Vancouver sunset

Taken from the Vancouver Lookout at sunset. The lights of the city beginning to turn on contrasting the natural glow provided by the sun. In the background the mountains stand in gloom against the man-made buildings full of light. To the right the Lionsgate Bridge provides a link from the city to these mountains, cementing Vancouver as a city of contrasts, a metropolis surrounded by nature.

Knox Mule.

In the summer of 2014 I was extremely lucky to go back to Canada. Whilst there our family friend took us on a day trip to Kelowna. We had some time to kill and so opted to go for an explore of Knox Mountain. Having headed up to the highest view point we went to return to the car, only to find this Mule Deer just across from us in the shade of the trees. Such a wonderful moment encountering wildlife in its natural habitat.

Clifton Observatory

 I feel very lucky to live only minutes away from the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge. It is somewhere that I hope to go one time and capture the sunset. I just missed it when I went for an evening walk a couple of weeks ago and instead got to see these wonderful pink clouds. The building here is the Clifton Observatory which houses a camera obscura and also a pathways down into the cliffs to look over the gorge which is something I hope to visit before I leave Bristol in the summer.

Clifton Observatory, Clifton, Bristol, UK

Gum Head

Whilst I was visiting Vancouver this summer, I was told to go and find this sculpture. It is a seven foot mould of the artist Douglas Coupland. The artist describes it as "a gum-based, crowd-sourced, publically interactive, social-sculpture self-portrait". People were encouraged to add their chewed gum to the sculpture until the face was distorted by it. I couldn't work out if this was a clever piece of art or be disgusted by the amount of gum on it, I guess at least the gum wasn't then on the floor for people to stand on. 

Gum Head, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver.

Kayaking the Shuswap (2)

Whilst in Canada we spent 5 hours out on Lake Shuswap kayaking. It was a wonderful experience where we got close to wildlife including a young buck and an Osprey came and caught a fish mere metres away from the boats. Here is my kayak back on the beach after our time out on the lake. It was great fun and a memory that will stay with me for a long time. The lake was a nice refreshing temperature and a nice escape from the heat of the BC summer, with some days hitting 40 degrees.

Shuswap Lake, Salmon Arm, BC, Canada.

Brandon Hill wildlife

Last summer I went for a walk on Brandon Hill to visit Cabot Tower here in Bristol.  Whilst I was there I found out that the park is full of squirrels which are super friendly. There were families there feeding them, much like you would feed ducks at a pond. I'm hoping to go back again sometime to get some more photos of the squirrels.

Procrasti-baking

Something I have found to be of a great help whilst at University and dealing with stress, is the art of procrasti-baking. Usually undertaken with two of my dear friends we spend a few hours making cakes, cookies, bread and pastries to refresh our minds before getting on with work. Here are some chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles and daisy wafers.

Okanagan Valley

 The Okanagan Valley taken from Knox Mountain in Kelowna, BC. We went for a walk along on of the hiking paths. The one we chose apparently runs down the side of the mountain for about a mile until it reaches a public beach. We were only there for a short time so we just took in the beautiful views of the valley in the summer sunshine. Whilst we were here there were fire warnings up, it's not hard to see why with the golden dry grass covering the hills. Such a lovely place to soak up the sunshine.

Knox Mountain, Kelowna, BC, Canada.