Thursday 5 February 2009

walk-about ... in Burnaby Central Park

The entry of Burnaby Central Park is graced by a bronze statue and a memorial to the Canadian soldiers who fought in the Korean war.The paths are easy in Burnaby Central Park - a few acres of forest in a city bordering Vancouver.
Our weather has stayed cold, the little lake was frozen over - except for the area kept open by the ducks.These few acres had squads of squirrels scurrying about. Threading in and out around the fat grey and black squirrels were the Douglas Red Squirrels. They are indigenous to BC, small and agile. The grey and black squirrels were introduced years ago and threaten the smaller squirrels by taking territory and food.
They are called 'red' because of their brown-red tummy. When we were young, we made a 'pet' out of one. I put large walnuts on my lap and sat very still. She would come onto my lap and spin the nut trying to get a tooth hold on it. The next year, 'Sammy' had 3 babies and took them off when our cat became too interested. These little guys moved twice as fast as the others. On the other hand, these chubby fellows were not embarrassed to beg from every person who walked by. They are very proud of those bushy tails. And, they are very good at sitting up, much bolder than the Douglas Squirrels.The second little lake was kept clear by the seagulls who need a place to wash the salt from their feathers.These few acres showed signs of old growth forest. When logging occurred in the early 1900's, the small trees that were left grew tall and strong. The red cedar was important to the first people on the coast: it made their houses and canoes, they wove clothing from the bark and made baskets from their roots.The nurse stumps were left to rot, nourishing the seedlings.The new trees grew from the rotted center and the roots spanned the stump.
Eventually, the stump rots out, leaving a strange sculpture of roots raised from the ground.One problem is that the trees that grow within the stump are weak and will be the first trees to blow down in a windstorm.There is one area that showed signs of fire - probably in the '50's.
This little park is surrounded by high rise apartments. we need more parks like this - a few acres of peace and fresh air with the cry of birds in the air. One surprise: if you are a horseshoe player, you can play a tournament here!

1 comment:

Maria del Valle said...

As usual my dear Vivina your work and your photos are very, very beautiful, congratulations!!

Hugs!
Maria del Valle
http://alarttex.wordpress.com/