Love Notes…

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The week began with finding love notes on the lawn…The same tree that whispers hushed lullabies all summer,  drops these beautiful speckled hearts in the fall.

A surprising number of sunny days this week prompted extra pedaling.  And this was a splendid day to go ‘off road’.  The leaves along the trail were spectacular.  I still haven’t gotten over how big the Big Leaf Maples make them!

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Fall is the season for sailors–strong winds, but not too strong or cold to weather.  I was a good mate and went along one windy day for a wild sail.  Sailing has its glorious moments if you can get past the coldness and the nausea, induced partially by terror! On this afternoon I luxuriated with the wind in my face, head thrown back to watch the seagulls wheeling in a dapple-gray sky, catching wind of autumn’s farewell–breathing deeply for the glory of the day.

Winds gusting to 35knots make for lots of ‘tipping’.  Once Jim assured me that my body was not sufficient ballast to tip us right over I got ‘into’ it and took some live video hanging over the heeling edge. [He’s got it posted on our website; if you’re interested ask me for the link…] Looks so ‘safe’ on film…The highlight of the sail came when we looked out across the sea and saw what looked like mist rising, as though the ocean were making its own spray.  Looked like… a whale!! yes!  We watched it spouting, saw its back for a moment, saw more spouting, saw its fin… Our first whale!  And all the while the boat sliced and bounded through the rough seas-heading back to harbor.

“Chase Me” moors in Lund now, at the end of the Highway that passes our neighborhood on the way to the sea…

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She’s got lots of company here and is always tied up with some buddy. 

I was glad to disembark and sip hot chocolate on a firmer footing while I watched  the fishing boats come in to sort their prawn.  Seagulls feasted and one lone young eagle came in for a ‘catch’… but foiled my attempts
 at a decent picture..

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And say, who’s this ‘mer-man’ after?!IMG_6914

But all good weeks must come to an end and so must rambling photo blogs…Yesterday I went out walking for the sheer delight of another sunny afternoon.  And just had to stop and capture this unassuming gem standing quietly at the edge of a dark woods up at The Green Field park. I want to shine like that!  Quiet and steady, even in out of the way dim places…

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Passers-by no doubt wondered what there was to see at sidewalk’s edge in this scraggly little cherry tree but the complementary colors of leaf and sky begged a longer look… What an artist God is…

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“Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
Let the field exult, and everything it it!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD,
For He comes to judge the earth.

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His steadfast love endures forever!”
–I Chronicles 16:32-34

 

Gone with the Wind…

Knowing what a fair-weather sailor I am,  Jim grabbed the opportunity yesterday for one last (?) sunny sail before the rains set in….We took our bikes along and rode the length of Savary Island (5 miles) down dirt roads strewn with October’s scented finery of golden maple leaves… Glorious!

 

But before we could even get to the dock with our bikes the sun hid behind the one lone cloud in a vault of blue.  Rainbow iridescence shone at the edges.    We couldn’t entirely regret the sun’s hiding–it gave an awesome photo moment.  

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[Curiously, this cloud never left and by the time we did, the sky was strewn with cotton… and once back  in the van headed home,  tiny spits of rain began…  But we had our glorious afternoon first!]  Let me show you some pics…

 

First there was the pedaling down quiet dirt roads… I’ve always loved tromping through autumn leaves smelling their sweet dying scent.  Today our tires had the same effect…

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Then the arrival at the windy Indian Point:

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The only Indian there was Jim!

Cycling back we gazed out at the wind-whipped seas on the other side of the island…

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–a Beach whose name we do not know–

Then time to row back to "Chase Me" and let the wind chase us home…

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And chase us it did!  The thrill of windpower never fades for a true sailor…  A fairweather landlubber can only glimpse the joy…midst reflections on wind and Spirit…

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes…" (Jn.3:8)

–LS

Hoodoo Land!

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Like a fantastic sculpture garden Bryce Canyon displays God’s handiwork like no other place on earth.
You have to see it in person to begin to take it in.ย  And better yet, take a trail down into the canyon, to the floor from which these massive columns rise.
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Though most of our walk was warm and the trail bone dry,ย  this slot canyon scarcely sees the sun so the going was thick with clinging clay mud alternating with muddy sheets of ice…
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Do you see the two natural bridges?
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And now we’re back up to the top…
This is definitely not the sort of territory you’d want to be exploring in the dark.ย  The edges of the rim trail are just a slip away from disaster…
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We wrapped up our visit to Bryce Canyon with a picnic lunch before hitting the road forย  our long drive north.ย ย  It is with reluctance we leave these sunny climes…but there are miles to go before we sleep (hoping to log 8-10 hours yet today)…
Farewell to Hoodoo Land…