A Stone's Throw From Chilliwack River

The good news is that we found an auto recycling place in Chilliwack that had a hubcap cover to match the one we lost and presumed had been stolen off our car a while back. The bad news is that on our drive home a big dump truck full of rocks sped by and spat out one of those rocks, chipping our windshield. Existence seems rigged so that we get a taste of both the good and bad things in life ... sometimes simultaneously.

I liked how the recycling place made lemons out of lemonade by planting flowers in broken-down vehicles and giving discarded hockey sticks a second chance as art.

Chilliwack is about 65 miles southeast of Vancouver. Before the rock hit our windshield, we spied something really wonderful from the road so we had to stop.

Behind the trees, berries and bushes ...

a lovely fluid blue shimmered below.

We could hear the rush of the Chilliwack River (known as Vedder at some locations) bubbling, churning and gurgling upon the beaten rocky floor.

It looked peaceful and picturesque despite chaotic movement. I could see why some parts of the waterway attract river rafters.

There was a bare patch on a surrounding hill, probably due to tree cutting.

Someone was hoping to catch a salmon. There's a hatchery nearby making this a great fishing destination. Over-fishing, however, could be a resulting unwanted issue at certain times of the year.

It would have been easy to stay longer and sink into the view along the squishy shore. Instead, we headed home just in time to meet our destiny with the flying stone.

See OUR WORLD to explore more sights from around the globe.

Still the kid I used to be

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride to view more West Coast scenes.

Spotting The Hedgehog

I spotted a hedgehog planted amid stones at the bottom of a fence the other day. There’s confusing bits of unreliable information about ancient Romans using hedgehogs to predict the weather and the coming of spring, similarly to how we, in North America, enlist groundhog shadows to predict. The prickly creatures with their knobby adorable pointy noses are in Europe, Asia and Africa but they're not native where I am.

I recall seeing only one hedgehog "in person" as a pet. With relaxed quills, it fit like a ball in the hand of its caretaker. Mostly, however, in my part of the world, hedgehogs are chocolates, decorative doorstops and paperweights similar to the one I have. Do you have a hedgehog of any kind at home? See one live and in action HERE.

As for forecasting weather, it doesn't take a burrowing animal to see that climate patterns are more extreme. Buildup of human-caused greenhouse gasses plays an unsustainable role in our atmosphere, aiding in global warming and upheavals. While storms and floods brew in the Philippines and the Carolinas, it's raining moderately in my world after a tinder-dry summer. Can you spot the drops? Nourishing moderate rain is manna from heaven and one day could be as rare as wild hedgehogs in BC.

See OUR WORLD to explore more sights from around the globe.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride to view more West Coast scenes.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Watching The River Flow

Elgin Heritage Park is a sweet spot to unwind and watch the placid face of the Nicomekl River, controlled by sea dams and tidal whims that spill in and out of Boundary Bay.

Thinking back on my recent visit, the slow pace of the river seemed at odds with the fast moving Bob Dylan tune called Watching the River Flow, although Dylan's 1971 lyrics (played by Love Minus Zero & Friends HERE) are no less current.

Passers by the berries, bulrushes, boats and railway track surrounding the muddy river bank likely don't know how the song goes so here's a few words:

"People disagreeing on all just about everything, yeah ... Makes you stop and all wonder why ... Oh, this ol’ river keeps on rollin’, though

"No matter what gets in the way and which way the wind does blow ... And as long as it does I’ll just sit here ... And watch the river flow"

Go to OUR WORLD to discover more fascinating places from around the globe.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride to view more South West Coast scenes in British Columbia.

Destined For Glamour & A Starvation Diet

UNTIL IT SQUIGGLED I thought a crumpled leaf had fallen into the pot. The lime green accidental "model", as wide as my thumb and a bit longer, squirmed when I took its picture before setting it free. It reminded me of a slinky toy but I learned it will likely transform into one of two common moths with uncommon traits. If it's an Antheraea Polyphemus, it will eventually change into a moth with a beautiful purplish eye-marking on each hind wing suggestive of the giant cyclops eye from Greek mythology. But since I saw no yellow bands that distinguishes the Poly, it might instead become a gorgeous pale green Luna moth wearing trailing wings and moon-shaped markings. Like the Ploy, it will have virtually no mouth and die in a week. No longer able to munch on leaves, its appetite will turn solely to procreation and continuing its species.

See OUR WORLD to explore more sights from around the globe.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Penelope Puddlisms: BC Life Is A Whale Of A Ride to view more West Coast scenes.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms