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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Friday, December 13, 2013

Song for Friday...thinking back....

There's so many things about my childhood in Toronto that
bring back many vivid and cherished memories....
One of the more prominent ones are those of winter...snow...ice...
Maybe it's because we don't have those kind of winters here on the coast.
Last Christmas when we went to visit my daughter and her husband I ventured
up to the local park a few days after it had been snowing.
And there they were...hockey players!
Just a bunch of guys in sweaters and skates goofing around on the ice...the sound of
skates, the slap of a puck on the stick.
But what memories it brought back to me of those evenings when you
had to be forced to come home for dinner..."just another half an hour...please!"
You would be so bundled up that even if you fell playing 'Crack the whip'
it didn't matter because you had so many layers on...
And so today my song is a tribute to those long ago winter afternoons.
I've included the lyrics to this song because they are...in a word...
Brilliant.
I'm not sure whatever happened to Jane Siberry but
she wrote some really fine songs at one time.
A warning that there a few 'f' words in one line but its
sort of a reference to a big riot in the '50s in Montreal when they
benched Maurice "Rocket" Richard of the Montreal Canadiens and
 apparently the swear words reference
 what he said to a fan or a referee after being handed down the penalty.
 
winter time on the frozen river
Sunday afternoon
they're playing hockey on the river
Rosie...
he'll have that scar on his chin forever
someday his girlfriend will say "hey, where...?"
he might look out the window... or not
you skate as fast as you can
'til you hit the snowbank (that's how you stop)
and you got your sweater from the catalogue

 you use your rubber boots for goal posts
ah, and walkin' home
don't let those Sunday afternoons
get away get away get away get away
break away break away...

this stick was signed by Jean Belliveau
so don't fucking tell me where to fucking go...
oh Sunday afternoon
someone's dog just took the puck
he's buried it it's in the snowbank ....your turn
they rioted in the streets of Montreal
when they benched Rocket Richard it's true

don't let those Sunday afternoons
get away get away get away get away
break away break away break away break away

the sun is fading on the frozen river
the wind is dying down
someone else just got called for dinner
Rosie!
hmm...Sunday afternoon
 
Have a great weekend all! and if you're anywhere where it's
cold enough....have a skate for me!


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Chasing Ice...

As the cold temps continue I've been treated to some
 beautiful ice formations along my walks with Griffin.
Yesterday was no exception in our beloved Erinan,
a 500 acre piece of private property whose owners graciously
allow people to respectfully use the trails and the lake therein.
This old water tower may not look like much of an artist...
...but with the help of Mother Nature it has made the
most stunning ice sculpture...
...drop by drop and splash by splash the build up has taken on
other worldly proportions...
...the steady and patient hand of freezing nights and crisp clear days
has unveiled this blue, white glassy marvel...
Blades of grass and twigs of trees encased in a frozen, transparent cloak...
Time lapsed photography would have shown the artistry in progress
but alas! we are only given the final product of a master sculptor...
Down by the creek, it seems the same hand has been working here as well...
On another note...
The title of this post came from a magnificent and very important documentary
that you must watch. One of the most beautiful and thought provoking films
about climate change you'll ever see.
From the Chasing Ice website...
Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of climate change. Using time-lapse cameras, his videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. -
Its available on Netflix here in Canada.
Usually I find films about this subject full of scientists and politicians and fact finders
a tad dull but this film in all its sad beauty is physically stunning.
It literally is the proof that our world is changing.
Have a look.





Sunday, December 8, 2013

The winter hours...

It's been an extremely cold week here...at least for us on
the Coast. We don't usually get below freezing temps and
wow!, snow too!
The fires been on 24/7...

Thanks to Norene who has been perfecting the business of candle making,
She is now the wax maven,
many beeswax candles have been burning as the night grows dark...
 I've been doing a bit of seasonal decorating
around the house...picking big, fat, plump snow berries and
placing them in clear glass vases...
 I don't know if I've ever seen them so full...
 Could be a sign of a cold winter!
Setting out little winter dioramas under glass...
This is a picture of my mom when she was about 10 one long ago winter
at St Annes school in Victoria...
 ...pine cones, and faux snow in the bottom of an old mason jar cradle her picture...
I saw this idea on Poppytalk and since we just got a bunch
of very fragrant Bay leaves, I thought I'd make myself one.
Even after the leaves begin to dry and curl, it still looks quite pretty...
A big basket of pine cones sits by the fire...
And the precious little Anna's hummingbird outside our window...
 Yesterday he was just sitting there for a long spell...
 Perhaps letting the sun warm his back...
 Did you know at night when they go into torpor, they can
slow their hear trate down from 246 beats a minute to 6?!!
 Truly little miracles...
Now today I will put some outdoor greenery on the porch since its warmed up
a bit...get up some fairy lights up and hunker down into
the season of light.
Happy Sunday.