clear and c-c-c-cold

in my heart

taking everyone to

a safe

warm

happy place

peace + joy in the season of light

 

on the eve of the longest eve

warm wishes on a cold night

in a year that keeps unfolding

looking back on

heat domes

thundercells

atmospheric rivers

water...too much water

water...not enough water

on the eve of the longest eve

unfurling the virtual blanket with wishes 

that wrap us all

keep us all

everyone

everywhere

warm

safe

sound

late afternoon

after a night and day

of heavy snow

soft pink light in the sky

as the sun is about to set

bird feeders swaying gently

in the breeze

Leonard

now and for the next few days

a comet will be visible in the east

during the early morning hours

after a difficult year

some welcome brightness

wake up!

wake up!

time to go gazing

eyes to the sky

eight legs

last night

dreams of a giant spider

not so much menacing

as persistent in pursuit

a little 'getting to know you'

kept on coming and coming

and coming

a little message in the ether:

time to get weaving

defying the odds

one kitten munches it

one kitten climbs it (and scratches the trunk)

i try not to over water it

i try not to under water it

we fertilize it

and after it had fallen/was knocked over

bound a nearly broken branch with a plaster

tending

mending

munching

our way along

somehow the hibisucs

despite us all

keeps on

keeping on

and keeps on

blooming

white white white

slowly

gently

steadily 

falling

and so 

it begins

wednesday

birds flitting

kittens chirping

dog barking

truck driving

fingers typing

leaves falling

sun setting

light ebbing

soft soft softness

of a late fall day

near and far

holding everything

everyone

dear

bella lune

late afternoon

on the night of a new moon

and everything

is quietly

perfectly

still

on the horizon

promising and exciting news

from an eco research lab

in a secretive/undiclosed location...

initial results from an ongoing study

linking anxiety inputs to meterological outputs

have been both surpising and promising

rising degrees of anxiety in study subjects

have been found to exist in close correlation

with spontaneous downpours: intense in volume

yet fleeting in duration...lasting no more than mere seconds

so brief as to register only on the vapour scale

~

the research projection indicates

that the vapour trail has the potential

in the near future

to wash any and all anxieties 

away

on the lam

 a sign in the hood reads:

'Lovebird 

missing

if seen call

###-###-#### '

~

hearts and feathers

a flutter

safe journeying

LB

Friday

a couple of days ago

we took a trip to the vet

an annual checkup for two

and overdue on account of all the upending

as we waited in the car (due to Covid protocols)

i watched a reflection in the clinic window

a young man and an older man (i think a father and son) approaching

walking a large, golden dog

they walked slowly and as they came closer

i could see how very frail the dog was

they paused for a moment at the door to the clinic

before it was opened for them and the three went inside

i was reminded of a Friday afternoon in June three years ago

when we went to the same clinic but returned home

without our constant companion of nineteen years

***

a little while later, the two emerged

the father holding a leash in his hand

as they passed us the son looked at me in the car

i was wearing my mask but hoped he could see in my eyes

my commiseration and empathy

and wish for them to take comfort in knowing

that someone must have been very well loved

had given much love in return

and had a dearly blessed life

taking stock

a still afternoon

perfect for sunning oneself

snuggled up to catnip toys

a mild Wednesday in mid-October

the birthday of a dear friend

a bit of calm and quiet

in a sad and solemn year

all good

in a week when one of the two kittens

was suddenly mimsy

it's a relief to know that she seems better

recovered

like her usual spritely, cuddly self

napping in the sun

***

sometimes 

a day for giving thanks

arrives a little earlier

than expected

arachne regrets

apologies to the little black spider

unintentionally dislodged from her web

in the plant pot

while digging up spent marigolds

in the sunday sun

news of the world/a song of extinction

a small woodpecker

on the backyard fence today

has she heard that the ivory bills

are no longer among us?

i don't have the heart to tell her

(much less hold it in mine)

she goes on her way

tick tick tick

tick tick tick

tick tick

tick 

tick 

score card

kittens 2

hibiscus 0

~

the already struggling houseplant 

today took a toppling

...

no single set of paws

was caught in the act

of doing the deed

perhaps a tandem venture

***

elastoplast wound around one banged up branch

as a pair of culprits snooze in the sun

and dream of future october

horticulturing

feeling the autumnal feels

it's harder to be sad

on a sunny day

when so many leaves

have turned golden

busy work above

scrape scrape scrape

POUND POUND POUND

sawwwwwwwww

sawwwwwwwww

sawwwwwwwww

random drop of object(s)

more scraping

POUND POUND POUND

bootsteps

rustling

...

done for the day

 

from the sounds of it...

