Ron,

I was going downtown anyway this afternoon, so looked in at the Royal B.C.Museum gift shop and the Empress Hotel gift shops.

The Museum had some locally made stone 'birds' but the stone wasn't much more than an egg-shaped (and sized) polished stone with legs like long chopsticks attached - the sort of thing that doesn't look much like a bird at all, & is hyped as 'minimalist ' if that conveys get the general idea. They certainly didn't have webbed feet. I assumed that this wasn't what you have in mind, so I didn't ask the prices.

The Empress places had only a garish-looking bird carved in some exotic wood & painted & with feathers glued to it at $12,500, and a very heavy bronze of a Blue Heron by somebody called Michael Lord in much better taste ( I thought) but it was $15,750.

You've aroused my curiosity. I've been promising myself (for the last several years) to try see Nitobe again & assuming the trip comes off, I'll look in the Botanical Gardens store. (The last time we tried to visit Nitobe, we found all access to the garden barricaded by thugs supporting an illegal strike, so we were thwarted & got the next ferry home.)

About how big is this bird - & what sort is it? With webbed feet I guess it's obviously aquatic.

Herb

Actually,Herb, my friend's is about 3 to 4 feet high..... the body granite stone is the size of a good watermelon.... the R-bar legs are realistically crooked while the web-feet are a triad of short delta-shaped 6 to 8 inch pieces of R-bar..... the neck and head are well-shaped pieces...a very strikingly beautiful 'sculpture'..... and I believe he purchased this about 10 years ago for less than 100 dollars somewhere on the island.... I need to press him further to try to remember just where he got it....

Yes, Nitobe is exquisite.... my family home is not far from it.... and my still gardening 90 year old mother loves to visit such gems....I took her out to Chilliwack recently to see Minter Gardens.... what a beautiful place.... have you been there?

They have an exhibit in a pagoda=like structure that has astoundingly old hunks of jade or jade-like rock that are so evocative of craggy Chinese mountains....undoubtedly a very valuable collection....I particularly liked the little accompanying figurines...fish boats...temples...etc that were nestled well and appropriately in the jade mountain's orbit....I would like to have a small facsimile somewhere in my rockscape.... I need to find out what this exhibit is called so I can research a bit.

Also I would like to have a NOT-so miniature 'tabled' Zen garden and its appropriate components somewhere out ..... so I could satisfy my inner RAKE and his need to pattern seas of readily-responsive sand!

So much to do...lol.... sorry you had to be thwarted by 'proletarian philistines' on your horticultural pilgrimage..... alas we are never immune to the fly-works in our intended ointments.... ;o)

Thanks,Ron

Ron,

No, I haven't been to Minter gardens so I've put it on my list.

Your mention of a miniature Zen garden leads me to suggest - if you haven't seen it - that you go to the More About Moss thread and scroll down to Jack's posting where he gives a link to "sheared". I think you'll like what you see.

Herb

Ron, I have 2 of that kind of birds, e-mail to me, I can send the pictures, etc... I still haven't try to post pictures here.

Andrea