recorded history who could afford artists, sculptors, etc.

Snow in South Burnaby, Jan. 15, 2012

Ron McLean Park

Trees are confused this year as these alders are prepared to pollinate,
only to be hit by snow

More budding plants in the snow

Heading down into the ravine

An old stump from logging many decades ago

Byrne Creek looks even more lovely, dusted with snow

Yumi checks out a pool in the creek

Soap Enters Burnaby’s Byrne Creek

Here's a simple video I made when I ran across soap coming into Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby via a street drain today.

Low Eagle Counts Near Squamish

Despite the rain, Yumi and I went up to the Squamish area to look for eagles today. Glad we went for while it was pouring in the lower mainland, it was only drizzling around Brackendale.

Unfortunately, the volunteers at the eagle run pavilion said numbers were low yet again so far this year, continuing several years of declines. The eagles depend on salmon that return to spawn, and while apparently spawner forecasts are up this year, the volunteers said that hasn't been reflected on the ground, or, er, in the water, so far.

Here's a shot taken today:

Unfortunately is was overcast and raining, so not much snap, tonally or colour-wise. Also had to juice the ISO on my Nikon to 3200 to enable handheld shots at 300mm (450mm equivalent on a 35mm film camera).

Vancouver’s VanDusen Gardens Xmas Light Show

Vancouver's lovely VanDusen Botanical Garden is putting on its annual Festival of Lights, with reduced energy due to thousands of new LED lights. It's an amazing event, fun for the family, and though lines can be long, they move along at a good pace.

Burnaby Mountain Sunset

Sun setting over west Burnaby and Vancouver as seen from Burnaby Mountain. The "totem poles" in some of the photos are Kumui Mintara, or the "Playground of the Gods." They are Ainu creations from northern Japan.

All shots taken with my wee, pocket Canon SD780IS, because it was supposed to be a romantic evening with the wife so the Nikon DSLR gear was left at home. Needless to say, the wife, too, was soon snapping away with her matching SD780IS. Now that's romantic! : -)

Huge Shelf Fungus Found in Byrne Creek

While we were patrolling for spawning salmon on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, Yumi came across this huge shelf fungus. It had fallen off, or been washed off, some tree it had been growing on, and was on a small gravel bar in the creek. After a few moments admiring its size, we placed it in the forest to continue what was left of its life cycle, and its contributions to the environment around it. It might be "dead", but no point in taking it home as a trophy, when its own decay will contribute to the riparian zone.

Gulliver’s Travels in Japan

My wife Yumi likes to call these the "Gulliver" photos. That's me with her dad, and me with her mom on our last visit to Japan in October this year.

Yes, I need to lose a few dozen pounds. That's why I'm signed up for the BMO Vancouver Marathon next May. My goal is to power-walk the half-marathon, and to lose 10kg (about 22 pounds) as I train.

Here we go:

Rainy Refractions Through Car Windshield

I was in the car in a mall parking lot, waiting for my wife, when I took these shots of raindrops on the car windshield with my pocket Canon SD780.

Note: Aside from some cropping, these images have not been post-processed.

Japan Trip—Day 8 of Photos—Aomori

More photos from around Yumi's hometown in Aomori prefecture in northern Japan, taken in late October.

.

Yumi with Eito, the family pup

Eito on an access road out in the rice fields

Early morning sun breaks over a forest edging the fields

Colors get richer as the morning progresses

Meito, the goat

Reaching out for a nose scratch

Papi the cat and I, love at first sight : -)

OK, a big, warm lap.

Something that strikes me about these animals is how they all instantly accepted me.

Yumi went to Japan earlier and spent a week with her folks and relatives before I followed, so she got to know these animals, all of them new additions since our last visit. Now, I know many animals are good judges of character, of whether or not someone is comfortable with them, or is a threat to them, or to their "family." But they are also fast judges of relationships. They're Yumi's parent's pets, but obviously they quickly grasped Yumi's place in the hierarchy, and then when I came along, they immediately understood my relationship to Yumi.

So there was no fear, no anxiety, no protectiveness.

Now I'm a nice guy, but I suspect I'd have gotten a very different reception if I'd walked into the yard the first time all alone.

Japan Trip—Day 7 of Photos—Hirosaki

A few photos from the small city of Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan, where my lovely wife Yumi went to university. I'm getting confused myself as to the numbering of these blog posts! I guess it's the 7th "day" that I've posted photos to this blog, but it doesn't correspond to the days of our October trip to Japan.

The old library, constructed Western style in 1906

Interior staircase

Yumi by a display of Hirosaki historic buildings at miniature scale

And moi by another model

And here I am in front of the actual preserved building just a couple
of blocks away from the miniature display.
I love these perspective changes.

Heading toward Hirosaki "castle." I put that in quotation marks
because while it's a lovely sight, it's not really a castle. It's one defensive
tower.

Still looks imposing, and beautiful

Japan Trip—Day 6 of Photos—Aomori Fall Colours

Continuing photos from our Japan trip in October, we finally made it up to Yumi's parents' place in Aomori, near the northern end of Japan's main island. We borrowed their car, and headed out to explore the autumn colours of the famous Oirase area.

There are usually a couple of swans hanging around in this river near
Yumi's parents' place

Yumi on the bank of the stream

Two bees, or not to bee : -)

A raptor soars near Lake Towada

Japan Trip—Day 5 of Photos

Back to posting more photos of our Japan trip in October. These are from Kakunodate, a town in Akita Prefecture that is known for its preserved samurai homes and thick-walled "kura" storehouses.

Fraser Foreshore Park in Burnaby

Late afternoon ramble along Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby.

Byrne Creek Spawner Patrol Nov. 30

It was a glorious morning to patrol for spawning salmon on Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby today. Clear and sunny, with the air crisp and clean, the water clear. When you get focused on finding fish, you almost forget you're in the middle of a city.

A huge redd, or nest of eggs, laid by spawning salmon. It may be hard
to imagine, but three older farts in their 50s & 60s stood in awe at this
beautiful sight for a couple of minutes. This represents success-to have
salmon return to the creek against incredible odds, and lay the seed for
a new generation.

Japan Trip—Day 4 of Photos—Part 2

OK, I'm finally getting back to posting more photos of our Japan trip in October. I'd left off with shots from Nikko, a World Heritage Site that I'd visited several times when I lived in Japan. It was great to be back, and as I mentioned, my wife Yumi and I arrived on the day of a biannual parade that re-enacts the transfer of the remains of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to the site hundreds of years ago. While folks in the thousands gathered for the parade, Yumi and I explored remoter parts of the beautiful shrine complex, then trotted back in time to catch the parade.

Autumn Colors Lend Poignancy to Dead Salmon Spawners

Late autumn is a visually glorious time. For many runs of Pacific salmon, it's also a time of death, and laying the seeds of rebirth, in a natural cycle.

While I accept death, it upsets me when salmon make it all the way back to where they were born, yet die before they can spawn, and lay the basis for a new generation in "my" creek, the creek that I and dozens of other streamkeepers devote thousands of volunteer hours to.

Today my wife and I saw nine salmon in the creek that flows through our urban watershed--Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby. One chum, spotted with fungus and near death, stolidly guarding her redd, the nest that she'd carved out of the gravel in the creek. Several expired coho, unfortunately most not spawned before death. And five live coho attaining their magnificent spawning colours, and still full of life, though they too, will expire soon.

I've got cans of salmon in my cupboard. I've got a couple of pink salmon in my freezer that I caught while fishing this summer. But I still hold a nearly reverent sense of wonder for these lovely fish that have travelled so far to come back to this struggling, oft polluted little creek in a big city.

Leaves and remnants of snow in Ron McLean Park near the tennis courts

A striking coho male

A coho female. We knew as soon as we pulled her body out of a pool
that she had not spawned. The bulge evident in her belly indicated
she was full of eggs

The stoic chum mum, nearly dead, but still watching over her redd

As always, I NOTE that it is illegal to interfere with spawning salmon,
and that streamkeepers have training, and permission from DFO, to
monitor and collect data on spawners.

Vestiges of Autumn Leaves, Dripping Water Along Byrne Creek

As I did a patrol for spawning salmon along Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby today, I kept stopping to take shots with my teeny Canon SD780Is pocket camera.

Coho Salmon Dying Before Spawning in Burnaby’s Byrne Creek - Again

The following photo shows a gorgeous male coho in full spawning coloration found in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby this morning. There was a female coho, dead and full of eggs, just a few dozen meters away. Unfortunately, yet again we're seeing coho dying before they can spawn. Can't get the timing right? Urban pollution?

NOTE: It's illegal to disturb spawning salmon - volunteer streamkeepers are trained to patrol creeks and collect data for DFO.

It's so sad to see these lovely fish unable to fulfill their natural life cycle. They have travelled from creek to ocean, and back to creek, over several years and perhaps thousands of kilometers. They have overcome incredible odds - on the order of a thousand to one - to survive from egg to alevin, from alevin to smolt. To move out into the ocean as smolts and survive predation and fishing, and grow from perhaps 10cm to 60cm or more, and  make it back to the creek where they originated.

Feline Editorial Assistant

Choco wandered into my office meowing plaintively while I was
editing another Language Lanterns Ukrainian - English translation today.

Hello? Can't hear me? How about I jump on the desk?
I need some attention and affection, eh?

Hah! Can't ignore me now!

A folded towel - how nice of you. I'll catch a few winks while
I supervise from over here.

Japan Trip—Day 4 of Photos

This next set of photos finds us in Nikko, Japan, a World Heritage Site, and a place were a few of Japan's founding shoguns are enshrined. It's a lovely place, with flamboyantly carved and decorated shrines, lush forests, and, often, crowds of people. Little did we know that we arrived on the day of a biannual recreation of a parade re-enacting the transfer of the remains of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to the site. That actually proved to be beneficial, as we wandered the further reaches of the lovely grounds in peace while most folks congregated along the parade route. No worries, I'll have parade photos up in my next post.

Me in front of a fabulous gate

The famous monkeys

A lovely little rest area

Yumi getting ready to board the bullet train : -)

Nikko is famous for its water, and there are many public fountains
along the main road between the station and the shrine area

Nikko Station

And what's Japan without Hello Kitty?

Mount Fuji from the bullet train as we zoom off back to our hotel
in Utsunomiya. Eerie scene is the result of a tiny pocket camera from
a train doing over 200kph at dusk.

I think this was my third or fourth time in Nikko. I believe my sister and I visited together when we first went to Japan in 1985, and then I went there at least once, if not twice, during the 14 years I lived in Tokyo.

