The Letter "L"

My "L" post was to begin two photos down, but today's state funeral for Lincoln Alexander, Canada's first black member of parliament, is very much on my mind.  Listening to the words of his widow and grandchildren really left their mark.  I guess, foremost in my mind, and well ahead of all his impressive political accomplishments, was just how passionately he loved and was loved.  RIP Mr. Alexander.

    

And, I really thought I had taken enough Autumn leaves for this 2012 season, but this picture, taken in David Lam Park yesterday, is one of my favourites.   


Now, on to the post as it originally began:

Look, look at light, look at luminescent light (not sure if any photos here fit the Wikipedia definition), look at L.S.Lowry's life and legacy, listen to Liszt by Lang and Li..  couple of lakes and ladybugs too..  those are the "L" themes that have lingered in my mind after going through some of my photos.  Oh, I guess I could add all my photos represent local attractions and perhaps one or two of them will inspire some laughter.  Lots of links to the letter "L" for ABC Wednesday's fun blog meme.  Mostly, I'll just give you locations and some hopefully lucid and perhaps even lively information about the backgrounds, but will leave you to decide which categories fit logically with the pictures.

I loved the delicate pink of these flowers.. 

in David Lam Park on August 31st.

These little ladybugs spent an amazingly..

long time together on September 14th (along the seawall by David Lam Park).  I hope the time investment was lucrative.  Have you ever wondered if men ladybugs find their name somewhat limiting?  I did, after I learned from Bill that: "Mrs. Google says that male ladybugs are still called ladybugs and Mrs. Google says that ladybugs are the Official State Bug of Massachusetts and Delaware." 

Same day, same place, I felt lucky..

to see eye-to-eye with this loquacious finch,

chattering to his friends between bites.  He was endowed with liberally allotted reds that.. 

lifted my mood, as did the liquid shine in his eye, flashing between the branches. 

The next six photos were taken the same day, later in the afternoon, 

at Sun Yat-Sen Garden.  It was lunacy to let Black Jack that close to..

the pond creatures, but all lived to..

enjoy life. In the meantime,

looming apparitions emerging from mysterious depths were great fun to watch.

The koi looped back on every circuit around the pond to inspect Black Jack.

I think it was September 25th that we went to Deer Lake.

I have longed for a long time to capture the red glow under a Flicker's wings.  This shot was taken into direct sun, but still took me a step further towards my goal.  

I thought the lush algae on the lake looked a bit like a physical relief map. 

We have a few shots like this taken in various locations.  Hopefully, I haven't shown this one before.  I was laughing as I tried to nonchalently turn Black Jack around in the 10 allotted seconds.  We were standing on the fishing dock, looking out to the lake, but Black Jack was clearly lured by a more interesting view behind us.

I'm not sure why I was so amused by this trio of lady ducks. 

This seagull had been loitering with the ducks, but suddenly launched itself in lissome flight over their heads. 

One of my favourite memories of the day was the feeling of luxurious liberty as we sat on a bench, eating our lunch, and watching the sparrows..

and chick-a-dees.  They were flitting so quickly, and I laboured to catch them, but Bill's quick eyes and lively leadership made these photos a team effort.   

A walk around Stanley Park on September 11th provided some "look" photos.. 

that did not letup for quite some time.

I was enjoying the symmetrical lines in the wings of this Canada Goose..

when he suddenly turned and led his very large family..

across the road.  They didn't check license plate numbers, but this heron..

on-looker seemed aghast at the way the geese were endangering their lives.

I have posted before about our day at Hearts on Noses Sanctuary but hadn't really shown much of Rolley Lake.  It is a short drive from the sanctuary and really a lovely place to visit.  If ever you find yourself with a bit of time to spare, you could make a day of it, volunteering at the sanctuary and then enjoying a leisurely stroll and picnic afterwards.  The walkway is similar to the one at Deer Lake and it occurs to me that it is sort of in an "L" shape.

The luminescence of these dragonfly wings was compellingly beautiful and I was happy that the dragonfly lazed about just long enough for me to capture the moment.

A few steps further along the walkway, we saw one stretched out on its back on the walkway.  I thought maybe it had died, and wondered about the lifespan of dragonflies, but it suddenly righted itself and flew off, much to my delight.  I later found this site, with lots to learn about dragonflies.  Apparently, it is a common misconception that they only live for a day (that's what I had thought), but in fact, they can live up to several months.  

This leaning tree and its reflection made one more "L" shape found at Rolley Lake.

Our latest outing was just a few days ago (22nd of October) when we enjoyed a wonderful hike at Burnaby Mountain.  (Bill calls it Burnaby Hill.)  I'll let you guess which of my "L" themes is represented here.

And here..

and even here.  Hint: We were staring up that path named "Cardiac HIll" and wondering if it would turn out to be as lethal as its name sounded.  (It wasn't :)

The theme continues here..

and here..

and here..  and yes,

here too.  The three of us really enjoyed the day although we are still wondering what caused the spots on those very large leaves.  Best of all, though, Bill got to check out his alma mater (Simon Fraser University) and I enjoyed a few of his "good old days" legends. 

Moving on to L. S. Lowrey, I will say that he was a fascinating man, beautifully described in this blog by Pamalam.  The painting below is called "Coming from the Mill" and depicts factory workers at the end of their work day in Salford, England.  Although the people in his art sometimes verge on stick figures, there is a palpable longing in their posture.

This one is called "The Cripples" and here, one could look for a very long time at the variety of details in the body positions and facial expressions. 

The excellent photo of Lowry below was found at this site and is by Frank Martin.

Several times, there have been happy coincidences immediately after selecting an artist for an ABC post, and Knowledge Network's 50-minute documentary on L.S. Lowry's life was one such occasion and a beautiful depiction of his life.  I love Knowledge Network; I have to say it is well named, since I have learned a lot from many of its programs.  

Lastly, I have chosen two musicans, Lang Lang, 

and Yundi Li playing a famous piece by Liszt called La Campanella.  It is interesting to compare their performances, and for me, to consider the liability that fame can sometimes be.  Overall, the comments were often quite derogatory for Lang Lang's performances (I hope they do not show up in this video) and much kinder for Yundi Li's performances.  It is my theory that Lang Lang's greater fame has made him the target of mankind's tendency to idolize talent and then attack it.  In fact, I think both performances are well worth a listen.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by.  Should you wish to read other alphabet posts from around the world, do take some time to check out the blog meme, ABC Wednesday.