Tuesday 31 December 2013

last message for 2013


We are hovering on the brink of a new year. The night has fallen.
It is quiet here in the house as I write, but soon the party of hors d'oeuvres with Wally will start,
a party of two.  I never take this gift of peace in my life for granted.

Let's find a way to bring a little Christmas into our lives each day this year to come.
 
Here's a little Muji New Year's Eve kiss for you!
 
and a wish for love and joy,
Peace and best choices for health
in our body, mind and spirit.
 
 
All You Need To Know
 
 


Saturday 28 December 2013

an icy holiday drive


Where were you this past Boxing Day? Did you have electricity like so many didn't? Were you braving the traffic and crowds for Boxing Day sales?

This year, we drove the highways and backroads of Nova Scotia to visit Wally's father in Truro.
 
We had no idea of what we were in for.
 
Although we did know that the roads were forecast to be clear,
 
though that doesn't necessarily mean it's true.
 
We headed down the highway, me with my little camera in hand,
 
heading south on Highway 101
 
delighted by all the photo "ops"
 
despite the one
 
to two seconds delay on my camera.
 
You can be sure I had a lot of lost photo "ops" (oops!)  as well
 
but out of the 263 photos I took,
 
a few turned out.
 
Many were blurry but romantically salvageable;
 
most were tossed.
 
You will find that I am not my best editor
 
so I hope you will forgive the amount of work I'm sharing with you today.
 
These are more familiar sights for me now
 
along the road to Windsor where we will turn
 
just past this abandoned Nova Scotia Textiles factory
 (that someone had to give up renovating into condos)
 
 
onto the road that will take us to Truro, past these gypsum cliffs,
 
for an hour of sideroad travelling
 
past the most remarkable scenery
 
and humble homes
 
like this one
 
and this one
 
small farms
 
like this one
 
and large ones
 
like this,
 
always with the quiet that only winter can bring.
 
It pleases me to share this sheltered part of the world with you,
 
so raw for the most part,
 
that sees a steady summer traffic
 
but a much more local one in winter.
 
Every now and then, one will see a grander home that knows how to do up Christmas
with garlands wrapping the house like giftwrap ribbon.
 
But by far
 
the outstanding feature of our drive
 
was the icy winter corridor we drove
with these guardians of the forest watching over us
 
It's been a long time since I've seen anything so otherworldly
 
So utterly of its own primal world
 
a tangled wilderness unto itself
 
one cannot underestimate the vastness
 
of these sprawling Canadian forests that so typify the north country
 
It is truly humbling
 
As we got closer to our destination
 
the fields began to open up.
 
The grass wrote messages in the snow.
 
 
In fact there were graphic messages written everywhere.
 
Everywhere
 
It doesn't take much to understand how close we are to a time when nothing was taken for granted.
 
 
and I think of Joni Mitchell's song:
I wish I had a river I could skate away on...
 
 
 
The next afternoon we would lose our electricity along with 4,000 others for 15 hours!  How beautiful the snow, and...how cold!
As you can see, we survived, which is probably why I'm content to do this photo essay today in the sanctuary of my warm home. My fondest hope is for all to have safe and secure sanctuary in a home that they love, and , as always,
 
peace on earth