Vancouver Snowpocalypse

 After months of (presumably) insufferable smugness about our gentle winter, Vancouver got a dumping of snow recently which closed schools and threw our whole transit system into disorder. While some of this can legitimately be explained by icy hills being more treacherous than the prairies, part of the problem is undoubtedly that Vancouverites are simply unprepared for such weather since it only happens in small bursts every year or two. I certainly don't own as rugged a winter jacket as I did in Winnipeg and feel the chill all the more as a result.

That said, anyone saying that its a wet cold and therefore in any way comparable to Portage and Main at -54 is just flat out lying. On a related note, you can currently buy avocado toast and lattes with shotgun shells or slaves as valid Vancouver currencies.

 Hopefully this picture will tug some heartstrings in Ottawa and get our city the disaster relief it so direly requires. These daffodils have only been up since mid-January and without immediate efforts they may not have a chance to make it until actual spring sets in by early March.

 Once the worst of the storm had passed, the snow left behind was IDEAL for making snowmen and had the perfect consistency for snowballs. English Bay was littered with figures like this one, many of which utilize bits of fallen palm leaves into fun hairdos and hats.

Plucky Spring Arrivals

 Winter has been rainy but not overly cold this year with hardly any snow at all, but nothing lasts forever. While hardly impressive by prairie standards, we did get a dusting of snow along the beach which made summer feel even further away, but did make for some pretty landscapes of tankers and birds.

 While I was mildly affronted by the snow, I'm sure it came as a bit of a shock to the clusters of daffodils that were trying to establish themselves along the seawall and bring a little bit of colour and cheer to the neighborhood.

 Fortunately I had the day off and could spend a little bit of time balanced on the slippery hillside with my macro lens taking some closeups of icy blossoms before the sun rose and melted away the majority of the ice.

A Touch of Fog

Now that it's not cool anymore here are MY fog pictures which are much better than anyone else's and not from last year either.  I took these biking around the sea wall of Stanley park during those foggy days we had in mid-October.  I like the one below because of the heron in shadow.

This one was taken the exact same time as the one above just looking towards the bridge to Deadman's Island.  Fog is so changeable.  There is so many different plays of light, shadow and mist. In one spot it can be very sunny and than the other way all shrouded.

I had to do something artsy.  I figured the Lion's Gate bridge which is hidden in the fog shot through a dew spotted spider web would do it.  I also did the same shot but with the web in focus.  I love biking around the park this time of year. I do it fairly early in the morning and have the path all to myself really.  I see lots of cool wildlife too: bald eagles, snowgeese, flickers, otters, mink..... I hope some more fog comes in soon.