...on the dock of the bay

...watchin' the tide roll away....

Giant Watering Can

When I first saw this in Beacon Hill Park my smug Philistine self sneered at another pretentious modern art piece foisted on the ever-gullible public. "This one looks like a giant watering can," I thought. Next time I passed it I realized it was meant to look like a giant watering can. Another day and I noticed people running around under it and screaming. I stopped to watch. It doesn't just look like a giant watering can. It is a giant watering can, only with the difference that water doesn't just come out of the spout but squirts unpredictably from here and there all over the thing. What's more, it's got controls - buttons on it as well as a control panel at the left. The controls seem to have some effect but are not entirely predictable. One detractor called this watering can tacky and hideous, but I find I like it more every time I pass. Bravo to the Parks Department for this one.

Thoughtful

Thoughtful? This is the Great Blue Heron. I describe this bird as thoughtful because of the way he stands perfectly still for long periods of time. Most birds flap into view, perch beguilingly until I have my camera out, then fly off cackling just as I raise it to my eye. Not the Great Blue Heron. This bird strikes a pose and holds it, for five or ten minutes. Other birds please take note. This is proper behavior, thoughtful!

The Niña

The Tall Ships have left Victoria but before they leave this site I want to share with you this photo of the Niña, a replica of one of the ships that sailed with Christopher Columbus on his 1492 voyage and later became his flagship and favorite. What amazes me most about this ship is how small it is. You can see by the figures of crewmen in the above photo just how tiny this ship is. There was no accommodation, not even for the captain. Everybody just slept on the deck. It took them just over two months to reach the Caribbean, a very long two months I suspect, since they had no way of knowing they would ever sight land again. You can find out more about the Niña by clicking here.

Columbus' voyage led eventually to the founding of the United States of America, which country celebrates today the anniversary of their Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and I take this opportunity to wish all my American friends joy and happiness on this day.

Night Photography

Victoria's Legislative Assembly Buildings are lit at night so I thought they would make a good subject for my first attempt at night photography, although they've been photographed like this about a million times.

Stealing Home

For me baseball season ended a few days ago when my granddaughter's team played their last game. For those of you not familiar with baseball, I would describe it as a fairly boring game with long periods of inactivity punctuated by brief bursts of exciting action. One of those brief bursts of action is when a player steals a base, especially if the player steals home base, which means they score a run or goal. Naturally, the opposing team attempts to foil this ploy and a player attempting to steal home may risk losing all the bases gained so far should he or she be tagged with the ball before reaching the home plate. Thus there is some risk attached. The following sequence of photos shows my granddaughter stealing home. In the first photo below she is clearly in doubt as to whether it is safe to try to steal home.In the next photo below she has decided to risk a few steps but is not committed to base-stealing yet.

3. Intense indecision!	4. Decision to go for it!
5. Determination!	6. Opposing pitcher coming in from the right
7. Slide looks inevitable!	8. Begin slide

9. Slide and sneak that foot around and onto the plate

10. Success!

The Devil Made Me Do It

The City Daily Photo Blog theme for July 1 is signs with "No..." on them. I couldn't resist this one on a store doorway in Victoria's Chinatown. Other City Daily Photo Bloggers' photos on this theme can be seen by clicking here.