roofing is intricate

but not necessarily delicate

work

Coccinellidae

sea holly to bed

long quack grass to bed

hedge clippings to bed

marigolds to bed

bloom resistant dahlia to bed

tomatoes to bed

(and in days to come) begonias to bed

and among them all

sweet ladybugs

flying lower

tucking in

as we slowly

slowly 

slowly

put summer

to bed

late summer serenade

September afternoon sounds

from yards and yards away

the drone of a lawn mower

humming humming humming

committed to memory

waves to be recalled

months from now

one quiet 

snowy day

harvesting

 

sun moth

this afternoon a curious sight

a large butterfly

so large at first i wondered

'is that a small bird?'

but no

a butterfly

almost uniformly brown

here 

then gone

maybe a moth adapted to daylight?

whoever she was

she was lovely

and well on her way

on this late summer's day

 

crimson

all of the others still green

but one of the tomatoes 

is turning

in sync

on a day when you've woken up

with a kink in your neck

and you spend all day feeling like

you should be in a whiplash collar

and that afternoon you see one of your kitty cats

sleeping in a really awkward position

and you think 'oh no!...it will happen to her too'

but you resist repositioning her

and let her sleep

undisturbed

trusting that kinks work themselves out

in the end

night swimming

the blue fishes swim into dreams

of restless sleepers everywhere

they especially like to visit

those who care for the wellbeing

of small ones

the fishes' fins delicately fan

troubled thoughts away

with mornings bringing hope

in their wake

 

indoor/outdoor

ginger tabby and tortie

get taunted a lot 

by ocelot

roaming freely in the yard

on today's menu

sulphur-crested cockatoos 

in Australia

have been observed

opening the lids of trash bins

in addition to opening the lids

they seem to be teaching one another

how to do it

in order to dine on the takings within

cresting a whole new kind of wave

meanwhile...

rain on the summits

in Greenland

and then...

a white butterfly

flits by

on the verbena

and then the marigolds

but you know secretly

it's really you

they've come to bless

with their wings

cycles

i learned to ride a bike

with the help of my older brother

it was on an old red two wheeler

that once belonged to him

he helped me practice in the parking lot

of the apartment building we lived in

with our mom

i was quite rickety at first

and for days and days was unsteady

and wiped out a lot

suddenly one late afternoon

i got the hang of it

one foot then the other then the other

i was off

***

sometimes when you get thrown for a loop

it's good to remember to keep going

one foot in front of the other

knowing that in your own time

you'll get there somehow

in the end

somedays...

you just feel

a little bit

small

another trip around the sun

sister kittens turned two

on Saturday

a little lobster

for everyone

forecast

another day with a heat warning

another day with an air quality index warning

another day under hazy skies

another day in summer 2021

tiny tomato count

 cinque!

passing by

earlier this week

a little visitor

to the magenta petunias

a hummingbird!

here but not for long

just enough time to get busy

and hover to and fro

before zooming off

***magical moments in Gold Bar***

this summer's crop

tomato on vine count:

one

two

three

...

with many promising flowers

perspectives

me 

watching one 

of our indoor cats

watching one 

of the neighbours'

outdoor cats

watching one

of the chickadees

baby blue

a young jay on the fence

in the ash

a bright spot

on an overcast day

the red ones

i think the robins

have followed the worms

to wherever 

they have gone...

and then...

the smoke departs

the clouds clear

and the sun shines again

...

over to you robins

radio silence

usually in summer

i wake up to the sounds and songs of robins

...

where have you gone little ones?

numbers

yesterday

it was forecast to be 27 degrees

smoke cover shrouded the sun

the daytime high temperature

was 13C

***

two kitten sisters

are sleeping 

blowing in

the air is very smokey today

the sky is hazy

and the light is orange

***

a good day to be hanging out

with indoor kittens

tfw...

you have to call a 1-800 number

and you are advised by an automated message

that you will be speaking with someone

'in another country'

and the transaction is straight forward

the person that you talk to is helpful

and friendly and has a kind, gentle voice

and you almost want to ask 'where do you live?

