Happy Halloween

Schoolkids carved some brilliant pumpkins, on display at the Van Dusen Botanic Gardens, with some very clever and intricate ones besides these. Of interest, Halloween celebrations here seem different from the UK. People dress up, but not usually as anything scary (our waitress this morning was an angel). Signs and ornaments are adorned with spiders, cobwebs and silly stuff, and there are a lot of fireworks going off tonight.

Some good birds in the gardens - belted kingfisher, Steller's jay and some red-shafted flickers - but the highlight was a flock of trumpeter swans that flew over the apartment.