This was the first day after a batch of very warm days (around 30°C) when the temperature was relatively mild, only getting up to about 20 degrees. It was cloudy, too, making it an ideal day to try a short run to test the, uh, running waters.
But I balked. I got up early after a fairly poor sleep, and did some things in the morning, then just kind of faded for the rest of the day.
I don’t think it’s related to the surgery, at least not physically. The weather looks showery tomorrow and I like running in the rain about as much as a house cat likes taking a bath, so it seems unlikely I’ll resume jogging tomorrow. But…maybe.
In which a crow demonstrates why the Raptor Trail may need to be renamed Corvid Trail.
Reifel Bird Sanctuary
A green London Slough, filled with Canada Geese and a couple of turtles.
Our first stop was Reifel, which I haven’t been to since the surgery. Much like myself, the sanctuary has mostly healed from its own issues, namely all trails are now open, though at least three are rather lumpy, with signs warning you to walk like you’re an ATV.
Despite sunny skies, comfy (not hot) temperatures the front gate was open and, indeed, there weren’t too many people around. Something non-birding people may not realize is that summer is actually about the worst time for birding, because:
Maximum tree canopy makes birds in trees harder to spot. Birds like trees.
It’s an in-between season, meaning a lot of spring migrants have already left and the winter migrants are yet to arrive, so it’s mostly local birds, which may disappoint some looking for something more exotic.
Also, the higher-then-normal temperatures this spring mean the various ponds and waterways are already getting a lot of algae and slime, so the views are sometimes a little green in a way that is less aesthetically pleasing.
Still, we saw C21 (a goose with one of those dorky big collars) and for some reason I couldn’t remember the name of the explosive compound so mused incorrectly about watching out for C1, then C2, then Nic reminded me it’s actually C4 and I was like, that’s totes what I meant. Watch out for the C4 goose, it hisses and then BOOM.
The Sandhill Cranes were out and about, which is always nice to see. Like Mallards and a few other species, they are generally indifferent to people, so you are sometimes presented with the challenge of them getting too close for a good shot.
We saw one Wood Duck, I think. The rest were Mallards, the males looking pretty scruffy now.
Barn Swallows were present near the entrance with a few tending nests, but I did not see any babbies.
Speaking of babbies, a family of goslings was trundling about, now in their gawky teen “all legs” phase. Not quite cuddly anymore, but cute in a goofy sort of way.
There were also plumes of sand wasps along the Outer Dyke trail. We took some photos, then I suggested we move on because I was concerned about smooshing some accidentally and doing that when surrounded by them seemed like it might lead to an unpleasant turn of events. They are still wasps, after all.
I also got my first dragonfly shots of the season, which turned out OK. I was generally not thrilled with today’s shots, but I admit, I am not a Hardcore Birder/Photographer. Maybe I should be and start a blog called hardcorebirderphotographer.com.
Anyway, we shot a lot of bugs, because most song birds were hiding. I suggested we hit Centennial Beach next, so we did.
Centennial Beach
Boundary Bay, unbounded by water. The people provide perspective!
We started near the pond and worked our way to the pump station, then back, walking along the Raptor Trail as one does along the way.
Near the pond we saw some Brewer’s Blackbirds, which I haven’t seen in approximately a hundred years. Their eyes are a striking yellow and they have a kind of cute derpy quality to them that I like. It’s why I did one for my bird art.
We saw more sand wasps, panting crows, baby ducks and a few Killdeer (which were weirdly hard to shoot, in part because they kept moving and I don’t mean bobbing their heads, though they did a lot of that, too) walking around the very low tide area. On the aforementioned Raptor Trail we spotted a Northern Harrier flying high overhead. Then another bird emerged–a crow! The crow did not like the harrier being there and assumed attack formation. The harrier quickly vacated the airspace and the crow went back to the invisible line marking the periphery of its territory. No one messes with crows.
A few more scenery shots (nice views across the expanse of the bay, though the horizon was hazy) and we set off to our last stop, Illegal Bird Feeding Place.
Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake
Typical late afternoon wind rippling the lake surface, towers in the distance.
Which is to say Piper Spit. The illegal bird feeding didn’t happen until we were just leaving, though, so our rage was more contained. I’m pretty sure they could erect a 10-metre sign here saying IF YOU BRING SEED WE WILL KILL YOU DEAD and people would casually walk by, clutching their bags of seed. It’s just the world we live in now. What we need, clearly, are Guard Geese.
The island is still submerged, though the water is shallow enough for the geese to stand in and geese were once again the dominant waterfowl here, with Mallards and Wood Ducks comprising most of the rest. A couple of Sandhill Cranes were on hand, too, though they were stalking about separately.
Blackbirds flitted about, smearing seed over their bills as they do, and a few pigeons were once again playing sexy and generating no interest whatsoever from the other pigeons. As they do.
In all, a perfectly cromulent day of birding and a nice break from the torrid heat of the previous outing. Next stop: Summer 2026!
