Out and about with the Thursday Walking Group

When we do the seawall walk at West Vancouver we always meet at the Ferry Building Gallery seen above. Before the opening of the Lion’s Gate Bridge in 1938, the only means of transport between West Vancouver, on the north shore, and Vancouver downtown, on the south shore of the harbour, was a ferry service which was finally discontinued in 1947.

Constructed in 1913, this building was the headquarters and ticket centre of the West Vancouver Ferry Company. Now beautifully restored it serves the community as a centre for Arts and Culture with art exhibits, art lectures and tours, art classes and programs, and artist’s demos. We often pop into the gallery after our walk for there is always something of interest on display.

In a flower bed near the Ferry Building these tiny iris, not much taller than the nearby crocuses, made a carpet of brilliant blue.

In between some homes near the Ferry Building is a little plot of land which serves as a communal garden. Argyle Village Gardens. The property is owned by the District of West Vancouver and the lucky gardeners who have plots there are able to garden in one of the most idyllic settings, with a wonderful view of the harbour. This small group of homes is known as Argyle Village and the owners have a lifetime only interest in the properties which will ultimately revert to the District.

Looking over the fence you can see the raised beds, empty now save for the odd evergreen herb, waiting for the gardeners to come in Spring and plant them up. It’s just the size of a small suburban lot.

Here we find two dogs enjoying a frolic at the water’s edge. Naturally the Labrador is chasing sticks in the water, with the Westie looking on. Sensible dog, it was only 8 degrees Celsius.

Of course I had to speak to the Westie and her owner and swap Westie stories. Miss Rhyllie is her name and she is just four months old. She’s the spitting image of Miss Cleo at that age. You know when I went to pick up Cleo from the doggie wash it was just as well she knew me because all the Westies looked alike after their spruce-up and I doubt I could have picked her from a line-up.

Spring is almost here with an early ornamental cherry showing pink in this little seating area off the seawall walkway where you can rest awhile and look out over the water and watch the boats and the birds and today we even saw a harbour seal, diving and surfacing leisurely near the shore. No photo, a bit too far away.

Lastly, this euphorbia is showing a lot of colour and will probably be out in full splendour soon. There are many different types of euphorbia and this plant is Euphorbia dendroides L, or tree spurge, a small beautiful tree/shrub and a very fine specimen it is.