The Imperceptible Immigrant

Where the wild things are – revisited

August 30, 2021 in Life in BC, Photos | Permalink

Regular readers of this cybernated chronicle will be aware that I like – on occasion – to share experiences of the interface between (wo)man and nature that inevitably occur as a result of living in this verdant wilderness.

In other words – I post stuff about the wildlife that we see in our garden!

Having a decent sized plot and being surrounded by trees we are routinely visited by all manner of birds. I posted earlier in the year on the subject of some of the more annoying of these, but we are also graced with visits from larger and more impressive avians. I recorded, for example, the visit of this eagle back in 2017 – a vulture last year and this blue heron earlier this summer.

Our most recent visitor was this beautiful owl – who decided to rest for a considerable period in one of our trees before heading off again to get on doing whatever it is owls fill their days with. Now – owls have virtually no natural predators and thus are afraid of practically nothing – particularly aging gentlemen armed with nothing more offensive than a camera, so this one just sat and watched me whilst I meandered ever closer – taking snaps of him/her.

And now – as is my wont – here are some examples for the gentle reader’s edification. Click on the images for the bigger picture.

Enjoy:

Tags: garden, nature, Photo, Visitors, wildlife

Charlie Watts

August 25, 2021 in Life as we know it | Permalink

Charlie Watts
1941 – 2021
RIP

A less-happy side-effect of being gifted a moderately long life (and one of course with many years yet to run – one hopes!) is that as one ages one increasingly observes the passing not just of those who are close and loved, but also of major ‘public’ figures whose achievements and even whose simple existence has throughout the years touched the lives of so many. In this online journal I like to acknowledge those whose very passing, in my view, changes the world as we know it.

I was never the biggest Rolling Stones fan but I certainly acknowledge their genius within their field. At least two of their works are, as far as I am concerned, timeless classics: ‘Gimme Shelter‘ and ‘You Can’t Always Get What you Want‘.

I saw them once – at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Jagger was extraordinary but as a whole they somewhat underwhelmed. Even in that show, however, I couldn’t help but recognise the essential contribution that Charlie Watts made to the band’s sound. There are many technically gifted drummers in the world but there are few whose style is so distinctive that – even when maintaining a simple back-beat – they are instantly recognisable. Charlie Watts was numbered amongst that elite.

The many tributes already published make it clear that Watts was a thoroughly likeable, modest and self-effacing man who contrived to make it relatively unscathed through the mayhem that seemed to exemplify the Stones existence back in the latter part of the last century.

Can the Stones continue touring without Charlie Watts? Should they? Who knows – but he will be sadly missed by many…

Tags: Loss, Memories, Music

Rocky road

August 21, 2021 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

Some odds and ends from the garden…

We have recently been getting help from a couple of chaps (who were recommended to us by a good friend) with one or two of the larger tasks of which our garden was in need. Such jobs included removing five years worth of un-composted garden detritus – trimming back some over-enthusiastic trees – and (the one pictured here) trimming back a large growth of ivy that covers a dead but strategically placed tree, the which forms a most useful screen that shields our garden shed from the outside world.

As the photograph here shows – cutting back the ivy has left the whole thing looking somewhat ravaged but it will, of course, be no time at all until it has filled in again.

Our garden help – whom I shall call Gordon (for that is his name!) – advised me that we had a nest – complete with young ones – right at the top of the ivy growth, but hidden well inside it. He had left them well alone…

…as shall I – for this was no bird’s nest – but a raccoon’s! Bet you didn’t see that one coming. I did not know that raccoons made nests and certainly not so far off the ground.

Well – that certainly explains the close attention that they have been paying to our kitchen waste bin.

Anyway – here are a couple of other pretty images from the garden:

What do you think this little chap is waiting for?

Perhaps he has heard that the Snowbirds (the Canadian equivalent of the Red Arrow – for UK readers) are about to fly-over…

Woah! A bit too bloomin’ fast for me to get a decent shot. By the time you have heard them – they’re gone!

Oh well!…

Tags: Gardens, Hummingbirds, Photo, wildlife

Back in business

August 17, 2021 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

Whereas the Chanteuse and I were quite delighted last year to have discovered a method of remote working that enabled Anam Danu to record (in real time!) our second collection of songs – “Winter Blue and Evergreen” – whilst safely ensconced within our own creative spaces, we knew at the time that it was unlikely to be an optimal solution – and certainly not in the longer term.

It is perhaps because we are both a little ‘old school’ (we like to work face to face – to hear properly and without any annoying delays what we are doing – to not be subject to random audio artifacts – to indulge in all of the essential non-verbal communication that is the norm for human interaction) that everything seemed a bit of a struggle. Using the Internet as a recording tool is indeed a splendid boon to which, of course, previous generations did not have access, but it is far from being perfect.

We were extremely happy that we got to make an album safely in the midst of a pandemic; we hope not to have to do so again.

The really good news is that as a result of recent relaxations in restrictions – thanks largely to the Canadian vaccination program – this last week we were able to start working together again for the first time in a year and a half – here in my studio. We are already well on our way to having a decent collection of new material and we are now able to start recording it in earnest.

