Quarantine is bad for health

Vancouver sunset

 

 

Here I am, in quarantine again.... as I am now returned from visiting my family in Vancouver. 

To say that this is hard would be an understatement.

Another 14 days of being confined to quarters, with nothing to do but talk to my other half (OH), weed the garden, and consider my navel.

The lack of anticipation of big hugs all round makes this second 14 days feel like a very different experience.

Quarantine is bad for my health.

 

Not to mention the health of the airlines. 

 

This is Calgary airport international terminal.

 

My flight to Gatwick was the only flight listed on the board.

 

 

Calgary airport in the time of Covid-19

 

Before I left England I wrote to my MP asking why I had to quarantine on my return when there is much less Covid-19 in Canada than in the UK. 

 

He replied saying that he is too busy to reply. 

I think it is something to do with Brexit.....

Meanwhile I am quietly losing my marbles and the airlines are quietly going bankrupt.

Here is the arrivals area at Gatwick.

Anyway, apart from being just a tiny bit miffed, I am well and had a wonderful time in Vancouver with my family. 

All activities were outdoors, and on some days we could almost forget about the pandemic.

 

 

We walked the seawall. 

We cycled the seawall.

We swam in the sea, in mountain lakes and walked in the forest. 

All were cool and refreshing.

 

There are a lot of pine trees in Canada. 

 

 

 

 

 

And bears...... 

This is classic bear country.

 

Not to mention cougars......

 

Canada is a dangerous country.......

Or so my inner voice tells me whenever I try to walk alone in the forest.

Best to walk in a group. 

Which makes contemplative landscape photography almost impossible for one who is easily spooked.

Playing with a snow shovel on the beach and making pirate ships out of driftwood was much more appealing.

In Harrison Hot Springs I found the Sasquatch less of a threat.....

The Sasquatch is a much revered creature with a conveniently sized 2 metre arm span.

The hot springs were closed...... not so convenient. 

As were the kayaks and bicycle hire.

But my son and I did find ourselves on the set for a new movie 'Solitary'.

On asking, we were initially told that they were filming 'a movie' . 

But we were persistent. 

We dug deeper... and were told that it is about ' a man who has been in solitary confinement for 7 years and is then released into the world in the grip of a covid-19 pandemic  and social isolation'. 

I for one can't wait. Who needs 007?

Social distancing advice from the Sasquatch

When walking alone I decided to 'notice what I notice'.

I am known for noticing traffic cones and small things.

I cannot be the only person to think that the cones of Vancouver have been renamed for the pandemic.

The other thing that I notice in Canada is deciduous trees; mainly because there are so few of them.

I miss them when away from England. They are mostly found only in parks and gardens.

I enjoy the changes of autumn. The beauty of a single leaf left on the tip of a branch.

Mountain, tree, leaf.

Sources of great pleasure.

Enough.  Time to stop writing.

I am in quarantine and have lots to do.....

OH has gone out to do real things like sailing and walk on the beach.

He has left me with some potatoes. I will feast later.

For now I have just had a delivery from the postman; a new book.

'Japanese book binding' by Kojiro Ikegami.

I shall spend the rest of the day learning some different types of Japanese and Chinese bindings.

I will leave you with my video '14 days'..... from my first quarantine.

They really weren't so bad!

Sunday afternoon selfies in Kyoto - on ancient and modern traditions

 Late November is autumn in Japan

Japanese acer

OH ( my other half) and I didn't realise what a big thing the atumn leaves are to the Japanese until  we arrived at our first world heritage temple in Kyoto.

It is BIG.

Four star big....

On a par with cherry blossom season.

autumn colour forecast

Time for dressing up and taking selfies under the acers.

Kimono hire and selfies is the way to go. Mixing the traditions of the past with those of the present.

But you will have to wait your tun for the best tree.

While you are waiting for the best branch, you can practice your selfie pose.

And then compare notes with your friends

kimono selfies

Watching these antics lead me to a degree of hair envy.

I realised that I just couldn't compete with the young Japanese.

Jeans and hiking shoes don't cut the mustard.

Grey hairs and an absence of adornment shows a lack of self respect.

I needed a make over.

But didn't get one.

I could not compete with these beauties.

traditional hair style for kimono

Elegant and poised.

kimono and parasol

traditions, old and new

No way was OH going to look on adoringly as I posed in the autumn sun.

He would probably adopt an expression a bit more like this guy (below), who seems less impressed with the game.

No leaf selfies for us. For we had work to do.

Temples to visit. Trains and buses to catch.

Crowds to negotiate.

Sites to see.

Sunday afternoon in Kyoto

And I mean real crowds.

There are a lot of people in Japan. Especially on a Sunday afternoon in Kyoto.

Arashiyama bridge, Kyoto

No time to sit and ponder.

This is a land of wonder. Crowds or not.

And we were here to see it all....( well most of it, anyway) .

The fancy clothes and hair would have to wait.

paying respect at Kiyumizodera temple, Kyoto, Japan

Lady with chrysanthemum

The trees were a riot of colour for the whole of our trip, and my camera/phone was mostly pointed skywards.

Japanese acers

As usual, my holiday snaps don't give a really good impression of where I have been.

These trees could be almost anywhere.....

Japanese maple in autumn

OH has promised to buy me a selfie stick for Christmas. He can see that I have stick and hair envy....

Who knows what might transpire.

I might get some images of myself that are better than the one that he took of me, posing in front of the Pacific Ocean, wearing impossibly dull clothing....

 I jest.....

but you already know that.

Vancouver in the fall - an autumn leaf fest

autumn leaves © Caroline Fraser

I am visiting family in Vancouver at one of my favourite times of year; autumn ( or fall if you live over here).

The colours of the acres and poplars dotted between the tall pines fill me with wonder.

A richness of colours that I don't find back home.

In between rain showers I have crept out with my camera to collect leaves and wander the forest paths. Water dripping from green mosses; the sound of creeks running down the hillside towards the ocean.

I have been playing with fire trucks and reading toddlers' stories in a cosy home at the foot of the mountain. But outdoors is where I really wish to be.

autumn colours © Caroline Fraser

waiting for fall

autumn gold © Caroline Fraser

I started with some long exposures in the dark of the forest, but found myself drawn increasingly to individual leaves.

So many leaves. Not a single one the same.

This is the preoccupation that has been with me this week.

 I tried capturing them first against stones and wood in the landscape, but soon realised that I was looking for a more pure isolation of each leaf.

a single leaf

A portrait, set against a backdrop of some clean creamy paper felt more delicate.

Turn it over and a different beauty emerges.

 More subtle and sparse.

Each different from its neighbour.

Suddenly I am no longer interested in blurry images. I am drawn to the detail.

I keep collecting leaves of different shapes and sizes.

a leaf with no name

And will be carrying some home to work on if they survive the journey.

Finally I found a wonderful jumble of leaves amongst some hostas in Stanley Park.

They form a different scene; resembling a still life with rich dark hues.

Add caption

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

fall © Caroline Fraser

They remind me of currants and berries.

Organised chaos.

It will soon be all over, as we head towards winter.

All of these images different from the ones I made last year in the same places.

And that is what I love about photography; there is always a new way to find things, as our thoughts about what we see change and develop.

Here are some leaves waiting to fall.....