Shadows Linger

September 23, 2018.Reading time 2 minutes.

Shadows shift, alter, but never fade. They are contrast for light, a companion to our fears, the joy of a good mystery. This week, it had been my intention to photograph shadows, to have fun with what emerged, but life does not always follow our intended map. Instead, another woman came forward to make allegations […]

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 […]

The Last Train (Sonnet)

We wait at the station, Mother and I,one final stop for her – painless she prays;I busied at bedside – prolonged goodbye –memories and regrets filling our days. “We live too long,” she wearily proclaims“Why must suffering linger till the end?”I plea and bargain, call angelic names,yet the will to survive refuses to bend. The […]

Mouse Massacre

There are mouse bitssplayed across the sunroomstuck to my favourite throw rug and great globs of glue The trap my husband setto catch the recent invasionapparently lured the hunterfor she, stiff legged andface matted, is skulkingelsewhere I stepped on a gluey biteyes not yet openbefore notingthe disarray Hard to concentratewhen a tail detachedfrom a thigh […]

Limbo

With each stanzaI strive for an upswing –idle thoughts leadingto a crescendo… But exhaustion plaguesmy try, and fog coloursperspicacity, so my wordsland low, goal in limbo (Tuesdays, I borrow from Twitter @Vjknutson. Image my own)