A Little Damp Weather

A grey, wet July day in Vancouver. For the residents of this coastal jewel, just another day. Our weather is so changeable. Living on the Pacific brings its glory days of sunshine and blue water. Then we get days like these. Dull, grey and very wet. That's ok, we are used to it. Almost every shop sells umbrellas and plastic ponchos. It's the tourists that I feel bad for. If you are not used to this, it can be a bit dismal. I just think of it as a bit of humidity, but to those not accustomed to it , one may actually think its monsoon season. The rain is what brings such lush beauty to this place. Those forests don't have built in sprinkler systems you know.
We popped into this hotel lobby to escape the worst of the downpour. I was impressed by this gorgeous window. Through it you can see a cruise ship in the harbour. That baby grand piano is a classy touch, don't you think?






Here is that same ship, photographed from the dock at Canada Place. The sails are actually the rooftop of the convention center. You can usually see mountains in the background, but they were hiding in the clouds. Even in that weather, it's a scene that still takes my breath away.
A bright patch of colour in the midst of all this grey and gloom, was this vacant lot, that someone had graffitied. Whoever did this is surely an artist, the detail in this mural is fantastic. The city is launching a project to allow 'legal' graffiti. As though hoodlums and vagrants will be bothered to apply for a graffiti permit. Who knows? Perhaps the better ones might, in order to gain notoriety. Some of these people are so talented. The city would definitely brighten up with a few well placed murals of this sort.

Amidst the concrete and asphalt, trees are growing in abundance in the city. Streets of our downtown are lined with maples. Many of them strung with lights all year round. The greenery is part of what makes the city bearable. This tree has an impressive root system surrounding it. Notice the gutter filled with rainwater. A moment later , a big SUV drove through it splashing up a huge wake over the sidewalk. Fortunately for me, Hubby pulled me to relative dryness just in the nick of time. I still shake at the thought of what could have become of my digital camera!
That was on Wednesday. Today is trying to be sunny. The weather man is predicting lots more sun for the weekend. So ill stash the brolly and don the sunscreen!
Thanks for joining us, and have a nice weekend, whatever the weather!