Tuesday, February 26, 2013

A few scenes from

the Wet Coast.   It's February and we are having our usual winter weather which usually means rain.  It sometimes stops for a day or so between storms but our rainy season drags out from October to around May or June the next year.

  I saw my old scooter on the weekend.  I bought this Kymco Xciting 500Ri and rode it to Oregon in 2007.

I am having a lack of words day.  I prepared a long post about myself which I deemed too personal to expose to the world.  It all started with an innocent email I received last week which put me in stress mode.  I thought that it would be good therapy for me to "spill my guts" and then you would understand a few things about myself, why I care for people I like and why I am fast to form opinions. 

   Marine Drive, White Rock, BC       February, 2013

White Rock is a very busy place during the Summer.  Not so much on a cool winter's day


The Main business district is on top of the steep hill and many homes have an ocean view.  Although we are nearly an hour south of Vancouver, home prices are as much as they are in the City


The hills are so steep that you would even have difficulty walking up the sidewalks

    Canada Geese,  Delta, BC

A few posts ago Trobairitz posted a photo of some geese, so I stopped for a photo too


I have no idea why they congregate on some fields and not others.  Perhaps they are eating all the farmer's seeds


Unlike other parts of the country we have no snow nor frost.  I think Martha would feel right at home here.  I know she mentioned that she likes to play in the dirt

   Gastown, Vancouver BC                   (Sony NEX-5n     Martha -->  "antishake mode"

We had dinner in a not so safe area down in Gastown where parking is scarce and you have to be careful which streets you walk and make sure no one is following you.   Also make sure you have nothing of value which can be seen in your car.

   Gastown, Vancouver, BC           February 2013

This is not to say that Gastown is dangerous but a block away is our famous downtown Eastside where residents of questionable character hang out on the street all night.   They have revitalized the area and there are many trendy eateries and pubs


and also home to many seedy hotels and rooming houses.   A block or so away you will find people sleeping on the street using cardboard mattresses with all their worldly possessions usually in a grocery cart

  Richard,  no sidewalk yet.   Rebar is anxiously waiting for the cement to arrive

I can't ride my bike here as they have put "spacers" under the rebar grid .


For some reason, I have been noticing a lot of Hacks lately.   This is a nearly new Ural Patrol 2 WD


12 comments:

  1. Must be the season for the hacks eh Bob.

    Nice to see some of your home town .. love the night shots! And of course love the geese ... they used to scare me when I was a kid as they were as big as me, I thin they sensed it too, geese always chased me and I even got chased by a swan once .. I still like them though, just from a distance :)

    Bob why dont you keep a diary if you want to unload, I do and find it very relaxing to off load my worries at times even if no one but me is ever going to read .. specially as no one but me is going to read it.

    It doesn't look too wet, is your concrete going to be layed soon? I cant wait to see the whole thing finished!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brenda:

      I can't wait to walk Gizmo ! Perhaps one day

      I know that a few of you want to see more scenes in our area so I'm trying to snap a few more. Every city has good and bad places, it's life. There are Swans and then there are Snow Geese, which are more white

      This blog is my Diary. I did prepare a post with watery eyes, I was so emotional and trying to choose the right words. I think my insecurities have affected some of my relationships lately and probably due to the way my brain processes information. Do you know the feeling of being in a crowded room, but "alone" ?

      Delete
  2. Bob, great photos as usual.
    If you want to unload - then thats what the blog is for. I've always received good feedback when I write anything personal - and it usually cheers me up!
    Keep smiling, El D

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    Replies
    1. El D:

      I keep thinking about your situation and wonder how you are really doing.

      You are right about feedback. Not everyone can make the right decisions, or choose the right path. Sometimes we get sidetracked and decide to do the wrong thing. That's what friends are for, to guide you the right way. Maybe I am looking at things the wrong way but without outside input I think that my way is the right way

      I'm trying to smile, but my stress will be with me until Saturday

      Delete
  3. Glad to see you haven't had pouring rain every day.

    Thanks for the pictures of the geese Bob. I can remember them being a bit of a pest in the parks in Penticton. Hard to take a rest in the park when the grass is covered in goose droppings.

    I noticed the geese in your post have a lighter color feather than the ones overwintering here. I wonder if it is a camouflage thing.

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    Replies
    1. Trobairitz:

      We have lots of Geese in Stanley Park and the ground is full of their droppings. As much as I don't like shoes, I have to wear shoes down there. On Westham Island they congregate in large numbers, probably thousands. They are SNOW GEESE, not regular Canada Geese so much whiter than usual

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the clarification on the geese.

      And egads, they make you wear shoes? Damn geese. Better than slippery goose poop squished between your toes I guess. yvonne wouldn't let you back in the house with that.

      Delete
    3. I was wondering about the geese as they don't look like the Canadian Geese we have around here.

      I believe the geese showing up in Fairbanks is the "official" beginning of Spring. At the bird sanctuary, they even clear the snow and spread seed. And one of the local radio stations has a contest...

      We are easily amused....

      Delete
  4. Unload. You will get responses good and bad. In the long run it will make you feel better to get input from both directions. Like riding, you take a wrong turn...just find a new route, or turn around and start over. All works. Weather: its nice today. Been too cold for me to ride in Sunny So. Cal! Have to learn all over!! ughghghg

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    Replies
    1. Kathy:

      I know you are right. It's hard to bottle up my emotions and keep things to myself all the time. We are all shaped by our past experiences. Perhaps I need more input from different perspectives. I may be smiling on the outside, but inside . . .

      It's been a bit cold up here too. Frost again this morning, other than that we can ride, just not ride to work. Only about 3 weeks until Spring.

      Delete
  5. Bob, I think the only way those are Canada Geese is because they are being photographed in Canada.... The look much different than what we down here call Canada Geese... Down here Canada Geese have long black necks with a white patch under the chin, and a buff to putty colored body. Snow Geese have black wing tips. Those you got up there look like a Swan. They have an awfully long neck. Maybe they're Tundra Swans??

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  6. Bob - I have done the same thing with my blog at times, I have vented and sometimes the response is positive and/or negative or no response at all. Sometimes just the act of writing it can bring relief, I have hit the delete button a few times. Hang in there.

    The geese pictures are lovely. Its unforunate that are waddling poop machines, when I take the doggis for a walk its along the waterway and they usually hang out there and the sidewalk is covered by goose slime. ICK.

    ReplyDelete