A local gem

In Canada it seems we’ve been unable to shake off continuing cases of coved#19 and recently restaurants were closed again to dining customers in my province. Because businesses can only cater to takeout orders, locals have posted requests to support our restaurants. We don’t want to arrive at the end of these strange times and learn our favourite restaurants have shut down.

how much is too much?

During these strange times, instead of hiking through forests where the pathways are narrow, I’ve been exploring my neighbourhood. Even though it’s not as enjoyable, I can cross the road to keep my physical distance and I’ve discovered something about some people in my area.

Deer diary

This is my second segment on animal encounters after being inspired by videos of animals entering human spaces since the lockdown.

Pitt-Addington Marsh

Pitt-Addington Marsh was by Pitt Lake. The signage of this Pitt Meadows location was poor and grasses bent over the narrow neglected path, but the day was perfect and the scenery spectacular.

Rocky Point Trail

Sometimes I forget the treasures right under my nose. One gem, is five minutes drive from my home — Port Moody’s Rocky Point Trail.

A lake at all seasons

I’ve witnessed Lafarge Lake throughout the year, but it’s not a real lake — it’s human made. The location was once a quarry, but in the 1970s it was turned into a lake that’s eight metres at its deepest and covers five hectares.

Finally — a beaver

Over the years I’ve spent hours exercising around Lake LaFarge where I’ve admired an occasional bald eagle, a profusion of ducks and Canada geese and even a few tortoise sunning themselves on logs, but I had yet to spot a beaver.

Burnaby Lake

Situated in the city of Burnaby, this lake stretched for approximately four kilometres with lilies covering its surface in several locations. Home to countless Canada geese, it wasn’t uncommon to observe a flock glide and land on its still waters.

By the sea of Pacific Spirit

Along the Wreck Beach Trail I spied poles rising over the sand in the distance. This was where most people hung out, sitting on logs staring into the Straight of Georgia.

Art in the woods

Replicas of squatters’ cabins were sculptured along Maplewood Flats off the Burrard Inlet in the exact location where they  originally stood during the 1940s. Hovering over the tidal mud flats, the cabins on stilts housed a community of squatters who, by the 1960s, were hippies, artists and displaced loggers who craved nature and self-sufficiency.