Street Level View
Today my attention was caught by the stems of leaves lying on the road surface. You know that fall is progressing when the leaves are mostly stems. These stems were nicely lit and glowing on the road surface. I don’t think I captured what I saw, and perhaps that was partly because my glasses had darkened up. But, I did have an interesting time with the camera resting on the road surface or near to it, with traffic passing by. And quizzical pedestrians. With nosy dogs.
Bubble Wrap
Bubble wrap is a common experience around the world; it seems that many square meters come through this household every year and I imagine it is not unknown in the further reaches of Tibet. It’s pretty cool stuff and works extremely well as protection during shipping. It’s even a fantastic toy for kids, popping air pockets endlessly until the adults intervene (provocation has to half the fun). However, few of us ever see bubble wrap “on the roll”. Well, I think few of us because I had never seen a roll of it until my daughter obtained some for packaging her on-line sales*. Perhaps all my readers have a roll stashed away. This roll was in the carport last summer when a beam of sunlight spotlighted just the top surface against shadowed ivy in the background (don’t get me started on this invasive plague that people actually choose to plant in their gardens). This shot is the result and owes some of its success to the dark background.
Mountains over Victoria
The Olympic Mountains are visible from many parts of Victoria. Often they seem to be hanging directly over the city. There are places where they startle you with their beauty and apparent nearness. For instance, I am often caught off guard when cresting the hill above Royal Oak driving south on the Pat Bay Highway, especially on clear spring days when there is still snow on the peaks. For a while my office was high enough to have this view, and I even had a window, that opened. The view was by far the best thing about that office.
Chinese Cemetery, Harling Point
Cherry tree growing from a plant holder, must have rooted from a branch of cherry blossoms
The Chinese Cemetery is one of the gems in my immediate surroundings. About a decade ago it was commemorated as a National Historic Site and therefore quite a lot of information can be found out about this location from internet searches. At the bottom of this post I list some of the more useful sources. I have already mentioned the Cemetery several times in my posts since it occupies much of the south facing waterfront of Harling Point, and is like a park for the neighbourhood.
Lovely and Pleasant – Ross Bay Cemetery
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This is another post about Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, with a picture taken the same day as the two other posts that can be found here and here.
I find this memorial unusual. The inscription around the edge is charming and reads:
“Here Rests A Pacific Family + They Were Lovely And Pleasant In Their Lives And In Their Death They Were Not Divided”
Second Breath
Today’s picture shows dog footprints on the top of a low stone wall and chain fence along the south edge of the King George Terrace lookout.
The Cat requires that I remind the world that no self-respecting animal would walk over wet concrete. I think I also heard her say something like “dumb, dumber and dogs!”
Pandora Street Neglect
This building has been in ruins, or nearly so, for many years. It is located in the 500 block of Pandora Avenue (first block up from the harbour) at the edge of Chinatown in the heart of Victoria’s old town. A few years ago all but the shell was lost in a fire. The façade has been retained and stabilised, probably on instructions from the City of Victoria. Before that it appeared to have been empty and in very poor condition for a long time. This is another example of the neglect of Victoria’s built heritage. The building would have been very expensive to restore, including bringing it to modern earthquake standards and ultimately it might have been difficult to generate enough revenue to make the kind of profit a banker would want to see.
When I lived in London, England 20 years ago there were “listed” buildings that developers were emptying of occupants and then surreptitiously knocking holes in the roof. A few years later the building would be condemned and the property developed more profitably than otherwise possible. It seemed at the time like a negative effect of heritage legislation and associated government processes. I don’t know whether this is what is happening in Victoria, or at this location, but it is a shame that the oldest buildings can stand empty for years and then catch fire or fall down. That it happens at all calls into question the approach to heritage planning and protection.
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