One day, God willing and should the earth last so long, our grandchildren will tell their children that they lived through COVID-19, just as elderly survivors of other pandemics and deadly diseases, have spoken of it to their children and grandchildren. Stories of hardship, of fear and faith and frailty. …
While on a road trip with my friend Glenda one cold and blustery afternoon, we stopped at a botanical garden. An oasis of colour and harmony greeted us, resplendent with flowering plants, tropical foliage and cacti. A cobblestone path dotted with wooden benches and wicker chairs wound past gurgling fountains, …
“Wow. That’s quite a lineup,” my friend said, as we took our place at the end of the queue snaking down the street from the theatre. Over three hundred people packed the place that evening, every ticket sold. They came to view Unplanned, a movie about one of the most …
Journal entry. March 20th. First day of spring. Lower mainland, B.C. Good day, diary. Good day, Lord. And good day, Spring. After our record-breaking cold Canadian winter, you’re more welcome than usual, even though you’re late to your own party. I travelled two provinces in order to catch your entry …
Red fox racing rails, I saw yesterday. Nose to the north, body and tail following, straight and rigid as the steel ribbons themselves. He moved so effortlessly, so smoothly that except for his blurred legs, he almost seemed motionless. As we approached the railroad tracks, I’d noticed the creature running …
My neck hurts from looking up. I have been owl-gazing and owls rarely perch on bottom branches. When you read this, the family of long-eared owls that has enlivened our backyard and thoroughly captivated me will no doubt have moved on. My head will sit properly between my shoulders …
The seasonal site where we’ve parked our new-to-us camping trailer for the summer is close enough to home to commute back and forth easily. We hope to do that often. On our first afternoon at camp, our daughter Amanda and I and a few of the grandchildren made our way …
“I have no patience for the bleeding hearts who rescue stupid animals when there are so many human beings in the world that need help.” Those words on my Facebook page caught my attention during what I’ve come to call “my cat summer.” A family of cats – mama and three …
I passed a small cluster of blonde fluff beside the highway one warm spring day. The sad little pile lay immediately at the end of a friend’s lane. Sure their prone-to-wander pup – right colour, right size – had been hit by a passing vehicle, I made a sharp U-turn. …
As a troubled young man fleeing bad habits and bad company, Timothy Treadwell travelled to Katmai National Park in Alaska. There he developed another consuming passion – the grizzly bears that inhabited the region. He spent thirteen summers in Katmai, and considered the grizzlies his family. The bears learned to …
