Today was another glorious Monday. I had been worried that all the freakish weather we have had in the last week (snow and hail! ugh!) would have squashed all the blossums and buds coming out for Spring. But as I walked around today, nature doesn't seem to even have noticed that we had had snow and hail a few days ago!
It was gorgeous sunny day today with not many clouds. Despite the sun and the blue sky, it was cold with lots of whipping wind and I was glad of my gloves. I don't normally like working my camera with my gloves on but today I made an exception! :) I was also glad of my sunglasses (sunnies) as without them the wind makes my eyes water. Unfortunately, I can't see through the viewfinder with my sunnies on, so I have to take them off whenever I wanted to take a picture which was often troublesome with so much wind whipping around. I couldn't see through the viewfinder with the sunnies on but with my sunnies off, the wind made my eyes water and I had trouble seeing that way, too! Aaaah...the joys of windy weather! Don't even get me started on my long hair whipping all over......
My starting point today was the park I found last Monday. Today my focus was not so much on the fountain....but on blossums. I am wild about blossums right now! :p All the cherry blossum trees are starting to bloom and this park is full of these trees. Most of these trees are still in bud with a few blossums but I did find a few trees in full bloom. It won't be long before all the trees in bud are blooming and this park will be full of cherry blossums blowing around like pink confetti!
This part 1 is all about blossums! :p
Sorry it's taken me so long to post part 3 of my walk on Monday. I got a bit sidetracked and also couldn't decide which pictures to use.
Continuing on from part 1 and part 2, I continued on past the 2 private lagoons and had to take a detour around the marina parking lot. After the parking lot, I had a choice of continuing along the street or take some stairs up to somewhere. I saw bushes and trees at the top of the stairs and so I was intrigued to investigate.
What I found at the top of the stairs was a private little park that, according to the sign, was maintained for and by the residents in the area. It was beautiful, peaceful, and very clean....and I never knew it was here! It has lush green grass, lots of trees.....and one gorgeous fountain that is the focal point of the park. I was so entranced by the fountain that I didn't take any pictures of the park! Ha....well, its appears I will be back so I will get some next time! :)
The design of the fountain in this park is unusal, for this area, as it is large and it looks almost like a Mayan temple. It had 3 large spouts of water shooting out the top and then it is surrounded on all four sides by stairs into a huge pool. It is quite a stunning fountain. And since it was sunny, I thought it would be a neat idea to try and get some shots of water shooting up into the sunny sky.
I have a thing for taking shots of water, especially moving water, so these may be a bit boring or obsessive for you, but I had a great time trying to get some neat shots.
Here is one side of the fountain:
Shots of water against the sky:
Trying to get shots of the water splashing down the steps:
Show us a beverage you absolutely can't stand the taste of.
Nasty, nasty ka-kas!
If I want to drink cough syrup, well, I would rather go drink cough syrup.
If I need a big rush of sugar and caffeine, I would rather go to Starbucks.
And If I am going to get heart palpitations, I would rather get them from sky-diving.
I don't get the allure of this beverage. Sorry, if you like it but I think it's just nasty.
Show us a tattoo.
Moving westerly from the Granville Island lagoon, I walked along the seawall walkway which I have never walked before. I have walked the seawall on the other side of the water but never on this side. And I found out that there are 2 semi-private man-made lagoons surrounded by townhouses. Very cool! Some of the townhouses even had decks right on the water! I only took pics of the first lagoon because the second one wasn't as blessed with as much nature and I felt I got a lot on the first one. The second one was larger, though.
I say these are semi-private because you can't walk around them (private property for residents only) but you can see them and sit by them on the seawall side. When the weather is warmer and more consistently sunny, I may come over and sit on these benches to read. Its very peaceful and picturesque.
I love this one with the branches waving in the wind and the rippling water.
It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and so I wandered around the area near Granville Island, taking pictures.
First stop was the Granville Island lagoon which is right behind the Kids Only Market. Lots of ducks playing in the water....and lots of kids wanting to watch and feed the ducks. And, of course, the pigeons wanted in on the food action, too.
The ducks, at this time of year, are mostly Mallards and they are all paired up as Mallards usually are. I have yet to see an uneven number of males to females and always see a male and female together. They are very couple-oriented ducks. (In case you didn't know, the female is brown in order to blend in when nesting, and the male is the colourful one.)
I tried to get a few "reflective" shots.
You can sort of see the trees relected in this one.
