Looking Up After Stormy Weather

The weather brightened so I turned my gaze upward with camera in hand. Snow retreated to the coastal mountains overlooking the silky smooth Boundary Bay waters lacing the surrounding shores. The cities of New Westminster and Burnaby, and Alex Fraser Bridge's towering cable supports (above), were visible from Crescent Beach.

Clouds lifted to let sky-blue shades sweep over the mirroring sea.

I spotted a bird later. It was enjoying the view from its perch high up in a tree.

On close inspection, I saw clearly how cleverly its feathers blended with the branches.

At Kwomais Park (below) the sky brewed and bubbled with activity. The sun played hide and seek in the clouds, casting ripples of silver onto southeast Boundary Bay.

The following day at dawn, the moon hung in midair like a smudgy pale thumbprint.

From my path at Crescent Beach, mauve-gray clouds stretched over mountaintops.

The clouds lazily floated like swimmers in a mellow blue sea. Their hues coloured my mood so that all the world seemed sublime in those captured brief moments of time.

See more horizons at SKYWATCH and visit OUR WORLD to explore sights from all corners of 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.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

Crocheting Towards Spring & Better Weather Patterns

"Crocheting keeps me from unraveling." - Unknown

"Is it spring yet?" That's what early bloomers recovering from a February blizzard seemed to ask. Lingering snowy mounds started to shrink when the sun peeked out. My camera in hand added an accidental shadow puppet to the scene above.

Some take pictures in winter while others crochet indoors. I don't crochet but suspect it's true that the task keeps some from unraveling. Busy fingers occupy the long dark hours. Creative stitching brings consoling thoughts of all the seeds soon to be sown.

Fruits and vegetables have an urge to grow and gardeners are eager to plant and nurture them. Waiting for longer daylight hours to arrive, some wove a little crochet love into the Crescent Park Community Garden entrance. Cozy patterns hugged a bare patch of ground with a promise of future growth to share with the neighbourhood.

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.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

More Than A Cookie Cutter Love

Love has many meanings and depths. Luckily, it's more than just cookie-cutter like the shallow hearts I stamped into the melting snow in my yard recently. The love of nature and our surroundings is expressed with photographs on sites such as Our World. And we're instructed to love our neighbours, even our enemies. So perhaps this Valentine's it isn't selfish to give a little love also to ourselves. As the Buddha said: "You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

Love is also a beacon that lures you in and can sometimes stick like the intense flurries that burst on the scene last night. After a relatively flake-free winter in southwest BC, we got our share ... turning my welcoming garden Buddha into a frosty snow cone.

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.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.