59. Magnolias

As I walked along early in the morning, I noticed these magnolias just starting to bud. The deep blue sky for a background enhanced their delicate colour.

There were other photos I took, one of the skateboard park in South Surrey, another one of pigeons on the boardwalk, but this one appealed to me the most.

58. Zippers

Zippers are the subject of today’s photo and I've picked this vintage 70’s zipper. The World’s Largest Zipper manufacturer is called the YKK Group, Note the YKK Zipper in this photo, in that era it was most likely made in Japan. The word Zipper came from the B.F. Goodrich company in 1923 and the name has stuck ever since.

57. Yellow Daffodil

Over 150 species of daffodils exist and this popular flower dates back to ancient Greece.

Of all the flowering plants, the bulbous have been the most popular for cultivation. Narcissi are one of the most important spring flowering bulb plants in the world.

If bulb extracts come into contact with wounds, both central nervous system and cardiac symptoms may result.Despite the lethal potential of Narcissus alkaloids, they have been used for centuries as traditional medicines for a variety of complaints, including cancer. In China N. tazetta var. chinensis was grown as an ornamental plant but the bulbs were applied topically to tumors in traditional folk medicine. These bulbs contain pretazettine, an active antitumor compound.

Generally daffodils bloom in early March, this year they are even earlier with our spring like weather.

56. Xylophone

Not sure that I’m up to making my own xylophone, because I hadn't realized that it’s possible to whip up a homemade one.  Although I think that finding Honduran Rosewood might be difficult and having never heard of heartwood or cardinal hardwood, which could also be used, finding that could also be a problem as they sound very exotic.

Xylophones seem to come in all different sizes, starting very small for toddlers and working their way up to symphony or tribal size. The multi-coloured ones, I reckon,  are for children to entice them to play.

During my travels, there were no xylophones sitting in parks, along trails or in store windows today. In order to get a picture of one, without taking a photo off the internet, I decided to paint my rough version of one, shown here.

55. White Rock

How many times has this scene been photographed?  My guess would be a generous gazillion times. Today, the tide is low when I take this photo at 1:30 pm.  Low tide is at 4:03 pm at 1.52 meters.  In the foreground, sits the painted "White Rock", a tourist magnet.  Not sure who paints it, or whether they nip in, in the middle of the night for touch ups.  Zooming in on this picture, you can see towards the top left hand side, the semi-circle line denoting the water's edge.
The difficulty taking this picture is with the reflection off the notepad, rendering it almost impossible to clearly see what is in the frame.  Not sure how to get around that problem other than lining the photo up by site and then clicking away.

54. View of World's Largest Cross Country Skis

Founded in 1862, with a population of close to 2,000 making their home in the Southern Cariboo,  100 Mile House is home to the World's Largest Cross Country Skis.   In the 70's and 80's the Cariboo cross country ski marathon was a popular event, however lack of volunteers and snow has forced cancelation of the marathon again this year.The Cariboo ski marathon attracts a large and international field of Nordic skiers.  Their trails are maintained by the  100 Mile House Nordic Ski Society and by the report on their website, skiing has been sporadic with rain and snowing changing their weekly trail report.
My last photo before I head home on the Greyhound bound for Vancouver.

53. Until tomorrow

As the sun set slowly over Horse Lake, I snapped off 8 or 9 shots hoping that one would pop out more than the rest.

When I explained to my grandson that I need to photograph something starting with U, he suggested unibrow! Hilarious, but where to find one.  My Uncle Russell would have fit the bill, but he's long gone.  

Today my trip into 100 Mile House was vetoed, dashing my plan to get  a U Haul photo, she said jokingly. After a busy day, I realized that "tick tock" my blog hasn't been done yet!  It's disappointing that I wasn't able to get the deep color of the sunset, maybe V will give me a victory in the photo department.

52. Trampoline Time

A very short post today. Thought it was trampoline time, but apparently the cold weather destroyed the safety net.  No net! No trampoline for me!
Beauty of a day though, I could jump up and down with glee if only I had a safety net.

51. Snow at the Cemetery

After climbing up the butte in Lone Butte, we decided to stop in at the Lone Butte Cemetery.  My young grandsons found it quite interesting and walked around uncovering gravestones covered with snow so they could read them.

It was when we came to the cemetery that I realized snow would be the subject of my photo today.  The sun just disappeared as we entered the cemetery making for a more somber photo with Lone Butte as a backdrop.  A cairn at the entrance lists the names along with their birth and year of death.  The oldest going back to 1850.  

All I needed was a few tumbleweeds to make the picture complete.

