Dyke-hike hodge-podge.

Cat.

I am watched as I wait for a heron to raise its head from preening.

Poppy.

The picture not meant to be. Just before I took this picture, a male American Robin was perched next to this Remembrance Day poppy someone pinned to an ancient cedar stump. Red beside red. The bird flew as I aimed to focus. I didn't see the mushrooms until I downloaded the image.

C-17 Globemaster III at YVR.

I am a science boy.
I grew up on dinosaurs,
A million different species of birds, and aircraft.

Source: "It" from Melville. Rheostatics, 1991.

Red alder catkins.

And now you may sneeze. Today's pollen count. Red alder = 99 grains/cubic metre (high). Birch = 67 grains/cubic metre (moderate). Pass the antihistamines.

Familiar wingtips.

They (the Lesser Snow Geese) are still about in large numbers. Here they are spread over the entire large field at Terra Nova in Richmond. Earlier on in winter, shortly after arrival, they clumped together nervously in whichever field/school yard was the meal du jour, but at this late date they basically own the place and go wherever they want. They allow you to walk/cycle among them, scarcely raising a goosey eyebrow.

I was standing on the trail across the ditch from the field as they started taking off.

They flew overhead, very close.

And then closer still. Perhaps a little too close.

In not too long, they should be on their way back to desolate Siberia. Their peregrination cycle is a story of twice-yearly culture shock.

Well done willow.

Weeping willows are getting a head start in the Leafing Out Competition. Their mild colour, a sort of washed-out chartreuse, is very appealing. Well done, willow.

You may spy a hint of orange in there, around 9 0'clock.

And there, obviously, is something blue. These clashing colours do not belong to nature. They belong to golfers.

Unexpected yellow.

A neighbourhood park in Richmond. I don't know if this is a guerrilla effort, or was city-sanctioned. I suspect guerrilla. The bare patches among the bunches? The snow geese will explain.

Foiled.

Branches with bird.

I generally try to bike out to Terra Nova once a week to collect pictures of herons and whatever else is new or different. Today was to be the day. Unfortunately, around 8 AM this morning a strong northwest wind picked up. It seems to want to continue for a while. Biking into the wind--a cold wind-- (for I must go north and west to get to Terra Nova; Terra Nova is the northwest corner of this island) is no fun, so I decided to stay home and do mundane things. (The bathrooms are sparkling!)

Were I at Terra Nova, I might be looking at something comparable to what is shown in the image above, which was taken there two weeks back.

I expect the wind will relent just before it's time to pick up the kids.

Spring blossom tide continues.

Another early bird: Magnolia stellata opening about 10 days ahead of last year.

And a flowering quince, Chaenomeles something, always early. I don't know how its timing compares to years with real winters.

And more pretty plums. There was one of these on the University of Toronto campus that I called the May 1 bush, because that's about when it opened. Now it would be silly to compare here with there, and I don't keep records that would allow me to claim that this too is an early flowering, but wow, things are in bloom - and seemingly more fully than in other years. Some streetscapes here make you stop and stare. Or they should.

Here are pictures of somewhere in Richmond by PSYL (the first two are of trees; the others are bird shots, not relevant to this post but very nice nonetheless).

Worker bee.

After the nerve-wracking hockey game, and nationwide sigh of relief, all-ages street hockey broke on on driveways and cul-de-sacs all over town. Our game stopped briefly when a bee landed in the middle of things. And look at that. Pollen! In February! Admirable bee, working early while we play.