A Hike to the Lookout!

The view from my front yard.... Beautiful blue sky!

In the winter where I live, it can be overcast and gray and drizzly 90% of the time... or at least it seems so. Needless to say, last Sunday, when it turned out to be such a sunny day, I decided to take advantage of the fact! After church, Cody and I took a hike up to the Lookout. I haven't been there since I was in my early teens - before proper trails or roads went up to the top!

It took Cody & I about and hour and a half to hike to the top.  It was about a 10% grade all the way. Boy, I need to do this more often!


First of all, no comments on my choice of footwear LOL! I live in my Birkenstocks! Even in slush! (Sad, I know!) Actually, it was so nice I didn't think I would need anything else on my feet to keep them warm.




View of the road up to the Lookout.  Most of the trail was in the trees, so no direct sunlight.
 

 

The higher we got on the trail, the more varied the plants were. Nice to be in a forest of ferns. We may get a lot of rain here (79 inches/year, most of it in the winter).... but we have green! I can't tell you how much Cody was enjoying this hike!

 He did insist on walking through all the puddles.

 

Looking upwards along the railway tracks. Still a ways to go.

Views just getting to the lookout!

Cody, of course was the first there! I was barely able to stop him from rolling in the grass at the edge of the bluff (darn dog!).  This, I have to say, is my favorite picture from the hike.

And oh the views of the valley! 

 

 

 Yes, I have proof I was there too!

 So here is me hoping for more good weather, and more hikes around the valley! Be sure I'll share more pictures of the places we go!

A Day of Rememberance

Had a very good day today…. Traveled to Gabriola Island to attend the Remembrance Day Ceremony there. My mother’s family has quite the history on the island, and are one of the pioneer families there. Silva Bay is named after them. Four Silva’s served in the World Wars… 3 in the 1^st one, and 1 in the 2^nd. It was an honour to be on their island to honour them. It was a really nice ceremony as well… everyone was invited to participate in singing some hymns in the service, so it felt a lot more personal.  Here are some of the pictures I took. Sorry, no selfies!

There was a log boom sorter going past the ferry berth on the way over… couldn’t resist taking a picture. I love the west coast and the logging history… combine that with the life on the water, and how much better could it get than that?!!!

A picture of the cairn after the services.

The next two pictures are of the family plot at the Gabriola Island Cemetary. First is the view from where the plot is … the trees are oaks. It was a beautiful day, and the sun was shining just right! It was nice to see the family has put a marking stone down as well. 

When I get a chance to download the pictures I took on my phone, I will update this with the picture of Henry Silva, who served in WW2. I can see the family resemblance in some of the Hall’s I know.

Right now I’m listening to Belleau Wood by Garth Brooks… so suitable for this day of remembrance! I know it’s a Christmas song, but I think of all the hardships and hope those soldiers had, and the peace they must have felt that night.

"Belleau Wood"

Here are the lyrics from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/garthbrooks/belleauwood.html

Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence

Over Belleau Wood that night

For a Christmas truce had been declared

By both sides of the fight

As we lay there in our trenches

The silence broke in two

By a German soldier singing

A song that we all knew

Though I did not know the language

The song was "Silent Night"

Then I heard my buddy whisper,

"All is calm and all is bright"

Then the fear and doubt surrounded me

'Cause I'd die if I was wrong

But I stood up in my trench

And I began to sing along

Then across the frozen battlefield

Another's voice joined in

Until one by one each man became

A singer of the hymn

Then I thought that I was dreaming

For right there in my sight

Stood the German soldier

'Neath the falling flakes of white

And he raised his hand and smiled at me

As if he seemed to say

Here's hoping we both live

To see us find a better way

Then the devil's clock struck midnight

And the skies lit up again

And the battlefield where heaven stood

Was blown to hell again

But for just one fleeting moment

The answer seemed so clear

Heaven's not beyond the clouds

It's just beyond the fear

No, heaven's not beyond the clouds

It's for us to find it here

A New Beginning, and a Poem for You!

It’s been a while since I posted to my blog… I guess life in a new town, work, and fracturing your ankle (last May) can do that to you.
I’m doing this post as a new beginning…. In the past 50 posts or more, it has been mostly greeting cards I’ve made, but I haven’t got my craft room set up and running yet, so there won’t be many of cards posted. Today’s post is a fresh start and hopefully will be more of a reflection of who I am, and things I’m thinking about or doing. Enjoy!
 I tried to think of how I would send this poem I wrote while in high school to the producers of The Deadliest Catch on A&E… well, they are out of luck, because I’m sharing it with you!

 Neptune’s Power
The sea in her wrath roars
At what she may devour
Challenging any man
To fight against her power

Neither here, neither there
She stalks the balmy sea
Until she finds incautious man
And batters him with ease

Blowing gales she bellows
With arctic cold she blows
 Sending fear into hearts of men
Who’ve heard of woe ne’er slow

 It happens so quick and fast
 There’s stories that could be told
 Of men who’ve battled and lost
With no chance of becoming old.

 I was living in Ucluelet at the time I wrote this. I loved walking to Johnson’s Beach and the way the sea changed during the seasons. Nothing quite as good as watching a full out winter storm! The danger that you could feel, even when you were in a safe place was exhilarating.

 I have to admit that most of the poetry I have written has been when I have been upset…. Kind of my own therapy to work things out. This poem was written for the love of being by the sea, and my respect for it. In that sense this poem is even more special to me. I hope you liked it!

Below: a picture I took last month of a sailboat at Rebecca Spit, on Quadra Island.