A Lovely Blanket of White

Banfield Park is magical when there's a fresh layer of snow isn't it? - Fern

After the Melt

Victoria had an exciting week of snowy weather but it wasn't until today that I had time to go for a walk and sadly the beautiful blanket of white is all gone. Most of the year this house with it's steepled roof is almost completely invisible behind a screen of trees but with the leaves all gone, it reappears looking a little spooky. - Fern

Selkirk Trestle 3 - Looking Northwest

Here is the view from the middle of the Selkirk Trestle looking up The Gorge north and west. On the left the green lawns and trees are part of Banfield Park where the Vic West Community Centre is located. Just beyond where The Gorge curves out of sight on the right is the Tillicum Bridge where The Gorge narrows in width to only a few meters and gives rise to a waterfall that reverses direction depending on the tidal flow. Below is the same view taken from a little closer to the southern shore of the Gorge.

Natures Ever Changing Canvas

The sky is so often an amazing collage of colour and form. This is Banfield Park in Vic West where we like to go for walks, and I love this stand of shaggy cedars, they represent quintessential 'west coast' to me. - Fern

Autumn Colors

Victoria's autumn colors tend to be a bit muted because a large number of our deciduous trees are Garry Oaks. These don't turn glorious autumn shades of red and yellow but go directly to brown. However we do have some nice stands of other trees here and there. Above are some of the trees lining the Gorge at Banfield Park showing that autumn has definitely arrived in Victoria.

Vic West Fest - The Colts

The annual Vic West Fest was celebrated Saturday in Banfield Park. And for those who think Victoria is only for retired folks, here's proof that there are children here too. And very talented children. These neighborhood kids, ranging in age from 7 to 11, gave a great performance at the Vic West Fest. The group is called The Colts and below are some portraits of band members. Yay Vic West!

Bass Guitar	Drums
Lead Singer	Lead Guitar

Vic West Fest - May, 2009

A visitor commented yesterday that all that was missing from Saturday's photo was some of Victoria's friendly people so here's a sample from our amiable Victoria West community enjoying a musical performance at the Vic West Fest at Banfield Park on Saturday. The enthusiastic youngster above is applauding the performance of the Balkan Babes. We are fortunate to hear their award-winning a cappella renditions of Balkan folk songs at many Vic West events. They were featured in an earlier post on this blog and you can hear some of their powerful and affecting music on their MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/balkanbabes. In the photo below they are performing just in front of the slides and swings of the Banfield Park playground. That's the Gorge just visible through the trees in the background.

Selkirk Trestle

After passing under the Bay Street Bridge, the Gorge widens into what is called the Selkirk Waters. Here it is bridged by a restored railway bridge called the Selkirk Trestle. The trestle is part of the Galloping Goose Regional Trail and its use is limited to cyclists and pedestrians. At this point the Gorge leaves the industrial area behind (only small boats can pass beneath the trestle) and from here on it passes through residential areas. The photo below is taken just upstream of the trestle from a small park near where I live called Banfield Park.

Big Sky over Gorge Waterway

This is the view from Banfield Park in Vic West early in the morning.

Self Portrait in Oak

Thought I'd start this daily photo blog with a photo of myself, taken in Banfield Park, in Victoria West.