Category: Urban Life

Housesitting in New West.

7/16/2017

Agassiz to Coquitlam on the 7. #FraserValley #Highway7 #BritishColumbia pic.twitter.com/1n74jqFUeO
— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) July 10, 2017

I have jumped on the opportunity to do some housesitting for some friends in New Westminster. I am teaching, if it can be called that, a group of Chinese 11-13 year old students in Coquitlam, so it's good to be able to live closer to that job for time and money's sake, even if it's only or a week.

I don't know if I'm a good city-liver. I may have spent too many years out in the country to handle the traffic, but I genuinely enjoy using the SkyTrain to meander around the city. Tomorrow morning I will take the SkyTrain to work for the first time ever, and I might be practically excited about it.

I'm a transit dork. But transit gives me a chance to read, to think, to not stress about traffic, and a good excuse to walk from one place to another.

A few photos I took today:

#YVR #vancouver #skytrain #publicart

A post shared by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Jul 16, 2017 at 5:50pm PDT

Discovered a #treehouse on my run today. #newwestminster #YVR

A post shared by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Jul 16, 2017 at 12:21pm PDT

#YVR #cruiseship #cruiseliner #vancouver #vancouver2victoria #coalharbour #stanleypark

A post shared by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Jul 16, 2017 at 5:23pm PDT

Trying to teach the ESL kids how to play ultimate frisbee. #Coquitlam

A post shared by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Jul 13, 2017 at 3:21pm PDT

The mosquitoes have been brutal up in Agassiz, so I've been doing my runs closer to YVR when I have the chance. I've found running a useful way to explore the cities so I can get to know them better. I've discovered a little foot bridge in Coquitlam, run back and forth over the Pitt River Bridge, and explored a series of parks in New West, all with running. I kind-of hope that this housesitting venture will give me my first chance to run the seawall in Stanley Park, although I expect I will be passed by numerous chiseled, svelte native Vancouverites.

And tomorrow I will return to my sparse classroom in Coquitlam to try to get these campers to speak and listen to some English.

This is my classroom for the next few weeks. Sparse, eh? pic.twitter.com/DcGunHkT7E
— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) July 13, 2017

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Barred owl.

12/6/2015

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There was a barred owl sitting across the street from the Modern Tire place in Chilliwack. I passed by it on the way to the pet hospital with my dog; when I returned 45 minutes later, the predator was still there. So I took some pictures.

One more photo of the #barredowl that's still perched on the same branch... 4 hours later. #owl #Chilliwack #owls #owlstagram #birds #birdstagram #nofilter

A photo posted by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Dec 6, 2015 at 2:17pm PST

A barred owl I saw today in #Chilliwack. #barredowl #bardowl #owl #birdstagram #owlstagram #birdwatching #owls

A photo posted by Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) on Dec 6, 2015 at 12:28pm PST

I saw a bard owl in #Chilliwack today. I think. #bardowl #birdsoftwitter #owlsoftwitter #birdwatching #birdwatch pic.twitter.com/JX9XG66L3I
— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) December 6, 2015

http://jeffnords.tumblr.com/post/134682708901/i-got-to-see-a-barred-owl-today-well-at-least-my

Here's some video of the #barredowl I saw today. #owl #owls #owlsoftwitter #birdwatching #urbanwildlife #birds pic.twitter.com/3HXPvKBVYM
— Jeffrey Nordstrom (@jeffnords) December 6, 2015

It's probably pretty obvious that I thought this was really, really cool.

It might still be sitting there, 6 hours later. When I passed the tree an hour ago, it was still there.

The last time I saw one of these was when I was a camper at Youth Camp at Camp Qwanoes, probably back in 1997 or so. We had arranged a scavenger hunt for a "cabin date" and happened to walk right into a juvenile, sitting on a branch at eye level.

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Housesitting in New West.

Barred owl.

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