Tag Archives: peaceful

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…

available…

21 Tuesday May 2019

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went to look at what plants were available in the stores on Sunday…

it is too soon to do any planting so my goal was to see what is out there…

but then I bought a few things…

picked up a flat of white alyssum and one of purple lobelia… I’ve used these for a number of years in the planters around the deck… the colour and scent add to the peaceful feeling in the garden…

then I chose a basket of midnight stars petunias… petunias have not been one of my favourites, but the flowers on this plant are amazing… this will go into the planter right outside the front door…

finally, a hanging basket of fuchsia, red and purple, which will hang close to the hot tub…

considering that I wasn’t going to buy anything, I guess I did well to stop when I did, lol…

forest…

01 Wednesday Aug 2018

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been thinking of forests a lot lately…

after being in Cathedral Grove, BC, it has felt like we don’t really have many forests around here…

but when I walk through the forest in the Park I remember how special and rejuvenating trees are… it always seems extra peaceful and other sounds are blocked out…

took this shot looking up through the tree in the Leo Mol Garden… can never remember what the name of this particular tree is, although it is one of my favourites…

this photo is from July 2011 in Cathedral Grove…

we had a memorable time while visiting Courtenay and surrounds… it was a very special time and it was our last anniversary…

wings…

07 Friday Jul 2017

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seemed like there were lots of critters around and about today…

many with wings..

over the last few days I’ve noticed tons of dragonflies around… this morning when I came out to the garden there was a tiny one by the back door and then when I was sitting by the pond this one stopped by…

and posed rather nicely for me…

later in the day I caught this ladybug on one of the peppers in my daughter’s garden…

just a few minutes later this four legged turned up…

pretty little and my middle grandson thinks there might be a nest of them under the bushes…

a friend came by for a visit in the garden this morning and it reminded me of why I love it out here… even when it isn’t perfect it is welcoming and has a special feeling of peacefulness…

for the last half hour or so I’ve been watching the fish swim around in the pond… they haven’t been out much when I’ve been in the garden today, so it is a lovely treat to see them…

as I sit writing this, the solar lights are coming on one by one as it gets a tiny bit darker around the garden…

but, the bad news…. just spotted the first mosquito of the season;-(… not the type of critter I am happy to see…

swarm…

13 Saturday Aug 2016

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in the last few days I’ve been to the Gardens three times…

twice I wasn’t able to get to my favourite spot as there were weddings taking place…

but the biggest oddity was the huge number of Pokemon Go hunters who are swarming the area around the tropical lily pond in the Leo Mol Garden…

at one point I counted 36 people sitting on the edge of the pond, and not one of them was looking at the lilies or statues…

did find this a bit sad… such a beautiful place and it seems as though many of those present weren’t even looking… 

although there were many of the hunters, it appears that about half of the people today were there to admire the Gardens… I spent a while waiting for my kids by the Boy with the Boot and was happy to see so many visitors who were excited and taking lots of photos as they entered the English Garden area…

my youngest grandson and I were able to spot a few frogs…

and also had some fun checking out the Duck Pond…

he’s at a phase where he doesn’t want his picture taken but he didn’t know I was taking this one, lol…

and then his daddy gave a little assist for this one…

had a few minutes to focus on some beautiful leaves… the colours were amazing…

the purple waterlilies are still my favourite…

happy that my usual time to visit is early in the morning, when the Gardens are quiet and peaceFULL…

peaceful…

01 Friday Jul 2016

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been a quiet Canada Day for me… 

spent the day in the garden and did some final planting, a tiny bit of weeding and lots of reading and relaxing…

watched at least three squirrels at the feeders… they were the only wildlife in the garden for a good portion of the day… quite entertaining as they fought over who would be at the feeder… one was literally tossed off by another…


the hibiscus has a ton of buds and this lovely bloom early in the day…


sitting in the shade reading and enjoying the peaceful sound of the waterfall…

then I spotted this little beauty as it came in for a drink…

the next thing I knew the couple were at the feeder…


a bit later a chickadee stopped by for a snack too, and as I was cooking my dinner they were all taking turns, although they weren’t pleased that I kept going into the garage…


decided to barbecue my dinner… went well, other than the fact I over cooked the steak, lol… tasted good anyway…

the burners are rusted through so I may need to watch for a small barbecue on sale to replace this one…

off and on throughout the day the music from the celebrations at the Park have wafted over…

well, back to my book…

smoothie…

24 Tuesday May 2016

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woke up early and started my day with a smoothie and a walk on the treadmill… 

then I got to spend a short time in the garden…and took a few pictures of some purple flowers…

