Wishful Thinking

A LOCAL NURSERY'S sign read: "1 part soil, 2 parts water, 3 parts wishful thinking".

This "gardener's recipe" is a bit like life's recipe for turning desires into reality. But although things do seem to evolve by themselves, more watering and less wishful thinking might produce better results.

Wishful thinking is a comfort but we all know it's the digging, weeding and quenching of the soil that keeps growth lush. I've seen plants turn to dust in rainless summers when water restrictions come into play. The season seems to produce less showers and more forest fires nowadays in BC. So far, the southwest coastal corner where one expects more rain remains green with many roadside flowers to bury my nose into during my walks. I can't help wishing smell-o-vision was available for these recent shots.

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This post is for OUR WORLD and also SIGNS, SIGNS.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Digging In For What's Right

PARENTS BROUGHT their children to an orchard planting party at a community green space recently. It was a unique idea since, although community gardens are fairly common, local orchards are scarce nowadays.

The kids were having fun digging into the dirt while the parents were feeling good about teaching their children some important environmental values.

The young trees were spindly and bare and the shrubbery was rather tiny.

But we all knew that if planted right the foliage would bear good fruit one day.

Tree planting is a key to combating global warming and thoughtful parents wanted to set a good example for their children. 

Parents, no doubt, also taught their children that bridges are better than walls and kindness better than bullying. So, upon reflection, I don't know how to explain the unexpected results of the very long and agonizing 2016 American election. The protesters now marching peacefully have my respect because sometimes people just have to dig in and fight for what they know is right.

Read Here's Why We Grieve Today HERE.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Cracked But Not Broken

THE EARTHQUAKE last Tuesday in Italy is yet another example of the fragility of existence.

I created digital art (left) for Earth Day and am re-posting it now, suspecting but not knowing to what degree humanity plays a role in agitating earthquake prone zones.

Warring factions disregard how interconnected the planet is and how exploding bombs in one area can destabilize the underground in another. In this age of conflicts, our earthly home can seem as breakable as an egg shell being tapped by a multitude of spoons. (Postscript September 3, 2016: See how fiddling beneath earth's crust to produce oil and gas also plays a role HERE.)

The loss of precious life, and the historic buildings that survived the ages yet now crumbled into ruins, is heartbreaking. A tourist in Italy once, I was awed by its beauty, historic importance and strong resilient people. May they find strength now and support from around the globe.

Later in the week I took a solitary walk through Kwomais Point Park in South Surrey to clear my thoughts. Birds were chirping in the forest and, for the moment, everything seemed right with this part of the world.

Boundary Bay is at the path's end. The sun brought sparkle to the water that recently changed from gray blue to greenish and more tropical aqua hues. Perhaps this has something to do with warmer sea temperatures and how algae is growing. You can read about it HERE.

A sweet lingering fragrance from a forgotten bouquet was at a railing overlooking the scenery. People like to get married at Kwomais Park this time of year and I wondered, since relationships can be fragile too, if the bride and groom together will find the integrity, compassion, humor and resiliency needed to withstand the challenges sure to come their way.

I visited Elgin Heritage Park with my husband at the end of the week. This was a great place to to see the seasonal changes. Summer is clearly on its way out and autumn is beginning.

A sailor who found no breeze to move his boat pedaled rather than paddled along the bordering Nicomekl River.

A spider caught in a sunbeam was rebuilding its web yet again.

Continuing our walk throughout the park it seemed to me that, yes, there are cracks in life but the spirit does not have to be broken.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

After The Rain At Elgin Park

THIS WAS NOT a shy bird but rather a fastidious bird fluffing its feathers after a refreshing rainfall at Elgin Heritage Park where my husband and I recently went for a walk. The road to Crescent Beach is undergoing construction so the drive to the park was a nice alternative.

Ever alert ... the robin interrupted its grooming at the smallest sound.

Droplets of water stuck to the newly washed wild roses.

Wooden planks over the marshland were damp and slippery.

Lupins were bouyed by the rain that had fallen. Leftover drops (below) shimmered down leaves and cupped into crevices. Sparkling like jewels, the rain seemed more precious than diamonds.

