After a spring and summer filled with shenanigans (hehehe!), I had 4 vacation days left to use before my end of year retirement and it only seemed right to use them for a quick trip back to Vancouver Island to see my daughter and her boyfriend, in their new abode in Ladysmith.
I’ve been back home for over a week already, and only getting around to this post now – apologies, especially to Donna and Erica (two lovely bloggers I went hiking with during my recent visit) who were able to post already on the fun time we shared here and here.
Sleep deprivation, staff vacations, Elton John (more about this later!), and my sister coming for a visit all contributed to lack of blogging, and after catching up on rest this past weekend I feel mostly human again, and capable of stringing a few words together.
However, I think I’ll let my photos (and captions) do most of the talking. Behold:
Spotted this rascal on a walk along the Nanaimo waterfront on my first day back on the Island. I still can’t believe how close he/she let us get. Herons in Ontario are less bold.Sunday found us doing some exploring via island hopping, since our planned whale-watching excursion got cancelled last minute due to “rough seas”. Uh huh. This photo was taken on Hornby Island – looking out towards Denman Island (with Vancouver Island in the distance). Note rough seas.Waiting for the ferry to Denman Island. I still can’t believe we dared to take all those ferries in these rough seas. View from the ferry, approaching Vancouver Island. Wait, are those actual waves?Went to do some forest-bathing with these two rascals. The wonderful Donna and Erica. It’s always a great day for a hike when you have such lovely ladies for company. We talked about all the important things like we’d known each other for years. Even blogging!Donna in her cute yellow rain jacket – being used here for scale!Beautiful Holland Creek TrailOn my last full day, we went to Victoria to do some exploring in the capitol of BC. Chinatown was fun (and delicious!), as always.This fine fellow greeted us as we entered Chinatown.Of course we had to shoot a selfie in Fan Tan Alley. After Chinatown, we walked through the city with the goal of getting to Fishermans’s Wharf. This is a statue of the artist, Emily Carr. That is a monkey on her back, that she is turning her attention to. I assume it was a pet – like her little dog, and not a statement about any struggles she may have been going through! The Empress Hotel is in the background. I enjoyed the high tea experience there, back in 2003. Fancy!Mizz J (and K) looking towards Fisherman’s Wharf – our objective – which was eventually reached – although everything was closed when we got there.We still had fun walking around and admiring the unique homes on Fisherman’s Wharf. Fisherman’s Wharf warning sign. Point (get it? 😉 ) taken.
The week just flew by and was over far too soon. The beauty and charm of Vancouver Island continues to astound me. I wonder if I will ever get used to it. I hope not!
How’s that for an click-baity enticing title, eh? Last weekend was planned several months ago, after coordination with another blogging buddy and IRL friend, Karen Hume. Joanne (aka trail name: Blaze) and I visited Karen last in the summer of 2018 and another visit was definitely overdue!
Joanne asked me if there was anything in particular I wanted to see on our little road trip (besides Karen, of course) and without much hesitation I said “Tweed, in Smiths Falls!” This was more than cool with our intrepid Joanne as well, so off we went on Friday morning to see what this facility that grows cannabis was all about. Joanne wrote about her observations on our tour here and she has some great pictures of pot production at “Ganga University” as I call it, because our tour guide kept referring to the facility as a “campus”.
So, without replicating Joanne’s photos…we were both snapping away so a lot are the same…here are some of mine, from our tour:
There was a bit of a museum at the beginning of the tour, along with a video presentation on the history of cannabis. Worth watching!These overhead lights are depicting the chemical structure of THC – the stuff in weed that gets you high.These vials were filled with cotton balls doused in the different terpenes found in weed (also found in other organic items such as lemons and pine) – the chemicals that contribute to the taste and scent of cannabis. So we sniffed away, and cleansed our nasal palates in between with coffee beans. Apparently there are people who smoke weed for the flavour so descriptions of cannabis products talk about this. Sorry highly informative and cute little tour guide: I have yet to talk to someone whose first concern is the flavour of the weed they are smoking despite you assuring me of the existence of such unicorns connoisseurs.Here is the source of one of Joanne’s disappointments : a chocolate room not making chocolate, even though it was supposed to be Day One of production. So clean! So shiny! So devoid of activity and chocolate! Sorry, Joanne! 🙁Smiling despite the lack of chocolate and free (or otherwise) cannabis to try.
