Oddities

Everybody's eyes are drawn to different things. John sees geometry; the lines of things. I notice odd shapes and textures; strange combinations of things. Until I scrolled quickly through my summer's pictures, I hadn't realized how often I was stopped in my tracks by an exploding mass of overgrown weeds, a tree growth like an underwater coral, a bloom like an apparition from outer space. Here are some of my oddities:

What is that? Passing an old tree in Point Grey this summer, I noticed this strange yellow blob partway up.

 It has to be a fungus, but its shape, colour and texture makes it look like it belongs underwater. A sea coral, perhaps?

This is sea holly, but to me it looks more like it belong in outer space.

A closer look at this otherworldly blue plant, growing simply in someone's front garden.

Then there's the strange man-made shapes. This triangle of wooden bits and pieces surrounding a bed of purple petunias was at a street intersection in Vancouver's upscale Shaughnessy neighbourhood.

The over-enthusiastic growth of leaves on this tree trunk made me think of  a hirsute human. 

This tree has been carefully shaped into an umbrella over the sidewalk, with a bush shaped into a ball below it. 

This is what it looks like when you're under the umbrella.

A glorious mass of  weedy fuzz about to fly off  and infect the whole neighbourhood. 

And yes, it was in the somewhat neglected garden of a school. 

The smooth shapes of these stone carvings were a beautiful contrast to a field of grasses at VanDusen Garden this summer.

More dried grasses -- this time due to neglect rather than planning. The little house in the background, which has always been a neighbourhood showpiece of beautiful planting,  is awaiting demolition.

These unusual shapes are a breakwater on the Point Grey waterfront. My brother Brian and his wife Wendy discovered them when they were visiting last year. 

I obviously have a thing for high, floppy grasses. This little bench by a sidewalk was surrounded by glorious vegetation.

I've forgotten the name of this bush, but the drooping blooms interested me.

Outside VanDusen Garden, an array of fall flowers contrasts beautifully with the swoop of the grey building.

This is a toad lily, also at VanDusen. My friend Georgeann thought it was a terrible name for such a beautiful plant. I like its star-like shape.

Close up, you can see the flower has spots not just on its outer petals, but on its central area too. It must be this abundance of spots that turns it into a toad lily.

Coneflowers, with their high rounded centres and drooping petals, are always interesting shapes to me. These orange ones outside VanDusen seem like a cheerful way to mark the fall season.