you’ve outlived a bridge ;-(
I just realized that crews have been blasting away the remnants of the old Port Mann Bridge that used to crossed the Fraser River.
The new one, under construction on the left in the photo below, opened in 2012 and is quite a 10 lane marvel. The old one, seen on the right below, opened in 1964.
Guess I’ll have a few years on either side of the old one. Amazing how time flies when you’re having fun.
I found this busy little bee working on a daisy the other day. It was probing and moving and probing and moving all over the centre of the flower. Once in a while, it would stop in one place for several seconds, before moving on to insert it’s proboscis somewhere else.
I have to assume that there are multiple sources of nectar there. …Wish I knew more botany…or at least more about the daisy flower.
Anyway, busy bee is an apt description of me these days as well. I have a major project in the works that is taking up a lot of time. It’s not overwhelming, but it does take some careful thinking and methodical effort to ensure it’s success.
Posting may be somewhat sporadic over the next few weeks, but my intention is to post at least a couple of times a week.
We’ll see…
If you’ve been reading along, you’ll know I’ve been trying to document ‘spring’ in a local Surrey BC forest called Green Timbers Park.
One plant that I’ve been particularly interested in is Wild Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum dilatatum). It seems my reference for the name was a bit old, and it’s now called False Lily of the Valley or Two-leaved False Soloman’s Seal. (Impersonating both, I guess 😉 But the latin is apparently right. Yay.)
That said, they’ve finally finished flowering and the berries/seeds are developing.
It’s been a long time coming. I noticed the first young plants April 2, the first flower spikes April 9 and the first full berries today. That seems like a long time for such a seemingly delicate plant that’s found on the forest floor. I will say though, the plants themselves are now looking pretty battered by various insects and falling debris from the spring bud break on the trees above.
So with only 2 more days until the summer solstice here in North America, that about brings my spring project to a close. I’m thinking about another one to carry on through the summer, but there may be a smattering of posts on more of a variety of topics from here on in.
I found these for the first time yesterday. Blueberries (Vaccinium sp.) are not all that common in Green Timbers park, but I’ll have to keep my eyes open for more.
I just used my Canon G10 for this shot, and I was quite impressed with it’s macro setting/automatic exposure. With my Nikons, I shoot in manual mode, so relying on the camera to handle everything seemed weird. Still, I guess that’s what point and shoot cameras are for, right?
Dog lovers are going to have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks. The lovely flowers on the large leaved avens plants at Green Timbers are turning into nasty, hair and clothes-loving burrs. And there are lots of them!
Having been a dog owner in the past, I remember spending lots of time ‘grooming’ burrs out of my spaniel’s hair. Not fun.
There’s obviously something going on at the end of those fishing lines 😉
The salmonberries are ripening all over Green Timbers Park. There’s lots of signs that people are picking them, but looking closely, many are just getting ready to fall off by themselves. A shame, that.
I was over at Bear Creek Park the other day and saw a vacant ‘tent city’ all set up. What an erie feeling, with no one around.
The fact is that they had everything set up for the Surrey International Children’s Festival the following week. Still, it felt odd to see it all there, vacant and waiting.
A couple of years ago, I stumbled across a random old log at a local beach. It was on a spit, away from the water, buried in plants and not really obvious at all. I only noticed it because I was poking around taking pictures of, well, old logs.
Someone had taken the time to carve the word “Imagine….”, ellipses and all.
For some reason when I saw it, I took a long deep breath, relaxed and just stared at it. And yes, I did start to imagine… To this day, even looking at the photos has that affect on me. Kind of a dreamer, I guess.
I must get back to see it again.
Beach art at it’s finest.
The salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) are starting to ripen in the local forests. The berries are often somewhat scarce, so they can be a real treat when you find them.
Also, the cottonwood trees are living up to their name. Their cottony seeds are starting to fall like snow and collect in bunches on the ground. Things could get messy over the next couple of weeks 😉
donsca 