Photo a Week: Ready…

September 23, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Set…Go! Ready, set, go: I miss summer already! Thank you to Nancy Merrill for this week’s photo challenge: Ready, set, action.

Trauma’s Shadow is Rage

September 22, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

“…he had always been popular and happy and things had always worked out.” (Holly LeCraw, The Swimming Pool) I close the book, feeling the rage shifting just below my sternum. It’s the second time this week […]

CB&WC: Trees

September 21, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

Much has been written in praise of a tree, the promise of roots, the elegance of branches I am awed by a tree’s durability – how it adapts no matter the conditions how it bears its scars with silent grace, remains steadfast in its presence – no matter where I’ve travelled, the tree is a […]

CFFC: Vibrant

September 21, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Say vibrant, and immediately my mind goes to flowers – Nature’s beauty expressed in so many colours. Some times vibrant is a choice, a pick-me-up, or as in this case, the colour of a pick up: And vibrant can be a personality expressing the sheer joy of just being, even with a runny nose: (Cee’s […]

Clouds and Shadows

September 20, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

I find myself drawn to clouds, trying to capture their essence. How, at times they rise, like sculptures of the gods… or how they dissipate, leaving wispy trails in their wake – not wanting to let go. I remember cloudless skies of Arizona – the perfection of blue crowning our days. It is that […]

Leaving Ottawa

September 19, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Canada’s capital city has lots to offer. Before leaving we took the scenic drive along the Rideau, stopping in at the various parks and places of note to take pictures. At the Remic Rapids, Muskoka chairs line the grassy banks, overlooking rock sculptures in the water. Apparently, artist John Felice Ceprano has been creating these […]

Discovering Ottawa: Jack Pine Trail

September 18, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

We didn’t bring the recommended seeds, and wished we had the moment we stepped onto the Jack Pine Trail. In Nepean, Ontario, just outside Ottawa, this trail is a short but very worthwhile walk. Dogs are not permitted, which I found odd at first, but soon realized is part of the magic. Magical is […]

Discovering Ottawa: Hogs Back Park

September 17, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Nature, weather permitting, is always the first draw for us when travelling. After a lunch in Lansdowne, we decided to visit Hog’s Back Park and see the falls. Located in Ottawa, along the Rideau river, Hog’s Back Park offers lots of free parking and appears to be a popular spot. While there are plenty […]

V.J.’s Weekly Challenge #16: Shadows

September 17, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

To contemplate is to look at shadows. – Victor Hugo A child, when first encountering its shadow, might at first feel fear. Later, she will experience fascination as she discovers that shadows stretch and play at her command. Carl Jung suggests that the shadow is representative of those parts of self that are suppressed and […]

An End to Irony

September 16, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

Life is full of irony, or so it feels when that is foremost on one’s mind. Here are just some of the ways that irony has played a role this week: Concerned that the hotel we were staying at was pet-friendly (and I am deadly allergic to cats), we made distancing ourselves from animals the […]