I think a good sized ‘Hoorah!’ is in order…

Now – should any gentle readers wish to be kept in the loop with regard to the release of new material, navigate to the Anam Danu website and enter your email address in the box at the bottom of our contact page and you will be kept informed of the latest developments.

Tags: Anam Danu, COVID-19, Music, Studio

Only in Canada

August 11, 2021 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

A new entry in an occasional series that should be entitled “Only in Canada“.

This one made it to The Guardian…

The headline reads:

“Pilot charged after landing helicopter in Canada town centre to buy ice-cream cake”

Enjoy!

Tags: Canada, Modern life

Vancouver Days 4 & 5

August 9, 2021 in Flotsam and Jetsam | Permalink

The last two days of our brief but highly pleasurable visit to the mainland were dedicated to visiting some of The Girl’s family – for the first time since the pandemic began. On the Sunday we had a most enjoyable dinner in Port Moody with cousins and then on the Monday retraced our footsteps to North Vancouver to pay a call on The Girl’s ninety five year old aunt. It was wonderful to sense just a glimmer of normality after such a long time with little but our own company – vastly pleasurable as that always is.

We had made only the most tenuous of plans for the last day so had not booked a place on a ferry crossing to the island, guessing that the Monday would be fairly quiet and that we could just pitch up and jump aboard.

Wrong!

As The Girl negotiated the maze of routes out of Vancouver towards Tsawwassen I looked up the status of the sailings on the InterWebNet. At this time of year ferries depart hourly – on the hour – but we could see that the 1 o’clock and 2 o’clock sailings were already full. As The Girl put the ‘pedal to the metal’ (she likes that!) we watched the rolling updates from BC ferries indicate that the 3 o’clock was filling rapidly and that the 4 o’clock was not far behind. When we finally reached the terminal at Tsawwassen we we told we might be on the 4 pm or it might be the 5 pm!

Having not yet had lunch and mindful of the long wait to come we headed for the terminal building to source ourselves some victuals – only to discover that a power failure had resulted in all of the concessions being closed – barring the confectionery stand and they were only able to take cash as all of the machines were ‘hors de combat’.

Bah!

That was not the most healthy repast that we have ever consumed.

No matter – we were determined not to let such small things spoil a most enjoyable trip and we were soon home again.

A final flurry of images from the journey home.

Tags: Family, Holiday, Photo, Travel, Vancouver

Vancouver – Day 3

August 6, 2021 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

The third day of our sojourn in and around Vancouver was dedicated to seeing again the dear friend who lived with us for a period at the start of 2020 and is now based in North Vancouver. The limitations imposed by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic – and in particular the need to restrict oneself to strict social ‘bubbles’ – have meant that, though some of our dear friend’s furniture yet lives with us, we have not been able to see her since she moved out last summer.

Now that the restrictions have been eased we very much wanted to get together again – and we duly set off across the Lion’s Gate bridge in the directions of ‘North Van’.

The form for the day was a drive up the southern half of the ‘Sea to Sky Highway’ to Squamish for a spot of lunch. I have not previously traveled this route (which starts off along the east coast of the Howe Sound and which leads ultimately to Whistler) and looked forward to enjoying its beauties. The nature of the day and the sheer weight of traffic meant that stopping to take photos along the road was not realistic, but should you be interested this website gives a good and detailed introduction to the route.

I did snatch a couple of shots in Squamish but lunch and catching up were a far higher priority.

After lunch we visited Shannon Falls, which are but a stone’s throw from Squamish (should you be an Olympian and possessed of a very light stone). Shannon Falls is one of the highest in British Columbia – with a drop in excess of 800ft – and is classified as a horsetail fall, with multiple elements fanning out (like a horse’s tail) and with the water making frequent contact with the underlying rocks.

I have read subsequently that Shannon Falls – along with other similar types of waterfall – can be difficult to photograph convincingly – which explains (I hope!) why none of my shots really does it justice or truly captures the scale of it.

The standard of the photography aside – a jolly good day was had by all…

Tags: Friends, Holiday, Lunch, Photo, Travel, Vancouver

Vancouver – Day 2

August 1, 2021 in Flotsam and Jetsam, Photos | Permalink

Two things occupied our time on the first full day of our recent visit to Vancouver.

The first was a visit to the Vancouver Convention Centre to view the ‘Imagine Van Gogh‘ exhibition, the which is described by the promoters – appropriately in our view – as an ‘immersive’ exhibition. This event has popped up in various places in North America and in all probability in other parts of the world also. We enjoyed it – particularly as one is able to see detail of the genius’s work in extreme close-up. I took these photos, which should give some idea of the scale of the thing. Do click on the images to see them on the largest possible scale…

In the evening The Girl and I dined at a rather lovely bar/bistro called ‘Tableau’. Though a week in advance of the actual date we had decided to treat this as our anniversary dinner and duly indulged ourselves in a thoroughly decent bottle of Chablis. The evening was considerably enhanced by the excellent service (and the complimentary fizz) provided in particular by the restaurant manager/sommelier who hails – as it turns out – from Chalfont St. Peter – a village within about five miles of where we used to live in South Buckinghamshire in the UK.