Sunny Side Down

Just last month I bore witness to a pretty impressive sunset happening over Parksville, a small town on Vancouver Island, known for its resorts.

If you look closely, you can just make out some of those resorts/condominium complexes across the water. But look at those trees silhouetted against the mountains glowing in the magnificence of the setting sun!

Here we see the peaks of the condos mimicking the mountain peaks.

Do you think that was intentional on the part of the architect?  

A lone figure enjoys a walk along the beach as the sun goes down,

casting a magical glow.

The day goes out in a blaze of glory...

as night time quietly creeps in,

signifying the end of a wonderful day. 

A Matter of Daze

Today I am dazed and confused by the raging blizzard outside the windows of my east coast home.

Winds gusting to over 100 km/hr. The world a snowglobe being shaken by a hyper-kinetic poltergeist.

Snow is heaping in impassable drifts on the driveway as the world outside appears and disappears in swirls of white.

And yet mere days ago, on the other side of the country...

my farewell walk around the neighbourhood presented tiny daisies in green grass,

an improbable palm tree proud of its curb appeal,

streams rushing with the promise of spring,

and an elderly couple taking a leisurely stroll

 along the beach, as I basked in the warm afternoon sun.

After enjoying an unusually dry and sunny winter in Vancouver these past four months, I find I have arrived back to my east coast home in time to experience what is being described as the worst storm of the winter, and this after one of the coldest and snowiest seasons in years.

At least the wood stove keeps us feeling cozy as the old house groans and strains to withstand the force of the roaring winds, and we know that eventually spring will prevail.  Won't it??

Beside the Sea

 Just a few short weeks ago...

Is it just me, or does it feel like summer's coming to a close?

Beach Views

It amuses and amazes me how beach-goers are so willing to shed any inhibitions about showing their raw flesh to the world and just letting it all hang out.  Well not all, at least not in these parts where nudity is not permitted and Speedos and string bikinis are (fortunately) rare.

While I generally consider it a good thing that people neither be ashamed of their bodies nor too self-conscious to go to the beach, I am confused by the ongoing dedication to baking, broiling, and generally roasting one's self once there. 

Rump Roast

I have to admit that I am loath to don a bathing suit and will only do so only if confronted with the inevitability of sitting in the blazing sun on a shadeless beach with no hint of a breeze, balmy or otherwise.  It's possible that my own great-grandparents had some influence on this rather prudish approach I take to my personal beach attire.

Here are two versions of a photo from August 1958 of Nanar and Grandad Newport enjoying a day at the beach in White Rock, BC.  The photo on the left replicates how the picture might have turned out if I'd taken it when I was at the beach this past weekend.  The 2nd version puts us back into a more nostalgic frame of mind.

And this one goes for the full-blown misty, water-coloured, faded memory effect.  Don't they look like they're having a marvellous, fun day at the beach?!
(I suspect they were only in it for the anticipated fish'n'chips)

If I am so unwilling to clad myself in skimpy attire and bare my aging, tender skin to the harmful rays of the sun you may be wondering what possessed me to head off for some beach baking on the weekend.

Why, nothing less than an unanticipated return visit from a very special somebody!  And I can say that I had a fabulous day at the beach with my two special some buddies, bathing suit and all!

Beach Bake Boogie-woogie

Interlude

Sometimes on the national public broadcasting television network when there are no paid ads but there is time that needs to be filled between programs, short innocuous (not to say vacuous) "interludes" are played.  These involve a mix of muzak and relaxing nature scenes. 

I've supplied a local scene here that I photographed last autumn and I'll leave it to whomever passes by to supply their own tune.  Or just enjoy the silence.

Peace. 

Out.

Let's Get Outta Here Awhile

Whaddya say we just hop in the truck and take a ride back a couple of summers ago, over to the island...

Prince Edward Island, that is.

This looks like a good route, lined with post-modern windmills...

Or we could stick to the more traditional telephone poles route...

So many choices...Sesame Street ... 

 

or Stompin'Tom Road?  Well, being as how Stompin Tom's an island character, let's stick with the theme...

 

My intuition paid off:  Look at this charming dream house just waiting for us here!

While I try to locate the owner of that dreamy property, why don't you  take a little walk down to the shore for a good look at the ocean.

If you look really hard, you might see the Confederation Bridge that we took to get to the Island.  It's free to come over here, but you have to pay to leave.  Maybe we should just stay?

Here's a fine piece of Canadiana by the incomparable Stompin' Tom.  Sing along on the chorus, why dontcha?  Be sure to stay all the way to the surprise ending!

