Stormy Utah Skies

Because I love storms, I was delighted that thunder and lightning traveled with us on a recent US road trip. Throughout the National Parks in southern Utah, rain was our constant companion...it served to heighten the colour of the red sandstone formations and provided me with hours of blissful sky-watching!Visiting Monument Valley was a special treat...it has been on my travel wish list for years. When black clouds gathered and thunder began resounding through the valley, I knew this was the perfect time for me to have come.





I have never seen rain come down with such power and volume. I was rendered breathless as I watched and listened.


Then as suddenly as it began, the rain came to a stop. Before long the sun poked its way through again, illuminating the valley floor, now richly red, and reflecting off the rivulets that streamed from the mesa tops.





The thrill of watching a storm rage through this magical place
is something I will never forget...


I'm linking this post to Looking At The Sky on Friday, graciously hosted by Tisha of Crazy Working Mom. For more sky pictures, do check out the link below.
http://www.crazyworkingmom.com/hosted
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A Thankful Haiku

Our thanks bestow on
the children of the world, who
teach us how to love…

I was fortunate enough to spend time with these wonderful children while visiting a Masai village in Kenya in 2006. Like youngsters everywhere, they were giggly, shy, curious and keen to be noticed.
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While families had little in the way of material possessions, the children were bursting with joy, eager to embrace the excitement each day brings. I was humbled by their spirit, and am still learning to be grateful for what I have, instead of pining for what I lack...

I am linking this post to Poets United Thursday Think Tank. This week's prompt is 'thanfulness', something we surely have in abundance. To see more poems about gratitude, do check out the link below:
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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2010/11/thursday-think-tank-25-thankfulness.html

Watery Reflections

For this week's Watery

Wednesday, and Weekend Reflections, I'm posting shots of a place I love. This is Finn Slough, a small fishing settlement in Richmond, British Columbia.

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The tide was in the day I took these photos, and the clear still water provided wonderful reflections.

I have posted about this unique community before...if you'd like to know more about it, you might check out this link: http://imaginationlane.blogspot.com/2010/07/finn-slough.html
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This photo may be my favourite. I had the thought that it would look much the same if I turned it upside down, so I zoomed in for a closeup and inverted it. It's an interesting effect, don't you think?

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To see more water, click on the link below...I know you'll be glad you did!

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http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/
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For Weekend Reflections on Friday, click on this link:

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http://newtondailyphoto.blogspot.com/

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Autumn's Farewell

This is one of the first pieces I wrote when I began blogging last November. I thought to repost it, both in celebration of the joy my first year of blogging has brought me...and as a gentle farewell to my much-loved autumn as she now steps gracefully back to make room for winter's chill...

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After days of driving rain, the sun shows itself briefly. The sudden brightness boldly illuminates the russet leaves on the steps, and fills the air with a luminous hue that is almost mystical. In my awareness that winter creeps in closer with every hour, I allow myself to be lured away from work and out into one last brilliant burst of my favourite season.

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Life in our west coast rainforest means that greenery abounds in the giant Douglas firs and in the sword fern and salal that crowd around their feet. In my suburban neighbourhood, it also means that lush lawns swiftly turn into beds of mud, and patchwork-bright leaves turn sodden and gray in puddles that last for weeks on end. Blue skies give way to fierce, dark clouds that hang heavily above our heads, and force us into rubber boots and fleece vests. The indoors beckons with its promise of warmth and security, urging us to eschew the dark, unruly outdoors.

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Still, we have only to wait a while. Winter will turn into spring again…and spring into summer in the endless, reassuring cycle of seasons. Time goes quickly enough…I need not rush it further. For now, I will stand quietly and enjoy the sunshine, warm on my face. I will soak up enough of the golden light and the smoky scent of wood fires to shield my soul against the bitter winds that lie in wait.

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For now, I am content. For now, this moment is all that I need...