...how are you?'

but instead you just thank them for their help

and tell them to 'have a nice day'

and you hope that they do

golden slumbers

a bit mundane

when you dream

about overwatering

your houseplants

mmm...

not so sure i like

this 

'new normal'

this year's patio residents

wispy potted grass

spiky potted grass

magenta petunia

crimson petunia

celiosa

verbena

heliotrope

veronica

orange marigolds

yellow marigolds

gazania

geraniums

dusty miller

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

something with lovely dark leaves that i can't remember the name of

something with lovely purple blooms that i can't remember the name of

pansies

violas

dianthus

lavender

lavatera*

*which autocorrect wants me to change to 'lavatory'

temps

climbing the hutch

climbing the sideboard

jumping on the table

chasing one another

zero to sixty

***

you know the heatwave has passed

when kittens get back

to buisness

business as usual

blossoming

the daisies are on

the march

heat dome

too hot for

bugs

birds

kittens

puppies

flowers

grasses

weeds

peeps

...

find some shade

everyone

on the fence

the seventh robin

time out for a little

serenade

singing

the robins have a lot to tell us

today

little friday look around

indoor:

cat toys

more cat toys

balls

wands

nip sachets

fallen hibiscus leaves

buds

chewed leaves and buds

/

outdoor:

marigolds

geraniums

violas

gifted tomato seedlings

and in the bird feeder gazebo: squirrelly business

...

overcast

windy

hanging in

...

a little while longer 

hazy

annuals awaiting planting

watered but wilting

a bit of respite with breeze

still steamy

six months from now

with a potential 60 degree swing the other way

we'll bundle up and recall the sultry

lilac air

on a day too hot

even for birds

even for bees

Friday is Flyday

serenading robins at dawn

a blue jay on the fence

a northern flicker in a mayday tree

windy

rainy 

wings

tallying

on our front lawn is the trunk of a birch tree

long gone

a couple of withered limbs

years since any buds or leaves...

from time to time

visited by woodpeckers getting busy

the past few days

chickadees flying in and out of a hole in the trunk

nesting?

Earth Day +1

better late than never 

time out

 

messaging

yesterday

while on a walk in the neighbourhood

passed by one house with painted rocks on the lawn

one with swirls and spirals

one cubist

and a minimal third

painted green with black printed lettering:

'Be Happy'

***

yes, let's

still

when the day comes

(and it will...it will)

when this is all in the rearview mirror

and we look back on these many many months

i hope i will remember

some of the small moments that were peaceful

uneventful 

quiet

blocking out all the uncertainty and sadness

a little tranquility

time

standing still

wild world

winds blowing from Mongolia and northwestern China

where droughts are occurring

have brought sandstorms to Beijing

less snow and rain this year

combined with higher temperatures

have made conditions drier and dustier

skies were yellow yesterday morning

and the sun appeared to be blue

hoping sooner than later

this too shall pass

out like a lion...

'Scattered flurries and winds gusting in the 70 to 90 km/h range will continue until Monday morning.'

yikes!

Columba livia

yesterday

(in a parking lot of all places)

a sweet sound from above:

cooing

possibly from wooing?

heard 

unseen

***

this morning

welcoming a new visitor to the yard

a rock dove

***

come again sweet livia

next time

bring a friend

clouds passing on a sunny day

a sign of spring

that the sky is no longer

a wash of grey

but clouds

clouds 

clouds

....

the news of a loved one

passing away

...

eyes to the skies

across the miles

heart lines

....

a winged one

reading today about 'Wisdom'

a 70 year old albatross

in a wildlife refuge in the North Pacific

Wisdom hatched a chick on February 1st...

little signs of hope

for 2021

02/21/2021

a power cut

melting snow

bird visitations

stressful kitten escapades 

(totally down to clued out kitten parenting)

thankfully recovering from kitten escapades

a little more light

in the sky

warming

days and nights

and days and nights

and days and days and days

of 'extreme cold'

finally winding down

gradually going the other way

hundreds of people sheltered downtown

from the elements

elementals

the vortex may be shifting

but other tides need turning

safe space

safe spaces

for everyone

sprites

after days of days and days

of temps in the minus teens and snow

it's time once again to go out and shovel

overcast skies and missing mittens

have you a bit grumpy

just get on and on with it

but once you get outside a surprise:

someone has been there before you

the walk

the driveway 

everything 

cleared

even before you get started your work is done

cheers to helpful neighbours

cheers to thoughtful gestures

cheers to taking care of one another

now and in days

and days

and days

to come

-16 degrees Celsius...

it's a cold day to be

a postal carrier

a chickadee

a snow shoveler

a neighbourhood cat

a bluejay

a wood chopper

a dog walker

a magpie

a squirrel

just about anybody

bundle up peeps

1.20.21

strong winds of change

are blowing today

just in time

special V

out in the early afternoon

attending to an icy driveway

overhead

sound and then a magical sight:

a formation

a skein of geese 

(apparently 'gaggles' only on land)

more gathered together than i've seen in years

a curious sight in winter

but winters like so much else lately

curiouser

and curiouser

puzzling it all

threading

feathering

skeins

a crescent moon

in a clear night sky

a wish for peace

and calm

pica pica optimism

the wooden gazebo feeder

is far too small for the persistent magpie

but she keeps on coming anyway

wings ablazing

hope in flight