John Harvey Photo

October 2015

Go to Slide Show Smaller Images And some clever quip...


Doors Open Vancouver

Nara With City Of Vancouver Hard Hat
This is my first year at Doors Open Vancouver.  For our first destination we picked the waste heat reclamation plant under the Cambie Street Bridge - the False Creek Energy Centre.  I've always been curious about the pipes so we took the kids to do a tour.  The space is surprisingly large - three stories underground full of various coloured pipes and pumps.  We all got hard hats and they showed us the various stages of waste heat reclamation and providing hot water to the buildings in the Olympic Village.  It was noisy (big machines running) so the Claira wanted to be picked up. 


Ceiling From Mezzanine
Our next destination was the Orphium Theatre.  I didn't know that the city owned it, but apparently they do and the doors opened at 1pm.  I was surprised at the line up when we arrived at ten to one - roughly a city block of people patiently waiting to get inside.  Thankfully the line up went fast and we were released to tour as we wished.  The VSO had their instruments on stage so there were no on stage/back stage tours.

StageCello Left On The Stage
 
  Nara With The Ballerinas
The Vancouver Ballet was clever and had a station with Ballerinas in costume to promote their next performance.  They were happy to submit to photos and they very quickly got a line as well.  I thought Nara would really be into seeing places she couldn't normally, but really she justed wanted to go home and colour.  We went home and she coloured.


Flight Path Park

Standing On Top Of The World
On Sundays Nara has Chinese class in the morning - finishing just before lunch time.  The weather was really nice and the kids always want to ride their bikes so we decided to go to Flight Path Park in Richmond.  The Park has paved "runways" for the kids to ride on, a squashed globe for the kids to climb on and some nice picnic tables to have lunch.

Claira On Top Of The World

Claira Scooting On Her StriderNara Holding Her Helmet While Riding
The Runways are flat and straight almost perfect for fun ride.  Claira received her kick bike for Christmas but she has never ridden it more than a few meters.  Today she rolled over the odometer - both going long distance and truly sitting on it to scoot.  Nara completed Pedalheads camp this summer and she was keen to show off her new skills - riding while standing, one hand steering (so the other hand can give signals) and no feet riding because that's just cool.


In classic family fashion, the kids just wanted to bike while the parents wanted to eat lunch.  After a bit of bike riding, we got together and had lunch.  Helen packed lunch for the kids and got take away for the adults.  Helen has been following Bento box websites to get some ideas on how to dress up kids lunches.  Nara really likes the animal sandwiches.

Johns Fancy Take Out LunchNaras Fancy Lunch
 

Victoria for Thanksgiving

My mother kindly offered to have us over for Thanksgiving.  We piled into the car on Friday night and the kids arrived in Victoria wide awake at the unnatural hour 10pm.  Quick bath, to bed and we hoped they would sleep in.  Not so much for me - as it's fall and sunrise is quite late, I decided to wanted to get up at sunrise and see Saanich Spit -  a place I had never been to.

James Island From Saanich Spit At Sunrise

I was quite impressed with the view from the spit at sunrise - the beach had no one out walking a dog and beautiful views of the still water over to James Island.  I walked along the beach for a while until I saw four Killdeer feeding at the waters edge.  After chasing each other for a while, I went back to parking lot are and walked the other side - the protected pool behind the spit.  The mirror flat water reflected the fall colours on the other side - a great backdrop for shore birds and a great blue heron.

Juvenile Northern ShrikeDunlin Reflected With Fall ColoursKilldeer At Oceans Edge

But my kids were waking up so I drove home.  Nara wasn't feeling well so it was just Claira, Grandma and I for a trip to the beach.
 
American SearocketGrandma And Claira At The Beach
 
Claira With Her PumpkinNara With Super Heavy PumpkinNara Lost In Throught In The Hay RideRiding On Hay Ride


On Sunday and Wednesday mornings Swan Lake has a drop in birding event.  A volunteer guide generally walks around the lake for about 2 hours and a small group of followers learn things.  Sometimes a lot of things.  They keep a list of birds they see which is posted on their website.  Last week they saw two birds I really wanted to see - a Sora and Virgina Rail.  I was there at the appointed time (with my ridiculously large lens) and went for a walk.

Great Horned Owl In Cottonwood TreeBarred Owl Trying To Sleep

Not ten feet from the parking lot, the guide points out a Barred owl I had walked by a few times when I just arrived.  We walked down to the lake side and then out to the old farm fields where we saw a second owl - a Great Horned owl.  In between we had seen enumerable small birds but the pace was a bit too fast for me too keep up.  Satisfied already, I headed home. 
Pied Billed Grebe Non Breeding
 

The Kids Stinky New HomeClaira Running Away
It's raining a little on the Monday before you go back home.  Your kids will be traveling for the better part of four hours.  What do you do?  The obvious answer is go for a walk in the rain!  We drove to Goldstream park for a walk to the nature house and back.

Mom And Nara Running After

I was surprised to see the nature house was converted to an art gallery!  Every two years they have a showing of local artists work and a silent auction with partial and sometimes full proceeds going to benefit the nature house.  I was really impressed with the work - it was diverse but on theme.  The star of the show as a donated Sue Coleman original painting, right at the door as you came in.  They had a painter in residence that Nara watched as he painted.  We had a good time.

Halloween Howl

Nara Helen And Claira In Costume
Nara's school does a haunted house every Halloween.  It's a big fundraiser and builds school spirit so we were going and we went in costume.