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A Winged Haiku

I had posted this only to Poets United, but as it seems perfect for the Haiku Heights prompt of March 13th, I'm adding the link below. Do stop by to read other poems about wings...
http://haiku-heights.blogspot.com/
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When I saw that the Poets United Think Tank prompt was ‘wings’, I immediately thought of Richard Bach, author of ‘Jonathan Livingstone Seagull.’ As a young wife and mother in the nineteen-seventies, I embraced his reworking of words which have with time become clichéd:

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‘If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were."Because it touched me deeply at the time, I offer my own interpretation of the quote...

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I would wish you wings
with which to soar the world…and
bring you home to me.

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I'm linking this post to Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt. For more poems about wings, do click on the link below...

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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2010/11/thursday-think-tank-24-wings.html#more
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I live close to the sea on the west coast of Canada and spend a lot of time watching seagulls. The photos above were taken at nearby Steveston and White Rock. My elusive quest for the quintessential shot of a bird in flight is ongoing!
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The Duller The Better...

Given that the last post I did was a serious story about our elopement, I thought to follow it up with a tongue-in-cheek piece. The following is an article I wrote in 1986 for a short-lived White Rock magazine. It should be said that while my husband thinks himself to be a dull man. I consider him anything but!

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Looking spiffy in 1986

The Duller The Better…
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Given my choice, I’d take a dull man any day. I won’t deny that types who dress in high style and know the best sushi bar in town have their appeal. I’ve been known to fall for polished looks and a well-rehearsed line; but in the long run, it’s hard to get serious about someone who squeezes you in between his weight lifting and his facial. .

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Life is saner with a dull man. He will not let you spend your evenings alone while he visits the tanning salon or has his hair styled. If he brings home a curling iron, it will be for you, and you will never have to worry about dousing yourself with cologne that turns out to have a hearty, macho name. The only perfume in the house will be yours; likewise the only purse.
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Blind to advertising, the dull man follows no-one’s lead. He remains oblivious to the latest craze, plodding onward in jeans and plaid shirt, while his counterparts rush to buy pastel sweaters and pants with someone else’s name stamped across the behind. .

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His hair has never been spiked, his ear never pierced, His conversations are not sprinkled with tales of his exploits; he’d rather listen to you than talk about himself. He’s more likely to take you on a picnic than a night on the town, impressing you most by not trying to impress you at all.
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This man may light few fires in the world but he’s the one that keeps them burning. His money is spent on braces for his kids, not on payments for a Porsche. He goes to the beach to swim, not to compete; and if he owns sunglasses, he wears them on his face, not on a string around his neck.
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His closet holds only what he needs; it is not crammed with jumpsuits, bell-bottomed pants, and the accumulated whims of yesteryear. This reassures me: I could never be comfortable with a man who owns more clothes than I do!
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Nor do I wish to fight for space in the jewelry box. Dull men do not wear chains or leave their shirts unbuttoned to the navel.
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They know that romance goes beyond showy gestures and outward appearance. Their hair is soft to the touch, not stiff with mousse, and because they’re more interested in you than in themselves, dull men can, at times, be anything but dull!
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My opinions stem from experience. I married a dull man, and I am comforted by the fact that he has changed little over the years. He has never owned brand name jogging shoes or a book on gourmet cooking. No encounter group has benefited from his experience, no health-food restaurant prospered at his expense.
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In a world where fads breed and die like horseflies, he remains loyal to his own list of priorities – and I’m at the top of the list.
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That’s my kind of man!

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A Love Story...

My marriage began with an elopement..

