Travel

Quick trip into the big city. We left early and the three hours went by quick with us chatting and the traffic lite. The smoke from the forest fires wasn’t too bad.

We hit Costco. We had shopping lists for four families. It went surprisingly smooth and didn’t have to wait at check out.

I bought a couple of Lavender and Barberry bushes at about the third the price I could get them at home. Then we fuelled up with the cheapest gas in Canada. Albertans love to bitch, but they don’t know how good they have it. Not that I’d ever trade places.

Now I just have to figure out where to put those Barberry and Lavender bushes.

***

Lisa had her appointment and we stopped at a mall so she could find a dress for a summer wedding we are invited to.

Looking for the dress took longer than Costco and the appointment put together. I walked around the mall looking through windows, but not going in. I saw Louis C.K. working at Sporting Life at the South Centre Mall. He was taller than he looks on TV. But it was him, sure as hell.

Lisa found a wonderful bright pant suit and colourful top. A summer ensemble. She looks gorgeous in it. Now I’m feeling bad for her, because I am going to look shabby on her arm.

***

The way home was a steady stream of traffic with every kind of driver. I like to hang back and give the impatient plenty of room in case they have to dodge in on the two lane highway through Kootenay National Park. There was a few times I felt like closing the gap and leave them hanging out there in oncoming traffic, but that wouldn’t be good for anybody.

***

When we were home and unloaded, I checked the garden. Perhaps it was the walk stretching my legs. I had a twelve second fart that broke the quiet of the evening. Even the birds stopped chirping and were struck with awe. A few neighbours came out and looked skyward. I had been travelling in the truck all day with Lisa and it built up. I was impressed I still had it in me.

Early Summer

A Blue Heron considers eating a Striped Turtle. The turtle says, not today or tomorrow.

When we were kids, the long weekend in May was the earliest you would even consider being in the lake.

Mom used to say get burned in May and it will turn into tan for the rest of summer.

The sun felt good back then. So did the lake. One would ease the other.

The sun made me sleepy back then. It was like being a garter snake coming out from the clay banks and laying on railway ties. Like everything was okay.

***

Busier than shit these last few days. It’s close to 100° out there and someone told me the pool was too cold. It’s 78°.

I told them the hot tubs are hotter and the river is colder.

***

The wasps are building their hives. I was called to take one down. I didn’t feel bad as it was over a doorway. It was a poor choice for the queen. She flew away and I hope she finds a spot underground where it is cool and nobody complains.

***

There are thousands of tiny grasshoppers out there. They are going to love the coming hot weather.

***

Lisa says we should get our firewood before they close the bush down. I agree it could be a hotter than hell summer.

Smoke

The smoke has started. It could be a long summer. The smoke is from Alberta and Northern BC. Our forest fire season usually gets going in July. It could be a bad one judging from the heat we are experiencing.

Willow and I headed for the bush. I was looking for Yarrow to make a hot compress for my knee that is giving me grief. On the way we saw a female Black Bear and cub.

The Yarrow was up and I mixed it with some of last years dried flowers.

The Yarrow was boiled until soft, drained through cloth with the remaining leaves and flowers rolled in the cloth. Once cooled a bit it was put on my knee. It felt good. Hopefully it will do the trick.

Monday

Rain today and we needed it. Work was a missed mash of issues. Most got the better of me. Lisa has a small white board where I get dressed that says, ‘Make good choices’. She knows I don’t always, but I’m getting better from my younger days where it didn’t take much for me to fly off the handle.

The birds enjoyed the rain, they chirped and sang and were grateful for the worms that came to the surface, making eating easy.

You could almost watch the grass grow. I fear a hot dry summer. We have been lucky the last couple of years. The tourists are coming, no longer slowed by Covid, and each will have a pack of matches and a few fireworks, not content with turning off the lights and watching the much more magnificent Milky Way.

Anger still bubbles in me. Deep down. Watching the destruction. The waste, pollution and noise. Nothing changes fast, I remind myself. It takes time they say. In the meantime I try to make good choices.

Morning Walk

A very nice walk this morning with Kelsie, Cooper and Scarlett. Lisa and I are lucky to have them along. Willow and Lola ran through the creek and fetched rocks and sticks. Lisa and Scarlett brought back pussy willows.

Scarlett decides to cross the creek on her bum. A good choice when unsure.

Pray

Wind and rain signalling winter is officially over and spring is here. I feel colder in this weather than I do when it is minus thirty.

It will green things up. Some of the kids at work are wearing shorts while I still have on my long underwear.

Lisa asked today, do I wish we prayed. It is a good question.

Easter

There is plenty of reason for the way things work out. For instance, we’re told, a person works hard and they prosper. However, the biggest reason that things work out is random. The universe is chaos. It doesn’t consider us or our feelings. It isn’t Jesus or Santa Claus or cares if we have been naughty or nice. If it was most people would live forever and a few would pay for the shit they caused.

Bad things happen to good people. Bad people prosper. Not always, like I said, it’s random.

My brother smoked and drank from the time he was 12. Instead of liver or lung cancer he died of a rare blood disease. He thought it was funny. It also killed his fear of dying. So many doing everything right and dying. He was lucky.

We’re all lucky in the end.

The stars keep time. They swarm over the mountains. Turn south and back. It takes more than a lifetime to know them, to become an expert.

Spring

Every season has its colours. The sky in spring is always interesting, where it can be minus twelve in the morning and plus twelve in the afternoon. That does things to the sky.

A brilliant full moon cutting through the clouds here and there. Big puffy orange clouds in the longer evenings.

This morning the moon went down later, a little more light, so I didn’t have to take the picture in the dark. The purple colour on the horizon drives me crazy with joy. Only in Spring.

Weekend

The District of Invermere bi-election is in the books. The results:

Took a couple good walks behind Swansea. Plenty of birds calling. Still they kept themselves hidden. They are wild after all. My camera could be a bazooka. The older I get the smarter I figure the animals are and the dumber the humans, mostly me, are.

A bit of sickness about. Scarlett, Cooper and Lisa are under the weather.

Lola joined Willow and I on our walks. She is a big puppy and minds Willow when she gets too close and gets the snarl.

Checked on the good neighbour. He is still hurting from the Polar Plunge. Drank too much, then cold and hot. It’s been two weeks. The older you get the longer it takes to recover. He perked up when he said, his body is probably protesting the lack of beer.

Got about four books on the go. Larry from

https://larrymuffinathome.wordpress.com

suggested Cicero’s, How to Grow Old. Dave picked it up for me, recently, in the City.

It is a good book. Not as long as it looks, because the left hand pages are in latin.

It suggests to accept diminished strength with grace and help youth whenever you can. I am only 70 pages in. Perhaps there will be a twist at the end.

To be on this earth comes down to luck. To live, watch birds, make love and scrub a dogs head is a gift.

Black-Capped Chickadee

The birds have been chattering. Going this way and that. It is nice to see.

Put in a good days work. Hoping for clear skies to see the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus on Wednesday.

Palliser Pass

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