There were gaggles of Japanese high school girls in their short plaid skirts on the local train from Utsunomiya to Nikko the morning Yumi and I went. It occurred to me that the first time I went to Nikko was well before they were born. And I had not a single white hair. Sigh. I whispered to my wife "would you like to be a high school girl again?" No way! The cruel awkwardness of youth is behind, and our best days are yet to come, eh?

Japan Trip—Day 3 of Photos

As mentioned, I am not giving exact dates to these photo collections. They are from my trip to Japan from Oct. 10-24. These are from Osaka.

Approaching Osaka Castle

Me, by a gate

The canon is a signal piece from a later era

The reconstruction shows the gaudy style preferred by Toyotomi Hideyoshi

There are many massive stones in the moat and base, some weighing
over 100 tons. What's amazing is that often they came by ship from
hundreds of kilometers away, donated by vassal daimyo. Remember,
we're talking late 16th C technology here!

A more modern building with fire/quake practice underway. Must
be quite the slide down one of those chutes!

An electric Nissan Leaf that we passed on the street at a rental car place.
The proprietor was very friendly, giving us a tour of the car inside and out.

It was our first time in Osaka, and in the evening we went to Osaka Station City to look for a place to eat. Took the escalator up ten floors to the restaurants. Each floor was 85% young women out shopping. Everything on the restaurant floor was $25/person and up. Not our style. We took the train one station over to Temma, figuring a smaller station would have cheaper eats. Found an amazingly long shotengai, or shopping street. Ended up eating too much for about $9/person. I had a Nagasaki sara udon set that came with five side dishes, while Yumi had champon noodles.

Japan Trip–Day 2 of Photos

As mentioned earlier, I am not assigning exact dates to these photo collections. They are from my trip to Japan from Oct. 10-24. These are from Izumo and Matsue.

Yumi near the bottom entrance to Izumo-Taisha, one of the most
revered Shinto shrines in Japan. Unfortunately the main building
was under renovation, but we still enjoyed the trek up the hill, the
huge straw "ropes", and the other buildings.

There is a series these "torii" or gates along the way

The old Taisha train station is wonderfully preserved and evokes
memories of a bygone age.

A fanciful, and somewhat phallic, turtle decoration on the roof tiles.
Turtles symbolize long life.

And on to Matsue to visit the castle. Unfortunately is was raining steadily
but we persevered.

Part of the moat

The lovely keep

View from the top

Just starting to get some autumn colors

Samurai helmet with devil motif. There's an excellent collection of armour
in the keep

Though I've seen lots of samurai armour, I'm always surprized
at how small these fighters were. Few appear to be over 5'4" to 5'6"
or so. And slender - so the armour could weigh nearly half as much
as the man wearing it. No wonder some accounts of battles describe
mass slaughter when exhausted forces encountered fresh opponents.

And one little bird with one big bug on the keep's roof!

We enjoyed Matsue, despite the steady rain. Ironically, the city is known for the wonderful sunset views toward the Sea of Japan. So tourist info centres, kiosks, hotels, etc., have signs showing sunset time, and the probability of clear weather - which was zero percent during our visit. I'm sure the scene below must be lovely during a gorgeous sunset!

Izumo and Matsue are off the beaten tourist path, because it takes a good four to five hours to get there by train from the more populated and well-known Pacific Ocean side of Japan. But it was well worth the trip, and I hope some day we will personally experience a Matsue sunset!

Oh yes, it was also fun recognizing locations in Matsue used for photo shoots of Japan's NHK "Dan Dan" drama series, which we watched some time ago on TV Japan in Canada.

Passing the time on trains is a lot easier when you pick up bento boxes
of delectable food : - ) Most major stations have "eki-ben" or "station
bento boxes," often featuring local delicacies.

Japan Trip–Day 1

Here are photos from the first day in Japan on our Oct. 10-24 trip. We walked and walked, from our hotel near Ochanomizu, around the Imperial Palace, past the Diet building, Roppongi, and to Shibuya. From there we walked to Meiji Jingu and Shinjuku, where we finally hopped a train back to the hotel.

A view of the Imperial Palace moat

Nijubashi at the Imperial Palace

Sakuradamon

Yumi by the massive gate

Yumi in front of the Diet

There's always a hefty police presence near the Diet to deter fringe elements

Shibuya, famous for fashion

Moi with Hachiko, the famous dog that always waited for its master at the station

And in the Land of Cuteness, a Hachiko bus stop

And a Hachiko bus

Approaching Yoyogi from Shibuya

Yoyogi National Gymnasium designed by Kenzo Tange for the 1964 Summer
Olympics. It has held up remarkably well in appearance.

Entering Meiji Jingu from the Harajuku side. This shrine was one of my
havens when I was resident in Japan, and I walked through its grounds once
or twice a week on the way to work for several of the 14 years I lived in Tokyo.

Donations of casks of nihonshu (sake) to the shrine from all over Japan

The NTT Docomo Building as seen from Meiji Jingu

Pond in Meiji Jingu grounds

We love turtles!

One of Tokyo's impressive jungle crows

There were some pretty amazing spiders hanging about

And a grasshopper.

And some sort of wasp

Walking toward Shinjuku. Contrast between NTT Docomo
tower and one of the few remaining old buildings around

Our final destination on this day - Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku

Where this Wako tonkatsu outlet was my destination :-)

A happy Paul chowing down after a loooong day of rambling

On our last several visits to Tokyo over the last 12 years since
we moved to Canada, we've always stayed at a reasonable business
hotel near Ochanomizu Station. There used to be one holdout, lovely,
w0oden house on this corner lot. We often wondered how long it
would last in a sea of hulking business towers.

Photo Stats from Japan Trip Oct. 10-24

The final photo tally from my Japan trip from Oct. 10-24 is: Nikon D300 DSLR - 1,604 shots; Canon pocket SD780IS - 465 shots. I will start selecting and posting photos to this blog over the next week. Rather than attempting to match blog entries to the actual Japan dates, I think I'll just use a "2011 Japan Trip - Day X" format.

Paradise Valley Road

After spending the morning editing, I had to get out and clear my head, so I took a quick jaunt up to the Squamish area. I like checking out a few creeks and rivers up that way for spawning salmon, and sure enough, I could smell them before I could see them.

Spawner seen through the Tenderfoot Creek Hatchery fence

Paradise Valley Road

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers Assist in Edmonds Clean Sweep

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers participated in the biannual Edmonds Clean Sweep yet again. This event is sponsored by the Edmonds Business & Community Association in SE Burnaby the first Saturday in October, and the first Saturday in May every year. There was a bit of confusion this year as to organizational matters, but it all came together in a great event.

Thanks to Joyce Rostron, past prez of the Edmonds group, and Jim and Lindy McQueen of Gordon Presbyterian Church for pulling it together. The church did a great job of hosting the community with hot dogs, buns and condiments donated by Save-On Foods, and drinks provided by MLA Raj Chouhan.

At "our" end of the event, streamkeepers pulled in 37 volunteers! Thanks to all the Scouts Canada groups that participated.

And of course thanks to the City of Burnaby and its crews who provide this community cleanup with dumpsters and other support. Not to mention Burnaby RCMP and Community Policing volunteers who are always out in force for these events! And Translink security staff who help us out with our volunteer vehicles in the parking lot.

Signs pointing to our booth at the Edmonds Skytrain station

Filling the City of Burnaby provided dumpster to overflowing

Thanks to all the Scouts Canada volunteers!

Volunteers shoulder heavy loads to clean up the hood!

Streamkeepers and RCMP at the post-event social. No, the two
groups are not shunning each other, we get along great! Just didn't
grab a better photo. . .  The police know streamkeepers are eyes on
less-travelled parts of our wonderful parks, ravines, and creeks.
Burnaby has a great community policing program.

Edmonds Association past prez Joyce Rostron thanks sponsors and volunteers

Gordon Presbyterian Church volunteers feed the crowd

Moi center, with streameepers stalwarts Dave and Frieda

Stealth Bomber Moth

Saw this cool-looking moth on our garage door yesterday.

Caught My First Salmon

I've never been an avid fisherman, but it's something that's always suited the camping / canoeing / hiking portfolio of activities that I love. I did some fishing as a kid growing up in Saskatchewan, mostly for perch and pike. I've lived in BC for over ten years now, and while my wife and I have done some lake fishing from shore and from canoe, we've never caught anything.

We've both volunteered as streamkeepers for around ten years, so we know and love salmon. We do eat them, though, so I figure there's nothing wrong with catching and killing a few salmon myself, given buying the license and having the opportunity.

I've been fortunate this summer that a cousin who is a focussed, experienced fisherman, and who has a boat, has taken us fishing several times on the Sumas and Fraser Rivers. Thanks, Stacy! He's also a great coach. I caught my first salmon, a pink, yesterday, and today I threw it on a cedar plank on the BBQ. Yum!

Me with my first pink.

Stacy with one of three he caught that day.

The other factor that makes such days wonderful, is that we both love to be out of the city, and on the water.

P.S. All you folks out there who buy salmon steaks, or beheaded & gutted carcasses, I encourage you to get a whole fish and have it bleed all over your kitchen sink while you eviscerate it. You can have your own "reality" experience without turning on the TV. Very educational for any kids around, too.

Long Weekend Fishing on Fraser River

Cousin Stacy took us fishing today in his jet-drive river boat. He'd taken me out a couple of days ago, and today Yumi joined us. It was a glorious day, albeit slightly frustrating, as people all around us were hauling in salmon, and we brought nary a one into the boat. I had three on line, but lost them all. Keep that line tight! I don't fish often, and am not used to playing fish on single barbless hooks - they can shake them right quick if you slack up just a smidge. Most of my fishing was done as a kid in Saskatchewan where treble barbed hooks were usually used - at least a few decades ago. . . Yet I appreciate the single barbless, because you're way more likely to accomplish a successful "catch and release" than with any barbed hook, much less a treble.  Anyway it was great to be out on the water! Thanks cuz!

Me in front of the boat

Funky Old Kyocera Digital Camera Sports Floppy Disk

Yumi was cleaning some drawers and ran across this old digital camera that her Dad had given her years ago. We never used it. I suspect it was obsolete a few months after it was released : -). But it's kinda cool because it used a floppy disk. Say what? Yep, it's called a Video Floppy Disk. The disk measures roughly 6 X 5 cm. Dunno if these ever made it outside Japan. . .

Chris Isaak a Blast at Vancouver’s PNE

We caught Chris Isaak at the PNE two years ago (photos here) and loved the show. So we were back for more fun tonight. This year's concert was also great, with excellent music and an appreciative crowd. The band is super tight, the original tunes are great, and we even got some Orbison, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis thrown in tonight.

For the photographers out there, all shots were handheld with a
Nikon D300 with ISO set to 3,200. Most shots with EV -.7 to -1.3
so as not to overexpose the subjects against the dark background.

Vancouver Big Bus Tour, Canada Place

I picked up half-price tickets for the Big Bus hop-on, hop-off, tour bus in Vancouver on Groupon, and today Yumi and I played tourists in our home city - well, next-door city, in that, you know, suburb of Burnaby : - ). It was great fun to just sit back in the "topless" bus in the glorious sunshine.

Here are a few photos taken from the bus, and from a wander about the Canada Place cruise ship terminal.

A flattering shot with wide-angle distortion :- )

Some flying lions

Canada Place sails reflected in the new convention centre

Paul and Yumi reflected in Canada Place

The Zuiderdam leaves the harbour. We thought she looked big.

Until we walked around to the other side of the pier and gaped in wonder
at the Diamond Princess.

The bow area

Midships

Looking toward the stern

The, er, starship, feature

Off into the gulf, and the Pacific

Final Summer Bug Count on Byrne Creek Reveals Some Beauties

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers finished a third and final summer weekend of bug sampling this morning, with samples from the last three of nine sites that we've been sampling twice a year for at least ten years.

These bug surveys give an indication of water quality, using a standard methodology in The Streamkeepers Handbook, which can be downloaded from the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation. Unfortunately, Byrne Creek rarely rises above the "poor" level, as it receives a lot of polluted runoff from its urban environment.

Here are a few of the more rare aquatic bugs (larval stage) that we found in the creek this summer:

Crane fly

Caddis fly

Dragonfly

Burnaby, Hope, Lytton, Lillooet, Duffy Lake Road, Whistler Daytrip

Lovely day for a trip up the valley, up the canyon, back to the coast via the Duffy Lake Road, and home down Howe Sound. I love how you can travel just a couple of hours in BC and come across such distinct biological & geographical zones.

The blue Thompson enters the muddy Fraser at Lytton

Naxwit Picnic area near BC Hydro Seton Lake Recreation Area

Seton Lake

Duffy Lake

Smart Little Bunny

We've caught glimpses of this rabbit several times over the last months in our townhouse complex. I'm assuming it's the same one as it's always around the same area. I find it interesting how it seems to survive right next door to an urban ravine, while outdoor cats disappear left and right.

Evening Clouds from Balcony in SE Burnaby

A lovely show this evening as seen from our balcony.

Mine’s Smaller than Yours ;–)

The 225' Attessa (foreground) and the 330' Attessa IV near Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

Sure glad I've been married to a lovely woman for 18 years who has been just as happy with a 16' canoe as I have
;-).

Coyote Kits in Byrne Creek Habitat

When I was down in the Byrne Creek habitat checking the sediment flow from the broken water main on Southpoint Dr. in SE Burnaby, I ran across a family of coyotes sunning themselves. The mom took off immediately, but the kits were curious until she called them away.

I continued home back up the ravine.

Southpoint Water Main Blowout Dumps Sediment in Byrne Creek

The City of Burnaby called me this afternoon to let streamkeepers on Byrne Creek know that a water main had blown out on Southpoint Drive in SE Burnaby, and that a significant amount of sediment had entered the creek through the storm-drain system. I went to check it out, and was relieved to find no dead or distressed fish. While sediment is not good for the creek, at least it's not toxic, and fish can usually find refuge in tributary creeks. When I got there, I'd missed the main action. Crews were doing a good job of cleaning the roads and patching holes.

I presume the above was the site of the break.

While much of the road had been cleaned up,
the flow down the hill was still evident.

It must have been quite the flow, because it deposited
gravel over the curb a hundred or more meters away.

Here you can see the flow where it had hit the new rain garden
at the Southpoint cul-de-sac.

The top of the rain garden looking downhill
toward Southridge Dr.

Some of the flow bypassed the rain garden
and caused some significant erosion along the path.

You could even see where water had flowed
along Southridge Dr. toward Byrne Park Dr.

This is the sediment pond in the Byrne Creek artificial spawning
habitat. The hole at the top is where the sediment flow entered the
creek through stormwater pipes.

A reverse view from the one above. As of around 4:00 pm,
the water entering the pond was clear.

Russian Guns in Kingston–Tracking a History Mystery

I ran across some mysterious guns (cannons) when visiting Kingston, Ontario, in June 2009. Intrigued by what I thought were Imperial Russian markings on them, I went on a quest to discover how they had come to Canada.

A close-up of one of the guns in Macdonald Park. The double-headed eagle caught my eye. . .

So as we continued visiting historic sites in Kingston, I kept asking about the guns.

I had no luck at this nearby Martello Tower. The student on summer duty did his best, even searching the Internet, but came up with no information. Also had no luck at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes not too far away, though it was fascinating in its own right.

Later we were out at Old Fort Henry, and that's where I hit pay dirt. Touring the fort was a wonderful experience, especially watching the re-enactments of drill, musket firing, and big gun firing.

It occurred to me to ask for the curator's email address, and I sent him my question. He had the grace to respond quickly, while I didn't even get around to posting on my blog until two years later. Sorry! Here's his answer:

Dear Paul,

Mark Bennett, our Supervisor of Programs passed along your request for information regarding the two guns with double-headed eagles in front of the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald, our first Prime Minister.

The guns are Russian, hence the Czarist, double-headed eagle emblems. Following the Crimean War, 1854-55, an offer was made by the government in London England, for guns captured at the great naval base of Sebastopol in the Crimea to be displayed in cities throughout the British Empire. The fortifications were taken by assault and the abandoned stores were captured and returned to England at the conclusion of the war. Many cities in the Empire applied for these trophy guns and they were subsequently delivered in the following years. The City of Kingston received two of these guns, whereas most locations received only one. I know of several cities in Canada that have Crimean Guns.

The Sebastopol guns are famous for another feature. Queen Victoria instituted a new medal for gallantry at this time. It is known as the Victoria Cross and has become the most sought-after decoration for gallantry arguably in the world. The simple bronze crosses are made of bronze from the cascables of guns  that were captured at Sebastopol (identical to the ones you saw in Kingston).

I hope that this answers your question. Thank you for visiting Fort Henry and we hope you will visit us again soon.

Regards,
Ron Ridley
Curator
Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada
St. Lawrence Parks Commission
Ontario Ministry of Tourism

Now that's what I call service. Thank you Ron, my apologies for my tardy post, and hope everything at Fort Henry is going well!

Saving Dragonfly from ‘Indoor’ Cat

Yes, Choco the cat is supposed to be a completely indoor cat. That's to protect her from the coyotes in the ravine just outside our back gate, and to protect birds from her natural instincts, well-fed as she may be. Cats are cats, and love to chase. . . But we do let her out on the balcony, and in an unsupervised moment today, she managed to snag a lovely dragonfly.

Yumi soon rescued the dragonfly, which wasn't too worse for wear. In the photo below, one wing appear off kilter, but after the shock wore off, it straightened out, and the lovely little darling buzzed off into the ether. Fly, fly my dragonfly - and catch, and eat, as many mosquitos as you can : -).

Korean War Monument in Burnaby’s Central Park

Yumi and I have been getting out cycling more. Today we went from our place in SE Burnaby to Central Park. We did several trails in the park and then returned home. While we were in the park I wanted to visit the relatively new Korean War Monument, which I had not been to yet. The Korean War was my Mom's generation - as I recall she knew young men who fought and died. She was about 17 when Canada entered the war as part of the UN forces.

I also noticed that one of the names on the memorial was that of "Takeuchi Takachi," as sh0wn below. That struck me as odd, because I spent over a decade in Japan, and the name just did not ring right.

I naturally turned to Google, and quickly found the site of the 2RCHA, or Canadian Horse Artillery. Under the Regimental History link, there is a section called "Off to Korea" where the name is spelled Gunner Takashi Takeuchi, which makes more sense (at least in the Western order of given name, followed by family name). I hope this can be rectified, for this is one of those strange confluences in history. There was no love lost between Japanese and Koreans for centuries. To have a Japanese-Canadian die in the Korean War on the side of freedom and democracy has a certain poignancy to it. . .

Firefighting Foam Enters Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby Again

Late afternoon today I saw an email from a fellow Byrne Creek Streamkeeper that there was a car on fire near his apartment and that firefighters were responding with foam. I had just come home from a walk around the creek and had not noticed anything. I pulled out my stormdrain map of the Byrne Creek watershed and noted that the area he referred to was right on the edge of the escapement. So I ran back outside and checked Griffiths Pond near the Edmonds Skytrain station. Sure enough, there was lots of foam coming down the fish ladder, spreading over the pond, and flowing downstream.

Here's how it looked at 5:15 p.m.:

Now we streamkeepers are a bit sensitive because runoff from a house fire in the watershed back in November 201o did kill a lot of fish in the creek. That was attributed to chemicals stored at the house, as firefighting foam is said to be non-toxic.

I did not see any dead fish at 5:15, and resolved to check again later in the evening. Here's how the pond looked at 7:15 p.m.:

Much of the foam had dissipated. I checked carefully in and around the pond again, and did not find any dead fish, or any in distress. I saw one alive, swimming just fine. I worked my way slowly down the creek about 75 meters, and also did not see any dead or distressed fish, and saw several darting about alive.

I'll check again in the morning, but, knock on wood, perhaps we have escaped yet another kill in our creek.

UPDATE [July 5, 2011]: I checked the pond this morning at 7:30 a.m. and it was clear. I am pleased to report that I did not see any dead or distressed fish. I also checked the sediment pond near Meadow and Southridge in the artificial spawning habitat, and again saw no dead or distressed fish. I did see several dozen live ones, ranging in size from about 8cm to 30cm. I should also acknowledge that I did not have time to backtrack the flow of the foam, so it is an assumption on my part that it was related to the fire in the upper watershed. I am assuming it was from the fire due to the timing of the foam's appearance, and its quantity.

Reifel Bird Sanctuary Ramble

Yumi and I went to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary this morning - one of our favourite places around BC's lower mainland.

Barn swallow

Barn swallow tail feathers

Cowbird

Damselfly

Ducklings

Heron with fish

House sparrow

Otter

Mom Black Bear & Cubs

Saw this mom black bear and cubs grazing at the side of the road on northern Vancouver Island on the May long weekend. Needless to say, I took all my photos from inside the car.

Campbell River Estuary Shorebird

These shots are from a tour of the Campbell River estuary on Vancouver Island the May long weekend. The tour was part of the 2011 SEP Workshop (BC Streamkeepers' Conference). Even with my bird books, I'm not sure exactly what this is.

Side view

Front view

In flight

Seattle Space Needle

I'm way behind on getting photos up on this blog! Here's a teaser from a trip we took to Seattle at the end of April this year. I took nearly 100 shots of the Space Needle and the fountain.

Steveston Walk

Yumi and I headed down to Steveston on this sunny Saturday. It's one of our favourite places to ramble around. Great waterfront walks, interesting shops, good places to eat.

Near Fisherman's Wharf

Yumi using her binoculars to check out a pair of young eagles
in a nest across the river

Dappled sunlight resulted in this shot of a rose bush

The above photo was not manipulated in any way in
post-production, and the camera was a nearly "auto-
everything" pocket job. The dramatic effect is simply
from the pinpoint of sunlight on one blossom on a large,
green bush, with the auto-exposure capturing the highlights
and everything else thrown to black.

Cool, eh?

OK, 1 More ‘Missing Pet’ Added to this Blog

I'm adding "missing pets" to this blog. I used to have entries for them on my old website that I took down years ago, and am finally transferring those pages here.

Toto the Cat in Aomori Prefecture, Japan.

This entry on my old website was posted around 1995-97???

"Here I am with a *verrrry* relaxed Toto, in Yumi's parents' place. Toto and I were the greatest of pals, though we didn't meet that often. He passed away awhile back, and I still miss him..."

2011 comments: Toto was the most relaxed, laid back cat I ever met, and I've known lots of cats! An unfixed male, he was incredibly cuddly. Yumi and I would visit her parents in Aomori, and we'd hear Toto caterwauling in the hood. . . He'd be putting on a huge display of bunched up muscles and throaty wails. Then Yumi would call out in Japanese, "Toto! Come here!" and just like that he'd be trotting over and rolling over to expose his tummy for a rub, all the while pumping out happy "neowks". . .

My kind of guy - a warrior with a soft side : - )

Yumi and I speak of Toto still, ten or more years after he died. We have shared memories that we will cherish forever.

White Rock Walk

It almost seemed like summer for several hours today in the lower mainland of BC! Yumi and I went down to White Rock to walk the promenade and the pier.

New Glasses with Progressive Lenses

Warning, my posts may be somewhat hallucinatory for a week or two as I get used to my first progressive lenses.

As I sit in front of the monitors and keyboard with the new glasses on, whenever I turn my head I feel like I'm watching an old "this is your mind on drugs" health-class movie, or a flick from the 1960s with Dennis Hopper in it. As I pan my head from side to side to shift from monitor to monitor, I get lovely ripples of distortion. While it will take awhile to "get used to the zones," so far I'm not feeling as woozy as some people warned me I might be.

I got the top end, cutting-edge HD lenses that supposedly offer the widest reading area and least amount of distortion. Wonder what the heck the cheapest ones are like!

These glasses have three zones: near, mid and far, and once I get used to them, I think they'll help with my editing productivity. I can use mid for the monitors, and near for reference books. Just tried it and it works great. I'd been at the point where I had to keep flipping my old glasses off and dragging my nose along a page to look in a dictionary, or a style guide, or a reference book, or whatever....

The other option would have been laser surgery, which the optometrist told me I'd be eligible for even with my major myopia and astigmatism. That would be like being correct for mid-to-far, and then having a pair of reading glasses for closeup work, he said. Still might try that someday, as I do a fair bit of hiking, canoeing, camping, etc. and it would be nice not to have to wear glasses for such activities.

I know lots of folks who rave about laser surgery, but I figured if I'd still have to wear some kind of glasses 40-50+ hours a week working at the computer and reading, I'd try the progressive route first.

Me with my new specs:

And for those who haven't seen me in awhile, that's not a playoff beard, that's a "forgot my razor when I went to a conference in Campbell River over the May long weekend" beard. So far my significant other seems intrigued, so I guess I'll let it go awhile longer. The last time I grew a beard was during summer vacation a couple of years ago, and I was dismayed at how white it came in. I guess now that I have accepted progressives, and am fairly comfortable with my white beard, I'm aging more gracefully : - ).

A Few Smartphone Photos

Though I've had my Acer Liquid E Android smartphone for almost exactly a year, I've rarely used its camera feature because I nearly always carry at minimum my tiny Canon SD780, or other, more advanced, photo gear. But the other day I was in downtown Vancouver for a seminar and got to Canada Place with some time to spare so I tried a few shots. Not bad.

Ladybug, Bee on Byrne Creek Walk

A couple of nice close-up shots with my tiny Canon SD780 on a Byrne Creek walk today:

Sharing Sunlight: A Recipe for World Peace

My recipe for world peace: cross-cultural, even cross-species sharing of a patch of sunlight. Midori the turtle and Choco the cat show how it's done:

We found them like this near the sliding doors to the balcony
when we got home from a volunteer event today.

Kenko Auto Extension Tube Set DG

For Mother's Day, I bought myself a set of Kenko Automatic Extension Tubes for my Nikon DSLR gear. The tubes enable close-up macro shots with most Nikkor lenses. I'm sure Mom would have approved : - ).

Here are a few quick sample shots taken handheld at ISO 1600-3200 at f8 under my desk lamp just to give an idea of what these can do. The camera is my Nikon D300, the lens is my ancient manual-everything 55mm/3.5 Micro-NIKKOR-PC. Each photo shows the closest that I could get, and there was no cropping.

Note that autofocus and auto-exposure does work with these tubes with modern lenses.

First shot of a Canadian penny with the lens only:

Next shot with the lens and the Kenko 36mm extension tube:

And the next shot with all of the Kenko tubes (36 + 20 + 12), or 68mm total:

These shots would have looked better colour-corrected and with the camera on a tripod, but they give a good idea of what extension tubes can accomplish.

And here's what the setup looks like with all the tubes and the lens mounted on the D300
(the camera is on an 8 1/2 X 11 notebook with the penny):

Mega Bugs, Cool Stones in Chilliwack River

The day being overcast and gloomy, I checked the weather up the valley, and it was supposedly sunny near Hope, BC, on this Easter holiday Monday. So we saddled up our Subaru and headed out. Unfortunately, we never got out of the rain, but we did have a great time looking at cool aquatic bugs and rocks with all sorts of permutations of colours at the Chilliwack River in the drizzle. When I see stones like these, I wish I'd taken a geology class or two. . .

Can you imagine what sorts of forces and processes created such patterns? Mind boggling. As I wrote to a geologist friend of mine:

It's so exciting to be out in nature and drinking in the sights. There is so much to see at every scale ranging from micro to macro... I dunno why so many folks are so oblivious and/or so uncaring! While I may feel ignorant, at least I also feel awed and intrigued, and am always eager to learn more :-).

 

Whenever we stop by a creek, stream or river, Yumi has to
start turning rocks over to see who is living underneath.

A caddisfly

A stonefly

Another stonefly, big and fat. We never get bugs this big
in our pollution-prone, urban Byrne Creek, where we
volunteer as streamkeepers

OK, now we get into the cool stones and rocks, which I
know nothing about!

And this was the coolest of the bunch. What looks
like water, or snow, or ice, is some kind of solid rock
"flowing" into the other rock

Herons Nesting Near Burnaby’s Deer Lake

Yumi and I had a great time observing great blue herons nesting near Burnaby's Deer Lake this afternoon.

Here's one carrying a twig to shore up a nest:

And what I think is a female northern harrier:

Little ones may not be as impressive, but they sure are cute:

And a fuzzy wuzzy bee:

And another kind of bee:

And here's the gorgeous urban park in Burnaby where you can see
these sights:

My wife will dance, unseen, on Kodachrome Super 8

So I'm unpacking boxes that have been in storage for decades, and what do I run across but a Bauer C50XL Super 8 movie camera. Yes, I'm talking "movies" here, nothing digital about this piece of equipment. This camera wasn't even mine. As I recall, a cousin bought it, used it once or twice, and then lent/gave it to me, the photographer in the family. And at most I ran only a cartridge or two of film through it, some 35 years ago.

So I unzip the case, and there it is. What's this? It's even got a cartridge of film in it, with a few feet unexposed. Whoa! I find some AA batteries, slot them in - and nothing. I figure the film is jammed after two or three decades sitting untouched, so I pop out the cartridge, shake it a bit, pop it back in, hit the trigger, and yowza! Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I run upstairs where Yumi is preparing her lunch for Monday in the kitchen, point the camera at her, and say "dance!"

She stares at me, "what is that thing?"

"It's an old movie camera, shake it, baby!"

So she shakes it, and the camera goes Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, for about nine or ten seconds, and . . . silence.

Kodak no longer processes Kodachrome film. So Yumi is immortalized "shaking it" on film that will never be processed, never viewed. . . Until some advanced space culture comes along and develops it, and wonders about those weird Earth customs. . .

The film cartridge was originally inserted some 35 years ago
when I was still living in the family home in Saskatoon!

Tree-Climbing Snails Appear Again near Byrne Creek

Though I've been walking the Byrne Creek trails in SE Burnaby for about ten years now, I did not notice tree-climbing snails until last year. Well, they're back at it again, with a tree-climbing slug thrown in for good measure.

All of the above were around 1.5 - 2 meters above the ground.

Trillium Crime Scene in Byrne Creek Ravine

I'm sorry to report that someone cut off one of the rare trilliums known to flower in the lower ravine. Cut it off clean and took it away, leaving just the stem.

I don't understand such selfish, inconsiderate behaviour. Even if someone didn't know that trilliums are protected in BC and are not to be removed from public or private land, wouldn't they notice that there was only ONE flower as far as the eye could see, not a whole field of them? Sheesh.

So much for the enjoyment of many who would have seen the flower go through its lovely colour stages...

The trillium starting to bloom on Tuesday, March 22

It was still there on Wednesday, March 23, when I led a tour of the creek
looking for salmon fry popping out of the gravel.

All that was left on Saturday, March 26

Video of Coho Fry in Burnaby’s Byrne Creek

Here's a rough video of coho fry born in Burnaby's Byrne Creek. The filming was done handheld at 640 X 480 with an old Canon S5IS digital camera, and edited with Windows Live Movie Maker.

