Waiting in the Rain

                             Pouring...some sort of summer pour.

                                            Coral Rose drenched...

 Spencer. Ever hopeful he's gonna get one of those fat pigeons...

     Peace  Rose. Huge under the eaves. Sheltered from the rain.

 Porch pots stuffed to the gills with begonias and fuschias. They are beautiful this year. Must be the fertilizer.

                                   Begonias under the trees.

               Geraninums not loving the rain so much  But weathering it out.

                            Another coral rose................a little drier.

     Rhodochiton bells hanging from baskets, holding hands with each other. They are the coolest vine.

                Cordelia at a break in the rain.

        And I just could not resist this one. Someone sent it to me the other day. Must be all the           rain...............Only I would substitute the word "fabric" for "yarn"..............

LEDGER 1938-1941

 This week I finally fiished scanning the old ledger my mum kept from 1938-1941.  They were married in 1936, so she only kept one for a few years. There must be 42 pages in total. These are only a few.  I think it's amazing to see how medical expenses  seemed to take up a lot of their paycheck.

 And no matter how the month was going , there always seemed to be a few dollars for a new outfit, or a small trip. Seattle seems to be a recurring theme. In another ledger I noticed Seattle cost $7.00...sometimes $15.00 for a weekend, depending on wether or not they went to a show.

 Rent never seemed to change. $15.00 for a small apt on Cook Stree in Victoria.

 Then by 1941 things got decidely more difficult. No pay and no work coming in for a while. My dad had to have numerous operations for various maladies. But by the end of 1941 they went back to Bethune, Saskatchewan for another visit. Just so happy to be with family. Her writing was even happy. They had nothing and yet they had everything. I like the part where they spent $350 on 2 trips home...they were content.

                                                            1941 Bethune. My dad. Davey.

                                                          Spring. 1941.

                                                        November 1941

Snoozies

Snoozies on warm pavement. Forming a heart.

                                           Snoozies with your best friend...adopted brother

                           Hearing thunder in the distance....amd your human parents calling you home.

                                         Snoozies in the warm afternoon. Ignoring all else.

                                            Snoozies for Spencer and Smoky......zzzzzzzz

My Dad....searching for pirates.

 ( Sooke, B.C.)

 Just re-found some of the photos of my dad and I, a few gazillion in the folder, so chose a few for the blog. He died, about a year after this picture, in 1968 after years of battling throat cancer.  He smoked like a chimney. One of my earliest memories was rolling cigarettes for him.I thought it was a lot of fun, stuffing the papers with tobacco. He would get the papers and loose tobacco from the tobacconist on Government Street, Victoria. That shop is still there.  If he were still here he would be about  115 years old, he was 8 years older than my mother. He died at the end of March,  and my mother died, on the exact same day, 20 years later, in 1988, 4 months before I was married.  But the time has not been sad.

 He died before I could tell him things. But maybe I didn't have to tell him anything. He would know. He always knew. He could not speak, those last few years. He could look with his eyes. And his eyes told volumes. I didn't know, then, that I was adopted. I would ask him now what it was like to choose me. To know that it was such a God-thing. That there is a purpose for each life and a reason we are here, and to know that God has such a huge hand in it.  Though, back then, we didn't talk of these things. When at Sooke we looked for pirate ships on the horizon.

 He would stand for hours on the shore at Sooke. He was not well, most of the 6 years I knew him.  It would be years before I would find the old photos( only a couple of years ago) of him and my mother, in the days when they were footloose and fancy free. The photos would tell of good times and bad , and more good than bad.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

(Government Street, Victoria, around 1950)

My mom was always  the anxious one, always worried.  My dad was the calm one. He beleived in pirates, after all.... 

We had a special connection at Sooke, where the cabin was built on the edge of the ocean. This was the hollow log that was here for years and years, till it disintegrated. My dad would take me down and pretend it was the pirate ship we were always looking for. He was always looking for pirate ships. He knew he didn't have much time left. He made the most of it. With me.

He taught me to listen to the wind in the telephone poles . "If you listen really carefully" , he would say, "you can hear the pirates calling". Then we would go down to the water. I would stand on our log, and we would watch, silently , for pirates on the open ocean.

"And anyone who welcomes a little child, like this, on my behalf, is welcoming me." (Matthew 8:15)

MIRACLE BEACH.........kind of heavenly.

Miracle Beach.  A broad, safe tidal beach that also sports a good campground. One of the main drawing cards of the beach are the massive sand bars at low tide and the marine life.

 I just love it here. Best time to come is right about now. Avoid all the tourists. The beach is much more "alone" then. With 137 hectares of "park", it's easy to  enjoy the space.

 There is a rule for the beach. Look, but don't touch. You're not allowed to remove any of the marine organisms. I have brought shells home here and there, not realizing that you're supposed to leave them on the beach. 

 The tidal pools are wonderful and warm on the toes.

 The Coast mountains stretch forever. Easy to walk to the edge of forever......

 Or sit on the sand and sun bake your toes......

 Befgore we went I checked the tidal charts online to see when it would be low tide.

 Lots of hermit crabs coming up for air. Be careful where you step, they are everywhere.

 The land used to be owned by a Mr. Frank Potage. In 1950 the government purchased 57 hectares from Mr. Potage and over the years purchased more land until  1972 when it reached its full size.The beach looks out over the Strait of Georgia and the mountains....they are almost always clouded in blue.

 Cabins and permanent homes on the edge...Would love to live here.....wonderful place.

TYEE SPIT, Campbell River, B.C.

 First nations first lived along these shores in small villages. Fished salmon ( K'u ta'la) which was was spiritually significant and symbolized thru ceremony and art.  Europan explorers showed up in the 1500's, and decided to stay.

 Two hundred yeas later, Captain James Cook toodled along into Nootka Sound. He was followed by the George Vancouver, rather over-zealous captain who took to naming every landmark in sight,including Discovery Passage.

 By the 1880's salmon fishing became  more than just food. By 1896, the british showed up and took to enjoying the sport, using native guides in the area.

 One such british  magazine "the Field" published a story telling of the salmon  caught in Discovery Passage.From then on, the tourists started flooding into the area, camping on the spit.

 I wonder what the Geese would have thought about all those people coming to fish .....

 I love this photograph...nesting grounds of the Canada Geese.You can hear them honking  and honking and honking.....

 By 1911, Strathcona Provincial Park was created to conserve the area and the natural heritage.

 A great place for photos, and Dragon Boat races, and fishing and cruise ship watching...

    As summer holidays draw near, this place will be full of tourists, campers, fishermen, and the water full of boats.

 And yet, the estuary will remain like this.....all for the birds and wildlife that live in the estuary. It's really beautiful...............