snowstorm of November 2006

Back in November 2006 there was a snowstorm that started on the 20th and continued through the weekend. That was my first year in British Columbia's lower mainland after moving out here from southwestern Ontario. When the snow stopped falling, I took a series of photos which you see here. Back east this sort of thing is normal, so the snow can be moved and cleared within 2 - 3 days and in a lot less time if its a minor snowfall.

I did some research on the internet afterward and found that this sort of thing was normal about 50 years ago. People here have been lulled into a false sense of acceptence by higher than normal temperatures and the lack of snow. So with the lack of equipment to move the snow, side streets remained snowbound for over a week. The parking lot where I lived was never ploughed and the management left it for nature to melt the snow. Such scenes were common in the area.

I was living in north Surrey with 104th Avenue and 148th Street being the main intersection nearby. That's where this series of photos was taken after the snow stopped falling. I'll let the images speak for themselves.

I allowed a blogger friend in San Francisco to post the you see photo above. This was before I started blogging myself in February 2007. There first few photos show a rather dull looking landscape but the mood changes once the sun makes an appearance where it shines through a break in the cloud cover to the south. So are we ready to handle such a storm if it happens during the winter olympics? I rather doubt it but we'll see. Enjoy the photos and feel free to comment! - V.

first snow

Over the weekend (Dec 12 - 13) we had the first snow here in New Westminster, well, snow that stayed for a bit. Its all been washed away by the rain that came during the week but here are a few photos that were taken during a walk late in the afternoon Sunday before it got dark. The walk took me over to Queens Park and then back home. As you can tell, the kids take no proding to get out to enjoy the new snow! There are a few photos of scenes in the park and then the Christmas lights and other interesting features at a condo complex across from the park. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, so enjoy! - V.

Autumn Colour on Burnaby Mountain

During the last weekend of October I was up on Burnaby Mountain to have a look at the autumn colour. The images posted here are just some of the many photos I took the Saturday that I was up there. The first four photos were taken along University Drive near the campus of Simon Fraser university (SFU) in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia. The colours are not as bright as I remember them from back east in southwestern Ontario and tend more on the subtle side with hints of brightness here and there. We begin with a jogger running by on a trail that runs parallel to the street followed by a photos of one of the street signs to be found along the road in this area. The the leaf colours are subtle but the reason why I took the first three shots was they way in which the sun was shining through the opening in the tree cover. However, it didn't look like much from the other side, so I'm glad I took this photos!

Along the trail going from the road to the western end of the mountain where the Horizon Restaurant and the cherry grove are located, I found some fungi growing out of a crack in a cut part of a tree trunk. I've included a close-up and a view from another angle. With the recent rains it was possible to see fungi in various places if you took the time to look carefully.

The above shot shows a view through the trees along the trail to Burrard Inlet below followed by a series of shots of the cherry trees behind the Horizon Restaurant. The colour on these trees seems to vary each year depending upon the variation in temperatures between day and night and other factors I guess. Variety is the spice of life as it's said, so I appreciate the differences each year.

This view shows Indian Arm at Burrard Inlet. There is an oil tanker anchored with a close-up shot below.