Yay! We Have Coho Fry in Byrne Creek!

Well, Mother Nature has snookered us again. Against all odds - a very low spawner return last autumn, no coho females found spawned, and fish kills from toxins flowing down street drains and into the creek - we have coho fry in Byrne Creek.

Yumi and I spotted and netted fry in several locations, and all were identified as coho. Please note that it is illegal to net salmon fry, and streamkeepers do so with the permission of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for ID purposes only. All fry are returned unharmed to the creek.

I feel elated. I really wasn't expecting much this spring what with the lowest spawner return since streamkeepers began keeping records some 12 years ago after the creek was reconnected to the Fraser River. Plus we had a toxic spill in November 2010 that killed hundreds of fish, but obviously some redds (nests of eggs laid by salmon) survived.

Changing Your Driving with the Seasons

I ran across an advert today in which a few photos had been flipped with likely unintended results:

The headline read: As The Seasons Change; So Should Your Driving!

From the photos, it appears to me that we should drive on the right side of the road in winter and autumn, and on the left side of the road in spring and summer. . .

Cates Park Stroll

Cates Park in North Vancouver was lovely as usual on a Sunday afternoon. It's always fun strolling the beach.

Great views!

Interesting things on the beach - a heart-shaped, encrusted stone

A flock of Barrow's Goldeneyes was sifting through seaweed at the waterline

Spring Peeks Out in North Vancouver

A stroll in the North Vancouver cemetery found some spring blossoms peeking out this afternoon.

Photo Similarities

About eight months ago I snapped a quick photo of a Canada flag pin in the palm of my hand to illustrate a post on this blog. Today I saw a similar photo on the Globe & Mail website. The concept of holding a flag pin in one's hand is likely a common one.

There’s No Shame in Reading Manuals

I was taking a few shots of cat 'n wife cuddling in my office this evening, when I realized that I really needed to re-read my Nikon D300 manual. That's no slight to Nikon, or to technical writers. These modern semi-pro DSLRs are so powerful and feature-laden that there's no way one can learn to fully utilize all their features on one's own, or with a single skim of the manual. Or at least not unless you're a pro who uses all those features regularly day in and day out. I use my D300 a lot, but there's still the odd option or setting that I forget about.

My Nikon D300 is Spotless Again

I took my Nikon D300 DSLR in for cleaning at the Richmond service centre for Nikon Canada yesterday. The sensor had developed a couple of distinct spots that I was loath to try to remove with my limited gear and experience. For $50 they turned my camera around in 24 hours, clean and ready to roll again.

A lovely, full-frame shot of--nothing. Yay!

This is one "weakness" of DSLRs-when you change lenses, there is always the possibility that dust may settle on the imaging sensor. Though I used the D300's cleaning function several times, it couldn't get rid of them, and I wasn't going to take any chances with accessing and cleaning the sensor myself.

Vancouver Waterfront Walk

Though I felt a bit under the weather--achy late yesterday and a tad feverish this morning--we decided to head into downtown Vancouver and put a few miles under our shoe leather. Nothing like fresh air and exercise to clarify if one is actually ill, or not!

We walked Robson St., which is always fun, and followed it all the way to Denman, stopping in at Hon's to fortify ourselves with potstickers and noodles in soup, and then along the shore to Stanley Park.

We love the Lost Lagoon area.

I doubt if processed white bread is good for raccoons. . .

Sez Paul, while chawing down on some fresh, home-made
French bread, washing it all down with a nice glass of red
wine. . .

Savouring cups of coffee and latte after a long walk

OK, Yumi insisted that I look cute, too, so I should include the following foto:

I think that's wife talk..

White Rock Still Pretty on Grey Day

The pier

Bald eagle

Hey, wait for me!

Ah, together again : - )

2010 Olympic Flame Re-Lighting 1st Anniversary

Yumi met me in downtown Vancouver today. I was at an Editors' Association of Canada workshop on editing narrative, which I greatly enjoyed. We found each other around 4:30p and headed over to see the re-lit Olympic flame, celebrating the 1-year anniversary of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Brought back some great memories!

Sea to Sky Jaunt

A lovely sunny day enticed me up the Sea to Sky from Vancouver to Whistler.

Scene from a viewpoint along the highway

Chopper passing by some peaks

Shannon Creek downstream of Shannon Falls

The pier at Porteau Cove

Grazing gulls

A group of Barrow's Goldeneyes

Heron at the end of the pier

Byrne Creek Signs of Spring 2011

A Byrne Creek Ravine Park ramble revealed signs of spring today, though technically it's still winter.

For all you allergy sufferers : - )

Moss overgrows sandbags at Byrne Creek footbridge

A pileated woodpecker. Love these flashy birds!

Sunset approaches as kids and parents play in Taylor Park

A view of mountains on the north shore as seen from New Westminster

Sundog From Taylor Park in Burnaby

I can't remember the last time I've seen  sundogs, but I saw the phenomenon from Taylor Park in Burnaby just before sunset today. I grew up in Saskatchewan, and I recall spectacular sundogs, usually most prominent in winter, I believe.

You can see the faint sundog near the left edge of the photo.

Taken with my teeny Canon SD780IS.

Day 2 of SEHAB Meeting in North Vancouver Nice & Sunny

I've been attending my first meetings this weekend as a rookie alternate member of the Salmon Enhancement & Habitat Advisory Board that works with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the west coast. The second day of meetings was sunny, cold and clear, a sharp contrast to yesterday's damp haze. I got a few more shots from Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver on my way from the SeaBus this morning.

By the time I was heading home I believe I had volunteered
for a couple of SEHAB committees!

Foggy Vancouver on Day 1 of SEHAB Meeting

I was recently named an alternate on the Salmon Enhancement & Habitat Advisory Board that works with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on the west coast. The first meetings that I attended were held this weekend, and I got a few shots from Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver on my way from the SeaBus on Saturday and Sunday morning.

The view looking south at downtown Vancouver from the quay.

My first full day of meetings proved to be educational and interesting. It's a great bunch of people and I look forward to working with them.

Salmon Hazard Sign at Walmart in Bellingham, WA

On a cross-border jaunt to Bellingham, WA, I was surprised, and heartened to see this sign in a Walmart:

I know some folks have issues with Walmart, and while I have my qualms about big boxes and rampant consumerism, I have to say that Walmart is progressive on many green & sustainability issues.

I don't know if this particular signage is a Walmart policy, or a State of Washington policy for any retailers of pesticides. Anyone know? You can reach me at paul@cipywnyk.com.

Oh, if you're having trouble reading it, it says:

Use in urban areas of pesticides containing the active ingredients 2, 4-D, carbaryl, diazinon, diuron, malathion, triclopyr BEE, or trifluralin may harm salmon or steelhead.

Help keep our water resources clean. Apply pesticides only to your lawn and sweep any product which lands in the driveway, sidewalk or street back onto your lawn. Rinse applicator over lawn or garden area only.

Larrabee State Park, Chuckanut Drive

Another shopping jaunt into Washington State got  side-tracked into more rural, nature-focused exploration, resulting in a few nice shots in Larrabee State Park and along Chuckanut Drive. We really have to explore more of the NW United States - some gorgeous areas and what looks like great camping!

Not exactly hiking gear, but we hadn't planned to hit any trails, and
weren't expecting to get too far off road. But we couldn't resist. . .
My wife Yumi is cajoled into striking a pose : - )

From the beach at Larrabee State Park.

A sunset view from Chuckanut Drive.

Hawk Couple Pops Up in my HD Search for Printable Photos

Here's a nice shot taken nearly two years ago that I'd forgotten about. A pair of hawks on a nest near a rural highway in southern Alberta.

And the following is what happens when you stare too
long at a hawk's nest. . .

You get the hint real fast as a parent hovers, screeches,
and swoops, in "gonna take your scalp if you don't back off" mode. . .

You may snort and say that one of these birds is only a kilo or two, max. But I have a healthy respect for all raptors. They fight way above their weight classes. I've seen bald eagles take seagulls at least their weight, and carry them for hundreds of meters. I've read articles by nature photographers much more accomplished than I am - who treat raptors with extreme respect. . .

Not to mention, of course, that you really, truly, ought nought to disturb the nest.

Enlarging Photos Gains New Perspective

I had fun this weekend selecting and printing a couple of dozen of my photos at 8 1/2 X 11". It gave me a new perspective on some of my work. I haven't printed much at all the last decade or so, save for 4 X 6" family photos to share, much less done any enlargements. A far cry from the days when I had my own B&W darkroom several decades ago. . . While I've been printing on an inexpensive multifunction Epson Artisan 710 inkjet, I've been using Epson Premium Photo Paper Glossy, and the results impressed me. I wonder if there's a $ or 2 to be made from my photography? It's been at least 30 years since I did any photography for $. Here's just over half of them, spread across the kitchen table. Sorry for a tish of glare at bottom centre, I don't have any lighting gear aside from the bounced SB-600 Nikon Speedlight.

A Cheer of Chickadees at Campbell Valley Park

OK, I don't think you call a bunch of chickadees a "cheer," but darn if these teeny, bold little birds don't cheer you up!

Yumi and I traipsed through Campbell Valley Regional Park for several hours today and had a blast.

We ran into some folks hand-feeding chickadees, and
one lady was kind enough to spot us a bag of seeds.
Yes, you're not supposed to feed wildlife in the park,
and while as a rule we don't, we ease up when it comes to
overwintering birds.

This chickadee has just tossed a dud seed - they're
quite particular!

The corn has gotta go, too! Where's the nice, plump sunflower seeds?

OK, I'm going to bury my face in there and find something I really like!

Whoa! Something spooked this one as feathers flare
and seeds go flying. . .

This striking Stellar's Jay swooped in and out,
snatching the odd seed.

All shots handheld with a Nikon D300 and the AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm
3.5-5.6 G ED zoom lens. ISO 400, 1/320 to 1/640 shutter speed at f7.1.

Eagles Near Squamish, BC

The Brackendale bald eagle count was way down this year - another of several bad years in a row - likely due to poor returns of chum salmon to area rivers. Yumi and I tracked down a few eagles near the Tenderfoot Hatchery. Here are a couple of shots. I'll add more details later.

La Conner, Whidbey Island Day Trip

The day before Christmas, we headed down across the border into Washington State for a daytrip and some shopping. As a Canadian citizen it's relatively easy for me, but my Japanese national wife Yumi needs to get a visa, along with fingerprint and eye scans. We hadn't been across the border since the new technology was implemented, and we were impressed by the new facility, and the efficiency and courteousness of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel at the White Rock/Blaine I5 crossing.

