Artistic Impressions & The Buzz Around Broligarchy

The beach artist reminded me of my Penelope Puddle character, maybe because of her cute hat and the creative carefree vibes she was giving out. Artists do love to come to Crescent Beach for inspiration, especially when weather is warm and people-friendly.

Most were busy sailing, swimming or playing in the sand, drawn to the water on a day when even flowers exuded sunshine. My mind, however, was buzzing around the word broligarchy,  combining "bro" and "oligarchy" to define a small group of mostly men in the tech industry who seek to rule the world. This prompt by Poets and Storytellers United inspired my few lines below:

Their wealth builds like webs upon strands

Broligarchy's grip entwining all of mankind

Eyes on the stars, nouveau rulers of masses

Storm roars in and the sticky weave crashes

At the canvas of our planet sailing the cosmic sea and surrounded by unpredictability, the beach I visited is a lovely work of art that could do with some rain clouds painted into the sky by Mother Nature. Yet the hottest temperature in Canada this summer has not been near me but rather in Lytton, B.C. at 41.3 Celsius. In 2021, Lytton broke a record at 49.6 Celsius, an unlivable 121 Degrees Fahrenheit. Powerful as some are, life, along with its human inventions, is a fragile gift no matter what our status.

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, SKYWATCH, and Saturday's Critters.

Check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C. You can link to my B.C. Fairies page HERE.

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.

Hold Onto The Light

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Happy Landings

A woman brought her own clouds for protection from the summer sun in "rainy" B.C.

When I was a child learning about these ghostly sky-drifters, the cumulus, cirrus, stratus and nimbus clouds were highlighted. Nowadays, there are more distinctive breakdowns to learn about but it is still the dark gray nimbus that carries the rain. We are all familiar with the brooding signs even without the help of weather presenters.

Mostly the clouds have been cheerful, wispy and barely visible this season. I sometimes stop to watch the show of "pretenders" and "wannabes" that will not squeeze out a single drop of moisture. On the ground and in the news, a discovery of dinosaur tracks in a dried-up river hint at the fate of human footprints one day.

Meanwhile, despite the excessive heat, it's been perfect beach weather for some.

Soon children will be back in school. Covid is still here but doesn't feel as dangerous. There are now antidotes and known methods to keep the most harmful aspects low.

It seems like a good time to lift the heavy burdens of the past years even though so much of the world is still very much mired in human-caused turmoil and instability.

Above is my favourite place to sit and sky-watch but I don't know how long the bench will last. Its wood is chipped and spongy due to previous rains. On the back, there's a plaque dedicated in part to someone named Waters. It concludes with Happy Landings, a saying also on some Penelope cards. Happy landings is what I'll want the most when I venture beyond my B.C. walks. It might be too early to celebrate Covid lessening but not too late for an upcoming short visit to the UK with an adventurous friend. Air travel makes me a bit skittish. It would be great if I could swoop to wherever I want to go with my umbrella but I'm no Mary Poppins and only part Penelope Puddle.

Explore more at SKYWATCH and check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

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.

HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

Power Of Hope

At first thought, hope can seem like a meaningless, actionless, just sit there and wish for it reaction to a chaotic world where there is so much that is out of our control.

Yet without hope we could not exist. We have all seen how hopelessness results in dangerous destructive acts. Tucked deep within the emotional spaces of our psyche, between the dreamy head-in-the-clouds and the dug-in head-in-the-sand sides, humankind's greatest asset, motivator and reason for living resiliently flickers.

We would not be able to fly without it ... there would be no curiosity or drive to venture beyond the curtains of what we currently see and understand. There would be no Webb Telescope exploring the cosmos or risk-takers immigrating to distant shores, believing in a better life ... no enchantment, no excitement at each new birth.

Looking back many years, after the birth of my daughter, I see some of my writings essentially were about hope, this week's Poets and Storytellers United prompt.

Explore more at SKYWATCH and check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

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.

HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

Flying, Floating, Feeling Free

Summer is about being buoyant and free ... a time to lift with the breeze, kick off our shoes, squish our toes onto bountiful shores and splash our feet in the sloppy blue sea. It is dreams unfurling like colourful flowers and fantastical tales about wily dragons storming sandy castle towers. It is the portal to childhood; a loosening of burdensome strings. Whenever our musings fly there, summer swings near, floating past puddles of unbound tears. It is a refuge where you can be you and I can be me. Both of us free.

