Beneath My Feet

Meewasin Park, Saskatoon, September 2020 When I began this blog in spring there were not yet buds on the trees; now, colourful hues carpet pathways. It is a reminder of the impermanence of things --  constant changes in our natural world. For me, two seasons have swiftly passed. Curiously, in ancient Japanese tradition, there are 72 micro-seasons. That's one every five days! How could that be? I was intrigued to discover that these micro-seasons beautifully describe visual and auditory environmental recurrences such as: warblers sing in the mountains, fish emerge from ice, first cherry blossoms, caterpillars become butterflies, and so on.  It got me wondering about the many signals of change in our region throughout the year. Snow melts, ice-covered water breaks, first crocus appears, spring winds blow, grasses awaken, snow birds return, plantings sprout, fragrant lilacs bloom, thunder and lightning stirs, mosquitoes hum, berries ripen, dusty harvest begins, leaves become pain...

Road tripping, we were determined to stick to the plan and drive from northern Arizona to Albuquerque, New Mexico, before night fall. Our map informed us that we would soon pass a national park called the Petrified Forest. A split-second decision was made to spare a half hour, turn onto the dusty side road, and see if it was 'anything'. Well, it was something.  Time suddenly evaporated as we became transported to a prehistoric land. The hillsides and valley were littered with thousands of huge stone logs and fragments of petrified wood. Hundreds of millions of years ago we would have been standing in a living tropical rain forest, now transformed to desert and rock by a period of time that is not even fathomable. We could feel the calming energy of the massive agates surrounding us. Colourful translucent quartz crystals such as purple amethyst, and opaque red and yellow Jaspers, revealed themselves in the exposed, broken shards. A mere two and a half hours later, we were back ...

Drone shot of a tropical beach? If you look closely you will see that it's actually a fall gathering of Canada Geese on the river water. Lucky for them, they are able to plan their route south, yet are keeping themselves socially distanced. I spotted them when walking across one of the many bridges in our city. I don't often walk across the bridges as I'm busy getting somewhere in my car, or sometimes on my bike. When you walk you slow down. When you slow down, you see more ... and often from a new perspective. Photo: From Broadway Bridge, Saskatoon, SK, 2020

Summer's lease hath all too short a date.   ~ Shakespeare Ride, ride, ride to extend the sunlit harvest days. And, wear your whites proudly as you roll past their September 'long' expiry date. Photo: near Forestry Farm, Saskatoon, 2020