Empty Shells & Smoky Skies

CRACKING A NUT is messy work so I was impressed with the tidy hole a blue jay left in the shell on my patio. Sprouting from the ground like a pea instead of from a tree, the legume (or peanut) was relieved of its two tightly packed seeds. The clever bird caused the least damage possible during its dining maneuvers. As a result, some tiny creature in the wild could conceivably re-purpose the shell for storage, a bed or a boat. Birds get a bad rap for small brains but clearly this blue jay gets an A-plus for conservation.

Air quality remained poor as a result of the fires so my walks were curtailed ... the bird flew away before I could take its picture. I was, however, sent a photo with permission to post (below). It was taken during a visit to Golden Ears Provincial Park last weekend. Instead of the usual translucent and picturesque coastal mist, a dusty curtain of smoky haze was all the campers could view or breathe.

Camping Grounds, Golden Ears Provincial Park, Maple Ridge, BC

Thankfully, back at Crescent Beach (below) in Surrey by the end of the week some sky blue was starting to peek through.

Crescent Beach, Surrey, BC, Photo by Maria Pavlik

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A Leap Of Contrasting Colours

CURIOUS. I DON'T KNOW how the statue ended up with charcoal legs and beige arms but the boy caught my eye on a recent visit to Vancouver. The sky around him was pale. There's been less colour in the environment lately due to smog. Fires in North and Central BC and nearby Washington State in the US have dulled the blue horizon.

Air quality is poor but luckily no extreme fires in my little corner of southwest BC. Less of a mystery than the multi-hued statue is why all the fires are happening.

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Hiding In Plain Sight

There's been a desert, dried out "are we living on Mars?" feel to the environment much of this summer. With little to no rain and the sun burning down, people have tried to enjoy the weather yet hide from it in some way. Tents give precious shade.

I briefly borrowed a sunshiny-yellow umbrella to take the heat off.

The couple (above) kept the hot sun off their heads by using umbrellas normally reserved for the rain. Did they see what I saw along the thirsty path? A tiny feather tangled in an almost invisible dry wisp of grass swayed in the breeze.

Circling like a clock with no hands, Father Time's face was etched on a fallen tree.

That we exist at all is miracle enough but sometimes the wonder of life is hidden because it's too "in your face" to fully appreciate. "The familiar, precisely because it is familiar, remains unknown." according to Hegel, whose quote I found at one of my favorite sites, THE BEAUTY WE LOVE.

The sun cast glittering gems onto the wet pebbles at my feet in Crescent Beach. Cosmic reflections flickered on the sandy shore where perhaps life first formed in the primordial sea. A traveling galactic speck, changing due to external and now human internal forces, Earth's been a reliable spaceship that hasn't veered off course yet.

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Unseeing Watchful Eyes With A Message

"Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." - Lauren Bacall

GHOULISHLY SILLY characters look brilliantly choreographed dancing in the air. Kite movements can be comical and bring colour to the sky on a bleak day. From skeletons to cartoon characters like the Spongebob lookalike (below), it's not just seagulls that scanned the horizon recently over Crescent Beach, bobbing and weaving.

I can't remember when I've last flown a kite myself but I liked watching others do it.

I imagine maneuvering the kite amid the unpredictable twists and turns of the wind can be challenging at first but then ultimately relaxing. Historically, the first kites likely were communication tools to send military messages from afar. Nowadays the message is simple ... be more carefree because the strings of life are fleeting.

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One-Hundred Summers & Counting

A NEW GENERATION and their parents, grandparents and friends joined in a milestone parade celebrating 100 years that the Crescent Beach Swimming Club has been instructing and encouraging youth. The oldest summer swim club in British Columbia, the organization expanded its programs over the years by offering multi-sports and other activities in a nature-friendly environment that feels like a step back in time.

The band was all smiles and ready to march.

The musical group led the crowd along the beachfront walkway towards nearby Camp Alexandra where more fun was scheduled. You can read about Alexandra's history that goes back even further than a century HERE.

Balloons bounced in the air to the tunes being played on a cloudless July morning.

The sunshine and sun-art also joined the parade.

The club's signature seahorse took part in the excitement as did the clown next to it. It was a happy way to start the morning and to commemorate a community-inspired organization dedicated to healthy living throughout the years.

A fireworks show was planned (below) for later at the waterfront.

Seahorses appeared in unexpected places to mark the century of achievements. Founders of the Club might have been surprised to know that what they started is still thriving. As Dennis Rodman once said: "This life is like a swimming pool. You dive into the water, but you can't see how deep it is."

Crescent Beach Swimming Club Centennial, Surrey, BC, Photos by Maria Pavlik

Reaching Heavenward & To Rome

THE SKY was hazy and empty of clouds early morning when I looked way up at the steeple where someone was tacking new roof tiles onto a Crescent Beach church being refreshed and repaired. The fate of Holy Cross Church is in the hands of the Vatican no less. There's been talk for a while of selling the property to fund other church projects. As far as I know at this writing, the future of Sunday services at this local building, some 5500 miles away from Rome and the pope, still seems up in the air.

Holy Cross Church, Crescent Beach, Surrey, BC, Photo by Maria Pavlik

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