octobering

Late October Greetings dear viewers. Two and a half weeks away from my blog is something of a record for me.  My dismay over already low view stats ( blog viewing seems to be replaced by Instagram and other less "wordy" social media) has been aggravated by rampant "bot" views (automated views that advertise or can even infect a blog); they have caused some technical glitches over the last 2 years. But that's not why I've been away. Wally and I have gone into overdrive preparing our home for another person, my old friend Connie, who will be coming to stay for a week in November.

It was Connie with whom I went to Costa Rica, our epic trip, in 2012.

Now she will be coming to help us with our messy bookkeeping. (She has an extensive history in banking which will help, both technically and with bedside manner.) We want to treat her to a fabulous Nova Scotia holiday in return. She's looking forward, foremost, to exploring her family's landing in Canada at Pier 21 in Halifax back in the 1950's.  A lobster dinner is also on the books. We've got all kinds of sea experiences lined up for her, from walking the sea bed at Blomidon to exploring the World Heritage town of Lunenburg. But I still think the cherry on top will be Peggy's Cove which will be nothing short of spectacular this time of year. We've never been there in November.

Because we've been so busy (thank goodness for a deadline), I have a few pictures from 2 1/2 weeks ago that I took along the highway on our way to the new IKEA in Dartmouth Crossing (which was surreal; more about that another time.)

We were lucky to have good weather as we headed out with some lovely colour still left on the trees.

Passing the same brown farmhouse, I had mixed luck with my photographs taken from a moving car.

The new highway signage people have seen fit to put a sign at every lovely natural view. It was discouraging to say the least.  I've always enjoyed this rolling cornfield. Now I will never have an excuse to remember that it is outside of Grand Pre.

The Annapolis Valley is famous for its farming. Unfortunately I missed some prime shots of the apple orchards which once fed the world.

Some little farmsteads seem to sprawl into villages.

a little closer 

The country town sprawl of Falmouth

 A newer build , a bit like a Monopoly game house

An exceptionally long factory building from another era that I suspect had something to do with housing animals as it is so near the fairgrounds and the railroad tracks.

The trees are mixed making for some beautiful palettes.

The hills begin to roll again, part of the old Appalachian system of mountains.

another pretty tapestry

We're quite high now having climbed Mt. Uniak yet still higher mountains in the distance as the light fades causing for even poorer exposures.

As we come lower, a strange little road veering away from the highway.

It's been hard to find the time to prep pictures for the blog, so this is all I have for today. One last little squeeze out of October. But there's more. That will have to wait til a little later next month. I'll have plenty of catch up to do if I take my camera on those touristy jaunts to come.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you are cozy in this northern change of season. My friend in Saskatchewan is already experiencing snow. We're in the midst of another wind and rain storm like the 2 day one we had last week. That's late October for you!

love 

awakening to love

 

 

Things receive their inherent worth, each of which has a dream

 

We've indulged ourselves with flowers

Pink Oriental Lilies

Their scent is intoxicating, their rubbery texture reminds me of the flowers from out of a Rousseau dream

that I saw in Costa Rica- already a year ago- and suddenly I'm there again...

 

Mother and Child work in progress

 



We are at the cusp of February.  I never realized before that the 14th is the middle of February.  Valentine's Day is one of those loaded days, like Christmas, where we are liable to bet  all of our hopes and dreams on one pony.  I didn't really understand why I put those words and together in the collage I posted today (that I finished last night).  I still don't.  I did it intuitively.   But I suspect, by using the baby image, that I meant to say that we awaken to our inherent value in a kind of rebirth, and within that awakening there lays a message in the form of a dream. Like a flower opening to the sun, we are born to awaken to that dream or, perhaps,  from that dream to...

love.

 



Arenal Volcano and Rainforest

It is April 16th as I write this.  It has been 6 weeks since I've been home from my wonderful 2 weeks in Costa Rica.  If my computer wasn't so slow in handling uploading pictures and internet connections, the endurance test I've put you through with yet another batch of holiday pictures might be over now.  Computer troubles as well have slowed me down. But I am determined to share the best of my photographs with you.

Today, a trip to the Arenal Volcano.

On our long trip through the surrounding hills, we saw this odd little guy, somewhat like our North American raccoon,  a Coatimundi.

 

The Arenal Volcano is a sight to behold. Rare for tourists to see without cloud cover,
we would, in fact, be amongst the lucky few to see it in its entirety the next day.

 

We spent our afternoon at the wonderful resort of Tabacon, 

a landscaped jungle if ever there was one, a myriad of wonders.

My dear friend Connie and I were stunned by the enormity of it all

There were so many places to bathe in the warm spring waters.

 

As civilized as it all seemed, one could imagine how prehistoric it really was.

Plants grew up above us as if we were Lilliputians.

I was stunned by the magnificence and complexity of something as simple as a leaf!

The air fairly vibrated with life.

I couldn't turn without finding something new and raw to take a picture of.

Every moment seemed heightened, elevated, the variable of colour and form.

You just know that this is the only chance you have to take it all in.