After a couple of hours spent gaining an education about ye olde electric lettuce, bhang, mary jane, dank, green goddess etc., we were off to meet up with Karen for some pub grub and plans for our Saturday together. Which included visiting:
The Brockville Farmer’s Market! Bursting with fall produce.
Joanne and Karen admiring the mineral deposits forming in the tunnel interior.Our tunnel experience included quite the light and music show! But you know what was missing though? Some Tweed product samples would have put the cherry on the icing on the cake of our railway tunnel visit, doncha think? 😉
While visiting with Karen, we stayed at a lovely little complex on the banks of the St. Lawrence River:
St. Lawrence sunrise, from the deck surrounding our rooms.Signs of a beautiful fall all around us.
And it really was lovely, except for the paper thin walls between the rooms. On Saturday night Joanne and I turned in early, in our respective but far apart rooms – we’d had a full day of catching up and touring the area with Karen, and had filled up on some delicious Chinese food for supper as well. We were both looking forward to relaxing with a good book and catching up on our (a-hem) beauty sleep.
Joanne was treated to a loudly battling father and son in the room next to hers while I was treated to something else entirely.
There I was, safely tucked into bed and enjoying a good book, when I heard the unmistakeable sounds of…er…knockin’ boots, from the other side of the wall behind my headboard. Which was not at all unusual I suppose, except that I was also treated to some loud and (I sincerely hope) playful slapping going on, besides! Talk about your “slap and tickle” – it was a veritable slap and tickle festival happening next door to me. Hah! Thankfully it was at a decent hour in the evening and the festivities um climaxed died down before they cut into my ability to sleep.
The next morning we shared our experiences at breakfast while I scanned the couples in the complex’s dining room to try and figure out who was the slapper and who was the slappee of the previous evening. I think I figured it out. Not only that, we ran into those same people at a highway rest stop on the way back to our respective homes later that morning! The woman seemed in quite a jolly mood so I inferred from this that apparently all that slapping was done in a loving and consensual manner.
Joanne asked me how long I had to listen to this symphony of slap-happy sex. I said long enough that I didn’t have to feel sorry for the female partner. 😉
Have you ever had your rest interrupted by a loud couple next door? Do tell, and…
Yes – I know, I know! The fall equinox is not officially until the 23rd (@ 03:50 Eastern Time – thanks Interwebs) but that’s on a Monday – and still a workday for yours truly. So I’m posting this on the first day of Old-school FallTM, you know – September 21st? Like June 21 is the start of Old-school SummerTM, March 21 is Old-school SpringTM and December 21 is Old-school WinterTM?
Imagine my chagrin at seeing this sign at the start of my favourite, local walking trail:
WTF? Not THIS again. The trail was closed last fall too. Hmmmph! It’s almost as if the City is saying: Let’s see, what is the best time for people to enjoy this trail? Fall? Right, then – that’s when we’ll shut ‘er down. Again. For the second year running.
I shrugged my shoulders and sauntered past the sign, to see what was the issue. I walked on and on, thoroughly enjoying my lawlessness the scenery for many glorious minutes, until I came upon this sign:
Oh goody. They are going to replace the bridge. But work hasn’t begun yet. I appreciate the City looking out for my personal safety. They can consider their asses well and truly covered with this sign. I’ll be sure not to sue no matter what happens.
You guessed it, my fellow Badassians! I blew past this sign too. With not even a wobble on the bridge. That looked and behaved exactly as it had the week before and every day I’ve been on it for the past – oh – 15 years. And was I ever glad I took a chance.
(Sometimes my rebellious nature does come in handy – are you reading this in the Hereafter, Mom and Dad?)
Because I caught sight of this majestic blue heron, and this lovely Monarch,and these gorgeous leaves changing colour already,and these beautiful asters,and these wild grapes and viburnum berries, nicely intermingled…and these lovely viburnum berries with the glorious blue sky peeking through.
I suppose one day soon I will come upon the bridge (or more likely where the bridge USED to be) and be thwarted from walking further until it is repaired and replaced. But until then, it will take more than a couple of signs to keep me off this trail in the Fall!
And that’s a Badass promise!
What rules have you been breaking lately? Do tell!
Last week I travelled to Dallas, Texas for my last-ever North American Lab Managers meeting. Over the past 14 years I have been able to travel to places like California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Minnesota, New York and Maine to meet up with my fellow lab managers to discuss various topics related to our jobs testing milk for the purpose of dairy herd improvement.
The usual suspects appear at these meetings year-after-year and you get to know and respect them soon enough and look forward to catching up with them at this annual conference. So this last meeting was bittersweet, for me.
