20 Seconds of Fame

Thanks to Jonathan, we will have this memory for as long as this blog remains. I wish that this brief moment highlighted something that I'm actually good doing, however, beggars cannot be choosers, so me playing pickleball with Bruce on the evening news is our shot at brief fame. Actually Barbara filmed it off her television, shared it to our Dover Shores group, and somehow Jonathan turned it into this.  If we are friends on Facebook you've already seen it, but there are a few out there that might find it interesting. Shot on Wednesday, while we were at the courts for the ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Dyer and the city commissioner of that district doing the honors. What does that look like you ask? Well, it takes far more than the mayor, as there were loads of people from the city, as well as several television station film crews. A bunch of players came out to witness the historic moment.

Using a podium, there was a brief speech, followed by...

Indeed, they actually use scissors. Mr. Peck is behind the mayor on the left,

which, to tell you the truth, I did not even notice until I looked at my photographs! While there were all those cameramen around, filming when playing resumed, it was quite the surprise to wake up the next morning and see the video. While the video seems to indicate that I can play well, don't be fooled, I'm still mediocre!

Come to think of it, this is actually not the first time we've had some television fame. I found this post from 2016 that tells the story of our last brush with fame filming a tiny segment for a show called Zombie House Flippers. Almost six years later, we still get texts from folks saying they just saw the episode, something at the time, I never imagined! Mostly it is Bruce in the show and I'm his sidekick!

Well, it's been hot although I think something had to be slightly amiss on this reading from the Subaru yesterday afternoon when we were heading to practice with Bill.

It must have been the heat build up which caused some incredible lightening last night. Wow was it ever spectacular.

Fortunately it was last night and not Saturday when I was trying to get a good shot of the rising Pink Moon. I got a shot that, while not great, documents the beautiful occasion.

Rising out of the trees, it was a seriously glorious sight. That pine tree on the left is where the Great Blue Heron's nest is located at the very tip-top. Impossible to see the nest, but if you have a serious zoom on your camera like I do, a treat awaits. 

When zoomed out that far, the photo quality diminishes greatly, but I'm just going with it because I've never seen a heron eating a fish that big before. The other parent is flying off,  presumably for his own meal. Conjecture on my part is all that is. 

A few days ago, while thinking about this post, I realized something that I hadn't thought of before. Everyone gets a kick out of me stopping play to watch a bird, but the truth is, once you are a bird enthusiast, you have to look. It is that simple. Unlike some passions that people can turn on and off, if a bird person is outdoors they are going to be noticing all of the birds they encounter. Once you start looking, they are everywhere. You would think that once you've seen one Wood Duck you've seen them all, but it just doesn't work that way for me, and I suspect, others as well. Each bird is unique. There is no other Wood duck that looks exactly like this one.

All the colors of the rainbow in one bird! Astonishing really. With that in mind, expect to continue seeing birds in this space.

I think it was Tuesday that we took a walk around Lake Davis to see if the swan's eggs had hatched. Indeed they have with two cygnets still on the nest. I've since heard from Candy that she has now seen them out on the lake, so I'll be going over soon, hoping to see them for myself. Speaking of Candy, she tells me that the ducklings we were hoping to see at Lake Como were rescued by someone after the parents were hit by a car!! 

"Let's go to Lake Eola and check on the nests there honey!!"

 "Must we?" 

"Yes please!!"

There are a lot of swans at Lake Eola. Gobs of them in fact, and not all the same. Five different types actually, which we learned from some new information panels. What we also saw was very interesting, at least to me. A fellow on a motorized cart drove past with three buckets in his cargo area. 

Apparently the swans know what is up when he arrives. Donning some rubber waders he was there to fill the feeders.

Still only eight, but once he was in the water, they came from far and wide!

So that was fun to witness. Continuing the circular route, we were next treated to a turtle convention!

It was crazy how many turtles there were! At one point we counted over twenty, the most I have ever seen in one place!

The next treat was the pictured island which the Anhingas and Egrets use as a nesting spot. It gets loud the closer you get. The Amphitheater is looking mighty fine with a new coat of paint.

Once around we began talking about lunch. Where to? Deciding to see what had taken over a spot that has been occupied by many different restaurants over the years, we turned onto Central and something caught my eye. Can you guess what it was from the picture below?

Turns out the space is now called F&D Cantina or something like that. A Mexican  restaurant owned by the same folks that have an Italian version using the same F&D in the name. Quite the changes have been made to the decor, it also has a cozy outdoor covered seating area as well.

We'll have to keep this place in mind for when our London family returns as there were several vegan options to choose from. The same goes for Lazy Moon Pizza, a place we visited two weeks ago. Now that is a place where you most definitely get your money's worth. This is ONE slice of pizza.

We did not share the same enthusiasm for our lunch following church yesterday. Mostly it had to do with it not being what we expected. While technically this is a slice of quiche with broccoli and grape tomatoes,

well, you get the idea. We learned the new chef is from BITHLO and his roots show in the menu offerings with a heavy emphasis on field greens and the like. 

That said, while that was a disappointment the Easter service was glorious with the choir in fine form and in robes which made me happy. Having worn a uniform during my working life, I can't help but be a fan.

One of the traditions of this congregation is a flower cross near the entrance which is used for Easter memories. Naturally we had our picture made too.

The white shoes may have been a stretch, but they do nearly match the dove pin on my dress that I have committed to wearing until the madness in Ukraine ends. The horrors continue unabated. I'm pretty sure the pin came from Bruce's Mom and is meant to be a Christmas pin, however, promoting peace is welcome anytime of the year. I am even wearing it on my pickleball tops and it is somewhat surprising to me how few people have asked why in the heck I am wearing a pin on my tops?

We've finished a series on Amazon recommended by our friends Keith and Patty. Set in England, while it was very slow to grab me, once it did, well, it is totally worth watching.  Called The Village, if you can think of something that humans can do wrong, it's there. Adultery, infidelity, murder and madness....sounds like fun, right? To temper that binge, we are now watching Great Canal Journeys which is a balm to our souls after all the grittiness of the previous series!

We would probably watch more series, however, we do spend a ridiculous amount of time watching pro pickleball. We know the whole cast of characters, so when one showed up today at the courts, I was freaking out. Meet Catherine Parenteau who was gracious enough to let me photograph her.

Honestly it was so shocking that she would come to the courts (she does not live here), but come she did with a coach and watching them hit the ball so hard and fast was a treat.

A few days ago I had to run back into the house for a camera. Bruce asked, "what do you need that for?" Answering, "you just never know" and today was an excellent example of that.

Closing this post, what a blessing it was for this perfect rainbow to appear on Good Friday, late in the afternoon.

Remember how I said every bird is different? The same holds true for rainbows, some more brilliant than others and as is the case with the one above, some much lower to the horizon.

Aside from man's inhumanity to man, it is a beautiful world out there.

your friend,

Gail

A New Perspective

While talking to Matt on Saturday morning, the conversation was long and varied. Can you believe it has been four years since he and Tom married? Anniversary wishes were part of our chat, as was the weather, the love of all things birdy, and the idea of perspective. There was nothing wrong with my perspective before, however, I'll admit it was narrow, having lived my life in only one place. This adventure not only took us to a brand new climate, but an entirely different culture and way of life. And man has it been fun! The things we've seen!! While it is not even remotely warm enough to swim in, living beside the Pacific Ocean has been fantastic.

As has living up high. Before we came, I had no idea what we would think about living in a tower, but now I do. Love it! The views are so worth the inconvenience, well, that's not really true because it is not so much inconvenient as it is different.

While it is very true that we have plenty of flowers in Florida, Bonnie made a good point. She claims, and I'm not one to argue with this line of thinking, that the Florida sun is so bright, our flowers can often look washed out. Here, with often such a heavy cloud cover, the colors are crazy vibrant.

And while it is also true that we have azalea plants, that, while wonderful, don't seem to hold a candle to the flowering shrub called Rhododendron, found in such an abundance here. I've seen some beauties already; plants just covered with bright, full, blooms.

In the coming days I'll be showing you more of them as nearly every day, I'm coming across new colors that are, frankly, stunning. As are the camellias. Good grief, the plants I've seen are groaning under the weight of their abundant flowers. This plant was about ten feet tall with literally, hundreds of flowers, and in such an awesome color too!

And then there are the ornamental cherry trees There really are no words for the sight of them lining streets, adding such a lightness to the rainy days. Although, unbelievably so, there were about four days of sunshine in a row, making me a very happy camper.

