March 2016

Totem #1
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

Part of a totem pole in the collection at the Royal British Columbia Museum.

Wind Shadow
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

I’m not sure what the purpose of this floating barrier was; perhaps to keep trash or oil from spreading to the main Victoria harbor. But I like the way (for a short distance anyway) it provided a barrier to the wind, creating a narrow stretch of calm water on the leeward side.

I will miss this man’s wonderful writing. I’m quite up on his novels but not so much his novellas, and certainly not his poetry. So at least I have that to look forward to.

Hard Times

Moving higher my thumping chest recites the names
of a dozen friends who have died in recent years,
names now incomprehensible as the mountains
across the river far behind me.
I’ll always be walking up toward Antelope Butte.
Perhaps when we die our names are taken
from us by a divine magnet and are free
to flutter here and there within the bodies
of birds. I’ll be a simple crow
who can reach the top of Antelope Butte.

                             –Jim Harrison (1937-2016)

Rare Bird
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

Rarer than the herons in Victoria are the pink flamingos, this one hiding behind a glass balcony wall on a high-rise apartment building.

Nesting Season
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

I really wanted to call this one “Overhead Crane” but alas, it is a heron. There was quite a flock (a.k.a. a siege) of herons all nesting in the same small group of trees in Beacon Hill Park just south of downtown Victoria. Safety in numbers I guess but it made for some fierce competition for nesting spots and building materials.

Here’s another Zippy cartoon with some art humor that got me chuckling this morning:

Semi-Floating Abstraction
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

Yesterday’s image consisted totally of a reflection on the water. This one is part reflection and part (non-floating) branches stuck in the bottom of the lake, hence making it a semi-floating abstraction.

Floating Abstraction
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

This image of a network of tree branches is actually their reflection in the water of a very calm lake. I could have captured the same image by pointing my camera skyward I suppose, but I would have had to stand out in the lake to do so!

Basic Black
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

This is a monochrome image but the color of the building was actually pretty much what is shown here. I thought it made an otherwise mundane looking building quite attractive.

She Looked Like Art
Victoria, British Columbia
2016

I’ve read this several times and I’m still confused about how “she” should feel about this description of her.