Bandits

The familiar sound of paws scraping tree trunks startled me as I went to check my mailbox that evening. Raccoons are frequent visitors to our strata, crawling beneath the cedars in my backyard, sipping from the dish of water that I leave out for the stray cats and starting wars high in the trees.

Yes, there was a war! Many of the neighbours came out to observe the two males fighting over a female high in the pine tree. It looked like one of them chickened out and let the other guy win.

Many years ago when I lived in a different town, two young boys came to my door selling prints of paintings that their father had painted. For a very low price I bought one of two raccoons peaking out from a tree, titled “BANDITS”. At the time I had no idea how often I would be visited by these terribly cute bandits.

The water dish which I leave out on my patio day and night sometimes ends up on its side, or full of dirty water. Those are the nights that the raccoons find themselves thirsty. Cats are much cleaner, and don’t lift up the ceramic dish and play with it!

Even though I live downtown in a city, I love how almost daily I am witness to wildlife in my yard.

Coast to Coast

Aerial view of Trout Lake — almost home

For three weeks we drove across the country, then spent time at my daughter’s new home. For those three weeks I was amazed at the beauty of the new scenery that we passed through and experienced daily. Everything seemed so beautiful and new.

When I returned home and started looking at my own surroundings through eyes that had been refreshed by such a fantastic vacation and “reset”. I began to notice the little things that tourists notice and realize how much I have missed.

For the past several years my head has been buried in my work. When I go for walks or drives there is always a reason, and usually I am in such a hurry to get where I am going that I don’t see anything along the way.

We also have uniquely shaped cloud patterns that reflect colourful sunrises and sunsets. We have a bright moon that lights up the night sky and continues to shine during the day. We have trees and flowers lining the roads that wind through the hills and mountains. And we have an ocean — not the same ocean, but it is still an ocean.

This summer I have travelled from the west coast to the east coast of Canada, and back again. We drove 6000 km east and flew west. I experienced many times of reflection, good conversation, generosity and the kindness of strangers.

There is no BEST place to live. There might be a best place to live right now, but I think I could get used to living almost anywhere.

Vacation

Boating on the east coast

Our final day on the east coast was spectacular! Not only did we spend time with friends, students (in town for their family reunion) and a colleague, we were taken on a boat ride around Pennant Cove. The seas were calm since the cove is protected by several islands and a peninsula.

Being on that boat brought back so many memories of summers spent on Kootenay Lake during my childhood. Our summers then were a time to rest and relax and explore places and activities that we didn’t have time for during the year.

Since then I have gradually become more and more busy, to the point where summer fall winter and spring consisted of work, with very few short vacations.

The past month on the road has helped me remember those days where I could recharge my batteries. Those days when the only thing on the agenda was to get up and do whatever felt right at that moment.

I know it’s not too late to live like that again. My heart is full today and I don’t want to forget what these past 4 weeks felt like!

Priorities

web repair

Yesterday morning this spider’s web had been damaged probably because of strong winds during the night. I sat safely inside the living room enjoying my morning cup of coffee and watching what we think is a Cross Orb-weaver repairing the web, preparing it for another day of catching food.

This morning the web was still looking good, with a few fresh mosquitoes struggling to break free from the sticky strands.

As we drove through the fog on our way to do some sight-seeing we saw another web up near a telephone pole that glistened beautifully with the strands heavy with dew.

We arrived at my daughter’s new home a couple of days ago. The many surprises we found could have overwhelmed anyone, but my daughter very quickly took charge and started the clean-up and repairs one small step at a time.

The spider and her web will stay on the window for now—cleaning the outside windows is very low on the priority list. She is a reminder of how tackling one small strand at a time will soon result in something quite beautiful.

Pure love

This evening I witnessed something that surprised and impressed me. My son-in-law is a tough guy to understand and relate to. He is very intelligent, with a law degree, but unable to find a job. He expects kindness and consideration from his wife but is unable to offer the same to her.

We were eating dinner outside at the other grandma’s home, and a wasp came along for its share of the dinner. My granddaughter was absolutely terrified, as she could remember being bit by a wasp a couple of months ago. Her reaction to her fear was immediate and paralyzing. Her father grabbed and killed the wasp with his bare hands, catching it between his fingers.

I had never seen anyone do that before. My respect for him increased immensely in those few seconds. His quick action was evidence of the pure love he has for his little angel.

Early morning start

Along the north shore of Lake Huron

We were up early yesterday—more eager than ever to get on the road. I had booked a hotel in a small town without looking carefully at the reviews online. Normally we like hotels that look and smell clean, have clear running water in the taps and clean bed sheets. That was not the case!

The early morning start allowed us to have a very relaxed day. We stopped at a lovely coffee shop for breakfast, went for a walk in a beach resort town, bought several novels at a 2nd-hand bookstore and arrived in the city before rush hour.

And from now on every hotel will feel like a castle in comparison!

On the road

On our drive to the East coast we have set distance goals for each day. This photo was taken looking out over Vermilion Lakes near Banff.

Most of our other photos are taken from the car as we are covering about 900 km a day, and so far have lost one hour per day due to driving through time zones.

This has been an absolutely wonderful trip so far, with amazing scenery and fascinating skies. In the prairies the sky touches the flat horizon and you can see little storms brewing far in the distance.

The landscape changes with each hour, from the majestic Rocky Mountains, through Rolly hills, miles and miles of bright yellow fields of canola, and now the seemingly endless number of tiny lakes and trees of northern Ontario.

I looking forward to seeing more of this country.

1 year

Exactly one year ago I said goodbye to Toffee. He was my companion and friend for just over 11 years.

Toffee loved road trips. He loved walks. He was excited if anyone came to visit, and he would turn in circles when offered vegetables. My days are quieter now. I get up when I’m ready to get up…still just as early as when Toffee would wake me. He always knew (or hoped) that there was an exciting day ahead.

Here are some of the “pets” that have been trying to replace Toffee, but I have not let any of them settle into the house:

Courage

On one of our first international trips together my father and I were headed to Ireland to spend 3 weeks driving around the island, exploring as much as we could. To get there we landed at Heathrow, and transferred to a smaller airplane which would take us to Dublin.

I remember the flight being delayed by about 30 minutes, but that wasn’t much of an issue, except that we were very tired. As we boarded the flight we noticed people passing a whisper toward the back of the line, much like the “telephone game” that is used to demonstrate to young people that rumours and whispers often change as they are passed around.

The whisper “Nelson Mandela is on the plane” did not change in meaning. It was true!! As we boarded, Nelson Mandela, seated comfortably in the business class surrounded by his security people, personally greeted every passenger as though each of us was important. It was an experience that I will not be forgetting!

Mandela was on his way to officially open the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin. As dad and I travelled around Ireland, we frequently saw parade and signs indicating those games.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Nelson Mandela (from “Mandela” Documentary, 1994)

Chance encounters often change the way we observe things. They change the way we absorb and respond to the world around us.