Leaving the flowers, and for that matter, Vancouver, behind, Bruce took me back to Squamish on Friday. Friday? Yup, Good Friday is a national holiday here. Having gone there with his work colleagues several weeks ago, he wanted to show me the fantastic view from the mountain top. Woo hoo....let's do it!

The only way to get there is the Sea to Sky Highway, a winding road with mountains on one side, and sea on the other. It takes some getting used to for both the driver and the passenger! That said it is a frequent filming sight for those car commercials you've seen where the driver flies around curves; apparently it is not scary to them at all!

Although it is but 45 miles away, driving that road can make you want to take a break in the middle, so we stopped in at Porteau Cove for both a rest, and some sight seeing. Here's a little something about the park:

Situated on the most southerly fjord in North America, Porteau Cove Provincial Park features waterfront campsites with a view over Howe Sound to the mountains beyond. An old ship has been sunk to provide interest for Scuba divers and to attract marine life. There are special facilities for divers. 

Fjord! I had no idea. Aren't those only found in Scandinavia? Apparently, not. The view looks like this:

Imagine if there were no clouds! I walked out on that platform and there are many islands to be seen in Howe Sound. Refreshed we were back on our way, stopping first at Shannon Falls which we visited in Autumn. The sound from the falling water was evident in the parking lot, and then they came into view as we turned the corner.

Wondering if the volume of water was going to be greater at the tail end of winter, than it was in the fall, we got our answer pretty quickly, once we got closer. All part of our new perspective, we climbed the steps in the forest to get even closer, something that was nearly impossible for us to do before, not having yet become "somewhat" accustomed to steps galore. 

Although Bill and David's birthday was two days away, I couldn't help think of them, specifically Bill who loves anything stone. Ask anyone who has visited his home about that! He can talk for a very long time about granite, and I hope one day he'll take the opportunity to see it first hand in a natural setting. My goodness, they've turned 39 years old already! I can't remember a year when their birthday coincided with Easter. Let's look that up, shall we? No wonder. I was only three years old the last time the two events occurred on the same day!

How about this for a new perspective? Sunshine in the forest instead of the usual gloom we've encountered? Now that's a first for us!

Our destination was the Sea to Sky Gondola which was practically next door to the falls. I saw it before I actually got in it.

See all that craggy rock? Apparently caused by glacial erosion. Well, all that craggy rock is slightly scary to sail over, especially when you have a woman seated next to you that is petrified of the experience! Our first gondola ride in Whistler was over packed snow, giving an illusion of safety. Not so much on this climb. So, does it stop when it gets to the pictured top? Why, no it does not. It keeps going and going, eventually you are riding over snowy ground.

The top is just above the brim of Bruce's hat. I can't say as I wasn't a little happy once we arrived. Not so fast Gail. Bruce wanted us to do the suspension bridge thing. With a little coaxing, as well as reassuring, he convinced me to give it a go. Holding on for dear life, I managed it but opted out of a return trip, instead we went through the woods. 

If only people would walk with caution instead of trying to make it sway! In the distance you see a viewing platform which is good, but not quite as large as the one where the gondola lands seen below.

Oh my goodness, what a sight it was! Talk about "I can see for miles, and miles, and miles! Although we were prepared for it to be cold, surprisingly, it was very comfortable, enough so that we went on a little hike through the woods on a mostly cleared path.

Mostly being the operative phrase because in some places it was very icy, with slow going on the part of the Pecks. Furthermore, there were areas where the snow is quite deep. And oh so pretty!
We were on a trail that went up and down, snowy and icy, so once we reached this little summit, we decided not to press our luck any further. My friends, I am standing alongside four signs detailing the habits of four birds seen in these parts!

I took a boat load of other photographs, but rather than bore you with them, I'll just say that the scenery is nothing short of magnificent.

Of note: those deep holes on the bottom left in the above photograph, made my none other than Mr. Peck. I told you it was deep in some places! 

By this time the day had become bright and sunny, which you and I both know, is how I prefer the sky to look.

Amazingly, the weather was good on Saturday, and although light rain fell as we began our walk to church, by the time we arrived, it had already quit. Easter Sunday was as wonderful as I'd hoped, with parishioners attaching daffodils to the cross as they made their way into the sanctuary. 

Oh my, do we have so much to be grateful for. 

Hallelujah, indeed.

yours truly,

Gail