The Unicorn Chase

Don't give up on your dreams or your dreams will give up on you. J. Wooden

Enlightenment can be found on the path to fulfilling one's possibilities and purpose.

That's why the cloud-bound unicorn on my shopping bag tells anyone who sees it to follow their dreams.

Even a bag full of dreams unrealized can awaken new creative sparks, if pursued with resolve and passion.

For West Coast reflections see my latest photographic journal at UNDER MY UMBRELLA.

Because the state of our planet is the most pressing issue of our time, link up and learn about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report.

Come Into My Web

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect." Chief Seattle

STICKY STRINGS, barely visible, seem harmless to use as a bridge but can land a bug onto a hungry spider's dinner table. Nature's crocheted webs and catching-nets are everywhere this fall.

Webs cling to the misty air, dangle from mailboxes and fence posts and attach to homes and hairdos, doing their part to decorate the Halloween season.

For more West Coast scenes stay awhile and explore past posts. To see fresh perspectives or to leave a comment, link to my latest photographic journal and online scribbler at UNDER MY UMBRELLA AND BEYOND.

Clean Meat Clear Conscience

If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian. Linda and Paul McCartney

Something called “clean meat" came to my attention recently. It has me excited about a better future for farm animals living under harsh conditions and slaughtered on mass for human consumption. As someone who throughout the years has had minor success but mostly failures eating vegetarian meals exclusively, I’m heartened and in awe of this development. This radical new approach uses the cells of animals, without killing or harming them, to grow the meaty fibers separately in a lab. I can easily imagine this concept broadening to eventually grow human body parts for those in medical need. All we would need is a seed (the cell in this case) and the right nurturing brew to produce a chicken breast or a human kidney. It all sounds weirdly Frankensteinian, doesn't it? But it also sounds doable and wonderfully life sustaining and even healing should it come to pass. If the ornament pictured on my kitchen counter could applaud the idea it surely would. You can learn about the process HERE and HERE.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

See OUR WORLD to explore more sights from around the globe.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Yes, You Can Lead A Horse To Water

ANIMAL LOVERS know that best friends aren't always human. I spent countless hours imagining my own horse as a girl. This graceful creature with soulful eyes and long swishing tail was my perfect companion and confidant, galloping us off into great adventures. Since my opportunities to ride (let alone own) a horse were limited, I could only pretend, unlike the youngsters I recently spotted at Crescent Beach. Content at their slow pace, horses and riders were mirrored in pools of water and made inky shadows on the beach floor for SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY, WEEKEND REFLECTIONS and CAMERA CRITTERS.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Hope Is A Feather

AUTHOR Emily Dickinson showed sensitivity as a writer with such prose as: “Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all."

More than wishes and fairy tales, hope is the light in an unfathomable world. It darts away to suddenly reappear with a song or a flutter. Fearing the dimming of its glow some strive to contain it through metaphors and pictures ... a hopeless task but worth a try as I walk about with my camera.

A seed holds the hope of a flower.

Visitors hope for kind receptions and hosts hope for guests that are kind.

Parents hope for futures brighter than what they've known.

Hope rests at the cusp of every sharp turn and prickly situation.

It rests in the pet hoping for a friendly pat on the head.

There's an ocean of hope in every drop and puddle. And from hope's lofty perspective, every feather and pen holds the potential to somehow fly.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Eternal Renewal At Elgin Heritage Park

WHAT WAS and soon will be spilled out amid river, pond and stream at Elgin Heritage Park where last year's foliage was quietly stirring. Lovely muddles of plant life, past, present and future, coexisted simultaneously throughout the nearly two mile trail. Birds searched for vacancy signs and buds were escaping the remnants of a long cold winter. Here are the pictures I took during my visit.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Rewinding

CURLING UP by a fence post is a fine way for a local raccoon to relax but for me unwinding means rewinding and untangling my thoughts with a walk in a world where unexpected bliss or misfortune lurks around any corner.

On good and bad newsdays it's reassuring to see that cozy cottages still reside beside big old trees in some places.

Babies still enjoy fresh air from their buggies near the grayish-blue sea.

Puppies like the Golden Retriever (below) still draw oohs and ahhs from adoring crowds and ...

mysterious paths still invite walkers to explore each twist of the pebbly sand.

On good and bad newsdays birds still sing and build nests in most places ...

and weeping willows, not yet green, still dance in the breeze.

Dreams still transform into reality with mortar and stone.

Smiles still greet each new day and there's plenty of joy to be found.

A leaky basket of woes also rolls around but as children's author Judy Blume once said, "Life goes on if you're one of the lucky ones."

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Birds Of A Feather

A RECENT GIFT from a thoughtful friend made me smile. I love the idea of flight and the cedar eagle feather carved and painted by Vancouver Salish artist, Len McKay, reminds me of how easily my imagination can take wing.

A creative thought floats like a feather ... light, free and minus the baggage. It can lift me up over city streets, rolling hills, wind tossed seas and into the billowy clouds. My flights of fancy know no bounds.

Beautiful moments don't last forever, however. Even the camouflaging bird (above) came down to earth to forage for food.

Although I've yet to see birds in the bath (above) during my Crescent Beach walks, I suspect they do land there because we all enjoy bathing and sometimes singing in the showers.

From the busy bird below (painted by my daughter when she was small) to the cedar feather and thoughts about flying, ideas are free flowing and life is incrementally changing so never as wooden or stuck in a frame as it appears.

Later in the week I joined my daughter in Vancouver for a mother/daughter hair day. I've always loved the differing shades and flow of her hair which was the major inspiration for Penelope Puddle's unruly locks.

On our way to lunch we saw the unique representation of Nike the ancient Greek Goddess of Victory (below) by Pavlos Angelos Kougioumtzis.

Presented to the City of Vancouver to commemorate the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the winged statue regally stands amid skyscrapers.

We also peeked into a high-end furniture store and saw ornamental peacocks (above) sporting feathers that I hoped were synthetic.

When we returned to my daughter's apartment it was clear to me that we both love antique artifacts, pretty flowers and lights brimming with extra sparkle.

People around the globe have more in common than not. Everyone wants to feel safe and cozy in their homes and treated with respect during their travels.

We are all birds of a feather, indeed, especially my daughter and I since we both agree there's something quite magical about a reliable and resilient umbrella.

Visit Postcards From Penelope Puddle to view more BC scenes.

To see more sights from around the globe visit OUR WORLD at the sidebar.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms