happylife

Summer is coming close

When I was enjoying a nap on the bed in my room, a strong, orange light came into my eyes penetrating my eyelids. I reluctantly opened my eyes and then rushed out to the balcony with my camera to capture this beautiful sunset. I felt it was long time ago when I looked at such a beautiful sunset last time. I was surprised to find that the sun was setting  almost at the end of Bowen Island. Summer is steadily coming close notwithstanding my mind and activities. Once I left this place, I can't enjoy the same sunset any more. I feel lonely when thinking in such a way, but I can enjoy other sunsets by changing my place. It is a good idea to find a pleasant place and stay there for a long time, but moving out to another place might be better because we can enjoy various tastes. I think it is even better If the new place was worse than the previous one because we can realize the goodness of the previous place by comparing them and we can continue looking for the better place.

Between the sun and clouds

It had been cloudy with some showers all day long yesterday, but the sun shone for a minute before it set and fortunately, just at that time, I was walking around Downtown and could come across this beautiful rainbow. It was a perfect circle drawn by the Nature bordering the bright inner part and the dark outer world. This seems to be a natural law and a rainbow always has a gradation of purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red from center to surrounding. -- We Japanese set indigo between blue and purple and call them seven colors of rainbow. --  I can't explain well the reason for this appearance of a rainbow, but it must be related to the refractive index of sunlights. According to my research, a rainbow is often accompanied with a sub-rainbow which is larger than the main one and interestingly which has the reverse order of six or seven rainbow colors. Can you recognize it in this picture?

Rain after rain

It has been raining day after day and the forecast is repeating the same weather. I've found that I have never been out of my room for more than two days. I am staying in my room just sitting towards my PC, lying on the bed or walking around like a bear. I'm not sure whether it is common to say "walking like a bear" in English, but you might be able to understand what I mean if you have seen bears in a zoo. They walk in a circle without any purpose. I'm living an unhealthy life like a bear in hibernation. Only the difference is that my fingers and brain are working, but it doesn't consume much energy and therefore my weight is gradually increasing. I know I need more exercises but this rain and the cold weather prevent me from it. I really understand why the people in cold and rainy countries such as Canada and Russia are obese. Doing exercises is difficult there both mentally and physically. At least, I have to take care of my food not to take so much calories.

North Vancouver

North Vancouver is a bed town located in the north of Vancouver. Most of the area is mountains and a lot of large houses are built on the steep slopes. There are only two land access from Vancouver; one is Lions Gate Bridge and the other is Second Narrow. If you don't have your car, you can use a ferry called "Sea Bus" which is sailing frequently every day. You can board on it with the common ticket for the bus. It's sometimes easier and faster because the two bridges are often bottle necks causing traffic congestion. I like the atmosphere in this city so much that I want to live there in the future. It is quite different from Downtown; quieter and slower because of its rich and old residents. It is full of nature but it's not that it is remote and inconvenient. My favorite supermarket "Save on Foods" has three branches in North Vancouver as far as I know, while zero in Downtown. The bad weather, especially in winters, is the only problem for me. It is more harsh than Downtown. As you can see in this picture, the upper part of the mountains is still covered with snow and it is rare to see the mountain top because it is usually in thick clouds. The ski area is lit up for night skiing in this picture. It would be the perfect conditions for skiers though I won't ski.

Contrail

English is sometimes more descriptive than Japanese. This cloud is just called a "plane cloud" in Japanese and we have no other word for it. Lots of Japanese are misunderstanding that "plane cloud" is smoke emitted from the airplane's engine. I think there are less people in English speaking world who have this kind of misunderstanding because the English word "contrail" or "vapor condensation trail" is explaining what it is by itself. If they know this word, they would know what it is at the same time. There are mainly two ways in which this artificial cloud is created. One is that the exhaust gas, which is hot and full of water vapor, is rapidly cooled and condensed into a cloud. It's just the same as when we exhale white breathe in the cold air. It's interesting that we can tell how many engines the airplane has by counting the trails of the cloud. Another reason for the contrail is also the condensation of the air which is caused by the wings. Vortexes created at the end of the wings cause a difference of air pressure and create clouds. Anyway, we can see contrails more often in Canada because the air is cooler and has more vapor in it. There is no pilot and sailor who likes clouds, but this cloud is the only exception.

Tsunami?

Tsunami is just swallowing the boats off-shore and is approaching to my apartment! Of course that's kidding and this is a picture of the fog I took the other day from my balcony, but it's true that I sometimes dream of this kind of images. The tragedy of Tsunami in the south east Asia a few years ago and the news about global warming I hear of almost everyday might affect my deep psychology. Vancouver is just in the middle of bubble economy and new high rise is coming out almost every month. They are tall and thin. Most of them would be destroyed or severely damaged even by a middle class earthquake. Stronger earthquake would ruin this city. No scientist can assure that we have no earthquake tomorrow, however, everyone is closing his or her eyes and is living in a peaceful world without earthquakes. They might think I am like a cowardly rabbit which worries about the sky is falling down, but they should have more coward. The possibility of the danger would be faint, but the size of the damage in case it true is quite huge, therefore the multiplication of them is fair.

A great show

I had been saying for a long time that winter is a terrible season in Vancouver, but I might have to withdraw the remarks. The sunset show which I watched yesterday was the best of the best scene that I had ever watched in my life. The fog created from the sea surface was prevailing over English Bay and Vanier Park just before the sunset time. The fog layer was not so thick that the clear blue sky was not hidden and even the top of the tall trees in Vanier Park could be seen. The border between the sea and the fog was so obscure that all of them looked like the cloud sea. The combinations and the gradations of blue and orange was perfectly beautiful. It was such a great show of the Nature that my plan to go back to Japan next month is back in the air. Sure, the summer is great, but it's too simple and lack of variations. If only the thick cloud goes away, the winter in Vancouver is really great.

Strange clouds and the travelling plan

A thick fog remained until late this afternoon and then these strange clouds appeared with the blue sky over the Downtown. The weather has apparently changed from the one in winter. Is this the typical early spring weather in Vancouver or is it so called the freakish weather? I'm not sure of it because I usually stay out of Vancouver around this season, but I prefer it to the dark and depressive clouds. With the improvement of the weather, my mood is getting better. I'm thinking about traveling out some day near future before going back to Japan, but which is the best direction? The north and the east is still covered with snow, the south is not Canada, and the west is the sea. My first plan is driving around the Vancouver Island. It takes only a few days and I will do it. I want to mainly visit the northern part of the island. The second plan is driving over the Rocky Mountains, which has been my wish since last year. The only problem is the snow. I will have to change the tires at least. The third plan is driving down through the U.S. for Mexico. It would take more than a few weeks but it must be exciting. I become happy just by thinking such things.

Beautiful morning

It's 8:30 in the morning and I'm enjoying the beautiful scenery from my room. How many days have I been waiting for this blue sky? It's really precious. The small forest in the park on the opposite bank of False Creek is covered with a thin fog. The silhouette of the trees look more fantastic with it. To tell the truth, it's not that I have just gotten up but that I have been staying up over night. It's almost the time for me to go to bed, but I have decided to keep staying up as long as possible. It's a great loss if I would go to bed now and miss this bright morning. I feel dizzy a bit, but it's rather pleasant. I feel most happy right now in this year. Weather really affects our feeling. I'm thinking about going out for a walk from now.

Burnaby

I drove to Burnaby yesterday afternoon. Burnaby is a small city located in the east of Vancouver. It was only a thirty-minute drive from my apartment in Downtown, but the scenery was quite different out there. It was a silver city still covered with heavy snow. I was surprised to find that only a distance of thirty-minute drive to inland changes the world so much. Some of my friends in Vancouver often say that it is very cold this winter, but I don't think so. I've understood the reason; all of them are living in Burnaby or in the more eastern area. The sea water works as a heater in winter season though it looks cold, and the heat from the heater decreases in inverse proportion to the square of the distance from the sea. Plus, we can't forget the influence of the altitude. Burnaby is mostly on the hill top though it is not so high. If the temperature is decreasing in this rate, how cold is it in the inland area of Canada?