Musings on a Small Life

I'm pausing the vacation pics to post a few "funnies" for the day. It's been a challenging week for many and we all could use a smile. A nod to the Kenny Rogers song, below. I haven't heard it in years, but I've always liked it! Take care, all. For those of us in Canada, happy Canada Day tomorrow!

Stewart Farm is another historic site from the early 1900s, located in Surrey, BC. Dad goes there regularly to take photos; it's a pretty spot. He and I went on the Monday and puttered around at our leisure. Unfortunately, it turned out that the house was closed on Mondays, so we weren't able to tour it. The snapshots are in chronological order and self-explanatory. If I have an opportunity to return, I'll make sure it's on a different day of the week so I can tour the house! Thanks for stopping by; have a great day.

The final pics from Stanley Park are of just a few of the heron colony near the park entrance we used, as well as the snaps from the condo next door. The nests are far up in the trees, so without a good telephoto lens it was pretty hard to get any half-decent snapshots. Herons are noisy! And, so I was told, very smelly too. I guess that was one time where lacking a sense of smell was an advantage for me. LOL. I also was told that around 6 PM every evening, an eagle would come and help him/herself to the buffet (eggs, I presume). Apparently the ruckus the herons make at that time is deafening, and with good reason. We left before I witnessed that, though. The remaining pics were snapped from the highrise condo adjacent to the park, the 21st and 28th floors. The views are stunning, but a city skyline wouldn't be my preferred vista, and I wouldn't live any higher than the third floor of any building. Next time I'll post some pics of Stewart Farm in Surrey, one of Dad's fav...

A happy birthday to my sweet baby bear, my heart, wherever his Energy is. 💖 These are a few pics from his 1st birthday on June 24, 2008. The first is one of my favourites, in spite of the grass that needed mowing. Ha. I have this pic printed out and framed; it sits with his urn and pawprint. There might have been nip involved in the celebration! Of course there was a birthday tussle; that was obligatory.  :-) I don't remember who won that one, probably Nicki. It's not like he'd let his brother win, even on a birthday. LOL. I wish with all my heart that Derry was here to celebrate his 16th, but at least he's free of an aging and ailing body's constraints. I hope he and Nicki are having a tussle somewhere too, to celebrate.  Smooches, Derry-Bear. Mummy loves you, my precious heart. 💖

You might be wondering if these pics from Stanley Park will ever come to an end. LOL. So am I! I don't want to subject you to a post with 30 or more pics, so that's why I'm splitting them up. These are after the Rose Garden (previous post), as we walked along one part of the waterfront before meeting up with Dad and his wife's friends (and her brother). There were about a dozen ships out there, waiting their turn to offload their cargo. This sweet dog, below, was having her best day ever! Her human was throwing a ball and she was racing after it like mad, fetching it and taking it back to him. Then she found this "puddle" of water and stopped to splash around. This was the only pic that turned out, the others were too blurry to keep. I stopped and watched her for several minutes; she was a true joy. We really could learn a lesson from our animal companions, about living each day to its fullest. Tomorrow will be a post in remembrance of Derry's 1st birthday...

Our walk along the Lost Lagoon led us to the Rose Garden, with so many glorious blooms. I wish I still had a sense of smell! (I lost that about 20 years ago, and thought it was due to my cat allergies, but alas that's not the case. I must be allergic to Ontario. Ha.) The roses were coming into bloom, a lot still in the bud stage. The snapshots speak for themselves, and I took A LOT of pics! Flowers are my "thing," (though I'm not a gardener), so it's almost impossible for me to resist taking hundreds of pics in a spot like this.   I have more pics to come from Stanley Park, including some along one of the waterfront paths, plus a heron colony (that was amazing to see!), and pics from the 21st and 28th floors of a condo building across the street, where a friend of Dad and his wife lives. I'll be posting on Saturday June 24th, though, with some snapshots from Derry's 1st birthday. (June 24 was the date the shelter put on his papers, an estimate of his actua...