Blue Moon July 31st 2015

So . A blue moon . What is it ? As I understand what I've read, there are four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) each with three months and each of those months has a full moon . A fourth moon shows up from time to time .
It is the second of two moons in one of those months . Clear as mud ? To me too . And that 'blue' business ? It's some rare atmospheric dust that affects its colour from time to time . So I guess that makes it happen ... once in a blue moon .

The moon. (cropped)

Reflection on the Fraser River. (cropped)

Skytrain cables. (cropped)

Bonus: little sparrow at the Starbucks down the hill. (cropped)

The next blue moons:

May 21, 2016
May 18, 2019
August 22, 2021
August 12, 2024

I guess they are pretty rare .

Burnaby's Still Creek

This creek that runs into Burnaby Lake and on into the Brunette River was originally just a convenient place for industrial run-off, sludge and waste. Still Creek is gradually turning into what it was intended. It is a beautiful habitat for birds, water fowl, beaver and recently river otters. And after 80 years - in 2012 - spawning salmon have been spotted returning up the creek. Due to the hard work and determination of dedicated volunteers the Creek is a thriving corridor.

Great Blue Heron. (cropped image)

Mandatory Mallards....I think they're Mallards.

Beaver? Not the greatest picture but proof. (cropped image)

Spiders keeping busy. (cropped image)

Flourishing vegetation.

Thank you so, so much Tim. These little Sunday escapes mean a lot to me and they get me through the rest of my week.

Back Alley Pool Party [July 5th, 2015]

I guess this might be the first of many bird bathing follow-up posts. There was a 'surprise' birthday coffee klatch this weekend instead of the normal coffee sipping and photo snapping. Hopefully next week?
The province is currently doing its best to survive a wicked heatwave! WICKED!!!
I salute all the tireless and brave fire fighters - a lot of whom are volunteers no less - that are trying their best to get the raging brush and forest fires under control.

Folks, THE PROVINCE IS ON FIRE!!!!

The sky has been a creepy sci-fi movie orange lately, the sun is cloaked in a scalding haze and the air is nearly impossible to breathe.
I feel so sad for all the wildlife that is probably freaked out and/or burned to a crisp because of it. And sadly a majority of these raging fires are all due to the carelessness/arrogance/ignorance of HUMANS. Ya gotta love our bi-pedal superiority!

Because of this heat and the smoke and ash in the air, we got back the building and hauled out the garden hose again. This time the little guys didn't even wait until we'd cleared out. They practically dive-bombed us to get at the puddles.

Just an observation here but birds don't seem to 'mingle'. There seems to be a hierarchy. They keep to their 'own kind' when wading or dunking or splashing about.
I found it interesting to watch the different breeds(?) take their turns. The bravest of them all were the littlest guys. What I call moineaux. sparrows in English, I think. They kept a respectful distance from the big boys but still got in there and enjoyed the water too.

Note to readers: this is one of the rare times I have done any major 'cropping' of my images to get the 'subjects' closer. Normally what I post is what I shot.

The morning sun.

A couple of polished off dark roast.

I think the pigeons might be the head honchos in our alley.
They seemed to think they owned the joint.

This little moineau was done waiting her turn. Go get 'em tiger!

One of the upstairs neighbour's cat checking out the action.

She had a bathing buddy.

"Just ignore him Marjorie, we have a right to be here too!"

I think this fella(?) is still a youngster.
He had a fuzzy head and not the usual cool slicked-back crow feathers.

I hope we all survive this insane heat. In the mean time we shall continue to water the alley and keep our little friends as comfortable as we can.

A note to self: congrats to me on my 100th 21freckles blog post.

New Westminster Rose Garden in Bloom

A stone's throw away from my front door is Queen's Park Rose Garden.
My friend Lou and I met there first thing Saturday morning before the relentless heat we've been having got too intense. The early morning light and freshly watered vegetation made for some lovely shots. Don't know half the names of the plants or flowers but they are beautiful to look at and some quite fragrant.

Dusty Miller.

'Audrey II' from "Little Shop of Horrors"?

Clever.

We had planned to wander through the petting on this outing but its gates weren't open that early. But we did manage to irritate the cranky peacock and his posse before we headed off for breakfast. We will have to plan a return visit.

Such a lovely little park. New Westminster is such a pretty little city.