In the Sixties, twenty-one was the age to marry without parental consent in Canada. While I was of age, Michael had just turned twenty. From the beginning, our partnership was not treasured by either set of parents…in fact there was little common ground for either family to understand the other at all. My Irish emigrant parents were much too fond of whisky, and loved a loud, resounding fight…Michael’s parents had a glass of good wine with dinner and never, ever raised their voices.
.November 12th, 1968

My parents each had to leave school as young teenagers to help support their families in poverty-ravaged Belfast…Michael’s parents were university-educated professionals of some note. The chasm between our perspective realities grew ever wider as we got to know each other. When invited to Michael’s for a meal, I was flustered by the plethora of cutlery spread out before me, and struggled not to gag at the sight of bloody red meat floating on its fine china platter. When coming to my house for dinner, Michael did not immediately recognize the shriveled gray lump on his plate as roast beef, and seemed puzzled that it was served on TV trays in front of the hockey game. The two households were polar opposites in terms of culture, economics, social standing and stability.

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It was no real surprise then, when our announced plan to marry after dating for a year hit a hard wall of resistance. What started out as flat refusal grudgingly eased on my parents’ part when I rose above my normally timid nature and made it clear this was what I wanted, though dire warnings of certain regret were rained upon me night after night without fail. Michael’s parents held out longer, but finally, unhappily agreed to give their consent when it was clear we were going ahead. We planned a very small wedding, immediate family only as all my relatives were overseas, and my future in-laws did not see it as an occasion to celebrate. I bought a pretty white dress…we looked at apartments, and lined up a minister at our local Anglican church.

A week before the wedding was to take place, Michael’s mum and dad rescinded, protesting they could not in all conscience condone this farce of a marriage that would never last. They would not sign the consent forms after all.

.Africa , 2007, after a hot-air balloon ride over the Serengeti.

We were in love; we’d bought furniture, rented an apartment…we eloped, flying from Vancouver to Detroit to be married in the City Hall by a Justice of the Peace, because it was the only place we knew with a lower age restriction. It would be nice to say that things improved markedly after that, but such was not the case. It was a number of years before the bitterness between the families softened, and life took on some normalcy. It was definitely not an ideal way to start a marriage. Eventually, gaps were bridged, bonds were formed and our children could have both sets of grandparents in a room together, but a heavy price was paid to get to there…

That was forty-two years ago today, and if I had to, I would do it all again in a minute! I’m blessed to be married to my kind and funny best friend; a man who is truly one of the good guys, someone who consistently goes out of his way to help others and has the gentlest nature of anyone I know. Of course we’ve had our ups and downs as couples do, but not for a minute have I regretted tying my life to his.

For four decades, we have laughed and loved…lived a full life together with all the joy, sorrow and wonderment that building a family entails. It has been an amazing ride and I hope for many more years to share with him..

We staged a quick photo shoot the evening after returning from Detroit, so I might get to wear my little wedding dress at least once, and have pictures to remember the day. It is still a strange mix of emotions I experience when looking at these photos, our obvious delight in each other tempered by so many conflicting factors. But one can’t dwell on what might have been, and while ours is not a traditional love story with the fairy tale wedding and the happily-ever-after, we have made our own story and it is a good one.
You continue to be my hero, Michael. I admire your compassionate heart, your sense of justice and your ability to see what truly matters in the world…and it is no small thing that you still make me laugh more easily than anyone else I’ve ever met.

I will love you forever…
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A Family Haiku

Anne and Jack

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Now I too have walked
down roads that led me astray…
and found my way home

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Our family is our home, in the hearts of those we love, and in the bonds we build. Family is not only blood but is forged through the sharing of lives…I have friends I consider to be family as much as I do my brother and sister...
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I made a shadowbox to celebrate my mother and father, and the hope with which they started out. If mine was not an ideal childhood, I have to believe they did the best they knew how to with what they were given, as I myself have done. I’ve learned that family travels best with a liberal dose of tolerance and forgiveness on board…with lots and lots of love…and a healthy ability to laugh at oneself. I can only hope my children will continue to celebrate the journey we’re taking together….

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I'm linking this post to Poets United Thursday Think Tank prompt. For more poems about family, do click on the link below...

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http://poetryblogroll.blogspot.com/2010/11/thursday-think-tank-23-family.html

Another Utah Watery Wednesday

I've been blogging about a recent trip my husband and I took to the U.S.

