I WISH I PLAYED GOLF....

"Summer afternoon....summer afternoon; to me those have been the two most beautiful words in the English language..." -Henry James

Hot summer afternoon, spent it visiting the new "Naturally Pacific Resort" (Golf Course) in Campbell River, B.C. Serene and green and peaceful, with its stone wedding Chapel , that hovers on the edge , designed by Graham Cooke. It's fresh. New. Beautiful. Ravens nest in the pine trees; they swoop over the green like vampire bats.

"Summer, after all,  is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people..." -Roman Payne

You can wander the paths  and see the ocean and mountains hovering above . It's peaceful. I don't play golf, but this place makes me wish I did.

Walk thru the huge glass doors and enter. Everyone you meet seems as if they've found the nicest place on earth, and there is nowhere else you would rather be...

"....and so many colours I will have seen....pine greens, soft pinks and purples of spring, and summer blues..." - Sanober Khan

It's a retreat, even for just an afternoon. Sip iced tea over quiet conversation hushed over the hum of dozing bees. 

It rained, like it does so much, here on the North Island. It rained. It dripped.

We huddled under the canopies, waiting for the rain to  stop. Just the ravens chasing each other in the sky . Summer heat through the rain. Thunder far off. 

"Summertime, it was a song. It was a season..." - Benjamin Alire Saenz

Brand new. 

It's like wandering in a secret garden. The outside world seems to stop at the big glass doors. Someone opens the door, so you can go back out into the worldly noise.  

"In summer, the slow breeze and the warm sun write our memories..." -Debasish Mridha

People strolling quietly , gently hurried to get under the arbours , out of the rain, away from the thunder. But no one really wanted to hide from the rain.  

As  thunder loomed, the cold wind washed over us, then the sun blasted its heat, and those ravens in the pine tree squawked, I kind of wished I played golf, at that moment. But the huge glass doors beckoned and back into the real world we shuffled...

"Under the summer roses, when the flagrant crimson lurks in the dusk...." -Carl Sandburg

 Photographs 2025  "Naturally Pacific Resort", in Campbell River, B.C.