Explore more at SKYWATCH and at Poets and Storytellers United where the word freedom is one of the prompts for this week. 

Check out my sites: Postcards from Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C.

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.

INTO THE LIGHT: IN HONOUR OF SHINZO ABE WHO DIED JULY 8, 2022

Infinitely Timeless Or Melting Minutes?

The question of time comes to mind in a poem I wrote (above) for the theme, “stay curious”. The linear passage, yet circling, of time  piqued my curiosity as I grew older and I have wondered if this construct exists at all as we see it. In my quest, I stumbled upon writings by Daria Bocicova that I will read several times to grasp. Not a scientist, her observations are no less well formulated. Quoting from her article briefly: "When people think that celestial changes or seasonal changes associated with the Earth's position around the Sun are time, it's like thinking that a fish swimming in an aquarium is water. In fact, a tank is like space, and water is like time. Water fills the tank, and it's everywhere. If it wasn't, the fish wouldn't be able to move and would be dead, despite all the space in the aquarium." Bocicova goes on to say, "Time itself is neither linear nor circular. It does not flow or move but allows others to do so. So the cycles we observe have nothing to do with time, except that time will enable them to exist."

Time seems to be of no concern to this heron scouting for fish at the ocean shore. 

Why should he care when he has the infinite sky, salty sea and now to explore?

Explore more at Skywatch Friday,

Poets and Storytellers United and

Saturday's Critters.

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.

And if you're REALLY curious, find another article about time HERE.

Rainy Daydreams

No, it's not raining yet but I have a glimmer of hope that showers will soon fall wherever needed. Daydreaming about rain I pulled out a scene (above) my daughter captured months ago. It is best not to have too much or too little of the soothing drops streaming down windows. Indeed, the number one topic of casual conversation is the weather that we hope will be "just right". Like Goldilocks picking at her porridge, we wish to enjoy days that are not too hot or too cold, especially after a recent taste of a brief but destructive heat wave. Forests elsewhere in B.C. are on fire and some wonder if sparks from a passing train caused the town of Lytton to burn down. In my area, however, temperatures cooled considerably and it was comfortable walking down familiar pathways seeing life anew.

A cat lazing by the side of the road looked uncomfortably hot in its furry coat. 

A monkey tree was sprouting cones or balls that will likely one day expel seeds.

It is rare to see such a tree. They do provide a nice contrast in some gardens.  

More common is the random piling of rocks known as Inukshuk, a sign of friendship.

Sun umbrellas come out when it isn't raining. This one lit up the beach like a lamp. 

Perhaps the bird, red orb and tree symbolize love, peace, harmony and/or longevity?

We can never have too much of stabilizing factors with weather extremes popping up.

Explore more at Saturday's Critters and OUR WORLD.

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.

Last Rose Of Summer

A single rose in my garden survived this uncharitable season for flowers. I grasped its stem for a photograph. Later, searching for accompanying material, Safe In my Garden came into view. Written by John Phillips and recorded by his group, the famed Mamas and Papas of the sixties, the song still resonates. At that time, the Vietnam War caused political strife in America. It was the era of flower children but the tune will always be timely. There is a never-ending juxtaposition of calm and chaos in our world, destruction and re-mending. To me, the words symbolize the profound beauty and refuge that blooms when we make room in our hearts and minds for our own inner gardens. Listen to the brilliantly contrasting lyrics and harmonies HERE and below.

The lyrical first words of the song are as follows:

Written by John Phillips
(no copyright infringement is intended)

Safe in my garden
An ancient flower blooms
And the scent from its nature
Slowly squares my room
And its perfume being such
That it's causing me to swoon

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.

The Unburdening Of The World & Unraveling Of Summer

Autumn is the season of lightening the load and letting go. It's the time of year that makes my heart sing.

There is music in the crunchy leaves beneath my feet and there are vistas that open up when branches are bare. I don't like the raking but I do love the loosening and scattering of nature's debris, the deepening of browns, burgundy, reds, yellows and orange. Summer unraveling is a magic carpet of earthy hues.

The new season officially starts on the 23rd and there's still plenty of green at Sandy Trail where a mystery person placed bird houses and framed art by the path. Over the months, I have seen fairy doors, artsy shells and light seeping through the trees as if setting the stage for some grand mythical tale.

Light and shadow, art and artifacts are treasures I found as fall crept over the trail.

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.