these are looking very nice with the white alyssum in the planter boxes around the deck…


there is something about calla lilies that just grabs my heart…


these beauties are on the front steps…

for many years in the summer I would start my day with a walk all around the garden… that was when George was weeding, lol…

the side garden is overgrown so I couldn’t make it around there, but I did get to take a wander around the rest of the space…

certainly gets one into a peaceful state of mind…

garden…

03 Tuesday Jun 2014

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there are still lots of things to plant in the garden but I didn’t get anything done tonight…

on my way to the car this morning I realized the water in the pond was very low, I spent about five minutes filling it… that amount of time didn’t add very much water…

was worried that the fish might get in trouble if it got much lower…

20140603-211859-76739932.jpgtonight I am sitting here as it fills up, enjoying the beautiful evening… birds are singing and the sound of the water is soothing…

20140603-212110-76870849.jpgwe think it is leaking again due to something happening when the uv filter went in…

my pond guy is planning to stop by Thursday or Friday to sort out the problem…

I have noticed that when it rains the pond doesn’t get all murky like it was in the fall so I think the swale they built fixed that problem which is wonderful…

I think I am taking on some of George’s characteristics because now when I walk through an area in the garden I find myself pulling weeds as I go and then going back to pick them up off the ground later, lol… I kept trying to get him to carry a small pail so he didn’t have to retrace his steps…

what a serene and peaceful place I inhabit…

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Wrapping…

23 Sunday Dec 2012

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well, now I know why I’d been putting the wrapping off…

I gathered all the packages from the couple of locations where I had been storing/hiding them, and brought everything to the dining room table… had some great paper from Costco this year, a lovely snowflake theme in whites, blues and silvers… this will go beautifully with Crystal’s tree…

had to search for quite a while before I found the gift tags… took some time to decide on which paper would work for whom, and then began the actual wrapping…

the wrapping went well… I even got fancy with ribbon… then I had to write the first tag…

“love Mom”…

hadn’t anticipated the shock… my eyes welled up and I thought about all the parcels that I had made tags for over the last 40 years…

oh my, I miss my beloved…

so, after a little pity party, I moved on and finished wrapping and tagging the gifts…

collection of gifts for Christmas...

collection of gifts for Christmas…

I also realize that I have focused on my immediately family with a very few exceptions… again, this is not my norm, but apparently there will be a number of differences this year… maybe tomorrow I will make some more sugar cookies for those who I have let drop off the list…

the kids came over, and we went Christmas pajama shopping for everyone… we returned home, had dinner and looked at things we might do while in Mexico…

then they were gone, and the house returned to a quiet peace-filled space… tonight it does feel peaceful, not empty like yesterday…

interesting…

Healthy…

13 Thursday Dec 2012

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it was a good day… first thing I gathered up the garbage and put it by the back door, emptied and refilled the dishwasher… work was mainly quiet, but I accomplished what I wanted… after work I took out garbage and recycling, after shoveling so I could get to the back lane…  I do love the look of snow, but it isn’t always great to have to deal with it…

then I went to Aquasize… been going for over two years with my friend Pat… we usually go on Tuesday nights but that didn’t work this week, so we decided on Thursday, with dinner out afterwards…

there were only 3 of us in the class – a drop-in that usually has from 12 to 20 people in it… weather wasn’t so great – lots of that beautiful, fluffy snow, so I guess people just didn’t want to go out…

as I was doing all the requested actions, it came to me that I am healthy and today I was able to do everything asked of me, and didn’t need to take any breaks during the class… sometimes I just paddle around because it is too much for me to participate…

I thought about all the months before my surgery that I couldn’t do much because my abdomen was so extended from the hernia it made some of the movements impossible and there was always the worry that I might twist or strain and cause a more serious problem…

then, for eight weeks following my surgery, I couldn’t go into the water and had to be sure not to lift anything over 5 pounds and not do any twisting… I was very happy when I got the approval to get back into the water and was able to lift things again…

it was September 15 that I finally made it back into the water at the lake with Pat (she took this pic)… we like to do water-type things together…

heading into the rather cool water...

heading into the rather cool water…

I can remember how excited I was… even though it was quite chilly, I was going into that water…  it was wonderful and I enjoyed every minute of it…

most nights I go out to the hot tub in the garden for a while…  it is so peaceful in the dark and a very contemplative time…  as long as it isn’t snowing or raining or blowing big time, I don’t really care what the temperature is…

I love my hot tub and I will sit there thinking about the day, the kids, George and mostly, how lucky I am and what a blessed life I have…

I am healthy and am going out for a tub now…