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I remembered a wonderfully placid lake we'd stopped at in northern Utah, just before we crossed the border into Wyoming. The water was as still as I'd seen anywhere, and the colourful Fall foliage was reflected as a perfect mirror image.

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It seemed a grand choice of post for Watery Wednesday! What do you think?

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To see more water, click on the link below...I know you'll be glad you did!

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http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/

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Blog Blast For Peace 2010

I am reposting this haiku as my contribution to Blog Blast For Peace 2010. I wrote it for International Peace Day in September and have added it to a Peace Globe background provided by the amazing Mimi of 'Mimi Writes'.

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Mimi is the founder and host of 'Blog Blast for Peace', a movement designed to promote peace throughout the world. Please, please stop by her site and add your voice to the many who advocate an end to war and an embracing of equality for all!
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On this hope-filled day we come together from all over the world to offer up a prayer that peace will prevail, and to make a promise to the children of the world that we will dedicate ourselves to attaining that end, no matter what it takes. They deserve no less from us.....
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November 4, 2010
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To those of my readers who have taken the time to comment on this post, you have my heartfelt thanks. I have discovered that the blogging community is a network of caring, creative souls who make a difference in each other's lives. It is the insight, intelligence and generosity of so many that make me know true peace is possible...

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My original post of this haiku with additional photos is at the link below for those who would like to read more...
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http://theimaginativetraveler.blogspot.com/2010/09/international-peace-day-2010.html
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Utah's National Parks

I thought I might share more photos of our road trip through Utah to illustrate clearly what a heavenly corner of the world it truly is!
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The state is home to five of Americas most memorable National Parks and a number of National Monuments. Beyond that, each turn in the road offers vistas so varied and amazing that I was often rendered speechless by the sheer scope of its diversity.


 Zion National Park was first on the itinerary, its high jagged walls and river canyon nothing short of spectacular. It rained heavily when we were there, which lent the red soil an even more brilliant hue.

The storm followed us to Bryce Canyon National Park, but did nothing to diminish our absolute wonder at the sandstone formations, formed from the erosive force of water and wind over countless millennia.

Of them all, there is no question that Bryce
Canyon was my favourite.

To stand looking down at the world-renowned hoodoos is to realize fully the magical bounty of this wonderful planet we live on.

It simply defies description...

Equally mesmerizing is Arches National Park , with its graceful natural arches formed over the ages.

Providing a dramatic background to all was a sky of brilliant blue.

After years of seeing these land forms in pictures, I was ecstatic to be able to stand under them and marvel at their scale and scope.

Our last park was Canyonlands National Park, a magnificent area of which we saw little , so massive a size is it. I've been to the Grand Canyon, and can say unequivocally that Canyonlands is its equal in magnificence.

Upon leaving the parks and heading up to
Salt Lake City, the scenery continued to amaze us. The road would cut through massive walls of rock, only to suddenly open onto a breadth of fields and farms aglow with golden grass, and peppered with scattered herds of cattle.
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We drove though forests, brilliantly bedecked in their autumn shades of red and gold. I grew particularly fond of the delicate aspen, and was delighted to find them growing even in the midst of an ancient lava bed.

In spite of how much we saw of Utah, it was not nearly enough...I'm already thinking of when we can go back to see the parks we missed...to drive up roads we did not get to travel. I do know we will need to allow much more time on a second trip...one day in each park does not begin to satisfy the need to see it all.

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I can hardly wait until next time...

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A Utah Watery Wednesday

On a recent trip to the U.S., I fell in love with Utah...with its wide open spaces, its stunning scenery and its royal blue skies that seem to go

on forever.
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Whilst there, we visited
several of the state's parks. I took these photos at Canyonlands National Park, intrigued by the gnarled tree trunks and their perfect mirror image reflected in the shallow pools left behind by a recent rainfall.

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I'm posting these shots for Watery Wednesday. To see more water, click on the link below...I know you'll be glad you did!

http://waterywednesday.blogspot.com/
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