31.12.15
Our prospective walk will encompass the extent of Henry Valentine Edmonds's spread with frequent anecdotal stops. The map portrays the lay of the land as it were in 1895. (CVA) Refreshments will be served in due time. Only Sophia remains as a niece of Edmonds. The tree is an addition.

31.12.15
A portion of the BC Binning mural cladding the Dal Grauer Substation. The pixelated mosaic refracts sea amidst sky and forest.

 

31.12.15

Different views of substation pavilion : installed by cedric bomford. The concrete shell serves as an appropriate starting point to survey the industrial frontier dream.

23.11.15
The Columbia Grain Elevator stands partially demolished in October, 1972.  Revealed as a vertical shed. Note inlet and the mountain backdrop. This slide we read has been kept in frozen storage conditions. (CVA)

Rusted and digital the road has given way to greening. Monumental now the structure serves aptly as a place to revisit.

22.11.15
Mr. Higgins and companion sit in view for historical reasons. Somewhere on Lasqueti Island the sun in the decade of the 1920's was pleasing. She is at least half his age, kneeling no seat. Tongue and groove decking, dog sweats tongue. (VPL)

Decades pass only now this shed is clad in yellow cedar reverse board and batten. No tongue only groove as gestured and pointed.

14.11.15
Gutted the shell stands exposed to static upgrading. Crenellations to be retained while mullions crumble and make way for double glazing. Kitsilano High School is one of the few to be spared in part.

11.11.15
Appealing is the concave slope. The sheet hanging in mid-autumn lends a bucolic summer edge.  Equal to the bugles and left/right marchers striding further upwind, jets soared, Stellar Jays squawked.

5.2.15
John Davidson stands aside Jean atop the Cumberland Stone near the site of the Battle of Culloden in 1909. (CVA) The Duke of Cumberland is said to have breakfasted on the ice age rune on the morning of the battle 16 April, 1746. He watched his troops defeat Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Jacobite army, ensuring not only the defeat of the rebellious Highlanders but the suppression of Scottish self-determination. (CVA)

4.2.15
Further afield from Aberdeen, J. Davidson photographed the geological splendor of a rock formation near Buchan between 1898-1911). The lads in the foreground are nestled to give scale and a human element to the scene. There is reason to believe drams were served near the gaping maw. (CVA)

3.2.15
Preparations are underway for a vertical derive in Scotland. Inspiration is gleaned from the jaunty demeanor of the tweeded companion of John Davidson who took the photograph. They are near the top of Ben Rinn (Gaelic: promontory hill), a "Corbett" with an elevation of 841m. (CVA)

An Aberdeen studio photograph shows J. Davidson in repose (1905-11). A man of the hills with an eye ever outwards. He would become a famed Canadian botanist who established the UBC Botanical Garden and explored the Vancouver region extensively. (CVA)

2.2.15

It should be here,
built of wood.

But there it lies.
under moss.

Beside the stream,
fungal rot.

Feathered shells, straw,
sheltered not.

1.2.15
The rusted mullions on the horse barns buckle and warp after decades of neglect. The masonry suffers from a stress fracture while the lack of an overhang ensures egress. Cardboard padding on the inside wall blocks out the light entirely, shutting the eye to the wind, the mind to the sun.

By the track metal drums stand on skeletal frames. The desperately lunging herd is filmed from within as eyes roll intently in their blinkered sockets, frothing and heaving. Paper slips and beer cups, painted nails and aftershave. 

A day at the races circa 1950. (CVA)