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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Song for Friday...raw talent

Were you ever scorned by a lover?
This is one of those songs.
Best break-up song.
 (aside from Joni Mitchell's 'A Case of You' )
It's a painful tune, but so brilliantly covered by this group of 5 artists.
Unfortunately I do remember feelings like these
but fortunately they were many, many moons ago
and somehow pain of this nature shapes us into who we become.
Like I told an old boyfriend who I ran into once after
a year or so of our not so pleasant breakup...
"Oh yeah, I'm glad we met...you showed me what a real asshole is!"
Now he's just somebody who I used to know.
Keep on the sunny side.
Have a great weekend all!
p.s check out this groups other videos...they're so much fun.

Monday, September 24, 2012

High in the meadows...

Yesterday I went into the city to visit my mom in the hospital (hip surgery)
 and since I had Griffin with me, I took him for a walk up to Summit Park.
It's a small patch of land on top of a hill in the core of the city.
There's a radio tower up there and a water reservoir...
...but there's something else here that's quite unique to this area...
A Garry Oak meadow...
4.5 hectares of scrubby, gnarly 'storybook' trees...
I think of Winnie the Pooh or Wind in the Willows or any number of
magical, childhood tales involving the woods...airy and open with just a trace
of things hiding in the shadows...
We are able to call this unique because the Garry Oak only grows in certain parts
of the world. They range from Southwestern British Columbia to Southern California
and Southwest B.C is the only place in Canada where they exist.
The grass is brown and dry now and the leaves are folding up and floating
to the ground, but in the spring there are wild flowers and birdsong everywhere up here.
In fact, these small patches of conserved land are sanctuaries to city birds.
 the Barred owl, who searches out mice and voles for food
under the light of the moon.
Downy woodpeckers, juncos, white crowned sparrows, hawks and nuthatches.
These trees are the stuff of spooky shadows and of limbs which seem to
reach out for you on a blustery night...
It gives city wildlife a quiet place to rest amongst the cars and people and lights and noise...
Garry oak ecosystems are home to more than 90 species that have
 been designated at risk in British Columbia.
Flowers, trees, reptiles, mammals and birds call this home.
But they aren't the only living creatures who depend on such spaces.
On a busy afternoon, it is humans who need to connect on these patches of high meadows.
 To take a breath and touch the earth beneath us.
To reinforce what's fundamental in life.
 To be aware of this fragile ecosystem.
 
"Large streams from little fountains flow, Tall oaks from little acorns grow."
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Many, tiny babies...

Last year I did a post about houseplants...in particular this lovely fern I have
whose common name is 'Mother of millions' or 'Mother Fern'.
She is so graceful with delicate, long, green arms hanging down,
sometimes brushing your head with the tips of her leaves as you lounge on the sofa...
And now she's gone and done it again...making many tiny babies on the
ends of her fronds and me, trying to find places for them
all to live...
I fill a pretty glass bowl with stones from the beach...
some good potting soil on top of that...
and gently poke about six of the little ones into the moist world that they love so much...
But what to do with the many others?
For now they will go into a dish of water until I find little homes for them.
I do believe I need a conservatory...yes that's it, a fern room of ones own!