28 August 2018 – It’s a grey day, but grey with rain not wildfire smoke, so we are all relieved and grateful.

And, once again, on this latest visit to the VanDusen Botanical Garden, I am reminded how colours really pop against a luminous grey background.

The cypress knees so orange!

And the railing moss so green!

And the blue spruce so blue!

And the white birch so white!

And the Great Blue Heron so … well, all right, not exactly blue, but shimmering & regal as he poses in his very own lake (Heron Lake, VanDusen Botanical Garden), so I’m excited anyway.

And the Barred Owl so brightly barred! (Never mind excited, now I am awed. I drop my eyes & step back one submissive pace, as he stares at me.)

And the Sorry sign so Canadian!

I walk to the end anyway, as do a couple of bouncy young Millennials. We contemplate the entangled greenery and the pond bright with lily pads, down there at the end of the path.

Ms Millennial turns to her boyfriend. “Well,” she says, “it’s a very nice 100 metres.”