It would solve so many world problems if rain could be turned on and off like a faucet. I welcome the wet weather that southwest BC is known for but rain clouds seem to gather less often here nowadays. In northwest BC, there have been dozens of fires already, mostly due to dry weather and the carelessness of humans. The reckless (and now illegal) act of tossing a cigarette out a car window likely caused some of the fires.

It sounds like wishful thinking but wouldn't it be amazing if nature could be nudged to produce rain wherever needed? If the phenomena of cloud seeding were perfected as a technique, it could be a powerful fire fighting/prevention tool to save all living things, including little creatures like the robin. Perhaps catastrophic events such as the recent massive forest fire in Fort McMurray, Alberta, that destroyed 1,600 buildings (many of them homes) and displaced over 80,000 people will be prevented by science in some not so distant future.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Why So Blue?

Skies were clearly blue last Monday over Elgin Heritage Park thanks to gusty winds that swept away any lingering smog. Winds brought a chill to the park. Even the hardy wildlife wrapped in the warmth of their downy feathers and fur huddled together at a distant shore.

The beginnings of spring decorated the cold bare branches with color.

Birch trees preparing for foliage were dressed in pre-leaf pink.

To my great surprise the wind also blew in snow clouds overnight transforming bright skies to murky white. The cool blue hues of the previous day were chased away and our trip to the park was canceled. These sudden flakes that melted in hours have shocked early bloomers several times this February and March in southwest BC. Weather patterns seem to be changing and the familiar winter rains too often come down as fluffy crystals of ice.

See more skies from around the globe at Skywatch.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Future Up In The Air

MY WORLD is also your world that we share and will officially celebrate on April 22nd. This yearly homage to the natural environment started in 1970 and has had a growing impact on our attitudes towards the globe. Earth Day is a sign we are learning more about the green jewel we call home and our vulnerabilities in it.

We are awakening to recycling and preservation needs and paying more attention to the dangers of pollutants and global warming. As we strive to take charge of the issues, some matters are under our control while others are not.

Not only must we contend with the natural evolution of earth, we must also deal with manmade disasters. One of our biggest battles on the can-do list is to end war and its use of weaponry. Pummeling our gorgeous globe with explosives and bombs disrupts the ground that sustains us and sends destructive vibrations throughout the planet to perhaps hasten potential earthquakes.

The picture I took when visiting a hilltop village called Montmartre overlooking Paris last year reminds me that the globe is a perfectly balanced orb spinning in space amid meteorites, stars, suns and worlds. Its course could change at any moment like the ball the boy is whirling. Although Earth will likely continue its galactic path, how long humanity remains onboard is up in the air. Our voyage could be extended significantly if we stop pounding the foundations of the vessel that has swept us up on its miraculous journey.

Explorers can find more sites from around the globe at My World.

Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms

Mother Nature Has Something To Say

WE LIVE WHERE we do sometimes by choice, sometimes by birth. Some of the most compelling places on earth are the most threatening. We usually adapt, determined to carve homes in challenging environments. Whenever possible, we settle near water and food resources. We are also drawn to the beauty of the planet that is both nurturing and perilous.

The dancing raindrops on leaves, with its musical pitter-patter, is welcome in British Columbia due to weeks of unusually dry conditions causing hundreds of forest fires. Faraway in Moscow, the smoke is thick from neighboring wildfires. Experiencing an incredible heat wave, the city waits for rain.

In Pakistan, meanwhile, extreme rain flooded some areas, killing over a thousand people. Less deadly, and caused more by melting snow than monsoons, the Red River in Canada swells yearly and brings fear of flooding to the Manitoba prairies.

In southwest BC, a landslide into Meager Creek threatened lives creating a natural troublesome dam. According to earth sciences professor John Clague at Simon Fraser University, the slide can likely be traced to when warm weather melted part of a glacier. But this event becomes miniscule in light of massive mudslides, due to downpours, in heavily populated areas of China.

Near and far, whether it is global warming, problems with manmade drainage systems and dams, or the natural evolution of the earth that puts us at risk, Mother Nature can be bad-tempered in a topsy-turvy world.

Whether nestled by a field, forest, desert or ocean … perched on a cliff or beneath it, Mother Nature warns us to be mindful of where we hang our hats and fold our umbrellas.

Explorers can discover more sites from around the globe at My World.