Lynn Peak

The view from this mass of endless blackness is quite spectacular in summer.  This is the top of Lynn Peak, looking across the inner harbour of Burrard Inlet to downtown Vancouver and beyond to the airport.

A bald eagle wheeled overhead, ships dawdled in the harbour, and aircraft took off to the US, Canada, and Asia.

Clothesline Hummingbird

This is either an Anna's or Rufous hummingbird. She's a female (due to the green coloration) and is tiny, weighing less than 5 grams.

The song of hummingbirds like her is chattery and distinctive, and they're seen all over the Pacific Northwest.

S P Crater, Arizona

S P Crater is the source of an old lava flow extending onto the plains of Arizona in the San Francisco volcanic field.  Although from the air it looks as young as some modern lava fields in Hawaii, the low rainfall here means that things don't change quickly.  It's understood to be perhaps 70,000 years old.

AC A319 Landing, YYZ

An Air Canada A319 lands on 24R at Toronto Pearson on a warm and humid summer evening.  Lights marking the navigational hazards nearby the airport are in the foreground -- in the case, the roof of the Westin Bristol Place.

Glorious Dead of WWII, University of Toronto

An excellent wall of names commemorates the memory of University of Toronto members killed in World War II.  As there were at most 10,000 staff, students, and professors at the time, this makes the size of the wall all the more significant.

Picking a name off the wall, I looked up C.S.L. Hertzberg who happened to be a Major General.

He received a Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry" in action in France, and was wounded in Vimy.  He also received a Czechoslovak War Cross for service (for Canada!) in Siberia in WWI.  He died of smallpox contracted while in India in 1944.

Korean Walnut Cakes

Korean walnut cakes are little treats quickly baked in something like a waffle iron.  They have walnut pieces in the dough, and usually an interior of red bean paste.  And of course, the hot baking form is shaped to give them the appearance of little walnuts.  Yummy!

The only places outside of Korea that make them fresh that I know of are in Queens NY, and here in Toronto.

Hearn Stack

The RL Hearn Generating Station is a large coal-fired power station on Toronto's waterfront.  It's been idle since 1983.  A tour of the inside reveals it as a cathedral of the industrial age: grand in scale, and specific of purpose.  At 705ft, the smokestack is the 9th tallest structure in Toronto, a similar height to the Shangri-La tower.

Anil Revri, Wall for Peace

Anil Revri's Wall for Peace is installed airside at Washington Dulles.  It is a set of scrolling "scriptures relating to peace" from world religions.

It would be a bit more lively quoting the opposing pages, those that aren't quite so peaceful.

British Airways First Lounge, Dulles

British Airways runs three overnight flights daily from Washington Dulles to London, and has a lovely lounge on the upper level of the main terminal. This is the first class section. It's leased out to Priority Pass through the morning.

Comparing lounges at IAD, the Lufthansa Senators lounge has better food. The Virgin Clubhouse is more stylish. The United Clubs are ... closer to the domestic gates.

A whole row of Pistol Butt Hemlock

A row of hemlocks exhibit Pistol Butt in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.  The snow may be gone, and the trees strong enough to shed further loads, but their formative years were spent being bent downhill by many feet of wet Cascades snow.

Mason Lake

Although it may seem like an imperfect hiking day, the rain on Mason Lake was welcomed for its brief appearance at lunchtime.  It was quite warm, and we'd just ascended 2500ft.

A few parties were camping both here and further up the valley.  I look forward to connecting a loop between here and the Pratt Lake trail, a 10 mile through hike requiring a car on both ends.

Snoquera Falls - Permanent Rockfall

Still bound to lower altitudes by lingering snow, we took a small hike to see Snoquera Falls, which were lovely.

Here we traversed a rockfall that was settling in for the long haul.  Moss had taken up residence, and maples were colonizing.  There's little danger of dislodging a hillside that has been static for ten years.  On the other hand, many trails cross fields of clean and bare rocks that seem like they just tumbled down yesterday.  These are the places to be careful.

Bald Eagle - Proud Parent

This bald eagle is watching over its two fledglings that have left the nest, but are not yet strong enough to fly.  We spotted them on the grounds of Talaris, a privately-owned 18-acre campus near the University of Washington.

The site is undergoing consideration for rezoning, with a proposed plan to develop a mix of apartments and townhomes while retaining the overall open character of the site.  If that fails, the developer will subdivide it (no rezoning necessary) into boring 5000 sq ft single family lots.  The planning hearing is set for Jul 12th!

Fremont Solstice Parade

The annual Fremont Solstice Parade had excellent weather this year.  The naked cyclists didn't need to worry about goosebumps or body paint running in the rain, unlike past years.

I believe this is a badger trojan horse, though it's hard to be certain.

Forest Concert

In the darkening dusk of Cowan Park, a number of musicians have gathered annually to put on a free concert.  This year it opened with Neil Welch playing some experimental sax composition -- and a neighborhood dog enjoyed it, joining in with a bit of call and response.  Then came Swell "representing a tidal cycle," which was quite lovely and perfect for the ambiance of the dark park.  John Teske and Natalie Mai Hall are the bass and cello here.

We left at that point, as the mosquitoes were seriously interfering with our enjoyment of the music.