First signs of spring in Vancouver

Today was a brilliantly sunny day in Vancouver, cool and crisp, and while there is frost on the lawn there are also signs of spring in VanDusen Gardens.

Buds are appearing on the magnolia trees and the Japanese Cherry trees are beginning to bloom.

The Hybrid Witch Hazel is doing something related to spring too.

The air is crisp and cool, yet the sun warms our faces as we walk. There is that familiar smell of dirt that accompanies the advent of spring throughout Canada; the smell of dust and rot from leaves on the ground too.

It seems too early to be spring, even in Vancouver, yet the signs are here.

Photos by Jim Murray.   Copyright 2014.

Stanley Park and an almost full moon

In recent days, we have had a mix of fog and cloud, though it remains dry. 

The low cloud cover, and the distracted light of the sun, creates slightly different shades of colours in the sky than what we are accustomed.

There is a moodiness to some of these scenes, a strangeness, a darkness.

When the cloud and fog clears, sometimes ever so briefly, the almost full moon, now waning, appears, perhaps a part of the darkness and moodiness too. 

Photos by Jim Murray. 

Copyright 2014.

Saguaro National Park

Saguaro National Park was one of the reasons we went to Tucson, and we  were fortunate to be staying at a place so very close to the eastern half of the park: Serenity Guest House. 

The park is actually two districts, one lying about 30 km east, and the other 25 km west of the centre of Tucson. We stayed on the eastern outskirts of the city and viewed the park, more of less, from our deck.

The park was created as a National Monument in 1933, and elevated to National Park status only in 1994. It covers about 37,000 ha, of which 28,000 ha is designated wilderness.

The park conserves fine tracts of the Sonoran Desert, and includes the Tucson Mountains in the west, and the Rincon Mountains in the east. There are almost 250 km of trails in the park, with varying degrees of difficulty. Snakes and spiders are common, as are other creatures, though apart from seeing rabbits and one bob cat, and hearing coyotes, we didn't see much of anything on our walks.

In addition to the amazing saguaro cactus, which is native to the region, there are other cactus, including barrel, cholla and prickly pear.

All photos by Jim Murray. 

Copyright 2014.

Saguaro National Park is a wonderful place, and it is a great place to walk. There is a calm and beauty here that is quite magnificent. This is harsh and difficult place, yet life abounds, and in the gentle breeze, amidst the towering saguaro, the silence is a symphony.