More Autumn

This Vic West street is definitely dressed for autumn. The house on the left is one of Victoria's Heritage Homes and was built in 1891.

October Morning

As one gets older it seems one has ever more call on Robert Burns' consideration of "the best laid plans...." The various exciting photo-excursions I had planned for this week have been shelved in favor of recuperating from a back problem. So I trundled myself out into the backyard this morning and here is what a Victorian garden looks like on this bright and sunny day in October. We had some early morning frost earlier in the week but only a sparkling dew today.

Autumn Colors

Victoria's autumn colors tend to be a bit muted because a large number of our deciduous trees are Garry Oaks. These don't turn glorious autumn shades of red and yellow but go directly to brown. However we do have some nice stands of other trees here and there. Above are some of the trees lining the Gorge at Banfield Park showing that autumn has definitely arrived in Victoria.

Blue Skies 2

Back in June I posted a photo of these poppy plants in glorious bloom. Victoria's been having some beautiful summery weather lately but there's no turning back the clock. The leaves are starting to turn and there's a chill in the air.

Summer Sunset

Here we are already in the last week before school starts - for me the signal that summer is nearly over. And it seems like it's only just begun. It came and went much too quickly this year. I took the above photo last evening when I noticed on my way home that the sunset colors were particularly vivid. It was taken from the Westsong Walkway at the bottom of Mary Street in Vic West.

Blue Nile Rose

On a morning walk recently I noticed this lovely rose in the garden entryway of an apartment building. When I stopped to take a photo of it the caretaker came out and told me a bit about it and encouraged me to smell it. It's only one of many different types of roses he grows. He prefers those that, like this one, called "The Blue Nile", have a rich scent. I too am partial to old-fashioned roses like this.

Vic West Fest - The Colts

The annual Vic West Fest was celebrated Saturday in Banfield Park. And for those who think Victoria is only for retired folks, here's proof that there are children here too. And very talented children. These neighborhood kids, ranging in age from 7 to 11, gave a great performance at the Vic West Fest. The group is called The Colts and below are some portraits of band members. Yay Vic West!

Bass Guitar	Drums
Lead Singer	Lead Guitar

Highrock Park

Cold blustery rain in the mornings lately has been followed by clearing and brilliant blue skies. Here's what yesterday afternoon looked like on top of Highrock Park in Vic West. The brilliant blue Camas Lilies are just beginning to bloom but I'll wait until they peak in a few days before I show them here. They'll soon cover the slopes of this park with swathes of rich blue.

On the Water

Not ever having been a boat person I am amazed at how many different waterborne conveyances there are in use in the Inner Harbour. Some such as tugboats, barges and fishing boats, etc. are obviously functionally designed. Others such as large sailboats and motor yachts are designed for comfort and pleasure. Some are for specific purposes such as the dragon boats that race here yearly. Others seem to be only for the purposes of group exercise, such as those pictured above. This group of recreational paddlers were photographed offshore of the Westsong Walkway last fall.

Highrock Park Sunset

The mossy summit of Highrock Park in Victoria West catches the last rays of a winter sunset.

Arbutus Moon

222 Mary Street, Victoria West

Here's another of Victoria's fine old brick heritage homes. I pass this one nearly every morning on my way to the West Bay Walkway for my daily stroll along the shore. I like brick houses in general but I particularly like this one because of how it manages to look so staid and proper despite being an eclectic mix of architectural styles. According to "This Old House", the bible of Victoria Heritage Houses, this dwelling succeeds in uniting Classical Revival, Gothic Revival and Italianate styles in one structure. It was built sometime before 1892 and during its long life has been lived in by a remarkable cross section of Victoria's population, including a draughtsman, a carriage-maker, a merchant, a sailor, a railway conductor, an engineer, 2 painters, a labourer, a biscuit factory packer, a machinist, a blacksmith, a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman, a garbage man, and a partridge in a pear tree.... I also like the way the surrounding modern condo development mimics the style and materials of this house.

