Everywhere I seemed to walk there was some place interesting to explore. I tried to avoid trespassing which was hard to do, paths seem to wind around properties and then lead to mysterious bridges and places like this one. I had no idea where I was going or how to get back home but I didn't care. I wanted to see everything.
In November the sun disappears on the west coast and we were visited by fog on a regular basis. I love fog! I love dark and moody when it is not cold. I could comfortably travel through my neighbourhood on days like this and see each street transformed by the mist.
One day I walked north from our neighbourhood to Trout Lake. I had seen it on a map and as winter approached our world got so dark and wet but everything was still beautiful to me.
Just a half hour walk away there was a beautiful park where people would go to walk their dogs and just hang out. Here you can see the empty winter branches of willow trees drape over me, touching their own reflection on the lake.
Then one day some time before Christmas, it happened. It snowed! Yes, it does happen here and there on the west coast but thankfully it never lasts long.
This was our first Christmas together in Vancouver in 2000. Reg obviously did not want me to commemorate the occasion but I am glad I did. It is the best photo I have of our living space in Vancouver and the fact it captured the holiday anarchy is quite delightful. We had no money to go home for Christmas. It was the first Christmas we were completely on our own.
Spring comes to Vancouver in January. One day I decided to walk northwest from our apartment and ended up in Queen Elizabeth Park. The one month of what can loosely be called "winter" out west was over and life would be shooting forth any moment. If you click on the photo you will see a note outlining the downtown core of Vancouver. Yes, we were very far away from downtown but with parks like this one? I was fine with that.
It always amazed me that so many of the trees do not bother losing their leaves out west. Most of the time you do not get the display of colours in the autumn but the fact that winter is a few weeks versus half the year? I still say they are beautiful to look at.
We are officially in spring on the east coast today and it was just snowing outside my window. Sun and snow, how weird. It was -4C when I woke up this morning. Writing these posts is like a balm on a sore soul. I remember what life can be like. I remember when we were happy. I need to remember these things to hold on to hope that one day we will find that kind of joy again.
6 comments:
Ahhhh look at those photos.. fresh air, warmth, trees.
Love the colors. Me, dreaming of BC.
Oh I know Angie, it's brutal isn't it? But I miss those wan muted winters colours of BC. I dreaming of it too. We'll get there...
Once again, gorgeous photos. I too love the mystical fog, it seems so serene there.
Thank you Ava! Not bad for a beginner photographer eh? Nothing like film photos, they were special. There was actually a lot of frantic energy in Vancouver I will be discussing in the populated places but in the parks? Serene is the perfect word to describe it.
Sigh...I almost miss Vancouver. Especially today because my heat went off and I must text my landlord about that. Remember how most of the time you wouldn't bother with turning the heat on? The fog was a little odd going over "the bridge" to work just east of the city.
Sorry to hear about the situation with your heat Cathy! Did you make it through the night OK? I woke up to snow this morning and today is the official first day of the cherry blossom festival. Ugh!
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