Downe's Flora

Scenes from the Downe's Bowl. Here is an upshot of a very tall, very old fir tree.

These Bleeding Hearts were everywhere.

This is a Salmon Berry blossom. The ripe fruit is red, sweet and resembles an anemic raspberry.

These old Maple trees are hosts to a variety of mosses and ferns.

At the bottom of the bowl is a swamp. Thrusting upward is a 40 ft. tall stump that is slowly rotting and falling apart.

The very wet soil has killed other trees too. It is wet down here all year round.

The black, rich soil is host to all manner of swampy flora. Here is evidence of a fire long ago.

The Skunk Cabbage blossoms are in their prime. They only grow if they are drenched in swamp water.

It has not rained for a few days but the little streams were running full and clear. The water table is high here as this is a drainage area for the whole Downe's Bowl area. 

The Trillium were in full force, in hues from pure white to mauve. This the Provincial flower of Ontario.

The lowly Dandelion is considered a weed, but when they bloom in spring, they bring a burst of colour to the grey landscape. We will take any colour we can get after a long and dreary winter.

Hunt

We should have known that getting a little Easter Chic would result in a big basket of colourful eggs. How do they do that? So, we hid them in the garden, and Liam had a hand at his first Easter egg hunt this year. (see comments) Haha!  

He caught on instantly and was in the game from the get-go. He had a sharp eye and I could barely keep up to him with my camera.

The basket was full in no time and soon he had to get a back- up basket.

Some hiding places were  obvious.

Of course, he had to check in with Nana to get an accurate count and show her how well he was doing.

Some hiding places were not obvious at all, but he spotted a bit of colour and ....  

Victory! But the basket was getting full again.

Always time for a photo-op. Cheeeeese!

He was having so much fun that we (read 'he') did not want it to end so we took some eggs from the first basket and re-hid them. This trick will not work next year.

I don't know who had more fun, the kids or the adults. His two big brothers were great sports and let him find most of the eggs. After, he was given a lesson in sharing, when they each got equal amounts. He was good with it. We will let his mom and dad deal with the inevitable sugar highs.  

Easter Morning

Down in The Bowl

What a glorious morning for a walk. We rarely have a day off together when we can choose what part of the day we would like to walk in. The early morning walks are our favourites. After a very large cup of freshly brewed coffee and a few slabs of Paska, we chose to walk around Down's Bowl, a change from our usual Discovery Trail walk. When we arrived at the bowl's edge, we noticed that there had been some up-grading done to the trail and so, instead of walking around the bowl, we decided to go down into it.  

Our city is blessed with a series of ravines and gullies, the result of ancient heavy runoff from the escarpment we are on, that is many hundreds of feet above the level of the river. Here, the trail starts its downward slope. This bowl is very deep, and the sides are quite steep and have to be taken at an angle.

Ever downward, as we enter old growth rain forest, right in the city! The Douglas Firs, Maples, and Cottonwood trees are massive and very old.

Nearing the bottom, the trail crosses many streams and boggy areas with the help of these bridges. The trails down here are wonderful and well maintained.

Winding ever downward, the bridges become more numerous and the terrain begins to change.

Finally at the bottom, we enter a swamp that would be dangerous to walk through without the aid of these boardwalks. It is a landscape of Skunk Cabbage, sprouting Bulrushes, Fiddle heads, Horsetail and old stumps, all in a mucky, murky bed of primordial ooze. It even has its own unique odour.  

 And then the trail winds its way upward once again, and we find out it is warmer than when we were going downhill.

A muddy spot in the trail that is helped out with some old lumber.

Near the top once again, where the trees are much larger. Here are conjoined Maple quadruplets.

As we are once again on the top edge of the bowl, the trail crosses one last creek and exits onto a main road. Spend an hour or two in the bowl and it feels like you have been in a different world with only the sounds of gently gurgling streams, a cacophony of bird calls, and woodpecker rat-a-tat-tatting.