I was pleased to hear from so many of my colleagues that I will be missed. A couple of my partners-in-crime at this meeting have promised to drop in on me at my new home on Vancouver Island. I may wake up one day to find an RV full of these rascals parked in my driveway. Which would be way cool, as they are a fun bunch, and we had a lotta laughs after the first day’s very full agenda of speakers and discussions, when we headed to the hotel bar to kick back and shoot the you-know-what. 😉
The second day of this 2-day conference is always a tour day. I didn’t know where we were going until the day before, so had low to no expectations as to what we were going to be treated to. The agenda said we would first tour a Federal Milk Marketing Order lab (always cool to see someone else’s facility), then after lunch we would visit the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, and then the Fort Worth Stockyards before having dinner in Fort Worth. (George W. Bush was not exactly my favourite American president and I had no idea what we would see at the stockyards so my expectations remained low.)
Imposing entrance. It’s presidential, after all!
I was very pleasantly surprised and impressed at the quality of exhibits at this museum, and I would encourage anyone visiting the Dallas area to take the time to visit. (I didn’t have time to check out the library portion so can’t comment on that.)
There was of course a large part of the museum dedicated to 9/11 artifacts, as this occurred during Dubya’s presidency. It was very moving to see this, especially as we visited on September 10 – one day before the 18th anniversary of this horrific day.
Twisted, heat-damaged steel beams from the World Trade Center in front of a wall with the names of every victim and some of the stories from that awful time.
There were many exhibits (including short videos) on the Bush presidency – all aspects of their lives and the initiatives undertaken by the Bushes – as well as a recreation of the Oval Office, as it existed during that time.
Clothes worn by the Bushes along with place settings used at state dinners. First Dog, Spot
Like I said earlier, I was not a fan of Dubya. Although after seeing the projects he and Mrs. Bush championed during his terms, and contrasting and comparing that to who is in charge now, I’ve decided he wasn’t really all that bad. In fact, he seems like a bit of a moral and mental giant to me now, considering…a-hem! 😉
An American I was with at the time said much the same to me as we walked through the halls of the museum. Said he’d like to shake Bush’s hand NOW as he didn’t realize at the time how much worse things could get. See, all you need to be remembered kindly is to have someone come later who’s a complete villain/moron.
Gosh, part of me very selfishly hopes the next lab manager makes people remember me fondly too! 😉
After seeing these artifacts, and an exhibit across the hall on presidential retreats (also hella interesting – so interesting I forgot to take pics, sorry!), it was “Back on the bus, people!” to get to the Fort Worth stockyards just in time for a CATTLE DRIVE!
Twice a day Texas longhorn cattle are driven down the street in a recreation of the time when these animals were herded from the natural pastures of Fort Worth along the Chisholm Trail to railheads in Kansas. “C’mon cows!”, the cowboys sang out as they passed. (Although even a city slicker like me could tell they were mostly steers, not cows.)
I flew home on September 11. Didn’t notice any heightened security or anything like that, and at the airports it was just another day. As it should be.
Then on September 12 – the day I had been eagerly anticipating for weeks – I went to Thrive Studios to meet with Angela McDonald to get a major piece inked onto my forearm. My first large black and grey tattoo!
My “Mucha Mermaid”, freshly inked. Took a little over 2 hours. I am beyond pleased with Angela’s artistry in realizing my vision for this piece. 48 hours later. Still healing. Sorry about the poor light. I have it heavily moisturized and there was a glare on my arm if I was in better light.
This piece has multiple meanings for me. One is that is symbolizes my future, surrounded by the ocean on Vancouver Island.
The other, larger meaning is that it is in honour of my mother (mostly) and representative of my family. My mother (the mermaid) loved the water, loved to swim, was a lifeguard, taught water aerobics and supervised a therapy pool at a retirement home before she retired. My dad (the damaged anchor) was also in love with the sea and worked for a bit for the Dutch Merchant Marine as a young man. He would have kept with it, but the papers came through for immigration to Canada soon after joining, so that ended that dream for him. The cracks in the anchor speak to the demons that plagued him (and that the family bore the brunt of), especially as he got older. The three little fish are me and my two sisters. When I mentioned to my daughter the tattoo she reminded me that this was initially her idea for a tattoo many years ago, minus the cracks in the anchor and the little sister fishies. I had forgotten about this and obviously had stolen (unknowingly) her idea. Sorry, kiddo!