And of course, we can't leave out the pigeons. I didn't have any food but these guys came over to me anyway...like little beggars! :)
Check out 'ol Rocky pigeon here in the middle of this motley crew. Is he on steroids? He looks like he beats up other pigeons for breadcrumbs! :) Pigeon gangs are becoming such a problem.... LOL! :)
Out at the in-laws on Sunday, I decided to walk around and take a few pictures of the emerging signs of Spring. It was raining slightly but that was no big deal. I love all the lush green and new flowers coming through.
I just watched this DVD and loved this!
It wasn't as chick-flick-y as I thought it would be and that made me love it even more! It lifted my spirit in a way it hasn't been lifted for a while. Two thumbs WAY WAY up! Its a gotta watch with a great cast.
Recently, a neighbour of mine reported on the bizarre situation where a woman was found to have stayed in her bathroom for at least 2 years. When authorities found her, she was physically stuck to her toilet as her body had started growing around the toilet. The authorities were only called when her live-in boyfriend of 16 years called the police because she was appearing groggy and disoriented. Up until that point, no one, even their neighbours, except for the boyfriend knew what was going on. The boyfriend said he brought food, water, and clothes to her each day and every day tried to convince her to come out.
Apparently, according to early reports, this woman was abused as a child, kept mostly inside growing up, and so they believe she considered the bathroom her "safe" place. Her mother died when she was young and as she was abused, it doesn't appear she was close to any family. The neighbours don't even recall ever seeing her before. No one knew she was there except her boyfriend.
Now the authorities have filed charges against the boyfriend for the "mistreatment of a dependent adult". And these charges have sparked a whole lot of debate as to whether or not he should be charged and if he did anything "criminally" wrong.
* Some people say that, as her boyfriend, he was not and should not be legally responsible for her as a legal adult - since he was not an offical caretaker, husband, or doctor.
Well, first off, they lived together for 16 years which means, in the eye of the law, they were considered common-law which means he was, for all intensive purposes, her husband. And as her husband, how could he not realize that he needed to do more than just bring her food, water, and clothes? He didn't even talk about her to the neighbours. Doesn't anyone else think that is odd? Personally, if it was me, I would be calling someone if my spouse was in the bathroom longer than 24 hours.....maybe even less.....and I would definitely be mentioning it!
* Some people question our health care system and ask if she was ever diagnosed with a problem and if yes, then why wasn't someone from that system checking in on her.
That is just so funny.....as if our health care systems have that kind of organization, man-power, and inclination....to check in on everyone! Good grief! Our health care systems, sadly enough, don't have enough resources to handle those actively seeking help!
* Some people question the charges because they don't believe the boyfriend did anything malicious. He didn't confine her against her will.....he didn't force her to do anything.....he didn't hit her or physically hurt her.
The definition of mistreating someone or something is not just solely limited to being malicious. Neglectful behaviour is also considered mistreatment. He neglected to get her any help which she, obviously, needed. He didn't even tell anyone. If it was a week or a month, I can "maybe" understand........but 2 years and he didn't even think that something is wrong with this situation? Hell, he can't even remember how long its been! Unless he is found to be mentally incompentent, then he should know the difference between right and wrong. Not getting her help, or at least telling someone, was neglectful. And neglect, morally and legally, is abuse. And abuse is wrong.
* Some people consider this to be a classic case of someone being held responsible for someone else's actions when they shouldn't be.....that we should all take responsiblity for our own actions.
This is something that I am passionate about. I believe very highly in personal responsiblity and accountability. The only cases where there is exception to this are in the cases of minors/dependents and people in mental-health crisis. And this, people, is definitely the case of someone in a mental-health crisis who apparently was doing harm to herself. She was not in her right mind which means that the person who was in their right mind (supposedly the boyfriend aka common-law spouse of 16 years) should have been the one to seek help. Where was his personal responsiblity and accountability to do the right thing for his spouse?
Have we swung so far the other way that we refuse to take responsibility to do anything when we see something wrong? If my spouse gets a fever and its spikes to 105 F, am I obligated to get him help or should he be responsible for getting his own help? And if I didn't get him help and he dies, am I responsible? Damn, right, I am !! And I think this is the same as the woman in the bathroom.
Sooo....what do you think?
Do you think he should be charged?
Do you think he should bear any legal responsiblity for her?
In which situations should we be held responsible for those around us?
When would you have sought help from the authorities?