The Shots
Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto. Some scenery captured on a Samsung Galaxy S26.
Some of the shots in the gallery are not exactly sharp, but I chose each for a reason, usually stated in the captions.
Barn Swallow tending nest.
Barn Swallow hanging out.
Barn Swallow hanging in the shade.
Two male Brown-headed Cowbirds expressing themselves.
Male Brown-headed Cowbird up close, with seed.
Not a great shot, but this Great Blue Heron cooling itself looks totally metal.
A crow panting in the heat.
Marshland scenery at Reifel.
Not a great shot, but great drama. A crow informs a Northern Harrier it has invaded the crow's space.
Killdeer on the shoreline at Centennial Beach.
A baby duck being very cute.
A female Brown-headed Cowbird.
A somewhat pondering Sandhill Crane.
Sandhill Crane strutting across the shallows.
Bald Eagle coming in for a landing at Reifel.
"Look into my freaky eyes," said the fly.
A red dragonfly.
Sand wasps wasping together.
Sand wasp up close and thinking of digging a burrow.
Canada Goose not quite snoozing.
A gosling chilling out on the grass.
Don't zoom in. I was lucky to grab this shot of a heron flying overhead.
A male Mallard unfussed about his scruffy looks.
Boundary Bay, with less bay thanks to low tide.
Shady pigeon.
A pigeon trying to convince a female Mallard that it is very sexy.
A sitting duck.
Song Sparrow in shadow.
Song Sparrow mid-song.
A male Wood Duck contemplating life (well, a few months) without a resplendent mullet.
A Bewick's Wren having a dirt bath, as ones does.
The bill is not in focus due to extreme FOV but I love the derpy look of a Sandhill Crane from the front.
This almost certainly has nothing to do with the surgery, but for some reason I am really up in the hizzy with the phlegm. Is it related to seasonal allergies? The weather? Male menopause? Some other mysterious condition that will eventually be revealed in an unrelated CT scan? I don’t know, but I’m going to check with my doctor, because I’ve learned not to fool around with this stuff anymore.
Meanwhile, my body continues to increment toward normal, if you don’t count the phlegmpocalypse happening in my throat. I can now go through most of the day without thinking about how the surgeried parts of my body feel. This is actually more significant than it sounds and is a good thing indeed.
The Metro Vancouver area is in dire need of more luxury condo towers, so it’s good that more are being built1!
Shot today at Metrotown, when I was out buying a JAWS t-shirt 50 years late.
Who needs affordable housing, anyway?
Unrelated, here is what’s happening next door to Royal Columbian Hospital as they presumably remove the construction crane seen on the left. Also in portrait format!
Truck assuming position of vehicle in high-speed chase through San Francisco.
This is one of probably three somewhat political posts I’ll make this year. Enjoy! ↩︎
Specifically, while I am seeing constant, if incremental improvements (incisions continuing to heal, puffiness around the big one reduced substantially) I am leaning more toward it taking additional weeks to return to normal…if that happens. Because I am also leaning toward some minor but permanent nerve damage in my chest area. I guess I’ll find out eventually.
Also, based on direct observation, my chest hair grows back approximately 1,000 times slower than my facial hair.
I was originally going to try my first baby run post-surgery today, but then the forecast came out with a high of 31°C (it got to 32) and I noped right out of that.
Instead, I walked to Burnaby Lake and back. In fact, I walked all the way to Piper Spit, which is about a 12 km round trip. I got my weekly 150 Intensity Minutes™ and even tried actual running for a minute or two, to see if I’d keel over or something.
I did not keel over. The part that felt the worst was my legs, actually. I didn’t stretch before, since I was walking, and my shins could feel it. Then my calf muscles. Then I stopped running.
The next day when the weather looks to be reasonable is Thursday but if it gets cooler before then (highs of 32 and 29 tomorrow and Wednesday) I will try sooner. In the meantime, I will continue to walk briskly.
At Burnaby Lake, there were a few bear signs by the dam, but none at the Piper Spit entrance or Nature House or anywhere else, so I am unsure if there are bears or if they’re just very localized.
Overall, it went pretty decently. I’m more out of shape than feeling the effects of surgery now, as nature intended.
A few photos:
Looking at Piper Spit from the viewing tower.Empire of lily pads.Duck family.Flowers in the butterfly garden.
The thing I notice after one month1Assuming you don’t count months that have 28, 29 or 31 days post-surgery is that I am going longer without thinking about my new scars, the still-lingering sensitivity of the surgery area or other stuff related to the surgery. I just do my usual, everyday routines. This is good. I even have 293 Intensity Minutes for the week. Intensity Minutes sounds very macho, but in my case, it’s just brisk walking.
I want to run tomorrow, but it’s supposed to get up to 30°C, which is pretty stupid hot, but we’ll see.
(Please see the previous post for your semi-daily cat image.)