Next post will show some of the things one finds in the bowl in early Spring.

Paradox

Jesus, Messiah, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, humbled himself. He who knew no sin, became sin for us. He, the creator of life, who would conquer death, had to first experience death. He who died would live again on the third day. The day of crucifixion named Good Friday. Paradox!   

Spring Blossoms and Things

Can this be Spring? The blossoms are thick, but are already falling off the trees due to wet and cold wind. Where is the warmth of the sun, the song of the birds, the drone of the honey bees, the Robins on their worm patrol? Yes, the days are longer, some stunted dandelions are bravely pushing their way through the lawns with their bright yellow heads and milky stalks, and the Crows are gathering those little twigs with which to build their nests, but even they know that their eggs will not stay warm enough for incubation. Maybe we can have one year without Crow babies and would that not be wonderful? 

I know what will happen. The cold wet weather systems will suddenly have run their course, the temperatures will turn seasonal once again, and we will have missed Spring altogether, and will have jumped right into the heat of summer, and then all the David Suzuki fans will scream, once again, "Global Warming!" And how quickly they will have forgotten the very cold winter and spring that we just shivered through.   

Chad and the Big Ten

Today was Chad's birthday and he turned ten! busylizzy asked him what his favourite menu would be and then she made a birthday dinner for him. Meat Pies, Salads, home made buns and fizzy punch. Good choice Chad, it was delicious. We had invited his other grandparents and his uncle so there were enough people for a party.

Chad and I are both big on desserts and his request was Napoleon  Torte. He missed one candle on the big blowout so we got to tease him about his girlfriend. He got so red that I just knew he had one. A little bird told me that all the girls like him. I cannot blame them. He is a cool guy.

Liam got in on the fun too and was instructing Chad which gift to open next. Is it any surprise that he got more Lego, among some other very neat gifts?

busylizzy then brought out a most beautiful gift, just what a ten year old boy dreams of owning, a homemade quilt. As you can see, it is a masterpiece and something Chad will appreciate more with age, not that he did not like it already. He was very grateful.

And what birthday is not complete without the Royal Bumps? And the obligatory pinch to grow an inch and a slap to grow fat. He is a good sport and likes the attention.

Chad, you have come a long way.

Elections, But No Fever

One cannot help but notice all the flags these days. The above photo was taken Sunday afternoon by yours truly, out looking for signs of spring. The odd patch of blue was a good sign, a few cherry blossoms heartened my soul, but as you can see, the wind was strong and it was more than cold. I soon let the camera dangle and thrust my cold fingers into the pockets of my fleece lined jacket.

The flags remind me of several things going on here these days. Being out and about in our town, one can hardly miss all the blue and white flags, attached to almost every vehicle, fluttering wildly like dogs ears out the windows. Hockey playoff time does strange things to people. Even now, an hour past game time, we hear honking from the speeding cars as they race to their rendezvous with other rabid fans to celebrate yet another Canuck victory. We are one game away from a sweep and a birth in round two of the playoffs. 

The flags also remind me that today we have a new NDP leader, elected only minutes ago (I am writing this on Sunday night). I do not know much about this fellow, but I am sure I will soon find out as he gets out the sparring gloves to take on our new Premier. Then, soon, there will be the by election where the new Premier will attempt to win a seat in the legislature. Soon after that there will be a Provincial election and that is when we will get to know Adrian Dix, the new NDP guy. Meanwhile, we are in the throes of a National Election, the outcome yet to be revealed as the polls do not show any substantive indication as to who will win and if it will be a majority or a minority government. Oh, the drama and suspense. (I jest, of course) 

Until all these issues are settled, we will continue to look for spring.  

