Let's Look at some Trees!

As you are well aware, I am in love with the flowers here in Vancouver, however, the trees also deserve some attention because, well, they are amazing. That's why. And just when I thought that all of the trees were done blooming, along comes another one!

Let us begin our tree exploration with one that is somewhat familiar to my Florida readers, what I am presuming is another type of Magnolia tree because it looks similar.

Well, sort of. The leaves are not thick, nor does the bloom have any fragrance. Furthermore, the petals are thick and almost waxy-like, yet I still think it is a Magnolia. Lo and behold, it comes in another color too.

And as is typical for here, there are tons of flowers. I took the above on my walk to Urban Fare the other day, so now it is probably like a gold mine of that beautiful shade of blossom. Speaking of beautiful shades, well, there are so many, but here's a lovely hue of Dogwood.

Not only are there pink-tinged ones but sort of a pale, pale, green flower as well.

I had no inkling that there were so many shades and shapes of blossoms, did you?

And still more! Except this one is a different shaped tree, altogether.

One thing that I'm almost sure of is that I'm not giving you a real sense of scale, as most of these trees are gigantic. Apparently, a rainforest will deliver that sort of thing.

And while I do love a great flowering tree, all green isn't half bad.

This tree, near the entrance to Stanley Park, looks, well, so perfect as to seem almost man made. That is coming from someone who was reared in the land of Disney World!

About two weeks ago Jackie suggested I take a walk on Harwood, which I did, however, somewhere around Nicola, something caught my attention and I moved over to Barclay where I came across more flowering trees lining the street.

I know the photo does not look all that impressive, as it was a super sunny day, and you know what that means. Nevertheless, I did find a spot, once I was closer to the action, where I was able to see the blossoms up close.

Gorgeous, aren't they? And if the flowering trees weren't enough to keep someone happy, there is the actual colors of the entire tree. Visiting Van Dusen gardens, there are plenty of colorful trees to gawk at, especially awesome are the yellowish-green ones that seem to pop out of the landscape.

It so reminds me of a crayon that used to come in the box of 24, the name of which escapes me. Perhaps you are partial to the Japanese Maple shades?

They are all over the city, on balconies,

in gardens,

and side yards too.

Lit up by the sun, as seen above, is a particularly awesome sight. Just last week I noticed several huge trees from the street, in the same park where the Handkerchief trees are planted, that deserved further investigation.

And while they look purplish while looking up at the tree, a closer look, not to mention all the fallen blooms, they are more hot pink.

Walking over the Burrard bridge, I looked down and my goodness, there's a real purple tree in bloom.

We've talked about colors, flowers, and size, but there's still more to think about and that is the shapes, of which there are many.

Lining Beach Avenue, these trees are gigantic as you can probably tell from the small person pictured. It is a real joy walking under these babies. There are skinny ones on Richards,

and the big fat Horse Chestnuts lining Nelson Street.

In the park down below there are about ten different shapes of trees, including this one.

Lest you think I am exaggerating, I am not. The bright green new growth is fantastic, but not all of it is that same shade.

And just when I thought it was all over for another year, along comes a Japanese Snowbell tree, or make that loads of them along Homer Street.

Cherry blossoms have nearly met their match!

As if all that awesomeness isn't enough, while I was photographing something else in the Stanley Park gardens, along came a Red-breasted Sapsucker, a bird I'd never seen before. He flew right onto a nearby tree, really almost too close to focus on because I had my zoom lens attached, however, as luck would have it, I did get a fairly decent shot, or at least good enough to get the id.

Pretty cool with that tongue sticking out, eh? (Canadian term) Apparently, from the look of the tree trunk, this is not the first visit from this bird that is only found on the West Coast! Score!

You are in love with the trees now too, aren't you?

In other news, Bruce had a great time in Whistler, along with about 80 others from the head office. I spent a crazy amount of time, once he returned on Saturday afternoon, working on our return journey and while I did not get too far, we are booked into a hotel for both Banff, and Kelowna, the wine growing region in BC. I nearly waited too late and had a heck of a time finding rooms in both places, which are both serious tourist hotbeds. Our departure date is set: July 23. As to how long we'll stay driving in Canada is ytbd. I'll keep you posted.

yours truly,

Gail