Owl Be Seeing You

As we were driving along Hwy# 148, something caught my eye...something that didn't quite belong, and immediately signaled the inner bird alert.

I yelled politely asked John to slow down, and turn the car around immediately whenever it was convenient. Which he did.

Can you see it? (Yes, it's there!)

Having been birding for several years now, my eyes automatically scan the sides of roads, tops of trees, fence lines...looking for shapes that don't quite fit,

as in this case a football sitting on a branch.

A football? That doesn't make any sense! The season ended here ages ago, and besides, a football isn't as fluffy.

Must be, I hope it is, I think it is, turn the car around now!! It's an owl!

As we turned around, I'm reaching for camera and the binoculars (never leave home without them...bird nerd, I know!), so I'm ready when once again we pull up to the spot we were just seconds ago.

Yay!!! Still there!

It's been three or four years since I've had such a good look at an owl...in this case, a Barred Owl. You know the one...you can often hear him calling on an early spring evening..."Who  cooks for you? Who cooks for you?"

They're generally nocturnal, so to see one on a bright Saturday afternoon is a thrill. And this guy, not only did he did he not fly away as soon as we parked the car beside the road, he actually flew closer -
wanted a look at us too it seems!

 And sat patiently while I adjusted the camera, rolled the window down further, and generally acted like an squirrely tourist!

I remember as a child, my mother reciting this nursery rhyme to me:
A wise old owl sat in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard
Now wasn't he a wise old bird?

I got it then, and I get it now..and perhaps that's why the owl -any owl - is a such  favourite of mine. They're just so spectacularly special. They have acheived mythical status -they're wise, they're full of magic, they portend great beginnings and great endings. And they sail to sea with pussycats in beautiful pea green boats.
They're truly a hoot.

Miss Peacock in the Conservatory with the Camera

Allen Gardens Conservatory inspires wonder and not a little mystery. On a chilly winter's day, it looks quite fragile. But on the contrary, there is strength in structure, especially when form follows function. In this case,

a very elaborate place to keep plants.

Very nice plants too as it turns out.

If it's an oasis you crave, look no further.

A bit of tropical air, with a hint of delicious spice?

The air is dripping with nectar as the plants begin to blossom...

 

Their beauty draws you in, and holds you, holds you...

And just as you begin to think, "I'm satisfied", you turn the corner.

...and you are consumed by green. This is what verdant means.

This is why Leda loved to bathe in the Eurotas River, where Zeus saw her and metamorphasized into a white swan so she would love and protect him.

Their union produced Helen of Troy.

This is a place of magic and mystery and golden scaled fish. 

A place where winter can disappear, and you didn't have a clue that it could.

These Frosted Flakes are Grrrrrreaaaat!

Every once in a blue moon, you come up with an idea that people just buy into. You put it out there, and BAM! it catches on, ignites the spirit, and is an immediate success. It’s a feel good kinda wanna clap your hands like a little kid sort of thing. And it happened here to me and my staff this past week.


The idea? To hold the 1st Annual Parade of Snowmen as part of the local winter festival that we are responsible for organizing.

What if we have a bunch of plywood snowmen templates made? Then provide them to clubs, organizations, businesses, and institutions for free, to decorate however they want? Let them choose a favourite charity, and hold an online silent auction for the works of winter art, with all proceeds raised going to charity?
And then hang’em from the lampposts in downtown? (author's aside: thus creating the largest mass hanging ever in Canada)
And its thumpity, thump, thump, look at Frosty go!!
So, that’s what happened - except that there must have been some magic in the air that day: all of the plywood was donated, the cost of hanging the snowmen (requiring the services of a tree trimming company and their cherry picker for several hours) was also donated, and the snowmen flew out of here in flash, all 20 of them whisked out the door just about the time they came through the door.
It’s really and truly amazing. And it’s what I love about small towns. When "they" decide something is worthwhile, then you sit back and watch miracles happen.
The Silent Auction is running until Feb. 28th so I'm not sure how much money will be raised, but already, it’s got the entire town talking and I know these snowmen are going to create a lot of jolly, happy souls.

Thumpity, thump, thump, thumpity, thump, thump over the hills we go!

Here's a few of the parade participants...to see them all, visit http://www.pembrokefestivals.com/

 

Remembering Summer.

Summer is a place where the view is so lovely, it gets its own frame.

The colours are so vivid, your breath gets caught in between blue and orange,

and the blue poppies take your breath completely away.

Summer is a place where magic surrounds you.

And the sky consumes you.

Winter is not summer.

to see more magic, go to http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Gatherings.

Birds flock. Cattle herd. Bees swarm. Whales school. All creatures seem to do it. But none more so than people.

People gather in groups for many reasons...weddings, funerals, graduations, anniversaries. These all tend to be family oriented functions. Story telling time -the good kind and the bad, and the nothing good happens after midnight kind.

People also come together for other, less celebratory functions...protests, marches for a cause, anti this, pro that. These tend to be political in nature. Wars lost and won. That sort of thing.

Once in awhile they gather to share a cultivated interest with others, be it music, art, dance, literature, nature, science. These tend to be primarily educational gatherings. All kinds of things taught and learned.

And every two years, they gather to share a collective dream - to celebrate mankind's quest for perfection -to be the fastest, fleetest, biggest, strongest - to be the best athelete in the world.

These tend to be Olympian gatherings. But since the first gatherings in ancient Greece, in the town of Marathon, this celebration of the runner has morphed into a celebration of spirit.

Last night in my town, you could catch that dream in the eyes of children as they jostled for position so they could catch a glimpse of the Olympic Flame. You could hear it in the cheers, whoops and whistles as the dancers flew across the stage to the fastest fiddle music in the world.

You could see it in the smile on the face of our Special Olympian, who was chosen to carry the flame the last 300 metres up to the waiting cauldron. And that smile took over his entire face as the flame caught and leapt upwards to the sky.

The crowd roared their delight, and burst into spontaneous singing of

our national anthem, O Canada.

For one very special night, people gathered together en masse to share a dream, catch the spirit, and believe that anything is possible. Even if just for one  night...one special night.

Pure. Real. Magic.