15 April 2023 – Ten raw Celsius degrees as I write this, but Vancouver, in a touching act of faith, is acting as if spring were more than a theoretical concept.
The art deco Marine Building, tallest in the British Empire when it opened in 1930…
primps & preens as it admires its reflection in the office tower opposite.
Science World, just off the end of False Creek…
has a pair of worker-ants crawling over its geodesic dome in a fit of spring cleaning.
The Medianeras (VMF 2019) Alley Man, just south of False Creek, takes advantage of his giant size & powerful fingers…
to calmly grab that glossy black car for himself.
A low-rise apartment building up in Fairview offers passers-by a moment’s relaxation in newly scrubbed & positioned chairs…
watched over from above by the resident Balcony Rainbow Spirit.
Farther down the block, a Mountain Fire Pieris flaunts its party trick…
the ability to turn baby red leaves to mature green leaves, right there before your wondering eyes.
And, not to be outdone, one of the street’s many cherry trees…
explodes its blossoms into the sky.
WALKING WOMAN 
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
/ 15 April 2023We experienced some lovely spring weather in Penticton over the last couple of days; sorry to hear that you’re experiencing “raw.” However, I am back in the north for the next five weeks and will certainly experience some raw as well even though the temperature was a balmy 10 upon arrival. I completely love the Alley Man! So arrogant and grasping, which is the point, it seems.
icelandpenny
/ 15 April 2023Alley Man doesn’t always have a car parked conveniently beneath his fingertips — that was just the very funny & completely accidental luck of someone parking his car so exactly in position for the “grab.” It’s an intriguing two-part mural: the head on the main back wall, and that hand on the little box on this near side of the drive in between. Plus the drama of all those H-frame hydro poles marching down the alley like a platoon of soldiers…
Lynette d'Arty-Cross
/ 16 April 2023Thanks for adding that further perspective to the picture. I was looking at it on my phone and didn’t realise that the mural was in two parts. I thought the box was part of the mural itself. My interpretation was that the hand was “boxed in” but came out anyway as avarice is the nature of its owner. Turns out that the infrastructure lent itself more directly than I thought!
restlessjo
/ 15 April 2023A beautiful poetic look at Spring in your city. Love those ant workers!
valeriemeredith
/ 16 April 2023A gorgeous visual walk
bluebrightly
/ 25 April 2023The hand that’s grabbing the car sure is fun…I hope you’re getting the warmer weather that we’re getting this week! Happy exploring!