Speaking of stealing others’ good ideas – just before I left for Dallas, I received an order from Vistaprint of “business” cards, for handing out to friends and such once I am retired. (Really, what do you call these damn things when you aren’t working anymore??? They need a better name than business cards!)
I know of several retired people who have gotten cards done for this purpose, and I was especially inspired by Janis of Retirementally Challenged, who designed a beautiful card with a quote on it! So once again I stole (knowingly, this time). Behold:
What you can’t see is that I ordered a pearlescent sheen on these cards. Oh, I be so FANCY. This quote sums up just about everything I’d love to be/have/do in my retirement. Well, plus family, and assorted adventures with plenty of “shenanigans” involved. Yeah, I want it all.
I’m back to “normal life” for the next couple of weeks until Joanne and I hit the road for a weekend adventure. Sixteen weeks left at my work. Time is flying now.
And how are you all making out as we head into Autumn? Do tell!
Way back in March I answered a phone call from blogging (and now real life) buddy, Joanne from My Life Lived Full. “Listen Deb”, she said “I’m going to go to Newfoundland to do some hiking and I thought you might like to join me…no pressure, I’m going regardless but in case you were interested in joining me…”
Well, I gave a qualified YES right away but needed to check if my ever-diminishing stockpile of vacation days would allow it first #workingsuckssometimes. Once that was out of the way, the booking and planning began in earnest!
And almost before we knew it, the day was upon us and we landed in St. Johns’s! I could (and probably will) write so many posts about this wonderful week spent in Canada’s most easterly province, but this one will focus on our adventures outdoors. We hiked most days, and even took a boat trip out to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve.
The weather: much cooler than in Ontario (and we are having an unseasonably cool spring!). Leaves were just beginning to emerge on the trees when we first came to the island. We had researched this and packed accordingly.
Joanne’s grand plan (now mine too) – to hike parts of the East Coast Trail. Mission accomplished, just about every day of our stay!First day hike – thankful I was prepared with warm base layers, gloves and wet weather gear. Photo by Joanne Sisco.Don’t like the foggy weather obscuring the fantastic view? Wait 15 minutes.That’s better!Joanne admiring yet another spectacular view.
One of our goals for this trip was to see icebergs. Newfoundland did not disappoint as we spied them on our adventures most days. We got up close and personal with one while heading out to Witless Bay Ecological Preserve with Gatherall’s Boat Tours.
Immediately the boat made for an iceberg, so thoughtfully placed in our path. To say Joanne was thrilled would be the greatest understatement of 2019. 🙂Joanne sees an iceberg up close. She’s good, I tell ya! Alas, I never saw a single whale on our NFLD trip, despite calling for them from the cliff tops. One of the islands we passed. SO. MANY. BIRDS.Millions of sea birds.Puffin! I had to really blow up this shot as these birds are tiny and fast. Hard to capture.Birds, birds, birds.
And now, back to hiking!
Apres boat trip, hiking around Witless BayJoanne spots an iceberg from the shore. This woman is insatiable! 🙂 Note: The weather improved and we were able to shed some layers. Another day, another hike. Smiling faces from Holyrood and the Great Trail.Stop the car!!! Iceberg spotted in Bay Roberts.Hiking the Beach Trail in Bay Roberts.Another view of “our” Bay Roberts iceberg.Last day hike. We started out in Flatrock.View from the top of our hike. Wall of fog fast approaching. Joanne watching the fog wall come in. Don’t step back, Joanne!!!!
What an amazing week of stunning vistas, wildlife (sadly, no whales though), and all the weather one could think of. Except snow and ice, thankfully. I can heartily recommend Newfoundland to anyone who loves nature and hiking. Bring along a like-minded adventurer (cough*Joanne*cough), for the best time possible!
Slowly but surely, spring is happening whether the weather (LOL!) likes it or not. Well, I like it and there was plenty to see on the Mill Run Trail this month. And I do mean ON the trail. I had to step lightly to avoid some turtles “on the move”.
Soaking up the sun on the banks of the Speed River – drake (no, not that Drake) Mallard style Fiddleheads unfurling into fresh new fern plants.Marsh Marigolds blooming.What is May without the appearance of May Apple colonies?Trilliums and violets (and garter snake) in bloomSpeaking of snakes, remember these beauties from before? Someone looks very full and has even more friends now. According to this website, this snake bears live young, so perhaps only preggers? Still, it begs this question:Are all your family accounted for? Asking as a concerned friend…
Where my turtles at? Well, just about everywhere in May. I practically stood on a few on a recent walk.