The school is decorate to be a haunted house.  The gym had lots of games stations set up and a bouncy Castle.  You buy an activity card ($5 for 20 stamps) and each station uses up some stamps.  Two minutes in the bouncy castle was 50ยข.
 
Helen As BeeNara John And Claira In CostumesClaira In Her Elsa Dress

Richmond Nature Park

  Male Hairy Woodpecker With Fall ColoursMale Annas Hummingbird Perched

Nara has Chinese class on Sunday mornings in Richmond so we often go over to Richmond Nature park for a little walk and playground time before we do some shopping.  I was happy with two pictures I took today - a Hairy Woodpecked and an Anna's Hummingbird.  I've seen both species before (especially the hummingbird) but they are still nice to see.

Halloween Day

Nara Riding AScooterClaira On Her Kick Bike

I took the girls down to Granville Island for some outside time.  When we made it down there we were surprised to find that there was trick-or-treating at the kids market.  I ran into an old friend - turns out there is a whole day of activities if you are interested - Yaletown downtown also does trick-or-treat event.


Nara Trick Or Treating With Living Statue

Last year were were in Japan for Halloween so Nara didn't get the whole experience (the food floors in the basements of department stores did have trick-or-treating for kids though).  This was Nara's first year actually going door to door.  We live in a condo so we went to a close by neighborhood of houses.  


Halloween on Commercial Drive

I have had some great times taking photos at Commercial Drive on Halloween - generally the Parade of Lost Souls.  After we got the kids to be I thought it would be fun to go out and see what was going on.

Raining In The ParkLaunching Fireworks From Park
There were a few things not in my favor.  First, it was raining.  Second, Halloween and the parade happened on the same night this year.  Third, I was late - the parade had already happened and the crowds were diminishing, not growing.  That said, there were still lots of opportunities.  People were shooting off fireworks everywhere which is always fun to see.

Halloween Fun In The Park

There was a large crowd surrounding a drumming circle.  There was little light and it was a tight crowd so I had a tough time with my 50mm, f1.4.  Next year, I would being my 35mm lens instead.  One enterprising photographer set up a light with a generator and was taking portraits of people in their costumes.  I'm sure they had a lot of good material to work with.


Nara Riding AScooter
Person: Nara
Johns Fancy Take Out Lunch
Altitude: 1m (3 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: food porn, lunch
Male Hairy Woodpecker With Fall Colours
Species: Picoides villosus (Hairy Woodpecker)
Tags: bird, Richmond Nature Park
Nara With City Of Vancouver Hard Hat
Person: Nara
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver
Killdeer At Oceans Edge
Species: Charadrius vociferus (Killdeer)
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira On Top Of The World
Person: Claira
Juvenile Northern Shrike
Species: Lanius excubitor (Northern Shrike, Great Grey Shrike)
Altitude: 11m (36 feet)
Location: Go To...
Nara Trick Or Treating With Living Statue
Person: Nara
Claira Scooting On Her Strider
Person: Claira
Altitude: 2m (6 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking
Helen As Bee
Person: Helen
Tags: costume
Barred Owl Trying To Sleep
Species: Strix varia (Barred Owl)
Tags: bird, Swan Lake
Halloween Fun In The Park
Tags: fireworks
Nara John And Claira In Costumes
Person: Nara, Claira, John
Tags: costume
Mom And Nara Running After
Person: Nara, Helen
Nara Holding Her Helmet While Riding
Person: Nara
Altitude: 4m (13 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: biking
Male Annas Hummingbird Perched
Species: Calypte anna (Anna's Hummingbird)
Nara With The Ballerinas
Person: Nara
Tags: ballet, Doors Open Vancouver
Pied Billed Grebe Non Breeding
Species: Podilymbus podiceps (Pied-billed Grebe)
Tags: bird, Swan Lake
Raining In The Park
Claira Running Away
Person: Claira
American Searocket
Species: Cakile edentula (American searocket)
Tags: beach, Cordova Bay
Ceiling From Mezzanine
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver
Grandma And Claira At The Beach
Riding On Hay Ride
Person: Claira, Helen, Janet, Nara
Altitude: 31m (101 feet)
Location: Go To...
Claira With Her Pumpkin
Person: Claira
Altitude: 24m (78 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: farm, pumpkin
Claira In Her Elsa Dress
Person: Claira
Great Horned Owl In Cottonwood Tree
Species: Bubo virginianus (Great Horned Owl)
Tags: bird, Swan Lake
Cello Left On The Stage
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver, musical instrument
Standing On Top Of The World
Person: Claira, Nara
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: holding hands
Naras Fancy Lunch
Altitude: 5m (16 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: food porn, lunch
The Kids Stinky New Home
Person: Nara, Claira
Nara With Super Heavy Pumpkin
Altitude: 24m (78 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: pumpkin
Stage
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver
Dunlin Reflected With Fall Colours
Species: Calidris alpina (Dunlin)
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: flock in flight, reflection
Claira On Her Kick Bike
Person: Claira
Nara Helen And Claira In Costume
Person: Nara, Claira, Helen
Tags: costume
Launching Fireworks From Park
Tags: fireworks
James Island From Saanich Spit At Sunrise
Altitude: 9m (29 feet)
Location: Go To...
Nara Lost In Throught In The Hay Ride
Altitude: 16m (52 feet)
Location: Go To...
Tags: Doors Open Vancouver(5), bird(4), Swan Lake(3), costume(3), fireworks(2), lunch(2)
People: Nara(11), Claira(11), Helen(4), Janet(1), John(1)
From: John Harvey Photo > Blogs for 2023 to 2005 > October 2015

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