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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

Friday, October 12, 2012

Song for Friday...finally!


We are finally getting some much needed rain after 4 months of 
gorgeous summer and golden autumn.
Although most of us embraced this long stretch of warmth,
there are those of us, like myself, who have been trying
to do a sort of rain dance. 
For our well to rise once more and our pond to fill again.
But more importantly we are thinking of the trees, the flora, and 
at this time of year, the salmon.
They need this rain to fill the rivers, to help them on their
journey upstream, for their main purpose in life.
After hatching in the rivers of their beginnings,
they swim out to the sea, spending four years, growing strong and mature,
only to come back to carry on the line and then their lives are complete.
I have been thinking so much of this song by Neil Young.
I have printed the words because it's so poignant regarding these
fish. They have "the will to love".
The will to live.
As I sit here with turkey soup stewing on the stove top,
the skies grey once again, I pray for torrents of water to 
come down, not too fast but enough for the salmon.
Have a beautiful weekend all.

"Will To Love"


It has often been my dream
To live with one
who wasn't there
Like an ocean fish
who swam upstream
Through nets,
by hooks, and hungry bears.

When the water grew less deep
My fins were aching
from the strain
I'm swimming in my sleep
I know I can't go back again.

Got the will to love,
the will to love.
I'll never lose it,
never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like
something from up above.

I can be like
a fire in the night
Always warm
and giving off light
But there comes a time
when I shine too bright
Oh, I'm just a fire in the night.

And now my fins are in the air
And my belly's
scraping on the rocks
I still think
someone really cares
And I'll keep swimming
till I stop.

Got the will to love,
the will to love.
I'll never lose it,
never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like
something from up above.

I'm like a singer on the stage
With the golden lights
and liquid rage
Down from the mountains
to the sea
Cool running love
keeps cleansing me.

It keeps my gills
from getting dry
But it distorts things
in my eyes
Sometimes I see
what really isn't there
Like my true lover, and I care.

Got the will to love,
the will to love.
I'll never lose it,
never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like
something from up above.

Sometimes I ramble on and on
And I repeat myself
till all my friends are gone
And get lost in snow
and drown in rain
And never feel the same again.

I remember the ocean
from where I came
Just one of millions all the same
But somewhere
someone calls my name
I'm a harpoon dodger,
and I can't, won't be tamed.

Got the will to love,
the will to love.
I'll never lose it,
never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like
something from up above.

Baby, if I see boredom
in your eyes
I'll know my river has run dry
But I won't turn back
with that lonely tide
I bought that ticket
and I'll take that ride.

If we meet along the way
Please sway beside me,
let us sway together
Our tails together
and our fins and mind
We'll leave this water
and let our scales shine
In the sun above
and the sky below
So all the water
and earth will know

It has often been my dream
To live with one
who wasn't there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z4KdVwCvmI





Friday, October 5, 2012

Where it came from...where it's going

A few days ago I was inspired to start a project by a few things.
First off it was fellow blogger Aputsiaq (all things Nordic!) and her post about Nils, here.
He was a bit of a bad lad but ended up on a great adventure on this...
The new roving I found last week from Knotty by Nature has been revealing
many new ideas...like whispers from between the fibres.
My third inspiration was this brand new boy...
So, here, a little something for him to gaze up at and dream up his own adventures...
Sometimes the inspiration just seems to flow from one thing to the next.
Easy peasy, lemon sqeezy!
 


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Song for Friday...being thankful

This weekend is Thanksgiving and although sometimes
these 'holidays' are contrived out of a marketing perspective,
it still is a reminder of all things great and small.
The bounty of the food that we worked hard to grow all summer.
The family who is here to share in these glorious days of autumn.
The freedom and peace we are lucky enough to have in this country.
And for a beautiful new life who our niece and her partner have brought into the world...
So happy to be here...now...in this place and time...
Born at the right time.
Have a most lovely Canadian Thanksgiving and
a great weekend all!
(welcome to the world little one!)
 
 


2 days...2 rescues...

I'm not sure whats been going on but 2 days in a row I've had to rescue birds
who've flown into windows. Maybe they are a bit tipsy from
all the fermenting fruit they're eating, change in the weather, full moon?
The first was this Thrush who I found on the driveway...
Upon further investigation, I noticed little feathers on the window of my
van and figured she must have flown into that. She was a bit stunned but otherwise seemed o.k.
Her wings and feet were in tact and I figured she just need a 'time out'
after her encounter with the window...a bit of a bang on the old noggin.
I put her in a box with a towel and put her in my studio and took Griff for a walk.
When I came back she was still calmly sitting in there so I took her
out to sit in the sun. As you can see by these photos she was quite
happy just to sit on my finger and chill out for a while...
(made for a nice 'Wordless Wednesday' photo too!)
She didn't seem bothered by Griff either...
After about 15 minutes I held her high up and moved my hand a bit and just like that
she was gone.
This morning I heard a bang outside my bedroom window and found a fox sparrow
on the roof. (no pictures this time)
So I brought him in and kept him inside my sweater for about 20 minutes.
When he started to rustle around a bit I slowly went to hold him so I could see
if he was ready to go and very quickly he flew out of my hand up into the window.
After a quick rescue with ladder and net, I took him outside and off he went
with tales of adventure for the grand birds!
Holding these wild birds is a gift and even more so that they were o.k
 and just a bit stunned for a while.
Sometimes all they need is some warmth and de-stressing...just like us!


Monday, October 1, 2012

Inspiration...

Aahh! Fresh wool!
Last week when I was in the city I stopped by one of my favorite shops.
'Knotty by Nature' is a fantastic place for fibre.
I wrote a post on it here a while back and since then, the shop has
moved from the city center to a quiet neighbourhood.
I love this for a few reasons.
One: no need to wrestle with downtown traffic.
Two: FREE parking.
 (the parking cops are notorious for ticketing
and TOWING as you well know from a previous post)
Three: there's a real sense of community when a shop is in a residential area.
They even have a little coffee bar with locally roasted coffee!
Anyway, the shop is home to all things fibre...if you're in Victoria,
stop on by here
Weaving, spinning, knitting, felting.
If you need wool or roving, they've got it.
They also offer many great workshops.
So like a kid in a candy shop with my money itching in my hand to be spent,
I perused the bins of roving...just about drooling...
Here's a few of the colours I came home with...
You know how paint chips have all of these great names to entice you into
a certain feeling or mood for your walls?
I'd like to come up with a few for these colours...
Spring sky blue
Raspberry pie
High meadow wheat
Killarney hills green
Highland cow rust
Cream clouds
Goose beak yellow
Speaking of goose beaks...
Hey! What's she doing in there?...
(more on her later...)
So tis the season to be wooly.
I'm all set.
Happy Days!