John Harvey Photo

May, 2005
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Month three


For the Love of a Lamp...

Lamp In Window
One of my favorite local stores is Murata - a Japanese tableware and gift store a few blocks from my house.  They basically sell everything worth buying from Japan (that isn't Manga or electronic) - it isn't cheap, but it is high quality.  The owner - who doesn't speak much English - recently made a lamp out of washi (Japanese paper, generally made in the Philippines) and Bamboo.  In perhaps the ultimate slight to a yupi, she wouldn't sell it - wouldn't even give a price.  She made the lamp for the store.  She would let me take pictures.  I purchased two roles of washi in a light pink (cherry blossom pink if you want to be goofy) and went off in search of the electronics and bamboo.


Eric In Garden
Fast forward to China town.  Bamboo in hand (Eric's hand in this case), we did a little bit of extra shopping.  I finally found my short rolling pin as well as some cheap cake decorating bits.  Did I mention it was Jer's birthday last week?  A bunch of us went to the fish house in Stanley park for afternoon tea to celebrate.
Tea For Jer

My Lantern
And then I spent the spare time in the next week building a lantern.  The lamp took 30 sticks of bamboo (which I wish I knew when I bought 24 sticks in China town) and only took one piece of washi, not both.   I used a really liquid glue (watered down PVA) and I think that was a mistake - the paper wicked it up and when the glue dried it discolored (like a water stain) the paper.  I think next time I might use a thick paste instead.  It was fun!


BC STV Rally
British Columbia's next election is coming up soon (like a week) and this time we have a referendum on changing our election system to a proportional vote system called BC STV.  David is quite involved in the fair vote community and encouraged us to come to rally at the Library. 

Setting Up
This was my first political rally so I didn't really have clear expectations.  It was a smaller crowd than I expected (perhaps 200) but it was raining on Mothers day.  The talks were brief and generally well done.   It's the first time I've seen David Suzuki speak and it certainly does contrast with what I remember of his broadcast personality.  Rafe Mair was also interesting to watch - he really is passionate and knows how to speak.  I like to see people with wisdom.


David Handing Out SignsMedia GearLord David SteelCrowd Near End
 
A Walk around the Sea Wall

Goose On Sea Wall
Janey enjoys a daily walk and sometimes (when I'm not too lazy), I join here.  If you see something often it's easy to ignore it.  I had a camera with me so I took some snaps.

Sea Wall WalkUrban Beach

A Day out to Manning Park
The weatherman said today was supposed to be rainy.  I would have liked to have gone on a hike but given a rainy day, perhaps a dive makes more sense.  Eric and Gabi had some time so we drove out to Hope and Manning park.  Out first stop (after picking up a picnic lunch in Hope) was the Othello Tunnels. 

Western Toad
Turns out they are closed!  There is a sever rock fall hazard and they have erected a large gate to prevent you from getting in.   We poked around at the local wildlife (this toad lived in a hole drilled for blasting the rock face) and headed to our next destination.


Western Trumpet Honey SucklePurple FlowersBlue Flower 1Creeping Buttercup

Our next stop was the village in Manning Park.  We all needed a break and Eric implied there may be very good cinnamon buns inside.  We didn't really make it inside - there was so much happening outside.  First was the ground squirrels.
 
Face ShotSide ShotSitting Up

Second was the cowbirds.  The Squirrels seem to attract the tourists with their squeaks and the birds (which are also quite tame) mop up what the Squirls don't eat.  The restaurant had three bird feeders and half a dozen hummingbirds using them.  It was fun to take photos.

Male CowbirdHummingbird Flapping

I wanted to go up to the Alpine trails at the top of the mountain.  We stopped half way up to take in the view and snaps a few plants. 

Silky Phacelia Overlooking Valley
(I've seen lots of squirrels up here too, but there were none out today)

Spreading Phlox And StonecropWild Strawberry

Eric And Gabi Found Snow
We continued up the mountain only to find the gate was closed!  We really weren't having much luck today.  Very well, we turned around and tried the lightning lakes day area.


Gray Jay In Tree
We broke out the cinnamon buns and very quickly attracted some attention (including a warning from the Parks operator for not buying a parking ticket). 

Gray Jay On Bench


Beaver MarksOh Look There
Having spent most of the day in the car, we welcomed the hike.  We walked around the lake as the sun set behind the mountains.

Walk Around Lake
 



Lord David Steel
Tags: crowd
Eric In Garden
Person: Eric
Tags: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Purple Flowers
Tags: flower
Western Toad
Species: Bufo boreas (Western Toad)
Tags: amphibian
Gray Jay In Tree
Species: Perisoreus canadensis (gray jay)
Tags: bird
Male Cowbird
Species: Molothrus ater (brown-headed cowbird)
Tags: bird
Lamp In Window
Tags: shopping, Vancouver
Crowd Near End
Tags: crowd
Silky Phacelia Overlooking Valley
Species: Phacelia sericea (Silky Phacelia)
Tags: alpine, flower
Urban Beach
Tags: beach, game
Sea Wall Walk
Tags: marina
Oh Look There
Person: Eric, Gabi
Tags: bridge
David Handing Out Signs
Person: David
Creeping Buttercup
Species: Ranunculus repens (creeping buttercup)
Tags: flower
Tea For Jer
Person: Andrea, David, Eric, Gabi, Jeremy, Karen, Mark, Stephen
Face Shot
Species: Spermophilus columbianus (Columbian ground squirrel)
Tags: BC fauna
Western Trumpet Honey Suckle
Species: Lonicera ciliosa (orange honeysuckle)
Tags: flower
Wild Strawberry
Tags: flower
Spreading Phlox And Stonecrop
Species: Phlox diffusa (Spreading Phlox)
Tags: flower, plant
Gray Jay On Bench
Species: Perisoreus canadensis (gray jay)
Tags: bird
Hummingbird Flapping
Species: Selasphorus rufus (rufous hummingbird)
Tags: bird, bird feeder
Side Shot
Species: Spermophilus columbianus (Columbian ground squirrel)
Tags: BC fauna
Media Gear
Tags: camera gear
Beaver Marks
Tags: tree
Goose On Sea Wall
Species: Branta canadensis (canada goose)
Tags: bird, marina, seawall
Eric And Gabi Found Snow
Person: Eric, Gabi
Tags: snow
Sitting Up
Species: Spermophilus columbianus (Columbian ground squirrel)
Tags: BC fauna
My Lantern
Tags: lantern
Blue Flower 1
Tags: flower
Walk Around Lake
Tags: lake
Setting Up
Tags: flower(7), bird(5), BC fauna(3), crowd(2), marina(2), Vancouver(1)
People: Eric(4), Gabi(3), David(2), Andrea(1), Jeremy(1), Karen(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2023 to 2005 > May, 2005

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