Cold

Thursday morning I thought I had slept in. When I awoke, it was very bright in the room, but the alarm had not yet gone off. I got up to check the time and then split the blinds to get a shocking view. The snow was coming down in huge clumps and there was a blanket of it on everything. That explained the brightness, but does not explain Global Warming.  :)

True to form, Blogger is acting up again. It has now tilted a photo of mine on its side. Don't bother putting your neck out, it is just a bunch of trees with snow falling .... in April. This has happened before, but the last time, at least the Daffodils were up to collect a layer of the white stuff. Friday morning it was -2C at 7:30am. I checked my calendar, again.

By the time the snow squall passed, we had an accumulation of about an inch. It took most of the day for it to melt, even though the sun peeked out for a while. Late Friday there were still little mounds of snow in the shady areas. If man-made carbon really does cause Global Warming, we should all consider pumping a bit more up into the atmosphere. We are missing Spring altogether.  

OK. So I'm a Junkie

If the broadcasting time of last night's political leadership debate was meant to irritate western Canadians, it succeeded. I had to rush home from work early to catch it on TV, while those out east were able to have a leisurely dinner and then settle in for an evening of politics.

I always look forward to these debates because I want to see a 'defining moment', when one leader falters badly, or one rises to the top like the cream on whole milk. I want to see drama, suspense, and a turning point in an otherwise dull and predictable campaign. We got none of that tonight, but I do have some observations. (You just knew I would) 

Let me get my conspiracy theory out of the way first. CBC, being obviously biased to the Liberal side of things, probably did not let the Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, in on the debate because they knew it would help the Conservatives. She would have pulled votes away from the Liberals and the NDP. 

Having said that, what on God's green earth is Mr. Gilles Duceppe doing in this debate. His is only a provincial party, he runs no candidates outside of Quebec, his chief aim in life to break up our country, his mother tongue is French and as such is very difficult to understand, he knows nothing about the ROC (the rest of Canada), and he is not listened to by the people who vote for him who are primarily francophones, and they will only pay attention to the French debate tomorrow. I think most people tuned him out every time he spoke. He is irrelevant, totally. What separatist in his right mind would not vote for him, and who of those who are not separatists would ever go over to him. Again, there is this insatiable desire in our country to appease the spoilt child. I say call his bluff, let him separate, and see how long he and his country can survive without the billions in transfer payment from the rest of us. 

But, I digress. 

My take on the debate is that it will not be a game breaker. If anyone scored any points, it would be Mr. Harper who really kept his cool under constant bombardment from all three opposing leaders. 

It was interesting watching the interviews after the debate. The press was hard on Mr. Harper and was all gaga over Iggy and were easy on him with their questions. Except for right at the end when one very brave soul asked if it was embarrassing to be brought to task by Jack Leighton for his frequent absences in the House. Did you notice that Iggy suddenly ran off stage with his handlers and wife in tow? Very interesting indeed. The very man who would be Prime Minister and who touts democracy, Liberal style, was absent for more than 50% of the votes in the House of Commons. Like Jack said, and I loved his line, "If you want a promotion, you have to show up for work."        

April Highlights

We all have our favourite months, and our least favourite months. Every one of the twelve months conjures up some memory, event, or red letter day for each one of us. For me, April is one of the 'big' months because of all that is crammed into just 30 days. Here are some of the highlights for me, both good and bad. You be the judge as to which is good and which is bad. 

1. It starts off with a bang on the first day, when, every single year it is my birthday. (Go figure!)
2. It is the month in which I have to meet with my accountant and get what is usually dismal news, and then by the 30th at the latest, I have to write the big cheque.
3. April is the month when there is a distinct turning point in the weather and many tree buds break out, and the Daffodils and Tulips open their colourful faces to the sun. We try not to miss the big Tulip Festival in La Connor WA. 
4. It is the month when the Master's golf tournament is on TV and I watch it, rain or shine. (Most of the time)
5. It is the month when the NHL hockey playoffs start, and this year is particularly special as 'my team' ended up in first place overall, and goes into the playoffs with a very bright outlook. 
6. It is the month when, at times, we can actually spend some time in the outdoors without a winter jacket. 
7. This year, there is a Federal Election campaign and although the actual election is not until May, all the action happens in the month of April. (Tonight is the debate.) 
8. April is the month in which we open our summer vacation property and travel to the interior for the first trip of the new year. 
9. This is the month when work really starts to pick up, and often scheduling becomes a problem. It seems to go hand in hand with spring cleaning. 