50. Rink at the Lake

Snow was softly falling earlier in the day, but now its raining which is turning the hockey rink to mush. As a visitor, I'm told that February would usually be so cold here in the Cariboo, it is sometimes too cold to play hockey.  Today it's a balmy 6 degrees, and with the rain the rink will soon be gone.  Normally fishing huts dot the lake  in February but they've disappeared  too,  spring may be on its way and the hockey rink on its way out.

49. Quorum

I realized a  book on the Parliamentary Alphabet was sitting on the counter just as I was thinking  Q had done me in!  Thanks to my grandson who brought it out to do his homework, my alphabet photo of the day was saved when I saw the Q page.  The homework is to make a board game out of the glossary terms which turns out to be a great way to remember the words. The pictures in the book are a bit too young for a 9 year old, but the glossary of terms is excellent.
Trying to reduce glare was the only difficulty snapping this photo, as there's presently no access to paint.net.  It  would be quite easy to use this little book for the next few days, but think I should find R easier than Q.

48. Plants, lots of them

Plants, plants, plants!  Walked in to Home Depot and found my P photo of the day.  No one in the store seemed to notice that I am taking lots of photos. Although a lady looking at the plants could certainly have been a security guard, but seemed to be ignoring me.  I imagine they might think I’m an avid horticulturist, looking to add to my collection. It is tempting to see all those plants and want to bring a few home.

The braided money trees drew my attention and I find them quite attractive. The blue orchids are unusual and seeing them bunched together provides a lovely sea of blue.

These photos were taken far too quickly.  It seems more difficult to set up a photo when using the Nexus as opposed to my Nikon.  Although it’s easier to see the photo with the Nexus because of the big screen, it doesn't have as many options as the Nikon. Both have their bonus features and I am grateful to have them.  The ease of slipping the Nikon in my pocket is why it often accompanies me on my walks.  But the option of emailing a photo off from the Nexus is it's bonus feature!  They both have great features and it’s hard to pick one over the other.

I’m on the road tomorrow and wonder where I will find Q for photo of the day!  Stay tuned!

47. Oak Trees from England

An oak tree is the subject of my photo today. It was quite interesting to find that along the King George Boulevard, heritage oak trees were planted many years ago.  

King George VI Highway opened in October 1940 to honour the reigning monarch. Oak tree seedlings from Great Windsor Park in England were sent to members of the Commonwealth throughout the world, to commemorate the coronation of King George VI that took place in 1937. Most of the surviving trees are located along the King George Boulevard between the Nicomekl River and the Highway 99 junction at 8 Avenue.

Driving along King George Boulevard, (the name was changed from King George VI Highway to King George Boulevard in 2009) I hoped that I would spot on oak tree.  As I drove, I thought “there is no way I will be able to figure out which ones are oak trees”.  But I was wrong!  There’s a path that runs adjacent to the highway and I spotted green markers in front of what looked like oak trees.  After pulling the car over, I ran over to the tree and sure enough, the plaque in the photo below sits in front of each one of the oak trees.  And, there’s a lot of them! A learning moment and another reason that I am so happy to do the Photo a Day.  This photo would be so much better in the spring or summer, but will suffice for now.

Quercus robur

46. Native Art

This lonely totem pole sits on the edge of a playground at White Rock Elementary behind a chain link fence, not surrounded, but facing this fence.  Walking along Johnston Road, you can see the totem pole but need to walk through an entrance to the school yard if you wish to get a closer look. There are no plaques in view to shed light on its origin or when this was installed.  

My research discovered that on April 16, 1998, a solemn totem pole raising was conducted by Kwakwaka’wakw Hereditary Chief, Henry Seaweed.  To cleanse and protect the totem pole, so that no harm or danger will come upon it, Chief, Henry Seaweed blew eagle down across its surface. It is Kwakwaka'wakw custom to cleanse and protect an artifact such as this, when it is moved from its place of origin.  It is tradition for the carver, in this case John Walkus Green to perform the last dance.

Standing very close to the totem pole was the only way I could get a full picture without the fence. Using my Nexus 7, I took a side view shot as the sun came out and was able to get a photo with the sun shining on the totem Thunderbird.

45. Mutts? I don’t think so!

Couldn't find a milkman, a magnolia or a map! M seemed like an easy find for a photo and probably by tomorrow I will think of a whole host of other things that would fit.  White Rock City has a list of trees that they planted in 2014 and one them was a Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ on Merklin Street, which was perfect.  However, when I went and found the tree, it didn’t have even one bud showing and I’m not sure it will survive to bring forth buds.  Another one is on Roper Street, a Magnolia ‘Butterflies’ tree and was quite small and hardly worthy of a photo at this point.

