Seen in the wild

The pandemic has led me to better appreciate my immediate surroundings. I used to take photos of loved ones against whatever backdrop we happened to find ourselves in. Now I take just as many without people. Occasionally, they fuel blog post ideas.

While I review and quickly delete some photos, others merit commentary. Above, the view from Lonsdale Quay, late afternoon, while out for a walk with a friend (our first in-person get-together since March 2020). As we chatted, the sun suddenly broke from behind the clouds. We whipped out our devices simultaneously to capture the moment.

Above, a monkey puzzle tree in Vancouver, taken on a mid-November walk with Mr. Fluffster. When we first moved here from Ontario, a large one stood just outside our apartment. Never having seen one before, I found it peculiar.

Like cockroaches, these odd-looking trees have been around longer than humans have, and might even outlive us (if climate change doesn’t get them).

Botanically named “Araucaria Araucana,” they’re native to Chile, but were imported to the UK and western North America for ornamental purposes. The common name was born in the mid-1800s when Charles Austin, a barrister, on seeing one for the first time, quipped that “climbing the spiny, spiralling branches would be a puzzle even for a monkey.” Given that monkeys aren’t native to any of the countries these grow in, this isn’t an issue, but the name stuck.

Odd myth: “Speaking while passing one will bring bad luck or cause you to grow a monkey’s tail.” I’m waiting for my tail, because we talked a lot around this one while taking the photo and my luck hasn’t deteriorated since then.

Other locals have said pretty much all there is to say about the one above. Our Barge on the Beach:

• has its own livestream on YouTube,
• shows up — with directions — if you Google “Barge Vancouver” or “Barge Chilling Park,”
• has a new sign (Barge Chilling Beach) installed by the Vancouver Parks Board
• has inspired its own version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and
• boasts at least one Twitter account (English Bay Barge).

Authorities can’t figure out how to budge it from where it ran aground, and it’s fast becoming a much-loved Vancouver attraction. Seems a keeper to me.

This car, which wouldn’t look out of place in a 1970s movie, is parked near my home. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black and white in BC, and we don’t have county sheriffs in Canada. Our sheriffs work in courthouses, not out on the road. No Andy Griffiths in our town.

I had some faint misgivings about the term “Redneck Mafia.” A quick Google search revealed a book (Barking Goats and the Redneck Mafia), a peculiar song from 2008 by Canadian Studmuffin, assorted dodgy looking Facebook pages, a fanfiction site, a YouTube channel with half a dozen videos about raising hell in muscle cars, and at least one Twitter feed.

One of these days, that car will mosey on out of here again, and that’s ok. I’d rather keep the barge.

Finally, I leave you with the above gem, spotted when opening an email from my service provider while out of range of WiFi or cellular. No, that word didn’t appear once the email fully loaded, but still. Whoever typed the metadata could use an editor… Or maybe Telus should have picked a less risqué name.

If, on the other hand, we take it at face value, that would mean Telus is concerned about the wellbeing of our private parts when we’re out and about.