To celebrate the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival the VCBF is putting on a Cherry Blossom Umbrella Flash Mob Dance complete with pink umbrellas!  Part Bollywood and part Singing’ in the Rain, this upbeat flash mob is sure to be a blast for those who participate!   Sign up at: www.vcbf.ca .

These magnificent birds are a beautiful sight to see, yet there are many warnings around that caution visitors so that the owls are protected.   Please, if you do go to see the owls, maintain a respectful distance from them.  If they start flying away, you have gone too close.  To ensure they are not disturbed view them only from the dyke (do not enter the marsh area), keep quiet, and don’t go as a large group or bring children or pets.  Stressing the owls will not only drive them away, but also threatens their survival.

That being said, seeing Snowy Owls and their habitat is a rare treat that anyone interested should get out and enjoy.  Bring binoculars, a telephoto lens and/or a spotting scope so you can get a good look at them from a distance.  For more information on the Snowies and where to find them, please check the updates at the end of this post.

For more information on Snowy Owls at Boundary Bay, please check out Anne Murray’s Nature Guides B.C. Blog.

According to Birding BC here is where the Snowies have been seen:

This has become a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with reports of up to 29
birds near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus 5 or 6 more in the
Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to
observe SNOWY OWL from a respectful distance, to make an effort not to
flush or frighten off the owls, and to speak to anyone who appears to be
crowding an owl too much.

News:

Global TV Report here.

CBC News Report here.

Update January 3, 2011

Reports are that there are still Snowy Owls in Boundary Bay, although numbers vary day by day.

Phoenix Perennials in Richmond features one of the largest selections of perennials in Canada with over 4,000 plants.  Not only are the plants beautiful, rare, and impecably tended to by great staff, but right now the whole place looks like a plant carnival with so many rich colours of blooms and leaves and bracts.

It’s really the best show in town and the good news gets better: this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday is The Summer Sizzle – 30% off plants, pots, and iron work.  There are a series of free workshops this weekend as well - check out the e-newsletter  for more details. 

I’m hoping to steal a little of my time (which has been currently dedicated to the community garden) to get there myself and pick up a few show stoppers for my front yard garden.  Hmmm, now where can I find some room….

Today is officially the first day of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games here in Vancouver and the energy around town is off the charts.  There are people here for all over the world buzzing with excitement, waving Canadian flags and ready for an amazing party.  The weather has been really warm here, so there has been some concern over the snow levels on the mountains (it is a WINTER games after all) and so while many are braving storms in the East, we are hoping for lots of snow.  Organizers are reporting that they have the snow under control so let’s hope so for the athletes’ sake.

I did brave the rain today to see the Torch Relay which went through my neighbourhood yesterday and again today. All the kids came out of school to cheer on the torchbearers and the Olympic Flame.  Many wore patriotic red and white, including the famous red mitts which it is altogether too warm for. 

Unfortunately some nasty protesters caused the relay to change routes this morning, so I missed it the first time (and so did many of the school kids) but I was able to catch up to it later.  I do hope that protesters aren’t going to hamper anymore fun in the city, as most everyone here is ready for a great time.  I know I am and I have my red mitts to prove it!

I’m going to try to find garden related Olympics stories for the rest of this month, but since gardening is pretty much on hold so I can zip line through downtown Vancouver and be part of a Flash Mob on Robson Street, Garden Therapy may just become Olympic Therapy for February 2010.

The test went just as I expected: the 20x zoom function and video capabilities were fun to use, but the picture quality was grainy and inconsistent.  The digital viewfinder was slow and shaky, making it difficult to compose the shots and the focus speed was so slow that I missed much of what I was hoping to take.  The macro setting was successful in bright light but required you to position the camera mere centimeters from of the subject for a decent shot.  Here is a selection of the photos I took, mostly in zoom mode which was very handy to have at a bird sanctuary.

I thought it would be nice to have a lighter weight everyday use camera but I miss the speed, flexibility and by far the quality of the DSLR I’ve been using.  The solution could be to buy a lighter multipurpose lens for travel and everyday yet I also really liked the Ultra Zoom function and the digital video.  It’s back to the drawing board I guess.

Late Afternoon at Trout Lake in Vancouver

I’d love to get any recommendations on what cameras people are using out there for all the amazing shots of gardens and food I see you taking.  If you shoot with something you like I’d be overjoyed if you’d leave me a comment and let me know.

Fall Foliage in John Hendry Park, Vancouver, BC.

 This beautiful front yard garden is almost completely covered by a magnificent old Japanese Maple.  From the street you can see only the large mass of leaves but if you follow a path and duck under the tree you will find a fantasy hideaway beneath the stunning canopy of the maple.

 This is a typical example of the whimsical gardens in East Van.  I almost walked by this little guy as I left the garden (even though he is about the size of a cat) because he was tucked so neatly in the ivy.  Flies beware!

 This was a little girl’s fairlyland.  In a garden amongst blooming roses and teacups on pedestals there was the most magnificent birdhouse/treehouse.  It was sweetly decorated with pretty flower-print flags, delicate fabrics, and at the very top there was a pink feather wreath acting as a peephole to the sky.  When I arrived the garden was a buzz with girls dressed up beautifully, romping around in the birdcage not at all unlike little birds.

This gorgeous beast, also known as Nicky, came out to greet us from his owners’ potted vegetable garden.  He had quite the system of planks built for him to climb on.  Lucky boy.