I went birding today. It was fine. I have 22,000 steps as I type this and for most of the day the surgery area was a non-factor. It’s slightly itchy right now, and I’ll almost certainly need to sleep with the covers down due to its ongoing sensitivity, but it is what it is.
Still unsure if I’ll write these reports daily going forward, but here’s a pigeon preview from today’s birding. I’ll probably post the write-up and shots tomorrow as me tired.
But to be fair, the info I got on release from the hospital said 4–6 weeks for full recovery and in most ways that matter, I am now fully recovered.
What remains is the area of my chest where the surgery was done is still a bit sensitive to touch/sensation. The incisions are healing, though I’m closer now to fully healed/seeing what kind of cool scars I’ll end up with. I am mostly sleeping normally again, though I tend to keep the bedding off due to the aforementioned sensitivity.
I bought groceries today and didn’t calculate in my head how much everything weighed to make sure I wasn’t over the 10 pound (4.5 kg) limit.
I have 199 intensity minutes this week, all from my usual brisk walking pace. That’s nice.
I’m pretty much back to normal. I’m not always thinking about the surgery or its after-effects. I look forward to my first run (soon).
The daily reports may continue, or they may not. On the one hand, it keeps me posting. On the other, there’s little to report now, and maybe I could start posting more about other things as my mind turns to just living my life more or less normally again.
I don’t know why my bathtub has suddenly become a spider hotspot, but it has. The two cellar spiders are at opposite ends, which is probably a good thing, since they eat other spiders. Or maybe it’s a bad thing, because eventually all corners of the tub will be occupied by cellar spiders protecting its territory.
There are worse problems to have, I suppose.
Cellar spider #2. Hopefully not second in a series.
I had the appointment with the surgeon today. I journeyed to the hospital via SkyTrain, initially unaware that there was a World Cup game happening that afternoon downtown between Canada and Qatar. I say initially unaware because every station from Sapperton to Stadium was filled with people bedecked in red Canadian jerseys. Some people also had miniature Canadian flags, Canadian hats, capes and pretty much any kind of clothing or object you could wear and put a Canadian flag onto. I picked up on the fact that there just might be a game happening.
This didn’t actually impact my trip in any way, it was just interesting and a little weird to observe.
The security theatre downtown was impressive, especially when viewed from above on the SkyTrain. You’d never guess it was just a soccer (football) game.
Anyway, I arrived over an hour early and chose to have lunch at the Wendy’s that has stood at the corner of Cambie and Broadway since time immemorial. Seriously, I’ve lived here since 1986 and I don’t remember it ever not being there.
I ordered the Classic Chicken Combo. The chicken burger was hot, so either freshly cooked or freshly nuked. It was also juicy, so I’m guessing the former. I still had that issue I always have with their chicken burgers where the mayo and tomato combine to provide a slippery exit ramp for the patty and it starts squipping out of the bun. I finished the chicken, but not the bun. Gotta watch those carbs.
This Wendy’s also had one of those universal drink fountains where they give you a cup and then you select which of the thousand beverages you want, and you can mix them if that’s your thing. The last time I encountered such a device I gave up and asked for a drink at the counter because I could not figure it out. I don’t know if the machines have changed, or I have changed, but this time I:
Pressed the button for Coke Zero
Placed the cup on the circle
Pressed the button that said Press to Fill (or something like that)
And I got my Coke Zero and that was that.
After lunch, I finally made my way to the hospital building and upon arrival, the office assistant gave me a form and told me to go down to the third floor for an X-ray, which I did. I then returned and a short time later met with the surgeon. He grumbled about the IT system because he did not have the X-ray yet, though he should have. He said he would phone with the results when he eventually got them, good or bad, though he said he did not expect any issues.
He looked at my healing incisions and declared them fine. He gave his blessing to lift more than 10 pounds and to go running or otherwise resume normal activities.
Then he told me, in a sort of understated way, that I had cancer.
Had being the operative word.
Having read the pathology report, he gave me the findings:
The tumour (for it is now known as such) was 100% successfully removed and showed no signs of growth or spreading.
It was thymoma, a type of cancerous tumour that is “less aggressive”, initially shows no symptoms and is rare enough that only about 400 (the equivalent of maybe 45 Canadians) Americans get diagnosed with it every year.
I will have a CT scan (with no dye, yay) next May to make sure no new shenanigans are at play in my chest, as there is a non-zero chance of recurrence, though it is in the low percentage range.
The relevant quote from the Wikipedia article linked above is this:
One-third to one-half of all persons with thymoma have no symptoms at all, and the mass is identified on a chest X-ray or CT/CAT scan performed for an unrelated problem.
It turns out I was quite lucky to have a kidney infection that resulted in a CT scan back in January 2025. Thank you, malfunctioning kidney! (The kidney is better now.)
It would be very nice indeed if I had no more health issues for the rest of the year. Or ever again. I’ll even keep the seasonal allergies if needed.