Magic Time

I had wanted to post something a little more urban and seasonal today as a change from all the fungi and lichens we've been enjoying lately. The weather, however, has not been cooperating - not just cold and damp but raining heavily enough so that I am reluctant to take my camera out of its bag - real "Vancouver" weather. Whatever the weather, sunrise is a magical time and here's a shot from a little while ago taken very early in the morning. We are getting close to the winter solstice now and soon the days will be getting longer again.

Another ASTK

In early October I posted a photo of a "paste up" by local graffiti artist ASTK. The subject was Ricky of the "Trailer Park Boys" television show. Commenter Ngawangchodron mentioned that she had posted one of Bubbles and Conky by the same artist from the same show. Since then I've been on the lookout for any more of these paste ups by ASTK and so I was happy to see a new one yesterday morning on Wilson Street in Vic West. I think this is Steve Carrell who plays office manager Michael Scott in the American version of the television series, "The Office."

Fogbank

I confess to a fondness for fog so I liked seeing this fogbank moving in from the ocean the other morning. I realize that for mariners it must pose real problems but with both feet safely on the ground and from a distance, it's lovely. A few minutes after taking the above photo (with my "new" 50mm lens) I noticed the MV Coho, the car ferry from Port Angeles, nosing her way out of the fog and took the photo below.

Ricky?

Here is something I've seen on some of my walks lately; it's not really graffiti but more like gratuitous art in that the public environment is not used as a canvas but as a gallery, a place to display art that is prepared elsewhere. Graffiti stencil art is a bit like this as well and perhaps there is a little Banksy inspiration in this. I'm not 100% sure about the subject here but I'm guessing it's Ricky of Trailer Park Boys fame.

Queen Anne Cottage

In Vic West just above the Selkirk Trestle are many of Victoria's oldest houses, more modest than those in some other neighbourhoods but still fine examples of the styles popular in early Victoria. Here is one of several heritage homes overlooking the Gorge in this area, built in 1892 for Jane and Orlando Warner. Their adopted daughter, Lucy Musters, married Arthur Curry in 1901 and they received this house as a wedding present from Jane Warner, Arthur's great-aunt. The street is named after Arthur Curry, who achieved eminence during the First World War and later became president of McGill University. Heritage homes such as this are not just attractive to look at - in most cases they embody significant aspects of our history. The historical information mentioned here comes from This Old House, Volume 1, a publication of the Victoria Heritage Foundation.

Another Hooper

A week ago I published a photo of one of my favorite heritage houses on Robert Street in Victoria West, and lamented about its sorry looking condition. Just across the street from that house is another heritage home that is actually older by several years (built in 1900) but looks as though it could have been erected yesterday. It was designed by the same architect who designed the house across the street, Thomas Hooper. It is described in "This Old House" as a "finely detailed Queen Ann cottage."

West Bay Walkway

Back in April I photographed this spot and dubbed it "Westsong Walkway." However, just around the corner there is a plaque identifying this as the "West Bay Walkway." The Township of Esquimalt says that the West Bay Walkway, "...connects Esquimalt (from Head Street at West Bay Marina) to downtown Victoria (Johnston Street Bridge)." Part of this beautiful shoreline walkway is in Victoria West and part of it is in Esquimalt. It seems the part that lies in Esquimalt is called the West Bay Walkway and the Vic West part of it is called the Westsong Walkway. Either that or it depends on the direction you are walking: if you are walking east from West Bay Marina then you are on the West Bay Walkway; if heading west from downtown, then you are on the Westsong Walkway. Oh well, what's in a name? A rose...etc.

Vic West Corn Roast

One of my favorite annual events took place yesterday, the Victoria West Corn Roast. But it's not just about corn. There was free ice cream as well and, despite the gray skies, the event had all the laid-back, relaxed charm that it usually does. As well as the edibles, there were the ever-popular Zucchini NASCAR races. You can see the white ramp in the photo to the left and some of the participants on the left below. And there were popular local entertainers, including Weak Patrol (right below) providing lots of good music. This event also celebrated the 8th Anniversary of the Spiral Cafe, who are one of the sponsors of the event and organize it in conjunction with the Victoria West Community Association. My compliments to the organizers for an event that was as nice this year as it has been in years past. Thanks for a pleasant afternoon.