Merry Christmas

Belated Merry Christmas to all. Its been business as usual even though there's a holiday. I'm off to work this morning but I thought I would post these photos taken in nearby Queens Park early yesterday (Sunday) afternoon. The children are at play on a hillside in the park, and if you remember from your childhood, you would spend hours outside with it seemed boundless energy. As you can see, we've had quite a bit of snow and more was falling as I was taking these photos. More snow is expected today. Have a safe and pleasant holiday!

Jupiter

While Earth and the life on this planet certainly fascinate me, let's look at another interesting planet for a moment, Jupiter! Its long interested astronomers and since various spacecraft like the Pioneer and Voyager have brought us new and varied understanding of the planet and its moons, we are a long wayoff from understanding everything about this planet named by the Romans. A space flight to this planet doesn't come without its risks as you can see by the depiction of where asteroids are found enroute.

The Red Spot is familiar to most everyone in one way or another. Its a cyclonic disturbance that has been ongoing for centuries (atleast the 17th century). The images above and below, all from Nasa, give us an idea.

Then the Aurora borealis at Jupiter's North Pole is fascinating as well. I didn't know until I did this research that the Jovian planet even had one (Aurora). Then for a long time Saturn was thought to be the only planet with a ring but recent discoveries have shown this to be wrong. Jupiter does indeed have a ring, thin, but a ring none the less.

Now all sorts of discoveries are coming our way regarding the planets moons, 63 of them, though 47 of them have been discovered since 1975 and of the 47 moons, they are less than 10 kilometers in diameter. Will we find life on one or more of the major moons? If we do, it may not be as we might think it to be. Let's keep watching the developments and open our eyes and minds to greater things! All images are from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA). Check out Wikipedia and other sources for more information about this planet!!!

From Kitsilano to Point Grey Beach and back

In early August I did a walk from Vancouver's downtown to Kitsilano, past the beach and on to Jericho, Locarno, Spanish Banks Beaches before arriving at Point Grey Beach and then returning. That was not the only time. There was atleast one other such walk. Great exercise if summer heat is not a problem. These are just some of the photos that resulted from the trek.

Someone suggested these flowers might be Arnica montana, or Leopard's Bane, but I'll have to take a much closer look next summer. Looking at these cheery blooms takes our thoughts away from the cold, snowy winter we are currently into though.

After Labour Day, the lifeguards disappeared not to return again until next summer.

Do you ever have the feeling that you are being watched???

I love yellow flowers, in this case a bumblebee (Bombus ssp) on a tansy flower collecting nectar. I hope you have enjoyed these photos and that they have taken your thoughts away from winter for a bit to bring rays of sunshine into your life. Have a good Christmas!

Remembering a warmer season

Now that we are in the midst of a cold blast of arctic air and real winter here on the west coast, here is a photo of one of the beaches facing English Bay in Vancouver. The photo was taken in early August during the height of our summer here in British Columbia. Perhaps this will serve as a distraction from all the snow and cold that we are currently having. There will be more about the beaches, from Kitsilano, Jericho, Locarno and Spanish Banks Beaches to Point Grey Beach soon. Meantime, enjoy this diversion!

Sunset

Late in the afternoon today just before sunset someone brought the colour of the clouds to my attention and had also asked if I had a camera. Well, I went outside with my little HP digital camera and took a couple of photos but the sun was setting fast, so the scene was changing quickly. Since this camera only has 6.2 megapixels, it would have been better using my Sony DSLR at 10.2 megapixels but it was back at home. Enjoy these photos nonetheless with the winter olympic village in the background, the setting sun behind that complex! - Volker