A Hint of Spring!

We walked the lake trail this past weekend after not being on it all winter! It felt springy!

Far down the trail we spotted a big group of loons! Normally we seem them in pairs or solitary by our house, but here we found what must be their main neighborhood. A group of five loons! of course, they swam away as soon as they saw me with my camera.

Sometimes

Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,

from bad to worse. Some years, muscadel

faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,

sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war,

elect an honest man; decide they care

enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.

Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go

amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.

The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow

that seemed hard frozen: may it happen to you.

The Grace of the World

None of these shots are very good but the moon intrigued me because it was so big and bright on February 1st. The photo above is the moon rising over Anderson Mountain and the photo below is the moonglow shining on the lake, looking west.

Is anything more graceful than the moon...

The Peace of Wild Things

Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come in to the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Butchart Gardens

It was overcast and misty rain but I really wanted to see Butchart Gardens in the winter. I'd visited in summer twice before, so seeing it bare and without bloom was my goal. I thought I'd gain some good ideas for our yard here at home. And, guess what - I did!

So much beautiful moss!!

The Japanese Garden was the most inspiring. I'm hopeful we can create a moss garden at home in the contemplation, shade side of the house.

Right in the middle of the garden path is a little side path that leads to an overlook of this fishing boat. I thought it was a perfect picture of the village from years ago.

Oh, giardino bello! The Italian garden is beautiful and now I have ideas for a courtyard on all that cement in front of the house! Daryl just rolled his eyes at me, he's so polite...

Victoria

Looking back toward Tsawwassen as we head toward Swartz Bay! What a beautiful January dary to cruise through the Sunshine Coast. No matter where I go, living here always amazes me.

I thought I'd found this delightful, boutique, antique hotel online but it was kinda a dud. The windows weren't quaint, they were just old and original and didn't open, so, I took this shot with my camera on the windowsill. I love the context of modern office building as a background for the very old church steeple. We were only a couple blocks from the Inner Harbor and the famous Empress Hotel, where my parents honeymooned 50 years ago! We love staying in Victoria because it's international travel without the hassle!

Not sure what the temps were, neither in metric or American! but, it was cold! I have on a wool scarf that was made in India that I bought in Bellingham, a wool sweater made in the Burren of Ireland that I bought near Dun Laorie, and mittens made in Idaho! We saw boats in the marina from all over too!

Parliament, which is over 100 years old, was set in lights for The Queens Diamond Jubilee in 2002. Apparently she thinks she has been the queen of Canada for 50 years but people here know differently! We visited when we did because we knew once the Olympics started it would be difficult to get through the borders as easily as we otherwise would. As it was, the waits were very long. Victoria is wonderful because you can explore and walk all day and still have something left to see or do. Next time we go we want to visit China Town. How have we been here so many times and never knew it was there??

An overcast view of the famous Empress Hotel. Still majestic after 102 years! My mom was born and raised in Canada and all her siblings still live there, mostly east coast. My father's family has extensive ties to Canada, and my Uncle Lorne is still a citizen though he lived, worked, and raised children in the U.S. for years. Sometimes I think it is because of my family roots that I feel settled whenever I visit Canada.

There is a bluff just past the harbor in a residential neighborhood off the downtown Victoria area with magnificent views of the Washington Olympic Mountain Range.

A Winter Fair

Herons in Winter in the Frozen Marsh
Mary Oliver

All winter two blue herons

hunkered in the frozen marsh,

like two columns of blue smoke.

What they ate

I can't imagine,

unless it was the small laces

of snow that settled

in the ruckus of the cattails,

or the glazed windows of ice

under the tired

pitchforks of their feet—

so the answer is

they ate nothing,and nothing

good could come of that.

They were mired in nature, and starving.

Still, every morning

they shrugged the rime from their shoulders,

and all day they

stood to attention

in the stubbled desolation.

I was filled with admiration,

sympathy,

and, of course, empathy.

It called for a miracle.

Finally the marsh softened,

and their wings cranked open

revealing the old blue light,

so that I thought: how could this possibly be

the blunt, dark finish?

First one, then the other, vanished

into the ditches and upheavals.

All spring, I watched the rising blue-green grass,

above its gleaming and substantial shadows,

toss in the breeze,

like wings.

New to us! A bird we'd never noticed before showed up last week, a merganser, though not sure which specific kind. Exciting, huh?

Winter has felt very long this year, with many challenges, and except for the spiritual light of winter, I'm ready for spring!