Queen of Surrey

No. 8457 - 10 Sept 2011 - 10:06:08

No. 8978 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:56:15 * No. 8982 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:56:32

No. 8918 - 11 Sept 2011 - 14:44:31

No. 8940 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:45:47 * No. 8950 - 11 Sep 2011 - 14:46:08

Stuff that happened on the ferry from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay, two weeks ago on what was, in hindsight, the last great weekend of the summer includes an impromptu tango and figurehead display by talented passengers.

Beachcomber Shrine

No. 8575 - 10 Sep 2011 - 15:59:41 * No. 8599 - 10 Sep 2011 - 16:41:30

"Now sit right back and I'll tell you a tale ..."
oops wrong seafaring TV show.
This is Gibsons Landing, a charming seaside town on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and former film location of that international icon of Canadian television, The Beachcombers. The cast and crew are long gone but Molly's Reach lives on as a real restaurant and the village is chock a block with artists, galleries, award-winning gardens,
friendly locals and good food.

The View

No. 8455 - 10 Sep 2011 - 10:05:56 * No. 8464 - 10 Sep 2011 - 13:25:17

Langdale, BC on the north side of Howe Sound, on the southeast coast of the Sechelt Peninsula is the start of the final leg of he world's longest highway (the Pan-American or Highway 101). It begins in Southern Chile, stretching to its final destination at Lund which is 139 km up the Sunshine Coast from the BC Ferry terminal.
It is only 60 minutes from downtown Vancouver but the nighttime quiet is remarkable to a city girl like myself. The only way to get to the coast is by boat, insuring a small town lifestyle and atmosphere, especially in the off-season.

Little House On The Reservoir

No. 7390 - 01 Sept 2011 - 15:13:39

Capilano River At Cleveland Dam

No. 7408 - 21 Aug 2011 - 15:18:19

In The Pink

No. 7666 - 24 Aug 2011 - 20:19:08

Colour is a function of the brain.

Succulents

No. 4156 (detail) - 18 Jun 2011 - 17:15:42

I live in a rain forest and seldom complain about the weather. I have often mused (this time of year) that, if it is still raining by July, I too may become grumpy but after a spring spent on the prairie flood-plain I am keeping my perspective. I returned to Vancouver in the thrall of a cool and wet early summer and with the natives none too pleased about it and yet the gardens were and are full of flowers and flowering things.
No complaints here.

Horsetail

No. 4483 - 25 Jun 2011 - 13:23:35

Buttercups

No. 4468 - 25 Jun 2011 - 13:19:09

Hemlock

No. 4466 - 25 Jun 2011 - 13:18:47

Clover

No. 4452 - 25 Jun 2011 - 13:15:51

Family Plot

No. 2028 - 29 May 2011 - 10:48:49 * No. 2037 - 29 May 2011 - 10:58:58

No. 2057 - 29 May 2011 - 11:10:13

No. 2055 - 29 May 2011 - 11:09:36 * No. 2066 - 29 May 2011 - 11:12:19

I have been to this Catholic cemetery, in St. François-Xavier (turn off the Trans Canada Highway west of Winnipeg at the statue of the White Horse), three times in the last twenty years because this is where my grandmother was born and she and her nine siblings were baptised in the church pictured above. I spent three days in the Manitoba Archives recently, searching through Henderson's Directories on micro-fiche for any mention of the great grandparents who came to settle in Manitoba from Québec after 1875 and found evidence for Narcisse Cayer II and Marie Perras having lived in the parish before they died. Upon returning to the cemetery this year it took only five minutes to locate these people, my great great grandparents,
who came from LaPrairie, Québec.

Happily and unexpectedly I was also given access to an ancestor chart which lays out 400-500 plus years of my maternal grandmother's Quebec and French ancestry. Additionally, I have discovered, through further research, that the very Marie Perras buried here represents the family's direct line back to Charlemagne and the merovingiens. A large percentage of French people can trace a similar link and it is exhilarating to connect to history, in such a familal way, with names and dates. My field of interest is in the migration of human populations and rather broader than the study of my personal genealogy but smaller, independent and community based stories often reflect the larger movements just as a tree in the forest appears to be
a fractal of the entire forest.

The cemetery is showing its age and the current state of flood affairs in the province of Manitoba. The sinking tombstone, in the bottom left corner above, belongs to Father Kavanagh, the half-blind, Irish priest who baptised my grandmother and her many siblings and
whose messy French longhand is a struggle and satisfaction for me to read and translate.
I was happy to find him resting next to my
great great grandparents.

Flood Plain

No. 2548 - 31 May 2011 - 14:02:17

The Assiniboine lurks in the background, behind the trees, but the water in the foreground is the breach. Pounding rain and gale force winds were blowing in Brandon today but the saturated earth of southern Manitoba can no longer absorb additional moisture. Fields are filled with water, the rivers and lakes sport white caps and family homes and farms are at risk of ruin. The flood plain is like a giant, water-logged sponge and the water has no where to go.
Although I left the province today my thoughts remain with the brave and hopeful Manitobans who may not reasonably see the end of this mess for many months.

Tiger Dam With Lawn Ornament

No. 2154 - 29 May 2011 - 16:44:05

A planned trip to the family ranch at Cayer, Manitoba is adjusted due to flooding around Lake Manitoba. But cousins in Toutes Aide, at Lake Manipogo just down the road, are busy with related flooding and the damage is overwhelming their summer cabin.

Toutes Aides

No. 2394 - 29 May 2011 - 17:47:56

It's all fun and games until the kids find out there will be no summer holidays at the cabin this year.

* Photo of moi is by Leslie (Hammerquist) Currie.

Mallards

No. 8050- modified - 12 Apr 2011 - 14:02:28

Big Red

No. 8558 - 16 Apr 2011 - 08:39:44

Underwater

No. 8172 - 13 Apr 2011 - 08:38:25

The Assiniboine River spills over its banks as it flows past
The Forks Market where it empties into the larger
Red River (in the background).
What was recently a location for outdoor winter sports and
weekend festivals is now submerged under its fast, murky waters.


No. 4616 - 29 Jan 2011 - 15:28:22 * No. 4919 - 06 Feb 2011 - 13:38:22

*


No. 8194 - 13 Apr 2011 - 09:00:57

Meanwhile, this young adult Ring-billed Gull
has migrated north for the summer and clings to an icy patch
in anticipation of a mate and a season of food scraps.

No. 8244 - 13 Apr 2011 - 09:04:54 * No. 8246 - 13 Apr 2011 - 09:05:12

High Expectations

No. 8007 - 12 Apr 2011 - 13:41:10

The Red River is expected to grow in size and strength
for three more weeks but the farming community outside the city
suffers the most in this region of many extremes.

Melt

No. 6852 - 29 Mar 2011 - 13:35:41 * No. 6865 - 29 Mar 2011 - 13:39:16

Solar power defeats frozen inertia revealing a watery condition.
This release of liquid energy saturates the flood plain
before draining downhill to the ground
under Lake Winnipeg.
Sea level.