10.  And lastly, but most importantly, it is the month of Easter. We have some special times planned around Easter, as we do every year, and it is always memorable.

If we had to scale back the calendar by one month, I would have a very difficult time choosing the month to eliminate, but it would possibly be November. (My apologies to all you people who have a birthday in November)

  

Thoughts on Golf and Morality

It is not every year that I get to watch the premier golf event of the year, the Master's from Augusta Georgia. This year I got involved early as I followed it a bit on Friday, then all afternoon Saturday, and most of the last round on Sunday afternoon. I love Golf. I do not play as much as I did when I was younger. I actually started when I was about 12 years old. We could not play hockey all year round so we traded our sticks for clubs and played a rough 9 hole course with oiled sand 'greens' in the middle of Saskatchewan. 

Back to the Master's. It is obvious, even to the casual observer, that the PGA (Professional Golfer's Association) is changing. The elite players are getting younger, and they are coming from virtually all over the world, where once the USA dominated. Today a young South African won 'The Green Jacket', the ultimate prize in golf. The next two in line for contention were a couple of young Australian golfers, aged 23 and 30. 

I suppose this has a lot to do with Tiger Woods and his emergence onto the golf scene at a young age. He has inspired many young men to pursue this sport, and to overcome obstacles such as stereotyping. In a way, Tiger Woods is still the darling of the golf world. He draws a viewing audience like no other golfer ever has. I must admit that he fell from grace for me when it first came to light that he was a philanderer. It was his hypocrisy that got to me, not so much that he was immoral, although that was grounds enough. 

I see that even now, the spotlight is on him during a tournament, whether he is in contention, or not, and he rarely is these days.

I find it rather difficult to watch him play. Golf is supposed to be a game of composure, of manners, of decorum, in other words, a gentleman's game. Tiger's outbursts of emotion, anger, and profanity make me wish he made every shot because I find it difficult watching his suppressed anger erupt with every errant shot. I wonder how many others feel the same, and I wonder when the publicity machine will get tired of his antics and ignore him until he once again becomes an accomplished athlete. I cannot help but feel sorry for him as his immoral lifestyle festers within him and takes away the calmness and concentration that is vital in the game of golf. 

It should be a warning to the young up and coming golfers. Fame and fortune does not give you permission to give in to all the wanton pleasure of life. Lose your moral compass, and you will lose  not only your self control, but your self respect and the adulation of your fans. How much better to be a positive role model to those millions of kids out there who aspire to excel in the game of golf.        

Went to Hawaii Last Night

Last week we came across a movie review and decided we would see the movie on its opening night. Because we had both worked during the day, we decided to go to the early show last night. When I bought the tickets at the entrance, I said,"I want two tickets for 'Soul Survivor'." 

The name of the movie is actually 'Soul Surfer' but the girl smiled and said, "I know what you mean". 

As we entered the theater, we noticed right away that we were the rare couple there. It was mostly teenage girls with their chaperones. The place was abuzz with giggles, chatter, background iPod tunes, texting, and popcorn munching. We sometimes are the youngest people in the crowd, but this time we were the oldest. The late show might have been better. 

The theater was full to capacity. The moment the movie started, it became dead quiet and we never heard a peep from the 'giggle crowd' for the whole two hours! This movie will hold your attention for sure. 

It is about a young girl who lives in Hawaii on the beach with her family and she lives to surf. She has already done well on the local amateur circuit and has a bright future. 

A shark attack changes all that. The story is true and the adaptation to screen, the acting, and the photography make this a most engaging and emotional story. I am sure you will 'google' it to get more of the story line and watch a 'trailer', so I will not say too much more other than I very highly recommend it. It is well within the definition of a 'Christian movie' and as such, one never really knows what to expect. Be surprised. 

