It certainly has been awhile since I have posted. The following was written on April 24, 2015 on a return train trip through the Rockies.
An early morning sitting in the top of the dome car of the VIA train heading from Vancouver to Edmonton, somewhere east of Kamloops along the North Thompson River close to Clearwater.BC. Rain spatters the windows and the new green leaves of spring poplars and birch delicately contrast with the darker boughs of the tall spruce. Overcast the clouds and white mist reach low over the Kootenay Mountains. Telephone wooden poles, no longer in use, with three or four cross ties and glass insulators tumble at various angles overgrown with vines or drooping wires next to the rail line.
Travel by rail if one has the time is certainly enjoyable. Coach seats can be rather cramped for sleeping but dining car service is exquisite.
On trip out on March 31, with a grand daughter we stopped in Jasper where she found this shop....note the name!
Here we are together later in the trip.
This trip taken two weeks later than originally planned due to a broken wrist
and subsequent surgery, serves as a quiet interlude between my two worlds.
On the west coast of British Columbia,Vancouver and Victoria were, as I usually call it, " my first touch of spring " after what seemed like a long Alberta winter.
The colourful blooms of red and yellow striated tulips,
yellow and white daffodils,
blue lobelias,
and pink magnolia trees
brightened the pre-Easter days.
Catching up with a life long friend, Fran. as we sipped wine exchanging family stories,
and browsed Sidney nurseries for additions to her yard.
The Saturday outdoor family wedding at a small winery
was blessed with clear sunny skies
and
gathering of cousins,
friends and family
from elderly aunts to preschoolers and month old babies.
Whether a walk on the beach or cool winds on the Tsawassen ferry
through the Gulf Islands
refreshed me and reminded me of too short a planned trip.
A trip on an unseen curb heading into the Telus Science Museum ( it was that yellow curb ) on April first ( my April Fools )
braced by my left hand resulted in the broken wrist with an ER visit, out patient clinic and day surgery in Vancouver over the next few weeks.Toting a soft cast, sling and under the watchful eye of my daughter Amelia, with her nursing background. I developed the skills of operating one handedly.
Exploring Vancouver's Stanley Park,
the Aquarium
and gardens at UBC allowed me to take many photos.
Shared times with my daughter and her husband and dog Ilala, a two year old Rhodesian Ridgeback who liked to share a " spot in the afternoon sun."
which might not have occurred otherwise included neighbourhood dog.walks,
stops at small coffee shops,
a few micro breweries
and drives up to Whistler and Squamish where they are relocating.
But it's not also without regrets that it will be awhile before I will be able to cycle or garden again soon. Worried about my newly planted seedlings left behind in Edmonton, my pets at the house and return date to work.
All questions to be left until the end of this journey!
BTW..this is my Edmonton backyard perennial bed just completed in last few days....
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