Scenes/Scents from Mi Casa

Pictures of the Past

Today was the celebration of 76 years ago when the colonists first arrived here. For the most part, it was a small town parade show-casing the town's businesses and clubs. It was a gorgeous day with the sun high-lighting the events.

Old traditions, old buildings, old people, old cars. Sweet traditions, sweet buildings, sweet people, sweet cars!

 

Kettle Korn rides for the wee bairns

Colony Garden at the Visitor Center

It appeared that this tractor had a face and personality!

Though this tree had nothing to do with the day's events, someone had the foresight to plant it many years ago. I thoroughly appreciated the beauty of their plan! The old train depot is in the background.

Sometimes, the door to the future is found when opening the door to the past.



I Would Have Missed It

.....but I have Sam to thank for the opportunity.

Having a large breed dog around has allowed me the freedom to take new paths, venture new trails and discover less open spaces than a single lady is customarily permitted in safety. As such, I unwrapped an unexpectedly beautiful gift of nature. Perhaps it was the deprivation of an abundance of beauty, looking at things in a micro-cosmic beauty, such as individual snowflakes, or the shadows of sun through undressed birch branches, a small brown bird with the tiniest flecks of amber dotting the wings, a flame of green snap-whipping the arctic midnight. All of these are beautiful, but observed only by the quieted eye waiting for the shutter lens of beauty to scope into view.

Today was different. The moments were observed through a wide angle lens, visible to everyone who was outdoors in this national park.

Unfortunately, I could not get a closer picture of the newly hatched mallards. They were charming, listening to the different intonations of the hen's voice to know whether it was safe to come out of the reeds or not. It really is amazing that they know how to be a duck from the moment they are born.

Ocean views, mountain views and a bull moose!

60 seconds later......another bull moose!

60 seconds later...a handsome photo opportunity.

What a beautiful day!

Oh, and by the way, the rest of the city had rain! 

The advantages of living on the ocean side of town!

Thriving Trees

The arctic does not boast spectacular trees, though there is beauty to be appreciated by the eager explorer.

I took Sam for a long walk on a trail new to us and found a naturally beautiful grove of trees, larger in size than the rest of town. I wondered what made them so healthy and long-lived and realized that the park had been set aside many years ago, that it was recipient to the warm, moist sea breeze and western sun and sheltered from the cold, drying mountain air that sweeps the rest of the town. They had a chance to put down roots and thrive.

It reminded me of Psalm 1...
1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.

I think this tree is still deciding on its future.