Tag Archives: nature

EarthDay…

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

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today, Earth Day 50, I’ve spent time thinking about our world and how blessed we are to be here…

and how this virus, which has made us all stay home, has given the earth a chance to rest and start recovering from all the grief we have given it…

in my little corner of the world, I spent time watching the birds and squirrels at the bird feeders… after I refilled them…

and also was able to spend some time on the deck in the garden, enjoying the balmy weather…

I’ve been thinking of a few small changes I’ve made at home… the one I am most pleased about is using cloth instead of paper towels… I put away the paper towel holder shortly after arriving back home in January… I’ve been using extra hand towels and facecloths and have a bin for the used ones on the kitchen counter… it has been amazingly simple and is encouraging me to see what other small, but helpful changes I can make…

banyan…

21 Tuesday Apr 2020

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a photo of the banyan tree in Lahaina came up in my Facebook feed this morning so I pulled out a few more…

I’ve been thinking of this particular tree for quite a while… it is the largest banyan tree in Hawaii, and covers an entire block… the aerial roots are astonishing… it is stunning, and also one of the most peaceful places I have been…

the area is filled with visitors, many, like we were, there from out of the country, but lots of regulars as well… a gathering place for lunch and work breaks, there were many of the town’s workforce in the space… it is also clearly a place where those who have very little spend their time… what was also obvious was how they cared for the place and treated it, and everyone there, with respect and kindness…

we visited it a few times while we stayed in Lahaina and it provided a wonderful break… the weather was very hot and it always provided shade and a slightly cooler place to be… each day as the sun goes down the tree is filled with the sound of hundreds of birds gathering there for the night…

before we left the town, it was the last place we stopped, to soak up the amazing feeling…

I took this panorama of a corner of the block…

this beauty of nature reminded me of Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island, another breathtaking place which I will never forget…

I hope you have memories of a special tree…

sunlit…

17 Friday Apr 2020

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yesterday I was in the hot tub early in the evening, which is not my usual pattern…

I watched geese flying south in the blue sky…

I also watched a number of birds in the elm tree next door… in the sunlight they looked like they were bright red in colour… many flew from there past the garage…

I stared at one of them for the longest time trying to decide if it was a sunlit robin or something else… because there were so many of them I didn’t think they were robins as usually I see them alone… eventually it flew away…

thinking how my beloved would have been able to provide a certain answer as he had eagle eyes;-)…

as soon as I got into the house I checked my bird book and my bird app (of course I have one) and am pretty sure it was a robin…

but it was exciting for a few moments as I imagined all kinds of very red birds, lol..

here’s the photo that my Merlin Bird ID came up with…

set…

16 Thursday Apr 2020

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had a fun time in the living room today…

replaced all the cushions with more summery ones from the stockpile… added in a few hints of turquoise and moved some plants… I am trying to get a clear view from my spot on the couch of the bird feeders in the front yard…

yesterday I refilled the feeders and there has been lots of activity since then… so far I’ve spotted juncos, nuthatches and even a purple finch… and of course the squirrels, lol…

I’ve put up the tripod and have the camera ready to go, so I’m all set…

hopefully the purple finch will return and I will be able to get a photo;-)…

melt…

07 Tuesday Apr 2020

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the weather has been very odd over the last week…

on Friday it snowed all day and into Saturday… everything was covered… then it started to melt and by today it is nearly all gone…

above shows the front yard Saturday on the top and today on the bottom…

the backyard has changed a lot as well… yesterday there was still a fair bit of snow on the deck and by the pond… today it is almost completely gone…

crazy, but I hope to be able to sit out there soon…

twisted…

03 Friday Apr 2020

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my daughter sent me a calendar wth daily yoga for April, so this morning I decided to do some… I got an old yoga mat out, arranged my phone so I could see it from the mat and started the video…

unfortunately I twisted my back in the process so I’ve had to be very careful with everything I’ve done for the rest of the day…

since the girls were little I occasionally end up with a hurt lower back… sadly, it usually takes ages to return to normal… there’s never an obvious action to cause the problem… it just means being careful about standing for too long and twisting the wrong way when sitting…

my solution today has been to quietly sit in the living room and read… so happy I found the books on Kobo…

for a good portion of the day it snowed and late in the afternoon the sun came out and it looked beautiful with everything covered in snow… especially as I didn’t have to leave the house…

as I was sitting and reading I looked out to see the most beautiful sky…

seeing this stunning view was a very special moment, which I enjoyed…

envelope…

24 Tuesday Mar 2020

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mail…

yesterday I received an envelope with a beautiful card and goodies in it…

another of my Advent All Year packages from my daughter…

a nice treat in this time of staying at home…

the card had a butterfly and flower on it and there were cute leaf stickers and two very cute camera paper clips inside…

thinking of where I am going to use those paper clips…

such a pleasant surprise…

leaf…

16 Monday Mar 2020

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this morning I decided to order groceries from Save-On-Foods, which I’ve done a few times…

usually the delivery happens the next day… the first open spots started on Saturday afternoon… apparently many people are using the delivery system;-)…

went to the Park for lunch with a couple of friends… it was very quiet… no one on the path, and they have replaced the usual menus with single sheets of paper which are discarded after being used… the tables have nothing on them and the few people there were seated quite a ways from one another…

as I was leaving I noticed the new Leaf construction is above the trees now… kind of exciting;-)…

I don’t think I will be going out for lunch after this as it is clear that older folks need to be staying at home, away from others…

tonight my BS group met by phone… we are so lucky that we have the technology to allow us to connect this way…

the new normal...

forward…

10 Tuesday Mar 2020

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had a lovely wander around the living room and dining room to check on the plants…

a few of the orchids are starting some new buds and the other plants are doing nicely…

it was a nice treat to wander around and see the growth…

we just sprang forward on the weekend and I think Spring is really coming…

soaked

07 Saturday Mar 2020

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had a lovely day…

walked to and from the Park with a friend and had lunch at the Park Cafe… I’ve been ordering the same thing for a while now – the beet and goat cheese salad with falafel on the side… it is delicious… I order a side so it is just the right size…

enjoyed all the bits of nature which I spotted at home and on our walk… I also saw and heard geese flying over which was an early Spring treat…

the only unfortunate thing was that one of my boots sprang a leak and by the time I was home my foot was soaked...

apparently I am going to have to get new boots for next year;-(…