As I headed back home, I came across two dogs, which I thought would fit into the “mutt” category. After asking if I could take a photo of the dogs, the dog sitter explained that these dogs are rare "Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen’s", very hoity toity sounding pedigree dogs, so no mutts here. I'm including them now, as I doubt I will run across them three days from now, my P day!

For a worthy M, I’ll include a photo of one of my many racing medals that one receives when they finish a race.  As long as you cross the finish line you receive a medal.  This last medal I received was one of the most difficult races I participated in; the Vancouver BMO Half Marathon, May 2014. I could say it was the worst weather I've ever encountered, pouring rain and cold, and I could also say it challenged me as no other race has. It also resulted in one of the nicest medals I've received, giving me something to smile about and relieve some of the discomfort of the race.

44. Lavandula

For a long time, lavandula or English Lavender has been part of my night time ritual. It’s soothing scent helps lull one fall asleep at night. This is my collection of lavender scented items along with a small pouch of lavender which is used to infuse my clothes with a lavender scent.

The most common form is English Lavender which flourishes in dry, well-drained, sandy or gravelly soils in full sun. It is grown commercially for it’s essential oil because it has anti-septic and anti-inflammatory properties and often used as bath products.

A study in 2010 investigated the effects of lavender on sleep disturbances and found it relieved anxiety and sleep disturbances.

Here is a photo of my lavender cache, which seems to be growing in diversity over the years. What started out as a bottle of lavender lotion, has now morphed into oils, soap, lavender butter! and a lavender sachet. One can’t have enough lavender, one of my favourite scents!

43. Knight in Shining Armour

Many times I have walked past this knight in armour and decided it must be someone’s dream of living in a castle on the top of the mountain. The house has turrets, knights and coat of arms. One of the things I haven’t noticed before is that the knight seems to be guarding a hot tub that sits on the balcony above. If one zooms in, a knight’s head can be seen next to the hot tub.  The balcony provides a view of Semiahmoo Bay and on a sunny day, a pretty spectacular view. 

It’s a very dull, rainy day and the grey sky in the photos doesn't allow the shininess of the knight’s armour to come alive. My paint.net skills are few and I haven't figured out how to change the colour of the sky easily as this one really would have benefited from some editing. A skill I'll educate myself on for the next time it's needed.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any information or helpful facts that I could find that might make this subject more interesting, like when it was built, who built it, did they have a reason for building this and the significance of the knight. Also, where did the knight come from? However, it fits quite nicely under my K category for the day and an easy walk to take the photo.

42. Juggling!!

While taken three days ago, this photo was given the stamp of approval to use on my “J” day. On Sunday, while trying to get a photo of graffiti on a passing train, we came upon two jugglers in the small park opposite the West beach. My husband urged me to go over and speak to them, and I'm very glad he did.  The jugglers were open to questions and asked if I would like to juggle.  

“Yes, of course I would like to”, and as I juggled she said,

“First of all, you need Higgins juggling balls, they're the best”, 

I noted that she is using Higgins, which are smaller than the ones I use. While watching me closely she said, 

“You’re throwing two balls at once! You should be working in a frame.” 

She drew a large picture in the air of a square that started above my head and extended down to just above my knees.

“Stay within this frame and you’ll find the juggling will be more fluid and graceful”.

Manna from heaven for an aspiring juggler, like myself. While waiting for my photo of the train, she started juggling and I was able to capture this picture of her.

Since the encounter, I can see where I need to make changes with my juggling style and am relearning the moves to become more fluid and graceful.

41. Ice Skating

Today, a visit to the rink provided my photo of the day. On Drop-in Tuesday from  9:15-10:30AM the small group of skaters pay $7.25 and have the rink to themselves.

I chuckle, because for only $3.75 for the Senior rate you can pop over to the Centennial Ice Skating rink in White Rock and sprain your wrists and ankles to your hearts content. While the  Senior rate seems pretty reasonable it may not be in the long run. Plenty of time is set aside tho for 50+ skaters to use the rink all on their own without some young whippersnapper scaring the bejesus out of them.

At the rink, I try taking a photo with my Nikon S210 but for some reason keep getting the red box in the middle of the viewer signalling that it isn't a good time to take a photo. Took a couple of photos anyway then switched to my Nexus 7.  The Nexus will take photos of anything.

None of the skaters were doing any single or triple axels today or maybe they would once they're warmed up a little more. Like all rinks in BC and across Canada, this one looks like it’s used continually during the day.