We drove to La Conner for lunch, and wandered around the quaint town which we had last visited some ten years ago. By the time we got there, the rain had stopped, making us pleased with our choice to head south across the border away from Vancouver's forecast of a week of rain. We continued south on highway 20 at a leisurely pace, going as far as Ft. Ebey Washington State Park on Whidbey Island. I chatted with a park ranger, and it seems like a great place for camping when it's a bit warmer.

We headed back north, stopping at Bellis Fair for some shopping, and got home late in the evening. Somehow it stayed dry in the States, but as we crossed the border back into Canada we ran into pouring rain again.

Love this gas-mask salmon -- that's how I envision the fish
must feel going up the Fraser and my troubled local creek.

One of the 6" gun emplacements at Ft. Ebey.

Set up as defense against the Imperial Japanese Navy,
the WWII-era battery never fired a shot in anger,
though it won artillery contests against floating targets.

Part of the excellent field of fire over the Strait of Juan de Fuca,
er, I mean a lovely view!

Xmas at Burnaby Heritage Village

What a deal! Half-price entry to Burnaby's beautiful Village Museum, with all proceeds going to the  Burnaby Christmas Bureau.

Yumi and I couldn't pass it up. On a cool, clear evening, we rambled the grounds, enjoying the Christmas lights and the carols. We checked out Urby - Interurban 1223, so lovingly restored by so many volunteers - and found our friend Eleanor aboard, giving tours.

Yumi on the bridge from the entrance.

The gorgeous, restored tram. How I wish they'd never stopped running!

Eleanor and moi. As befits the 1920s-era atmosphere,
I had a hat, as every gentleman should - one of my Australian Akubras.

Yumi entranced by the bakery display.

Rides on the restored carousel were included with admission
on this special evening. Yumi couldn't resist.

Frosty Leaves in Ron McLean Park

While waiting near the Ron McLean Park parking lot in SE Burnaby, BC, early this morning for fellow streamkeepers, I was entranced by the frost on the grass and autumn leaves. I pulled my tiny Canon SD780 out of my pocket and paced the area looking for angles in the low morning sun:

Fish Die in Byrne Creek

UPDATE [Nov. 29]: Just interviewed by Burnaby Now - Burnaby Firefighters say their foam is environmentally benign, and it appears other chemicals were stored at the site of the fire. Initial Burnaby Now story here. And a more detailed story now here.

A couple of Byrne Creek Streamkeepers called me just after 9:00 this morning about foam in the creek. They were down at the wooden footbridge in the lower ravine near Southridge Dr., and asked us to check out Griffiths Pond further upstream near our home (near Choices in the Park). Yumi and I headed over and the pond had lots of foam in it, and a steady stream of foam was coming out of the fish ladder. We counted about a dozen dead smolt-size trout and coho around the edge of the pond. An environmental services officer from the City of Burnaby arrived as we were there and collected water samples and some of the dead fish.

Three other streamkeepers were out in the lower creek patrolling for spawning salmon.  They noticed "stunned-looking" small fish in the lower ravine, and eventually joined the crew at Griffiths Pond.

Three of us backtracked upstream. Bubbles were evident all the way up to where the creek daylights (first becomes visible from the storm drain system) in SE Burnaby. Even that far upstream, if you stirred the water, it foamed readily. We continued further up the streets, and saw a fire truck, so we followed it up to Kingsway and 16th, where there had been a house fire. We asked the firefighters if they'd used foam, and they said yes, a full load from one of their trucks. The drainage flow from the site of the fire into storm drains was evident.

Obviously it is unknown if it was firefighting foam or if other chemicals at the house were also involved. And streamkeepers are certainly not going to question firefighters for doing an outstanding job in ensuring the safety of the community. It's just unfortunate if this is confirmed as the source of the kill.

We headed back to Griffiths Pond, and five of us began counting dead fish. At this point we discovered there were some still barely alive, so we scrambled to get buckets and fresh water, and tried to save some of them, but most expired even in clean water.

The count between Griffiths Pond and Tag 535, a distance of about 350 meters or so, was 80 dead, so nearly 100 were tallied today. Some were beauties: we found one dead trout 36cm long and one 29cm. When factoring in the entire length of creek, there must be at least several hundred dead.

I suspect we're looking at yet another total or near-total kill of the entire creek.

As of 1:30 p.m., the fish ladder at Griffiths Pond was still foaming heavily.

And, to make things worse, we're in the middle of spawning season, when salmon are returning from the ocean, up the Fraser River, and into Byrne Creek, to lay their eggs. Last year was our worst spawner count in over a decade, and this year was shaping up just as bad, even before this incident. . .

The fish ladder and Griffiths Pond near Edmonds Skytrain station

Trying to save some fish that were still barely alive. Most expired. . .

Streamkeeper Yumi with a gorgeous 36cm trout

Closer look at the big fish

The 29cm trout

Another streamkeeper lives near the scene of the fire and was awakened
at 4:00 a.m. this morning. She got this shot of the blaze. She was 
troubled by all the stuff going down the street drains and into the creek,
but of course didn't say anything for she knew the safety of the
community was paramount. Turns out she knew at least one of the residents.
So sad.

Snowy Photo Ramble in South Burnaby, Nikkei Place

There was a crafts fair at Nikkei Place today, so Yumi and I wandered up the hill to see it. Along the way I got a few shots of the fresh snow.

Salamander On Snowy Byrne Creek Trail

It snowed in Burnaby overnight, and Yumi and I did a loop of Byrne Creek Ravine Park to enjoy the fresh views. We were surprized to come across a salamander on the trail. Dunno what the frozen little thing was doing out and about in the snow!

Yumi gently picked it up and moved it off the trail and into some natural cover.

I don't think we'd have noticed it but we had slowed to let another walker get by on the trail, and that's when a twitch of motion caught our eyes. At first we thought it was a huge worm. As you can see, it blends right in, and it wasn't moving very fast, particularly when it was only 5C, so it was in some danger on the trail. We could easily have stepped on it ourselves, and never known, if we hadn't happened to stop right at that spot.

Heron Stalks Byrne Creek

A heron has been hanging around the lower ravine in southeast Burnaby's Byrne Creek the last several days. I first surprised it while on a patrol for spawning salmon with the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers. It gave a Jurassic-like squawk and mightily flapped its way up into a perch in an evergreen.

The next day on another spawner patrol I saw it before it saw me, and so I hunkered down to observe it slowly Tai Chi its way along the creek, looking for lunch. It wasn't long before it struck, and swallowed a small cutthroat trout or juvenile coho salmon.

The linkages in nature never cease to amaze me. It's the season for spawning salmon to come up our creeks in the lower mainland of BC, and that attracts other animals like clockwork. The trout start gathering in expectation of stray eggs as the salmon dig their nests and spawn, various species of birds like American Dippers suddenly start frequenting the creeks also looking for stray eggs, and herons and other fishing birds come to stalk the trout who in turn are stalking the female salmon. . . Not to mention the increased number of paw prints of various sorts in the soft sandy or muddy banks: coyotes, racoons, skunks. I've seen even squirrels get excited about spawning salmon, though I've never seen them actually take an egg or feed on a carcass.

Metropolis Express Fundraising for Stream of Dreams

All aboard to save salmon!

The Stream of Dreams Murals Society is taking part in a charity event at Metropolis at Metrotown in which donations to ride the Metropolis Express train go to several charities. Today was the Stream of Dreams "challenge day" - - one day to try to raise as much $$ as possible to potentially receive a bonus donation from Metropolis.

Stream of Dreams founders Louise and Joan were out, along with a fantastic crew from the Byrne Creek Secondary Leos. Kids got to colour small foil fish that were attached to the train to create a "salmon run."

In addition, local elementary schools were encouraged to join another Stream of Dreams-sponsored competition to win blank Dreamfish to do an environmental education and community art project at their school.

Thank you Metropolis at Metrotown, and Byrne Creek Leos!

Adams River Sockeye Run – Day 2

The Adams River sockeye salmon spawning run is in a dominant fourth year, and after a relatively quiet visit on Friday, Yumi and I went back on Saturday for more viewing. The Adams River Salmon Society's Salute to the Sockeye event draws a lot of people on weekends!

The Adams River attracts chinook in addition to sockeye.
You can see how massive they are, with my size 12 shoe
next to one.

This time we wandered down to Shuswap Lake on the cloudy,
moody Saturday morning.

The shores of the lake were covered with expired salmon.
It looks wasteful, but each carcass carries a crucial load of
nutrients with it.

A sockeye moves past a spawned out cousin.

A biology lesson in the main event area.

Vehicles pouring into the grounds late Saturday morning.
The event draws folks from around the world.

After lunch in Kamloops, we hit the road homeward. We decided
take the slower 5A south to Merritt through the ranch country.

Adams River Sockeye Run – Day 1

The Adams River sockeye salmon spawning run is in a dominant year, as happens every four years. Yumi and I headed up to the Shuswap to take in a dominant run for the third time since we moved to BC. The event keeps growing and the Adams River Salmon Society's Salute to the Sockeye keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Yumi and I were glad that she had a Friday off so we could attend when the crowds were a bit thinner! :-) We drove from Burnaby up the canyon on the No. 1 to take in the autumn scenery:

Thompson River

Canadian Northern last spike

Kamploops Lake from the highway lookout

Yumi on the hill above the lookout

We arrived at Roderick Haig-Brown Park early in the afternoon
and spent hours wandering the trails. While the sockeye were not
quite "bank-to-bank" as we've seen them in other dominant years,
it was still a moving, beautiful sight to witness.

Viewing platform over the Adams River

A bridge on the loop trail

A male and female sockeye pair off

A female sockeye flips sideways to dig in the cobble with her tail

Closer view of these gorgeous fish

It's amazing to watch the sockeye congregate

Fins highlighted as the sun begins to set

This sockeye's journey is done

Byrne Creek Fall Colors

A ramble along Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC:

When I Grow Up I’ll Wear Shoes Like Mommy’s

Choco the cat has recently taken to playing with Yumi's slippers. This photo was not faked or posed in any way, it's all Choco's doing.

A Few Sample Shots

I've been so busy, but I've also shot some great photos recently. Here are a couple, more to come as I have time.