 

And you don't want to miss anything,

this crazy dream

this chance of a lifetime,

 

where flowers grow as they did a million years ago,

 

whose rubber-bowled "petals" catch rainwater

or dangle a complex chord

each one brighter than the last.

So many variations on a theme

 

that it boggles the mind to try and sort one from the other.

The spikes of flaming brilliance abound

 

and one can hardly breathe for the shock on the senses.

 

Tripping through this veritable catalogue of plants and flowers, it is hard,  in retrospect,

 to understand how anyone could take this lush abundance for granted.

But, inevitably, we do, for it is our human nature to adapt.

Yet once we return home

We realize how rare and wonderful it all truly is

all of it,

Even the lowliest bug,

All of it...

a day trip to Blue River

This was to be my most magical day in Costa Rica; a trip to the rainforest near the extinct  Volcano Rincon de la Vieja. 

As we drove through the foothills, the torpid heat became more temperate, almost cold to our summer-acclimated skin.   The wind blew with such a vengeance that,  as I kept  trying to take shots of the volcano,  cloud-covered as it was,  I almost blew over.  Fortunately Walter, our intrepid guide was there to catch me as I began to topple.  We laughed.  Not a shot of the volcano is worth showing,   but there will be some of the Arenal Volcano in my next post.

It started to rain as our van climbed the twisty steep roads to the little town of Dos Rios, the birthplace and home of our guide, Walter.  The inevitable herd of cows was on the road.

  You can't imagine who was herding them.





Mother and daughter.

It occurred to me to ask if the cows had any predators up here so close to the rainforest and Walter said that in fact it wasn't uncommon for jaguars to come out at night

 and take a small or old one down. Yikes!

We arrived at the Blue River Resort, a lovely, manicured opening in the midst of the rainforest, posh by comparison to the humble mountain village of Dos Rios that we passed through.  We were asked to select what we would like for lunch before we set out on our eco-hike to the most amazing set of waterfalls, that sprang like jewels out of the tropical greenery.

I was completely enthralled and from then on became the straggler in our party of 7.

Many pictures later I have this favourite to show you of the closest place to Eden I have ever been.

From the waterfalls we hiked over a rugged cow pasture,  past of small group of curious bovines.

Believe me I was a little nervous getting this close to this suspicious country girl, and put possibly too much faith in the one string of barbed wire that ran between us.

The trickle of rain we were passing through as we came to the edge of the forest turned into a steady downfall and there was nothing for us to do but carry on.   I was quite dismayed to be so wet.

"I've never been this wet in public!" I declared,

having left my rain gear back in the locker and venturing forth like a wet dog.



Walter was very patient with my lollygagging as I continued to snap pictures of all the newness of this jungley world.  This blurry shot, for instance, which I've kept small so that you can see it better, is a walking tree which puts down roots as it seeks water and can be found quite a distance from where it originally grew!  Amazing.

The trails became quite slippery with the rain, and some of the steps were quite steep, even dangerous despite the pole handrails built alongside to assist.  Now the many rushing rivers,  a crystaline blue from their mineral content, were roaring down from the mountains.

I began to recognize many of the plants as the small potted tropicals we see back home



Sometimes I remembered to look up. So many layers to a forest.

And so many lovely views of these warm mineral springs gone wild..

Back at the resort, I was transfixed by this amazing tree- yes, this is ONE tree- that had been taken over by other plants and had become an eco-system unto itself.  So prehistoric in its massive size, large enough to drive a car through, and so abundant with life, I thought of the jungle environment in the movie Avatar, the closest thing I'd ever seen to this wondrous tapestry of vegetation.

Walter took us for a walk through the medicial gardens.  I try to forgive myself for taking pictures instead of listening as closely as I should have to what he had to teach us,  having learned from his grandmother who was also native to this area.  Here is a little nest cradled in these beautiful leaves and flowers.

Almost all the rainforest flowers are rubbery in texture, vibrant in colour and LARGE!

I don't believe this fruit is edible, but what a necklace it would make.

These gigantic leaves are big enough to hide behind!

I believe this trailing flower is called the devil's tail.  I'm sure we could come up with a nicer name than that, no?



And here I am a sodden mess. My hat leaking dye and distorted beyond use.

My shoes staining my feet a sorry orange. Despite my pathetic stance, I am happy, so happy to have had the luxury of this magical experience.

After a wonderful lunch, everyone left for the lava mud bath and a mineral springs rinse.

 I stayed behind to catch a few shots of this somewhat tame but shy Toucan who dined on a plate of papaya set out for him. He's not a big bird like I expected, but oh the colour!

I did, in fact, do the mud bath, and was even rewarded with an amazing massage as an apology from the company for our delayed start to the day. Such a kind and generous people. I was completely charmed.  A quick trip to the butterfly and hummingbird gardens without shots worth showing you except these delightful flowers.

A good-bye to my favourite tree.

And the day is done.

A detail of a watercolour sketch I did 2 weeks ago while I was away yet again.

More on that to come.

Yes, it has certainly been my year to travel. Normally I am a homebody. Day trips are about all I seem to care for,  preferring my own pillow to come home to. 

Not that one can't travel with one's own pillow :)

A home and a pillow to come home to,  the humble needs to which we allhave a right.

I send my wish out there.