Unconditional Love

My son came home to rescue us, and fix our computer. Thanks Hon! (He has been absoulutely indispensible when it comes to our computer.) Looks like our dogs think so too. The bigger spotted one is Courage, a 5 year old Dalmation/Australian Heeler cross.
This sweet little guy is Apache, a 15 year old Sheltie/terrier/Beagle cross. He has gotten into alot of mischief over the years which has resulted in a few aches and pains in his older years. But look at him! He is just so darn cute!
I love you all.

My Heart

This weekend I arranged a retreat with a Toltec teacher from Vancouver. We spent Friday morning at my place. In my pasture where I placed the stones I envisioned a labyrinth.We started at the standing stone, and then everyone tuned in to themselves, and walked a labyrinth that was just for them. Ingenius! I didn't have to gather a thousands stones or plant a thousand plants that my horse would step all over anyway.
Then everyone had the option of going into the neighbouring forest to spend time with the trees.
Throughout our time here, we paused to sit and journal. Later we met at the stone altar in the middle and did some singing. The weather was gorgeous, and we all had a fabulous time. The remainder of the weekend was spent across the lake from me, at a fellow traveller's retreat center that he built, purposefully to share in this way.
I will be getting more photos of his place later.
The 3 days ended up feeling like weeks. It was very uncanny. Absolutely magical, fun and nurturing.

The Ballad of the Ceramic Horse

I have another blog, where I can show some of my ceramic artwork on line. Heather from the blog Steel String Poetry
bought the first item that I posted. I can't tell you how thrilled I was. However, a sad tale unfolded which you can read about on Gifthorse Ceramic Gallery
And I want to publicly thank you Heather. You've been great!

Heaven On Earth

As Promised, I returned today to do more swimming and basically worshipping the Earth. Leah and I swam up river and kept discovering incredible pool after pool with crazy beautiful rock formations.
What you can't see, though I tried to photogragh them, were the huge school of fish.The average one being 20 inches or so.
Again I was amazed to be the only 2 humans enjoying this, in a city of 100,000 and this spot is 5-10 minutes away.
Some one has to worship the earth and I am willing to do it!

With Forgiveness

Here's the most appropriate sentiment for today's date:
With Forgiveness
Click on this link and one can view a sweet little slide show.

Earth's Beautiful Gifts

I am so ecstatic. We found a new spot on the river that is perfect. Every year we explore new spots. This one has a narrow path on a ledge to scale down a steep grade and seems to weed out alot of people. Today, we were the only humans present. Heaven on Earth.

One perk of having a blog, is being able to take a metaphorical step back and look at my life.
I have realised how incredibly blessed and magical my life is. The water is so clear that the view from the cliff we can see the dark shapes of the large fish (see in between the leaves.

I enjoy swimming, hiking and gazing on this beauty at least once a week. Mostly adults visit this spot because the hike is too dicey for kids. The teenager-parties are discouraged because alot of us like to swim au naturel! (ha-ha)
Here's a great photo of my dear friend, Leah Morgan. She offers readings and healings (at a distance as well). You can check out my multi-talented friend on her website Ravenwood
The water was so lovely today. I am going to make time to go again tomorrow. My spirit tells me that this type of activity is high priority.

Camping Trip

OH My. .....I really love this river. I can't get enough of this green colour.
On the dunes, the sun was intense, but there was always a breeze. Notice the windswept trees.
On the way home, we had a picnic at Cathedral Grove
My friend, Cathy, is dwarved by this ancient Cedar tree. I was astounded at the amount of tourists that were there. Many Europeans. It was very cool.
The Shorepine Bog, is part of the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
The boardwalk shown here is actually a floating boardwalk, but because its summer it is firmly on the ground. I intend to come back for more visits, and in out wet, rainy winter would be a great contrast.

Exploring Vancouver Island

My daughter and I went camping. In the last days of preparations, a friend of mine asked if she could come with us. Also, at the last minute we decided to drive across the island to Long Beach. On the way, we stopped at this gorgeous river.
Once at Long Beach (3 hours of driving later) we couldn't unpack fast enough to get down to the beach. The beach is miles long and we could walk and explore for hours. The crashing waves sounds made it so soothing.
Here we are at the dunes. Just after this photo we came across a fairly fresh pile of bear scat.
It felt so wild and beautiful.
Next day, we continued to explore the Pacific Rim National Park. This is the Shorepine Bog Trail. One or two metre thick sphagnum moss, muskeg, and ancient stunted pines. Some of these pine trees are 300 years old.