Fall

On a bright sunny day, this leaf serves as a reminder of this time of year.

Unsightly lines?

I think there is some irony in the fact that I found this tree in Los Angeles:

Even more so when I realized that it's on the boulevard in front of a dermatologist's house!

Bye Bye Bridge

I too have been absent for some time. Here's my construction shot - the new Lake Okanagan Bridge.

And a shot that wasn't taken through the windshield:
I took these photos as I was driving from my old house for the last time en route to the airport as I continue my long, drawn out move from British Columbia to Ontario.

Never thought that photos of a construction site would make me get teary.

Floating Bridge

I grew up in a city that had 2 intersecting rivers, so to me it seems normal to have a few bridges. Right now, I live across the lake from the city proper, so I deal with The Bridge on a regular basis. This is the only bridge across a fairly long lake, built at the narrowest point; it's just under 1 mile long. Here's a view of the bridge from my balcony:

Here's another view, taken from the top of the mountain on which I live. Because the lake is so deep, there's a section about 1/2 mile in length which floats on pontoons. This is the only floating bridge in Canada. (My MIL insists that the bridge, which she has yet to see in person, cannot be a floating bridge because concrete is too heavy to float. She tells us that it must be a suspension bridge.) In order to let boats pass through, there are 2 raised sections - 1 on either side. The section on the left side of the picture has a portion that lifts to let tall sailboats through.
Some pictures taken while driving across the lift bridge
It's charming to have to wait for a sailboat to pass by the first time. After a few times, though, you wonder what the hell people are thinking when they decide to go under the bridge during rush hour.
This is the section of the bridge on my side of the lake. As you see, there are 3 lanes. The direction of traffic in the middle lane alternates about twice an hour. When this bridge was built, it was big enough to accomodate traffic to and from the sleepy little town. But in the last 10 years, there has been a population explosion, and delays in crossing the bridge are common. At rush hour, it may add 10 minutes or so to one's drive. But come summer, when the snowbirds return and the tourists arrive in droves, it can get pretty hairy - it wasn't unusual to add an extra 45-60 minutes to my drive home because of congestion going across the bridge. There is an online bridge cam site which allows you to see what traffic is like in either direction. Unfortunately, there's not really any other option to get across, unless you drive 45 minutes north to the top of the lake, and then drive for 45 minutes down a windy 2 lane road that runs along the other side of the lake. I got a fair amount of knitting done this summer while stuck in bridge traffic.

Here you can see one of the spans of a new bridge, which is in the process of being built. It will have 5 lanes. The old bridge is near the end of it's life span, so it is going to be demolished once the new bridge is completed. The projected completion date is summer 2008. Which will be long after we are gone. The general consensus is that taxes and house prices on our side of the lake will go up significantly once the new bridge is completed.

I've enjoyed being able to see the water from my car window as I cross the lake everyday. A little flash of nature in the middle of my commute.

Closure

I previously posted a photo of a photo of the Giant Peach. Finally managed to see it in all of its fibreglass glory.

We also saw this little fella poking out of the ground: So what signs of Spring's approach (or at least Winter's winding down) do you see?

I've got one of these...

The best thing about this: Is that it is attached to this:

This "classic" cherub lamp was a housewarming present from Kyle's friend Andreas back when we bought our first house. It came complete with red velvet shade, but I replaced the red shade with a more Martha-esqe paper shade.

That's the great thing about kitsch: it never goes out of style...

Fruits and Nuts

We grow our fruit big here in BC...
Yup. The Big Apple.
Last weekend, my hubby and I took a break from Big City househunting to check out a mall. We walked by this window display:


Now is it just me, or does the sight of a heart exploding out of a mannequin's chest just not really cry out "Valentine's Day"? Come to think of it, it didn't really entice me to go buy some overpriced yoga wear either.
I wonder if their aggression leads to exploding hearts.

A rare bird indeed...

I was initially concerned that I wouldn't find a flamingo to photograph, but today, I spied a fine specimen of the elusive Giant Snow Flamingo (Phoenicopterus hugeplantericus).
Unlike its southern cousins, the Giant Snow Flamingo's usually has its legs tucked underneath its body. Why? Well, in addition to the change in pigmentation, there has been another significant environmental adaptation; its lower limbs are covered in a dense fur to avoid frostbite. And the Giant Snow Flamingo is a bit sensitive about having hairy legs.

Two for the price of one!

I managed to extract my butt from the chesterfield today and go cross country skiing. I took my camera with me.
My friendly neighborhood stop sign at 11 AM: 2 hours later:



We get all kind of wacky cloud/fog action around here because of the "valley effect".

I decided I'd try skiing away from the camera. There's not alot of flat surfaces on the trail that I can sit my camera on, so I headed over to the biathlon range.



I wasn't sure how quickly I could ski away from the camera, so the first time I really hauled @ss. My exhuberance combined with the haze made for a not so great shot. So I decided to adjust the camera settings and change the direction I was skiing in:

Un, yeah, quite the change in direction - DOWN! I caught an edge when I hit the deep snow at the side of the groomed trail. Thank goodness I was doing this at noon on a weekday...

The haze cleared, and the third time was the charm.