Rooting Around

Most days on my visits home, I walk down and through the near-by park. It was known as Cates Park when I lived here but has been renamed Whey-a-Wichen (Facing the Wind) in recent years, reclaiming its native heritage and pride of place. Actually a tree by any other name is still a tree and if a thing of beauty is a joy forever, what's in a name?



I'm always fascinated by the intricacies of the exposed root systems. Yes, my dear, your roots are showing, and beautifully so!

Sometimes trees grow right over their defunct confreres (not to be confused with conifers). I don't think it's arboreal cannibalism; more like symbiosis.

Occasionally, trees get very tired of standing about and just have to sit down.

When I walk past this point I always feel like I'm passing through a magic portal.

This portal leads down to the rocky beach. This set of stairs is a new one that I was surprised to see. The others are far more discreet and steep but these are the first set and good to nip down for a quick peek at what's going on.

Often there's a freighter waiting in the inlet. This is the same one that I showed you from my bedroom window on my first day here. Others have come and gone, but this one is still there. My mother and I often ponder why it's staying so long.

This park and beach have been a sort of spiritual sanctuary or refuge for me ever since my family moved here. In troubled times it soothed me. In happy days it complemented my joy. It's damp and lush and redolent with the scent of cedar.

The year my father died, I came to the beach before his funeral and picked up a small black stone and put it in my pocket to bring some sort of solace with me, a touchstone, to the service. As I sat and watched the water and gathered my emotions into a tidy knot, a heron flew down onto a nearby rock and watched and waited with me. I took it as a sign from my father, just because I needed to. I keep that small stone on my bedside table at "my other home."

That year I made a talisman to represent this special place so I could take a bit of it with me when I went back to the east coast. I'll put a picture of it and tell how she came about at my Ragzedge blog.

Postcards from the Edge.

Little Run Away

If we ran away to Prince Edward Island for a little holiday, how would it be?...

*

It would be fun at the beach...

It would be a colourful cottage to stay in...

It would be picnics with sea views...

It would be Sublime...


It would be Ridiculous!


It would be sublimely ridiculously colourfully tastily scenically beachy-keen!

*

As it's already Saturday in lots of places where I am not, I'm going to get a jump on things and post my Saturday song, borrowing from David at Sparkle Mirror's "Emotion Elicitation System" to emphasize the mood and meaning of this post.

Sea, Sand, & Supper

Boat and gull heading in for supper.

Fishing boats heading out to catch supper.


A family heading home for supper.


Can you tell my head was wrapped around thoughts of supper at this time? It was to be our long-awaited annual feed of fried seafood at the beach just prior to C's departure for Montreal. Alas, it was not to be. After placing our order and waiting for an hour for our number to be called, C finally gave up and begged Pierre to drive her to the airport so she wouldn't miss her flight. I gave her a quick hug goodbye and watched them disappear into the setting sun as I sat and waited...and waited...for the food to be ready. Sitting there, I had time to ponder the fact that my bag was in the trunk of the car and all I had with me was my camera, the ticket for supper, and two half-empty (or were they half full?) cans of beer. Oh well, what else could a girl possibly need?
P.S. 15 minutes after C & P left, our food was ready. I ate my share and watched the darkness begin to fall, trying not to panic with thoughts of C missing her flight, Pierre being in a highway crash, me being stranded. Fifty minutes after having left, P arrived back to rescue me and his share of supper. C caught her flight with time to spare. We have some leftover clams in the fridge today, if anyone's hungry...

Beachy Keen

I know this sentiment is not original and, in fact, The Saggitarian over at More Canterbury Tales used it the other day as the title of her blog, but I swear I'd already Photoshopped this little postcard together before I saw her posting. As she pointed out in my comment box, "great minds think alike" and our mutual brilliance is well-attested, at least in our own minds.







"C" is here on a visit and the sun is shining for once this summer, so it's off to the beach!







We find a nice place to plunk ourselves down behind the dune.







Nothing to do but admire the view.





[Gentle Viewers, here's your chance to compare and contrast and decide which you prefer, moody black and white or bubblegum technicolour with Dolby surround-sound. The beach pictures here, with the boat (above) and the dogs (below) have black and white versions in an earlier post (see July 29). Shall we take a vote? Of course, it would help if I actually took good pictures but try to overlook that little detail! For a more informed debate over the b&w vs. colour dilemma, see today's posting at The Magic Lantern Show].






Here's the colour version of Fifi and Florence's arrival at the beach.

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The sun is beginning to set, the temperature cooling, and our tummies beginning to grumble for some real food, so it's time to pack up and head out. Some more good photo ops on the way, though, so don't bail on me yet...