Growth

I'm always fascinated by these complicated roots. They seem to grow, intertwined, searching for a place to dig deep. I guess, like learning, it takes time and patience to find a path and there are many detours along the way.



Looking up, I see the branches of a tree reaching up - searching, too, but for light to encourage growth. Both roots and branches work together to make sure the tree has what it needs. Nature gives us ways to think about things as it shows us how things flourish when they work in harmony.

Sushi

Photos: July 18, 2016

Dinner with hungry friends
Growing girls
Delighting in exotic tastes

In this global world
We share our foods
Our cultures



Blending flavours
Remixing to create
New combinations

World news
Highlights anger
and difference
Let food be our guide
As we remix
Build on
Share
To create an
...even better

This week I'm building and creating with others in CLMOOC. Online communities can be very powerful catalysts of creation.

I had dinner with a wonderful friend whose daughters are of two racial backgrounds. They, too have been remixed - creating a combination that is more than the sum of their parts. Looking at them, I have hope for the future. We shared food of another culture, music of a time long ago, spoke two languages and smiled and laughed and look forward to next time... à la prochaine.

Walk in Summit Woods

A quiet Sunday walk in Summit Woods. The butterflies were flitting around, landing in sunny spots.



We preferred the coolness of the shade.



The woods on the summit are quite dense. This yellow splash of colour was one of the few flowers we saw.



There are many shades and shapes of greens all contributing to the cool feeling.





No Pokemon (though I was not looking) but I did spy this fellow hiding in a log. A new game? A geocaching prize? Or just a lost toy tucked in to keep it from the elements.

Restraint Amidst Plenty

A trip to Atwater Market in summer requires a lot of restraint. The stalls overflow with tempting fresh produce. I came home with only what was on my list which took a lot of will power. I have a busy week coming up. There will not be time to cook and freeze so I could only buy what we could consume in a short time.



Vegetables seem to come in multiple colours - things I had never seen as a child growing up with far too many tinned vegetables and fruit, especially in winter. The lure of trying new variations on a familiar theme. I guess this week, that will have to be via music!

Summer in Parc-des-Rapides

Photos: July 15, 2016

It is always a treat to walk through Parc-des-Rapides - it was doubly so to go there with my daughter who had never been there before. It is an oasis of peace in the city. For the time you are there you can forget that just behind you there is city life going on.



The park consists of a spit of land just off the shores of the St. Lawrence River. Any part on the side facing the shore is calm; on the open river side are the Lachine Rapids - the barrier that prevented ships from travelling further to the North American interior until man-made waterways provided a possible route (first the Lachine Canal and later the St. Lawrence Seaway).



My daughter and I stopped at one end of the park and spent time watching the terns swooping and diving. They fly like a precision air show team (or is it the other way around?) with fast changes of direction, quick dives and at times in formation.



The breeze off the water kept us cool.



Song sparrows filled the air with their happy choruses. But mostly we heard the sounds of the surging water.



There is something about being in nature, about taking the time to stop and observe or just listen that slows down the usual racing of thoughts. Moments of peace and contentment.



We both left feeling refreshed both mentally and physically having breathed in these moments of beauty.

Monarda and Friends

These festive flowers are a favourite of mine. Growing up we had a cottage in the Laurentians. A row of monarda came up every year in the back garden. They attract both bees and hummingbirds. I loved watching the birds hover over each flower. Today bees were flitting around the flowers in this urban garden.



They were hard at work, gathering pollen. There is a hive on top of the local library. You can see it on the library site. Each year they sell the honey that is collected. Perhaps these bees are contributing.



We all know the importance of bees to the food chain. They perform an essential service to flowers and to many food crops, pollenating the plants. Vancouver, BC has just banned the use of neonicotinoids, pesticides believed to lead to bee mortality. If only other places followed suit.

Lilies

Photos July 13, 2016

A hot, humid day - it is like walking into a jungle. For anyone who lives in a dry climate, heat here is calculated based on both the temperature and the relative humidity which makes everything feel much hotter than it is.

This was the temperature at 4:00 (it had gone down slightly). 32°C is equivalent to about 90°F and the Humidex indicates 41 or almost 106°F. While I don't completely agree with the humidex numbers, it was hot and sticky. 

The flowers seem to be enjoying it. Their bright, faces reached up, enticing insects to play among their pollen. I am not quite as comfortable as they are in this weather!