40. Hobbit House

Walking along, thinking that I might have to find a holly bush for my photo of the day, the "h" word suddenly changed to two totally different subjects within a 15 meter span.

Apparently a vortex was crossed and we entered Middle Earth, where I spied a small hobbit house. It’s fun to imagine that Bilbo Baggins is inside looking out, wondering why a giant is taking a picture of his home. The small construction is used as a mailbox and a house number I presume, but looks like it could be inhabited by little people.  I’m sure that kids would love to look inside, however, it is on the side of the road with no sidewalk, so probably most kids would have to look from afar.

After the photo, we continued on towards the East Beach in White Rock when a woman and three Huskies out for a walk passed by us.  I didn't want to ask her to stop for a photo,  so I took a shot of her and the dogs walking away.  Not bad, I thought. Two “h” subjects within a few meters.

Arriving home, decided that the hobbit house was the better of the two photos. Next time I’m out for a photo walk, I’ll have my camera at the ready for those unexpected encounters.

39. Granola not Graffiti!

Fresh homemade Granola

What can you say about homemade granola, when the photo of the day was slated to be graffiti! Didn't take long to find out there isn't any graffiti in White Rock.  That will be a fascinating story for another day, once the alphabet theme ends.

The granola is a worthy subject and I shall tell you a little bit about it.  Eaten in many parts of the world makes it  “global cuisine” and it is easy to carry along on a hike or camping. 

Wikipedia 1893 advertisement for Kellogg's Granola

They claimed that it was thoroughly cooked and  “partially digested” by whom I’m not sure! Plus, one pound equals more than three pounds of best beef. Vegetarians would be delighted reading that! Their version contained wheat and oats, but it doesn't look like they added nuts, raisins, or other dried fruits.

The thing most appreciated about granola, other than the versatility of eating it for breakfast is that it can be added to oatmeal or cereal, sprinkled on fruit and yogourt or eaten for dessert with ice cream. Each time an ingredient is changed, the complexity of the granola changes with it.  Dried apricots, dried dates or dried figs can also be added or substituted. It's fun to make and have included my recipe:

Homemade Granola

• Vegetable cooking spray
• 4 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 c. almonds, I like them left whole
• 1/2 c. chopped in half or whole pecans
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped dried cranberries
• 1 c. raisins
• 3 tbsp. ground flax
• 1/2 c. unsalted pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 c. unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/2 c. large coconut flakes
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together oats, almonds, pecans, cranberries, raisins, flax, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds,  coconut flakes, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine oil, honey, and sugar. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Drizzle syrup over oat mixture; toss with a wooden spoon. Pour granola onto baking  sheet and spread evenly. Bake 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Let granola cool completely on a wire rack. Break into chunks and store in an airtight container.

Jan's Granola

38. Flowers by the Sea

Amazing (fake) view!  These flowers are located in a planter outside a nearby condo building in our neighbourhood, which is nowhere near the water. The tree in the photo is part of a topiary and makes a statement on it’s own, however this was not the focus of my photo today. I’m not sure if the topiary tree would have added to the photo and decided to focus on the flowers and not complicate the photo.  An extra large photo of Mt. Baker with Semiahmoo Bay in the foreground serves as a backdrop to this planter. The flowers really stand out nicely against the blue of the bay.

I found there are some advantages from utilizing paint.net. For this photo, I tried out my paint.net skills and found the edge of the planter could be removed and replaced with pixels taken from the sea area, making the flowers pop out even more.  

If only life were so easy to change!

37. Exercise Energy Evolution

Today, I celebrate exercise, one of the words that defines my life. At only 8 years old, I was eager for Sports Day to arrive. It was my favourite day of the school year and  I remember it well. The night before I would lay in my bed with a  knot in my stomach, not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep, the excitement of hoping I would win a ribbon and looking forward to the bonus, a hot dog for lunch! What I didn't realize at the time was that the hot dog tasted so good because I was so filled with excitement on Sports Day morning, I couldn't eat my breakfast.

Exercise gives me energy and has helped me grow and evolve into the person I am. The time I spend exercising is often the time where I will solve a problem, or come up with an idea.  

I took this photo on time delay while doing my light weights. It took a few tries as the first couple of photos were overexposed. The problem was alleviated by using the other side of the room to set up the camera.

Dugald Christie said it well, "Exercise is Golden", he would often say this phrase to me, with a smile on his face, after arriving to work on his bike. Whether it’s running, weights or climbing, exercise is my reward too.