I thought this was a smallish rock on the trail, upon first approach. Then I thought it was dead, until I noticed the fuck-you glint in its eye. Message received. Moving on…I thought this was a pebble! Toonie (Canadian 2 dollar coin) sized baby snapper, too small to effectively glare at me. The turtle pond itself hosted a couple of sunning adult snappers. These guys are also very good at looking and playing dead. I would not be so nonchalant encountering one this size on the trail. They can be quick to strike if they feel the need.
I didn’t see any adult females crossing the trail to lay eggs (only juveniles), but I think it is a bit too early for that. Perhaps for June’s Changing Seasons post…
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge hosted by the ever lovely Zimmerbitch. Please check out her blog and the other bloggers who participate!
It remains cool and wet here in Ontario, and on Saturday morning I woke up to see ice instead of water on my rooftop patio. But the sun was shining and I had a new backpack to test on an actual walk, so out the door I went. And was I ever glad.
I saw this bigger (than my current) Osprey bag on sale, at Sail. Natch, it came home with me. Most of the time I wasn’t even aware I had it on, even though I had packed a bunch of stuff into it. It comes with its own rain hood, which I like.
Spring is an amazing time to be out in nature. There is so much going on, so much change happening. So much evidence of new life around.
Hard to miss the sight of a beautiful “Robin’s Egg Blue” actual robin’s egg on the trail.And a robin parent with a worm for its hungry chicks.And new leaves! A sight for winter-weary eyes.
My objective was to get as far as to where I had noticed the trilliums (not blooming as of last weekend), to see if the flowers were out yet. To get there first I had to go past one of my favourite places – the pond that is home to some large snapping turtles. I didn’t see any last week, so I really hoped I would see some today. Then I saw this, peeking out of the water.
Weird. I had never seen a snapping turtle half out of the water like this before. Usually I see them slowly moving just under the surface.
So I quietly and carefully got closer, to get a better look. I had my new camera too, so was able to take advantage of the zoom lens.
Yikes! It’s two turtles, doing what comes naturally in the spring.Caught in the act! Maybe in the next few weeks I’ll meet her on the trail, on the way to deposit her eggs in some sandy/rocky soil.
I eventually left the happy couple, but not before shooting some more turtle porn with my camera. I really wanted to title this post “Turtles In Flagrante!” but when I googled what in flagrante actually means (as opposed to what I thought it meant), the answer was “caught in the act of committing a crime”. And I personally don’t think it is a crime to make more turtles. Damn. Onwards to the trilliums!
Our provincial flower.So gorgeous. So fleeting.
On the way back home, I passed the turtle pond again, and this time I noticed a large snake sunning on a log. Or at least I thought that was what I was seeing. I took plenty of pictures, once again (thank you, zoom lens!!!!). And when I got home and reviewed my shots with my reading glasses on, this is what I noticed.
Is that one snake or…?Oh yeah. It’s definitely 2 snakes. Northern water snake if iNaturalist is correct. I think this might be a breeding pair?
I don’t know for sure if these snakes are/were/about to be getting it on, but they sure looked chummy. In fact, I am pretty sure I met the smaller (thank goddess) one last Sunday on the trail when I was looking for turtles in the pond. Here is the picture I took then.
I heard the grass rustling near my feet and looked down to see this little fella. He initially started slithering away, then turned around and came back towards me to check me out. Which gave me the opportunity to grab a shot. Luckily I am not terribly afraid of snakes.
I walk this trail at least once a week, in every season. I’ve been on parts of this trail since I was quite young as it runs from the village I live in now, to the town and quite near the house I grew up in.
It never gets old, even after 50 years of traipsing this path. And every time I’m out there, there is something new and wonderful to see. Especially in the spring. So my advice to you is:
Well here I am with my Monday night Game of Thrones lack-of-sleep hangover, trying desperately to get my April post out before much more of May gets away from me…
In retrospect, April in Ontario was pretty meh with respect to the nicer aspects of spring. It remained cold and grey for most of the month. So it was a relief mid-month to head south to Augusta, Georgia for a few days of spring (and a couple of days of summer-like temps) before coming home to yet more chilly rain.
Here are some photos, that capture my month:
Start of Mandala painting Apr 4. Starved for colour and spring isn’t coming across with the goods!Apr 6 Attended the Lineup Reveal concert for August’s KW Bluesfest. Lucky Peterson performed.Apr 7 Still plenty of ice on the trail.
