April28_2008

Botanical Glossary - Home - References Cited

Photos - Frames left and right: On my way home I walked through Hastings Park Pond and nature reclamation area only to behold a very interesting treat. The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius Acadicus) seems very tame and unafraid perched on a branch in a shrub about four feet off the ground. This little Owl barely opened its eyes while visitors on the stopped to watch as the owl tried so hard to catch some shut eye. This owl is about the same size as a Pygmy-Owl or roughly eight inches tall when perched. It has no ear tufts and has soft, tan and chocolate blotchy streak markings on its belly and underside, darker and less blotchy on top with a conspicuous whitish V over the bill and eyes. This Owl can be found along the Pacific Coast from southeast Alaska and Canada to Southern Mexico and inland South USA in forests and coniferous groves.

Center frame: More colorful blossoms, this time from one of my spring favorites: Rubus Spectabilis (Salmon Berry). Salmonberry is another of the Pacific Northwest most common shrubs. Its two to ten foot cranes weave and interlock forming a thicket which is all but impassable. The reddish pink blooms have a rose-like appearance blossoming from April to July. The first berries that ripen are in the lowlands and as the altitude increases, they ripen progressively later. The berries themselves may range from honey orange to deep red in color. The tender young shoots were harvested by many of the northwestern Indian tribes, chopped, boiled, or sautéed. They taste good in casseroles or when eaten raw.

Photos - Frames left and right: The Pacific Coliseum and the Rollerland Building at left (frame right). Now the home of the Vancouver Giants, The Pacific Coliseum was built in the 1970's (In the shape of a hockey Puck) as home of the new NHL expansion franchise "The Vancouver Canucks Hockey Team."

Center frame: Cement Bridge over part of the Hastings Park Pond - just a short distance to the north of where I found my Saw-whet Owl - looking north toward the red colored Livestock buildings in background.

Photos - L-R - Rollerland Building at the PNE Grounds: The Rollerland Building was put together as a make work project during the depression years of the 1930s by workers on relief grants.

2679 Oxford street - a 1937 vintage house - the place where I live, where I used to live.

Waterline of Hastings Park Pond where the parkland has been restored with native plants and has been allowed to go back to a wildlife habitat.

Click here for more photos of East Vancouver for this day.