36. Dog Day Afternoon

For the first time, in this challenge, I’ll be using a photo I took a couple of days ago.  Knowing that today would be touch ‘n go on whether a) I would have time to get a photo and b) whether the rain would keep me in, decided to get my D photo ahead of time.

As I passed this store on 152nd Avenue, this dog looked like he was having a Dog Day Afternoon. What appeals to me in this photo of a photo, is the way the chair colour is reflected in his fur and his tongue.From a painterly aspect, it begs to be a pastel painting. The photo was taken through the window, so wasn't sure how it would turn out.  I’m fairly happy that there’s no reflection on this one.  Really can’t remember what setting I had on the camera and in future, might start tracking so that I can learn more from the settings.

35. Chinese Silver Dragon

Looking for written Chinese in White Rock proved to be a difficult task.  In Vancouver, one need not go very far to find the ever present jau-lauh (restaurant). How quickly the diversity of culture changes in a few kilometers.  In Richmond, the closest Chinese community to White Rock, street names are displayed in Chinese and Cantonese and is the only language spoken in some malls. I believe one would be hard pressed to find English spoken in the Aberdeen Mall.

White Rock it seems, is a last vestige for the English language in the Lower Mainland, although I miss the Chinese culture in Vancouver. Chinese New Year is fast approaching, February 19th, the year of the Goat/Sheep. Festivities will start preceding the new Lunar Year and will continue for up to 15 days after.

The photo today is from none other than the Silver Dragon Restaurant, the only Chinese restaurant in our vicinity and the only establishment that I could find with written Chinese adorning the outside.  

It seemed easy to decide on the photo of the day, not so easy to find written Chinese, anywhere in White Rock.

34. Box a la BC Hydro

A bench started out as the theme for today and I was quite delighted that my job was done as I carried my camera back home with my photo of the day.  On further inspection at home, the photo did not turn out as expected and will head out this afternoon to see if I can capture a better photo.  My hand is not steady and there’s a fair amount of blur, so will try some different maneuvers to get the shot I want.

During my morning run, I ran by a decorated Box, holding BC Hydro paraphernalia. Decided that I would return in the afternoon and see if I could get a decent photo.

The inscription on it says “Darts Hill Garden Park”  which refers to a park at 16th and 170th Avenue in South Surrey. Apparently, for over 70 years ago, Francisca Darts and her husband took a logged piece of land and turned it into an award winning orchard and then into a unique garden.

Although, I've certainly driven by the park, now I’m interested in stopping by for a visit.

33. Acorn Squash

My idea for February was to have an alphabet theme.  Taking a picture of a couple of apples didn’t seem all that exciting, so decided to paint a watercolour picture of acorn squash. Today!  Finding a nice photo online, set to sketching the squash.  Once that was done transferred it on to tracing paper and from there transferred it on to Cold Pressed 100% Cotton 140lb 9” x 12”  Arches Watercolor paper. The paper is quite wonderful to work on and really soaks up the paint.  

As it’s been a while since I did any watercolour painting, I realized that my supply of watercolour paint is a little thin.  However, I found the colours I needed and set to work.  There are several layers involved in each of the squash, however, the photo doesn’t reflect the actual colour of the painting.

The photo looks washed out, maybe I need to apply more paint and will factor that in the next time I try a watercolour painting. The orange should be more vivid and the green greener.  

It may be the first time I have completed a picture in a day. Seeing as the Photo of the Day was counting on it, I persevered when I thought it wasn't going so well. I’m looking forward to the next letter.
Photo taken next day in better light:

32. Semiahmoo Flag

Sometimes it feels odd living in White Rock with South Surrey just across 16th Avenue or North Bluff Road, as it’s called on the White Rock side. How was there never any resolution on the name of the road? We know that White Rock is surrounded by Surrey on three sides and that Semiahmoo figures largely into the culture here. Semiahmoo First Nations existed between 1791 and into the 1850’s when the white settlement came.  Semiahmoo Bay is to the south and a Semiahmoo Trail runs between S Surrey and White Rock.  

White Rock was part of the District of Surrey until the 1950’s and because they felt quite isolated to the south from North Surrey and Cloverdale, the City of White Rock was created in l957.

Surrey’s road names existed up until 1957 when they opted for a grid system of streets and addresses although Birdland in North Surrey retained it’s names, along with Riverside, Crescent Beach and Cloverdale, also known as Cowtown. It has names like Hereford, Holstein and Jersey.

When I see the Semiahmoo Flag flying in S Surrey it appears that they are trying to retain a tie between the two communities. Perhaps they will become one again at some point.