White Rock Crescent Beach Sunset

Stanley Park Seawall

Hard Disk Cloning Adventures with Windows 7

Close to a year ago I bought a new tower computer with a 640GB HD and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. A year later, due to prolific photo shooting, free space on the HD was down to less than 30GB. So I bought a new 1.5TB drive, with the aim of cloning the old drive onto the new one.

First I tried my Acronis True Image software, which worked great on upgrading the HD in my IBM notebook computer awhile back. When the copy was done - the new HD wouldn't boot. Mutter mutter.

So I tried cloning the drive with Terabyte's CopyWipe. Still wouldn't boot. And each of these cloning operations took many hours. Grrrrr..

I kept getting messages from Windows 7 that something or other was missing, and that I should try the Windows 7 Recovery Disc. Duh. It often helps to follow error messages :-).

After several whacks with the Windows 7 Recovery Disk, interspersed with some playing around with boot order in the computer's BIOS, I now have a beautifully cloned system with 812GB of free space.

That ought to hold me for a couple more years of photo shooting! :-)

Early Autumn Colours, Inquisitive Snail

A quick morning loop of Byrne Creek Ravine Park found autumn colours progressing, and a cute snail.

Sockeye Salmon Dying Unspawned on Harrison River & Lake

Yumi and I went as far up the  Fraser Valley as Kilby today looking for spawning salmon.

We were surprised to see lots of dead sockeye on the banks of the Harrison River -- many of them just barely starting to show their spawning colouration, and looking good enough to eat. We could also see lots of big silver fish belly up out on the water. Strange.

On our way home we stopped in at Kanaka Creek to poke around the hatchery, and talked to the manager. He said he'd heard stories of people out fishing on Harrison River & Lake who said they'd seen lots of silver floaters.

I also found a thread on the Fishing with Rod website with similar reports, and plenty of speculation as to what the cause could be -- high water temps? disease?

The above had the most advanced spawning colouration that we saw.

The beach at Kilby.

In several shots I took of the water, you can count a dozen or more dead
floaters per picture, but I've not posted any here because at this size of photo
the fish are just white dots.

Buntzen Lake Hike

We hiked around Buntzen Lake today for the first time in several years. It was not crowded at all, and we met fewer than a dozen people on the loop around the lake.

Double-Yolk Egg

Ran across a double-yolk egg today. They're not that uncommon, but I don't recall cracking one before:

Sampling Japadog, Hanging with ZZ Top at Lonsdale Quay

We headed into downtown Vancouver today to check out Japadog, a sausage and hot dog vendor with a Japanese twist. The dogs were great, but the fries were a bit wimpy and wayyyy over-salted. I had the "Okonomi" pork sausage  with Japanese mayo, Okonomiyaki sauce, fried cabbage and dried bonito flakes. Yumi had the "Oroshi" Bratwurst with grated daikon radish, soy sauce and green onion. Both were delicious!

After the dogs, Yumi followed up with a green tea cream puff from the Beard Papa outlet almost next door to Japadog. Now here's a happy Japanese gal :-)!

Our appetites sated, we took the SeaBus over to Lonsdale Quay. To my delight, a pretty good ZZ Top cover band was playing in the square, so we took in some tunes before the hot sun prompted us to take a walk in breezier spaces.

I am impressed with how the area is developing with an eye to the local shipbuilding history.

Restored moveable crane.

Some brightly painted gear on the old pier.

And a wee little yacht with its own helicopter :-)

Southpoint Rain Garden in SE Burnaby Underway!

It's so exciting to see construction underway on the Southpoint Rain Garden in SE Burnaby, BC. The rain garden is being created on a dead-end cul-de-sac, and will bridge Taylor Park and Byrne Creek Ravine Park.

Byrne Creek Streamkeepers brought the site to the attention of the City of Burnaby's planning, engineering and parks departments, and all immediately understood the site's potential. It not only links the green space of the two parks, it will provide natural filtration of rainwater that comes down Burnaby's south slope and that roars unfiltered into Byrne Creek. Streamkeepers have noted for years the oily flow off the streets that accumulated into the rain drains (storm drains) along Southpoint Drive and was visible way down below, exiting pipes into the creek whenever it rained.

The site will also be a gorgeous outdoor nature lab for elementary school students from nearby Taylor Park School. The principal, staff and students have already been involved in discussions and developments. The school has also been so kind as to hold an event with streamkeepers, and everyone appears excited about monitoring the new rain garden and how it will affect local urban biodiversity.

And last, but not least, the site is right by Adera Development's "Green" townhouse development. As part of its ethos of sustainable development and giving back to communities, Adera provided a substantial donation to the Byrne Creek Streamkeepers several years ago. We thank Adera for its patience in waiting to receive full public acknowledgement for its efforts, as the streamkeepers decided to use the funds to support the rain garden - a project that took some time to come to fruition.

I can almost feel the earth heaving a sigh of relief as the asphalt is stripped away, allowing the soil to breath and to absorb rain again!

Way to go Burnaby! I hope this project stimulates more of its kind around our beautiful city.

You're doing good, we heartily appreciate it,  let's see more! :-)

What Camera Do You Use?

I've had this question posed to me several times, and while you could poke around this blog for awhile and figure it out, I thought I'd consolidate some of the info in one post.

The answer is, several cameras.

My present active camaraderie of cameras includes a Canon SD780IS, a Canon S5IS, and a Nikon D300. I'd have several more, if I had the budget!

The SD780 is a teeny, pocket-size camera that I carry nearly all the time, even when I have one of my bigger units along. It's an excellent basic point-and-shoot, and its limitations come mainly in its narrow-range zoom (about 35-105mm in 35mm equivalent) and its poor performance in low light. Aside from that, it's an amazing unit for its size.

The S5IS is a "superzoom" point-and-shoot. It does not fit in a pocket, but it's a heck of a lot smaller and lighter than a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex). Compared to a DSLR its main limitations are poor low-light capabilities, lack of RAW file capture, and much slower "reaction time" when it comes to powering up and shutter lag. I carry it when I don't want to lug my heavy DSLR around, and also use it in situations (like canoeing) in which I don't want to risk my DSLR!

The D300 is a big, heavy, amazingly customizable machine. It takes high-quality shots all over the spectrum from bright days to nearly lightless nights. But, I don't necessarily want to lug it around all the time - though I probably should! :-). A DSLR's big advantage is that you can change lenses, and you have a lot more manual control of f-stops and shutter speeds. I have an 18-200mm zoom mounted on it most of the time (about 27-300mm equivalent on a 35mm camera), and have a couple of other lenses (longer telephoto and close-range macro) that I can swap out as I please.

Do megapixels matter? My humble opinion is that once you reach 8MP or so, you're pretty much covered up to 8 X 10 prints. The SD780 is capable of 12MP, but I have it set to 8MP because its tiny sensor simply doesn't provide 12 *quality* megapixels. The S5 tops out at 8MP and that's where I leave it. The D300 is a 12.1MP machine, and I shoot everything on it at that setting, capturing RAW files.

So why is the SD780 a couple of hundred bucks and the D300 is over $1,500 when they both top out at around 12MP? The Nikon's sensor is a lot larger, with a greater range of tonal values captured per pixel for much better performance, particularly in low light. The D300 is also a tank, well-sealed against inclement weather, and with a wealth of customizable shooting features.

So if three cameras are not enough, what's on my wish list? A newer superzoom. The lens ranges have gotten wider, at both the wide-angle and telephoto ends in newer cameras, and low-light performance and responsiveness (shutter lag) have also improved. I'd also like an "all-weather" pocket camera that can take dunking in water to 20 or 30 feet. . .

And, of course, a high-end DSLR like the Nikon D3X - mind-blowing 24MP image quality and low-light capability, but you're looking at C$7,500 for just the body! :-)

P.S. Oh yeah, at the resolutions of the photos output as 70% quality JPEG files on this blog (usually in the 350 X 250 pixel range), it would be nearly impossible to tell which of those three cameras a particular photo was taken with! So the bottom line is, it's (mostly) not the equipment, it's the photographer. A good eye can produce amazing photos with the most basic of gear.

Rain Refreshes White Rock Scenes

We finally got some much-need rain in BC, and the misty, damp afternoon
provided for some lush shots in South Surrey/White Rock.

The pier.

All other photos taken at Stewart Heritage Farm

Long Weekend Bicycle Ride Around Burnaby

We did a four-hour bicycle ride on this holiday Monday from our home in SE Burnaby near Edmonds Skytrain Station, all the way over to Cariboo and the Central Valley Greenway around Burnaby Lake. We took a break at Piper Spit and watched some wildlife, then headed over to Kensington and eventually huffed and puffed our way up Royal Oak and back to the BC Parkway and home. Whew!

There's a great cycling map available online here.

A few shots from Piper Spit:

And me with bicycle helmet hair:

Happy Birthday to Me – New Photo Backpack

Lens and Shutter was celebrating my birthday with a 25% off sale on Lowe camera bags and backpacks. :-)

So I picked up a Nature Trekker AW II for my birthday.

Seems like a lot of bag to carry, but the important part for me is the well-engineered suspension system, and in particular the padded hip belt that takes the weight off the shoulders, seeing as I have a bad back.

I've accumulated a fair bit of Lowe gear over the years. Here's a shot with three Lowe camera bags with the latest acquisition at the right. I've also got a couple of Lowe hiking backpacks. Great gear! I've used it hard, some of it for 25+ years and it's still going strong.

This shot is missing my classic Lowe shoulder photo bag that I carried for some 15 years. Along with my 35mm film Nikon gear and loads of Kodachrome (may you rest in peace) and Fujichrome film. That bag finally succumbed to jungle rot, well, actually some sort of mould that was impossible to get rid of, from hot and humid Asian weather years ago.

Powell Street Japanese Festival Rocks!

Yumi and I took in the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver today and had a blast. It gets better and better over the years. It's so wonderful to revive "Japantown" for at least a weekend each year. The Issei and Nissei ancestors who used to populate this area of Vancouver would be proud!

The main stage

Love this recycling banner done traditional Japanese style

Bring on Sawagi Taiko - Canada's first women-only taiko group!

And now, the thrilling, exhausting Mikoshi!

Midori the Turtle Falls Strangely Asleep

Midori enjoyed the sun streaming through the windows today, basking for hours. As the rays gradually diminished, she fell asleep in this odd position on the wooden stairs that surround her tank. My wife built the stairs so Midori could get in and out of the water as she pleases.

Oooo! Damn I woke up with a crick in my neck!

OK, all fun aside, this is an excellent example of why not to release pet turtles into the wild, or even to keep them as pets. Aside from the invasive species problem, as you can see, Midori is so acclimatized to human presence that she zonks out in a totally vulnerable manner which no healthy wild turtle would ever be lulled into. . .