Oh, and I think busylizzy would recommend you take a box of Kleenex. And the title? It could have been called 'Soul Survivor' just as easily.   

Trying to Make a Comeback

A Double Crested Cormorant at Fishtrap Creek Park

They are very shy and when I tried to get too close, he took flight.

He only settled down again when he thought I was at a safe distance.

I have a number of hobbies and one of them is this blog. There has been so little time, lately, to do this thing, but I am trying to make a comeback. Funny how work interferes so much with life. Yes, work is picking up, like it does every spring, but this time around, the jobs are many and small. Doing five small jobs in a week is a lot more time consuming and inefficient than doing one five day job. As well, there is not very much money in small jobs. I usually like them because they are a filler for the between times for large jobs, but lately it is all that is out there. We were spoiled last year with a six month job, the largest one I had ever done. 

We went to a "Heat" game a few days ago. They are our AHL hockey team, one tier down from NHL. It is good hockey, but, our guys, even though they were the better team, lost by one goal. The half full arena reminded me of the fact that the sport of hockey in our town is heavily subsidized by the tax payer. If I had not had a free ticket, I would have been paying double for the seat. 

My accountant has finally waded through my financial situation and told me how much money to send to the government. When I peruse the PDF files of my tax return, I cannot believe the complexity of the whole tax thing. In my world, simplicity is the key to efficiency. Inefficiency is the key to costly ways of doing things. I cannot help but think that there are thousands of pencil pushers in the civil service who have to justify their huge pay cheques, so they come up with more and more convoluted ways of figuring what the tax payer owes. But, it does feed the accounting industry and those guys have to eat too. My Accountant tells me that there about 250 changes to the tax act each year and it is their job to know which changes are relevant to which client. We paid our taxes today, but are now six weeks behind in our installments for 2011 and this week I have to send in the HST that I collected for the government, off the backs of my clients, in the last three months.  It just never ends.     

I'm Back

The Robins are back! Can Spring be far behind?

Yes, I am back, and you did not even know that I was gone. I had a near death experience on Friday, or at least my computer did. It was the moment that everyone fears, the moment when the computer freezes and there is nothing one can do to breath life back into the cold and frigid veins (circuits). I was about to call Henderson's funeral Home and then arrange for a memorial service, when to the rescue came the best techie guy west of the Rockies.

He declared that it was not good news. At first I thought he meant that I had lost all my files and 'stuff'. "No, we can recover that, but then we have to reformat the hard drive and re-install your operating system and all the programs that you were running."

Long story short, 10 hours later, everything was running again. I am still muddling through all the settings and preferences but I think it will be OK.

The cause? Who knows. We only have ideas and suspicions, but the important thing is that new life has been breathed into my link to the world and I am again 'connected'.

Eldon, you are awesome.

Moving Day Sleepover

Liam is loads of fun but he would be in the way for the big move to the new house. The move is happening over two days so we get to have him for a sleepover. After a hard day of play, he is getting ready for his bath.

He was all in favour of getting his picture taken in the bath tub and posed very nicely.

And who needs rubber duckies and pirate ships when you get to play with old cottage cheese containers.

This is a lot of fun, until it comes time to wash all the icky parts.

That bed feels so good. When he leaves us tomorrow, he will be going to a new home. He is very excited about it and tells us all about it. What will happen when reality hits? I think he will be OK because he is a well adjusted and happy kid, always surrounded by those that love him dearly. Who needs the old house when your favourite people are by your side.

What Was That?

Hey, Phyllis. Don't look now but there is a guy with a camera sneaking up behind us.

The headlines this morning are a bit shocking. "Canada to phase out metric system". "Harper to open border for one day" (allowing unlimited immigration on July 9) "Northern states to adopt Canadian Currency"

But wait. Today is April Fool's day. Be wary of anything out of the ordinary that you read or hear.

Too bad this coming election is not a prank.