In Pursuit of Coolness

  Nothing profound from me today. It has been, is, and will continue to be hot. Please don’t see this as a complaint. I wouldn’t dare complain for fear it suddenly changes to unending rain! Instead, I’m trying to think of a positive side to hot sunshine. It does bring on the flowers. I’ll say that for it. ~

Do It Anyway!

Wow, did it ever rain yesterday! It pounded down, flooding over the eavestroughs, creating instant puddles, pelting the house with so much force it sounded like hail. Even the small, seasonal creek that runs through the trees along one side of our property became an honest-to-goodness stream for a time. It was a good day to hunker

Procrastinating on Snow Days

We had a friend, Nel, who maintained February always had at least nine sunny days.  She wasn’t a meteorologist but relied on her memory to substantiate the claim. When we started paying attention, it seemed as if she was right. February might be too soon to plant or mow, but nice days often had us outside,

Oh, Spring… wherefore art thou?

Sleet pelts the windows, driven sideways by 50 km per hour gusts of wind. The storm was predicted and will be over by morning, although rain showers will continue. I’m not complaining. We had an unusually dry January and we need this moisture. But… well, yes I suppose I am complaining. Just a wee bit. Snowdrops

Winter Cold and Olympic Gold

You know the feeling… that curl-into-yourself-to-try-and-get-warm kind of feeling when you’re shivering and sure your teeth might chip from all their chattering? My rhododendrons are feeling that way in our record low temperatures this week. Now, before someone reminds me that a windchill of -14 celsius isn’t exactly bitter compared to what others have  experienced

What colours your writing and takes it from mundane to memorable?

You know what it can be like, driving through a winter landscape. There’s not a lot to see, but you’ve decided to make the trip, so you keep plowing ahead and eventually get to the destination. “Mmm,” you might say, stretching road-weary muscles as you climb out of the vehicle. “What a long drive!” “How

Finding new gems among the old

. Just dead leaves, right? The fall leftovers of a clematis vine that I haven’t managed to trim away yet. Nothing special to look at. But look closer… . . Maybe look even closer… (Consider clicking on photos for a more detailed look) . . It’s nothing more than frost. But among the old, brown

Blame everything on the weather!

Streaks of clouds in pre-sunset peach and charcoal-purple cut through a cerulean sky. The weather is changing. There’s been intermittent light rain interspersed with brief sunny breaks through much of the past few days, but flurries are in today’s forecast. I don’t fuss over the weather. There’s a saying here on the west coast, “If you

A sunny Monday morning reminiscence…

Apparently thirty-one consecutive days of sunshine isn’t even record-setting here, but this is July and that still makes it pretty remarkable in my books. For most of the years when our children were young we took the month of July as our vacation time… and it usually rained at least half of it! Now that

Seasonal Ups and Downs in Life and Writing

The first full day of summer 2013 won’t soon be forgotten in western Canada. I travelled on the last day of spring in dreary pouring rain, but today… today cheery sunshine announced summertime here on Vancouver Island. It was easy to forget yesterday’s rain… until I saw today’s news. I’ve lived in Calgary, Alberta —