Sunset at Spanish Bank in Vancouver

The lovely clear sky was too good to pass up tonight, so we headed out to Spanish Bank in Vancouver to watch the sun set.

The sky was absolutely clear with no clouds to work with,
so I concentrated my shots on this tree, the mountains in
the background, and the changing light.

Choco the Cat Loves Her (Human) Mom

Our SPCA rescue cat, Choco, gets really upset if Yumi heads out somewhere in the evening after coming home from work. She's like a little puppy, moping all day long after Yumi leaves (I do my editing work from home). As the afternoon rolls by, she emerges from one of her sleeping havens and sits near the steps leading to the front door in expectation of greeting Yumi.

So when Yumi heads out again in the same day to an event, or an exercise class in the evening, Choco feels crushed. When Yumi came home tonight from a class with her pack on her back, and we began chatting about how our day went as she skimmed one of the local papers while sitting on the floor, Choco took advantage of Yumi's low pose to do a bit of "you ain't leaving me again" domination :-).

Choco has expressed her frustration at me leaving the house as well: here and again here.

First Walk in Delta’s Watershed Park

We've zoomed past this park many times, and today we decided to dismount our trusty '98 Outback and spend some time on the trails.

It was a good decision, for it's beautiful. Congrats to Delta for preserving this forested watershed.

A couple of observations, though: there are vast swaths of invasive
Policeman's Helmet ( Himalayan Balsam) in sections of the park
that ought to be dealt with, along with lesser stands of Japanese
knotweed. . . And it would be great to have a toilet facility or
three around this large park. Dunno if we missed them, but we
did not see any on the kiosk maps, or the map we had printed
off the web.

Lovely Afternoon at West Vancouver’s Lighthouse Park

It was a gorgeous day to explore parts of Lighthouse Park that we hadn't checked out before. It had been several years since our last visit, and we'll certainly have to go more often.

Byrne Creek Bug Count Yields Baby Crayfish

Twice a year, Byrne Creek Streamkeepers count bugs - the fancy name is "aquatic invertebrate surveys" - to assess the quality of the water in the urban stream. We sample the same locations year after year so that we have comparable data. The bug counts usually run for three weekends in a row.

The crew hard at work - we are fortunate to have members
who let us use their china and dining room tables so that we
can  count in comfort after collecting the samples from the creek.

To our surprise, we found three baby crayfish in our sample.
Here's one of them next to a dime for size comparison.

Developing Thunder Thighs. . .

I spent over four hours on my new bicycle today, and my thighs are aching to prove it. This was only my third ride of the year, and perhaps my enthusiasm carried me away too much.

I cycled from home to Burnaby City Hall to pay our property taxes. Needless to say, going downhill was thrilling, chugging back up the considerable and lengthy slope from the Deer Lake valley to the top of the Kingsway ridge was another matter. But I recovered, and went on to check out the trail all the way to the New Westminster Quay and back to our home in the Edmonds neighbourhood in south Burnaby. By this time I was being routinely passed by svelte young female gazelles as my 50-ish body began to realize its (current!) limits :-).

The lovely new overpass that gets you over the traffic and
down to the New Westminster Quay area.

It truly was a gorgeous day. A view of the mighty Fraser River.

Bountiful Bugs Near Byrne Creek

This morning we walked Byrne Creek Ravine Park in southeast Burnaby, and came across lots of cool bugs.

Note: All of these shots taken with my teeny Canon SD780 pocket camera,
so the lens was just a couple of centimetres away from the bees and bugs.
Stay relaxed, move slowly, and they're very tolerant.

Ugly Bug Ball 2010

DFO Community Advisors in the lower mainland of BC and the Pacific Streamkeepers Federation host a free volunteer appreciation event called the Ugly Bug Ball every two years. For the last several times, the event has been held at the A Rocha facility in South Surrey, a gorgeous old farm that's been turned into an environmental education venue.

A few photos of this year's event, with a concentration on the beautiful natural setting :-):

DFO Community Advisor Mark Johnson sets the stage

PSKF's Zo Ann Morten shows what it means to be a stakeholder :-)

Bribing volunteers with cake!

The wine/whine session where everyone gets to beef in good company!

One of the gorgeous salmon moulded at an Ugly Bug Ball several years ago.

Participants hang out in the orchard.

Looking up at the sun through the orchard trees.

The beautiful pond on the A Rocha property.

Another water feature with snails enjoying the spattering flow.

Some of the gyotaku (Japanese-style transfer images) people created.

It truly is a gorgeous property!

White Rock on Solar-Supercharged Day

We dropped in to the White Rock, BC, pier on a sunny Saturday on our way to the Ugly Bug Ball in South Surrey. It was packed, and we were surprised to snag a parking stall just a few meters from the pier.

Yumi on the pier

Some impromptu sand sculpting  going on

A kayaking class adding colour to the scene

Baby Spiders

We've had a bunch of baby spiders hanging around the front door. They're kinda cute, and, kinda creepy :-). But we're being careful not to disturb them as much as possible until they make their own way in the world.

Busy Burnaby: Farmer’s Market, Hats Off Day, Deer Lake Ramble

It was a glorious Saturday with great weather - sunny but not hot - after several weeks of cool, rainy days here in Burnaby, BC. We celebrated with a grand tour of several places: the farmer's market at City Hall, the Hats Off parade and celebration along the Heights, a ramble all the way around Deer Lake, and topped if off with a balcony BBQ back home.

The Farmer's Market:

Beekeeping is now allowed in many yards in Burnaby. Yay!

On to Hats Off in the Heights. We missed the parade but walked the street festival from end to end:

A & W carhop mannequin on roller-skates :-)

OK, I'm an environmentalist now, but in my youth
I skinned plenty of knuckles on V-8 engines - this one's
a beaut!

We dropped by Deer Lake on the way home and walked a complete loop:

The songs that burst forth from little balls of fluff are amazing!

This young Canada Goose is starting to fill in with an adult's patterns

An osprey soaring over the lake looking for a meal.
It's wonderful to see such magnificent birds right in the city!

Camping, Canoeing, Bears at Birkenhead Lake

Friday:

The first camping trip of the year was met with rainy weather, but we forged on regardless and had a great time. We headed up to Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park, one of our favourite parks because it's only about a 3-hour drive from Vancouver, yet it's remote enough that it tends to be fairly quiet, especially early in the season.

And quiet it was! Of the nearly 100 sites in the campground, several walkabouts over the weekend showed only a few dozen were occupied. We had reserved a nice site up against Phelix Creek,  and the sound of the rushing water also helped to muffle any human noise.

Rain regardless, we put our canoe in the water on Friday afternoon and paddled for several hours until we were soaked and tired. Trolling a line behind produced a single bite, and no catch.

Fortunately we had been able to set up the tent and rope up a tarp over the table before the rain hit, so were fairly comfortable on Friday evening with a cosy fire.

A 15-minute shot of sun through the clouds!

Saturday:

Saturday resulted in more rain off and on, and blasts of wind. We headed out in the canoe again, but there can be substantial winds with occasional heart-quickening, canoe-heeling and spinning  gusts on the  mountain lake, so we headed back in after only an hour or so out on the water.

The next bit of entertainment came as Yumi was washing some of the mud off our trusty '98 Outback at our campsite (15km of access road to the park is "gravel," or in other words, potholed, stony washboard, packed dirt :-). As she went to refresh her pail of water from a pool just off the edge of the tent pad, I saw a black shape silently lumber past through the woods just a few meters beyond her.

"Yumi, get back! Back to the car, right now! There's a bear!"

Poor Yumi didn't see a thing, but scampered back nonetheless. It was amazing how silently, and how fast, that black bear rambled by.

I immediately ran out into the road because I knew some kids had been bicycling up and down the campground, and sure enough a wide-eyed little boy zoomed off to his dad as I barked at him, "look sharp, there's a bear right in there!"

The father spotted the bear, policed his family, and then the two of us monitored the beast, while spreading the word to other campers, blowing our car horns, etc. The fellow said he'd heard from park staff that the bear had recently gotten into a cooler that some irresponsible camper had left unattended. The word was to make as much noise and be as uninviting to the little bruin as possible, in the hope that it would move on, and not get itself shot.

The bear moved back down the campground between tent sites and the creek, and disappeared. Half an hour later as Yumi and I set out to hike up to the Goat Trail Lookout, the bear burst out of the bush, ran across the road, and hightailed it into the forest on the other side with park staff in a truck hot on its heels, horn blaring madly. The attendant got out, hollered he was going to set off a bear banger, and, BOOM!

We saw no more of the bear, but we sure made a lot of noise as we climbed up to the Goat Trail Lookout!

Crossing high, fast, Phelix Creek on the Goat Trail

Now that's some head banging!

The lookout

Yumi scoping the lake and mountains

An hour of sunshine, wow!

There is canoe rental at the lake now, but we're glad we
have our own

A red-breasted sapsucker that let me get to within two meters
or so to get this shot with my teeny Canon SD780 pocket camera

Instead of canoeing the choppy lake, we decided to try the trail on the north side to where the wilderness campground used to be (now shut down due to hazard trees).

Not far down the trail we ran across a big pile of fresh green scat - OK, at least the bear's a vegetarian. Another dozen meters and lots more fresh scat, dark in colour, but at least no bear bells in it :-).

We ventured a bit further, but as our pace slackened and doubts increased, we decided that common sense outweighed valour, and turned back.

Sunday:

It still being cloudy and drizzly, we packed up in the morning, thought about another jaunt in the canoe, took one look at the cold, choppy lake and decided to head south. Coffee in Pemberton, a walkabout at Alice Lake, lunch in Squamish, and a leisurely drive home.

Glorious Day Photographing Birds at Reifel Sanctuary

What better way to spend a long-weekend Monday than wandering around for three or four hours at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary.

My favourite shot of the day - hummingbird in flight

For those curious the tech specs are: Nikon D300,
handheld Nikkor AF-S 70-300 VR zoom at 300mm
(35mm equivalent of 450mm), ISO 1250, 1/500 @ f9.
Aperature priority, +1.0 EV.

No post-processing aside from cropping.

Hummingbird with tongue sticking out

Chickadees are pretty darn cute, too

Red-winged blackbird letting a crow know its not wanted

Crow stares at nattering blackbird

Mom in convoy

A mass of cuteness

Awwww!

Swallows are way cool

And way pretty