Well I was going to write a complete Part 2 to the Boris Vian fever but my sudden need for absurdity has faded as fast as is came.

Add to that the fact that yesterday afternoon was mostly filled with flowers and birds, and absurd just becomes irrelevant. Flowers aren’t funny or bizarre or sad, they just are. It’s up to us to translate them into pure beauty and perfume and music. On that day when we walk unnoticing by a blooming tree or a singing bird, they haven’t changed, really. We have.

So instead I’ll cover the rest of the day through a few short scenes. No chronology here, just flashes.

My favorite first. We are the VanDusen Botanical Garden. I had been planning my shot for a few long minutes, patiently waiting for the Canadian Goose to come out of the pond. Then the little girl showed up. I thought she had ruined the shot. In fact, she had just created it.

Some plants go through amazing trouble to protect themselves and even grow thorns, like the Little Prince’s rose trying to make herself look meaner than she really was.

 

There was the UBC Museum of Anthropology. Grinning masks and old wooden sculptures in a very modern setting.

 

There were exotic flowers, pungent smells and wonderfully crafted gardens.

 

And then there were the Bloedel Conservatory birds, living in their small artificial tropical dome among orchids and lush trees. The air was humid and reminded me of Montreal’s much larger Biodome.