Apr 7 Sign of spring: fuzzy caterpillarApr 7 Another sign of spring: first frog sighting!Apr 10 Daffodils spotted in Pennsylvania. Enroute to Augusta.Apr 11 Tulips in Wytheville, VirginiaApr 12 Our home for the weekend, outside of Augusta. From spring to 30 degrees C!Apr 13 & 14 at the Masters. I didn’t take this picture as cameras weren’t allowed on tournament days. Someone snapped it on one of the practice days.Apr 21 Speed River flooding just off the trail I walk. Some areas of Ontario were very hard hit by flooding. Apr 21 Colt’s Foot blooming in dry areas.Apr 28 65th birthday party for my BIL at Lionhead Golf Course. It was a surprise party, and it was my job to get him to the course under pretext. I did a great job – he was completely stunned to find out it was his birthday party and that I actually didn’t need his help in planning a corporate golf tournament – but it tore me up inside. I don’t like deceiving people, even for happy reasons, I have discovered.Apr 28 My BIL (in blue) making the rounds of his party. Note the media screens. There were 4 in total. I gave a slideshow of our trip to Augusta.
Apr 30 Progress made on mandala painting
For some reason, WordPress is cutting off some of my photos. Or is it? On some devices I can see the entire photo, and on some they remain cut off. This is aggravating as I do spend some time cropping my photos to enhance them, and then to have them further cropped…well, colour me pissed. I don’t know what I am doing or not doing to cause this to happen. Argh!
Anywho, that was my April. The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge hosted by the ever lovely Zimmerbitch. Please check out her blog and the other bloggers who participate!
Today I got onto my favourite local trail for the first time since coming back from my winter travels to Vancouver Island and Barbados. This is what I saw as I approached the entrance to the trail.
Hmmm. Wonder why this barrier was put up by the City?
Well, it didn’t take me long to figure out why the City was trying to discourage people from using the trail.
Ice, ice everywhere. Except on the boardwalks.Thick and bumpy. But still slippery!Slide marks from previous walkers…er…sliders. It quickly became apparent that sliding was the safest way to go, in most places.
Just how thick is this ice? Glad you asked. I found a place where there was a crack in the ice, just so I could show you.
Crack in the ice shows its depth.Close up of 2 inch thick ice coating the trail.
Ice was also found on the river, of course. Nice to observe, from a less slippery vantage point on the shore.
Weirdly beautiful ice formation on the river. Ice shelf near the bank of Chilligo Creek.
I didn’t fall. Didn’t break or strain anything. But also didn’t walk (er…slide) as far as I intended when I set out this morning. But it was worth it as I got quite close (for a change) to a couple of these guys:
Rock on,
The WB
p.s. this is my first post using the new block editor in WordPress. So far I really like it. Reminds me a bit of using MS Word, so somewhat familiar to me. However, I don’t like how my images are being compressed, but I’ll sort that out later…right now I have to figure out whether to start watching Drag Race Season 10 or American Gods Season 2 or (insert some other show that got released recently and I’ve already forgotten what it is). You know: Sunday evening priorities.
p.p.s. oh, and fingers crossed the email announcing this post gets sent out this time. Last post it didn’t work (2nd time this has happened to me) and I haven’t a clue as to why. #bloggerwoes
February was an incredible month for me – and one of extremes. In temperature and geography! You can read about my travels here, here, here, here and here.
I started off the month on Vancouver Island, which is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.
Yep, those are surfers behind me. On Groundhog Day!
Surfer!
After a few short days back at Chez Badass (and work), it was off to Barbados, an island surrounded by the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean:
2019 Barbados sign on the beach, just off the boardwalk.
Island of glorious sunrises…
And restful beach vistas…
And beautiful flowers. This one is called Pride of Barbados (aka peacock flower).
And green monkeys. This elusive guy shot by CJ on a morning walk.
And cute little crabs that are really hard to see when not scuttling around the beach.
And racehorses reluctant to be bathed in the sea, after early morning exercise.
And less reluctant horses actually swimming in deep water, for non-weight bearing exercise…
And tall ships (spotted along with the horses, in Carlisle Bay).
But all good things come to an end, eventually. This is how I ended my magical month of February:
Using a hatchet to break up my driveway’s ice.
Observing ice formations on my walks.
Trying to be as stoic about the weather as the Buddha of the Patio.
Today’s weather – I can be forgiven for shedding a tear or two, right?
March and the Spring Equinox – bring it on!
The Changing Seasons is a monthly photo challenge, hosted by Su Leslie at Zimmerbitch. Go check her beautiful blog out!
