Approaching Clark at East 22nd

About 10pm last night when this cat came bounding out of nowhere to squeak at me.

Bonsoir, mon petit chat. Ca va?

Vraiment!

Garden

I extended the pavers outside my door last weekend. Before that, the south end of what I now call my patio was taken up by three large ferns, two of which grew from the Bowen Island fern I planted there 20 years ago. In place of the ferns, a wooden slat bench that I found in an alley last summer.

The bench was placed so I could see from it the mountains through the spaces between the top slats of the fence. A mountain view is comforting for the space implied between me and the mountain. My ideal view, of course, is of the ocean -- "of course" because I was born overlooking one, and the magic in me believes such things to be true.

Summer will be here soon, and I am excited about spending more of it in the yard. The pizza oven (made entirely from DIY store pavers) can attain temperatures of up to 600 degrees, which will serve as a heating source on cool Juneary nights. As for the high Fenway Park-style laurel hedge that separates us from our western neighbours, I have trimmed it to what amounts to a screen, allowing the sun to peek through in spots, catching on certain leaves, turning them from green to gold.

Neighbourhood Shrubbery

On the southwest corner of Sandra's lot, my favourite rhododendron, the late-blooming "Caractacus" -- "a strong grower with a wide habit," according to Van Den Berk.

Backyard

I had to EDIT/CROP this picture twice. The content should tell you why. (One has to keep a distance from signs like these.) If I was to take it further I would change "ONLY" to "ALWAYS". Not that I care much for choppers. It's just that I find "ONLY" so limiting.

Bonnie Durward

Quentin Durward (1823) is a novel by the Scottish writer Walter Scott (1771-1832). Contrary to Vancouver is Awesome, Scott's protagonist is not the source of Vancouver's Durward Street; that distinction belongs to Elizabeth "Bonnie" Durward, who came to Canada from Scotland in 1894 to work as a maid for a family that shall remain nameless.

Shortly after her arrival, Durward fled her situation and took up with the McKinnon Sisters, who raised chickens at the edge of the Tea Swamp just east of what is now Fraser Street (at 27th Avenue). Durward made tinctures from the Labrador Tea plant (Rhododendron neoglandulosum) that thrived in the swamp's boggy soil. So effective was this plant in treating bronchitis that she came to the attention of Mayor Henry Collins, who recommended that a street be named after her.

In 1902 Durward returned to Scotland to marry a Major Clark Ross, and was never heard from again.

photo: Patrick Alexander

Two Views on East 23rd Between Inverness Street and Glen Drive

Looking west

Looking east

Another artist familiar with Strathcona is Ken Lum, who, along with his brother, parents and grandparents, occupied a crowded house not far from Al and Carole.

Lum's paternal grandfather, Lum Nin, came to Canada as a teenager, in 1908, one of many Chinese men lured by the promise of "Gold Mountain" -- in this case, a chance to work on the railroad, something Ken did as a young man. Not on the track, like Lum Nin and the other "coolies", but as a third cook on the passenger line.

While en route to Al and Carole's I passed Ken's forty-foot EAST VAN cruciform at the northwest corner of Clark and Great Northern Way. I remember Ken talking about this piece years ago, when the desired site was Kingsway and Main. As for the motif's origin, no one knows; it has been around forever, long before the punk band EAST VAN HALEN used it in their logo.

I have passed Ken's piece a number of times since its erection last year, but this time was different. At the base were a series of formal variations, rendered in spray-paint and marker, my two favorites being BALD DAD and HOT MOM. Ken would love this. Anything to get the ball rolling.