Happy Valentine's Day, Canada, & National Flag Day

The creative interpretation you see shimmering from behind the glass represents the pride, love and loyalty Canadians feel for their country, particularly in turbulent times. I saw this framed version (above) in a shop a few years back. Canada's earlier flag was the Canadian Red Ensign, designed to include the Union Jack and Canada's coat of arms. In 1965, the unifying maples seen from coast to coast helped inspire a re-imagining so that our current flag is fashioned with a single leaf. National Flag of Canada Day is on February 15th, following Valentine's Day on February 14th.

In my neck of the woods, the leaves have yet to return, branches are bare and a dusting of snow lingers. When the sun appears, it seems to cast thousands of sequins out onto the ocean waters. My photo and added animation do not adequately convey the mesmerizing dancing sparkles that truly are a magical sight.

Explore more at SKYWATCH, WEEKEND REFLECTIONS and IMAGE-IN-ING.

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HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

Lily's Lament

Detached but inseparable from the destructive whims of human behavior within nature, the yearning and the careless exist as interchangeable travelers in space together.

At differing times, in varying degrees, many of us have played the roles of both Lily (poetic prose below) and the one who picked her up briefly along the way.

Too early for lilies, I nonetheless searched for some hope of spring among the trees.

The air was crisp. Birds flitted from branch to branch. People walked with their pets. 

For one sun flashing moment all seemed right in my speck of the world.

    

Walkers and paddlers seemed headed in bright directions at a harmonious pace.

But not so fast, a little bird seemed to say. Life rife with tragedies dealt Canada a recent blow that will bring great economic destruction. The US is threatening its best trading partner and most reliable friend with extreme tariffs, betraying Canadians with bogus arguments, amid other bonds tossed in the trash like leftover summer flowers.

Sometimes when spring seems near, snow appears and we're left out in the cold.

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HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

Strange Bouquet

Just when flowers felt safe to grow, a little snow came calling. It's a "strange spring tradition" and the inspiring prompt at Poets and Storytellers United. A greater oddity is that we exist at all in a world where life self-perpetuates uniquely amid its more barren neighbours. Earth is surely the only place in our galaxy where a daffodil unfolds.

     

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, and SKYWATCH. 

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

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HOLD ONTO THE LIGHT

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From Sea To Sky

On my way to getting an updated Covid shot, I saw the Whaling Wall in White Rock. Painted by Robert Wyland, the creatures brought to mind a recent article about plastic. Largely dependent on fossil fuel extraction, it is not only in the fish we eat, it seems to have permeated the clouds. The enduring ingredient to buttress our everyday products has turned into a micro-superpower gone rogue. I wonder, now that plastics have likely penetrated our DNA, will that translate into more resiliency for us somehow? I could do with more plasticity as I age. Kidding aside, there are serious implications that have little to do with vanity. All this, and war news as winter looms, influenced my poem.

Sun-cast stars on the sea, as if by a fairy's wand, moved me from worries to wonder. 

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.

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

In The Face Of Disaster

People and places evoke sweet, sometimes bittersweet recollections. The poem is to my Ukrainian Canadian mom who long ago passed away. Her memory was made more poignant recently by the disaster that struck her homeland. The Poets and Storytellers prompt "in the face of disaster" got me thinking that a key to winning a fight you know is right is the belief that justice overcomes. When the battle is darkest, support of all sorts are like "teddy bears" amid chaos. Alongside bullets and blankets, some send cash, if they've any to spare, or prayers through time and space and light candles. 

We are now into the second year of this current catastrophic struggle where many have died. However, the second candle, unrelated to Ukraine, is for a writer I just now discovered at dVerse Poets has passed away and whom I want to acknowledge. 

     

Meanwhile, in my world, Frosty seemed a bit weary of the on again off again snow.

Crescent Beach beckoned as I've not taken walks there for a while. I'm both excited and hesitant about returning to the place where I fell. Until I do, I have hundreds of old photos to look at. Here's one at high tide taken I think near this time of year.

Explore more at Poets and Storytellers United, SKYWATCH and Shadow Shot Sunday. 

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

It's Been A Long Time Coming

Oh, no, it's going to snow, according to the weatherman.

   

I am not yet fully recovered from my fall so I won't be making snowballs or building a snowman. Honestly, I have done neither in years and the flakes will hopefully be of the sloppy, slushy, short-lived kind.

    

Since the path was clear for the moment, I took a walk to Kwomais Point Park and scanned the horizon, admiring the free-floating birds in a cloud-scattered sky.

     

A dog was laser focused on returning the ball so he could chase it all over again.The pet's clarity of purpose and perpetual romp in the now was impressive.

    

Living in the moment isn't so simple for humans, I thought, indulging in a hot brew and some prose upon returning home.

It can feel like grasping at mist when trying to live in the now. Rarely do we stop there as thoughts swing back and forth from a past we can't forget to a future we hope for or fear. Life is a series of phases and we often want to move on from present difficulties, anticipating a brighter horizon. When we get there, new challenges arise so on we go, wishing for a next phase, forgetting to be mindful of the moment. To overcome crises and grow, of course, we must revisit the past sometimes as well as believe in better tomorrows. But the Poets and Storytellers prompt "it's been a long time coming" brought to mind that what comes naturally to children fades between adolescence and adulthood and the way back to that sweet spot is an inside journey down a long road of effort that the right song can bring into focus in an instant. Please click and enjoy!

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.

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

Strength In Numbers For The Year 2 0 2 2

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Buddha

Does a new year and number signify change or continuation of the same? I hope for the former but suspect the latter, especially after seeing Don't Look Up on Netflix. Critics say the movie missed the mark on satire but to me the passive public's discombobulating reaction to a massive comet hurtling to Earth hit too close to home. I once thought a common enemy would pull the world together but the pandemic and climate crisis suggest otherwise. Humanity divides as readily as it unifies. The year 2022 has me grasping at straws and even stumbling upon an odd bit of comfort from numerologists who believe 2’s can inspire compromise between deeply opposing sides. Might triple 2's predict growing unity needed to increase chances of our survival? Each snowflake, breath and raindrop is a miracle hanging in the balance. My gratitude goes to those across the globe who do what's right in small or large doses to make us safer. 

Explore more at OUR WORLD and, if you've got a minute, watch the trailer.

Still the kid I used to be

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C. to view more West Coast scenes.

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Angry Birds

"If you have one true friend you have more than your share." - Thomas Fuller

The snow had melted in the gritty birdbath that stands in my backyard and is full of broken needles, dirt and leaves.

Judging by its expression, the bird was none too happy with the untidy conditions. Nonetheless, it splashed in the tub for several seconds while I took its picture through the glass window from an upper floor of the house. Suddenly another bird appeared.

 

It was its turn to take a bath but the first bird (below) wasn't budging. A conversation ensued. It didn't take a translator to figure out the issue was being resolved with a rapid flapping of feathers. The second bird was given a chance to wet its wings alone. 

Before long the companion birds flew off ... still friends who would squabble but travel through life sharing everything but a wash in a birdbath too cramped for two. 

Humankind are birds of a feather, too, who must share and work together yet some could not shower, bathe or drink recently in Texas due to a man-made disaster caused by extreme weather and an infrastructure failure foreseen but denied for years. It resulted in some very "angry birds" having to melt snow for water. 

At the same time, man and womankind were profoundly proud that a scientific global community exercising friendship, ingenuity, perseverance and common sense resulted in a touchdown on Mars. This is how humanity will fly off Earth together one day.   

Explore more at  SATURDAY'S CRITTERS and OUR WORLD.

Still the kid I used to be

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle and Musings of A Puddlist In B.C. 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.