Friday, August 26, 2022

City of Roses


Yesterday, I was looking at my photos of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
which I think is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Terry and I haven't been there in a few years, and I miss this gorgeous place.

Victoria is known for many cultural and historical things, 
but I think of it at the City of Roses.
I've spent hours and hours in its lovely rose gardens, 
and I return to these gardens each time I visit Victoria.

City of Roses
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
September 12, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Pope John Paul II Hybrid Tea
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
September 12, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved


Yesterday, I was supposed to be eliminating photos 
that were too similar, poor shots, or blah,
but I find it difficult to trash a photo of a rose.
I'm embarrassed to think of how many rose photos I have in my collection.

One of my favorite rose gardens, the Premier's Rose Garden,
is hidden behind the British Columbia Parliament Buildings
which are home to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
Often I wander alone among the rose beds
enjoying the roses from baby buds to lush blowsy blooms.

Buxom Beauty Pink Hybrid Tea
Behind the Parliament Buildings
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
iAll Rights Reserved






Apricot Pink Grandiflora
Baby Buds to Blowsy Bloom
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



I love and appreciate it when flowers are labeled in gardens.
I always want to know their names.
Fortunately the roses in Victoria's gardens are named.

Rose Beds Behind the Parliament Buildings
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Easy Going Yellow Floribunda
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Rose Beds Behind the Parliament Buildings
Easy Going Yellow Floribunda
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



Souvenir de Baden Baden, Pink/White Hybrid Tea 
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Buxom Beauty Pink Hybrid Tea
September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved






Kosmos Fairy Tale White Floribunda 
 September 10, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



One of my favorite memories of Victoria was an unexpected random act of kindness.
I was walking down a street near Beacon Hill Park
and a woman cutting roses in her garden saw me passing her yard.
She snipped a brilliant red rose and gave it to me saying,
"Have a wonderful day!"


Not the Rose, but a Lovely Red One Nonetheless
Amour, Grand Red Hybrid
September 8, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved






In a Rose Garden Somewhere in Victoria
September 8, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved


The theme for my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date this week is Gestures and Movement.
I'm sharing a photo for each.  There was no time for me to create art this week!

A welcoming gesture from a friendly greeter for visitors near the Ogden Point Breakwater.


Along the Waterfront
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
September 11, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



I captured this movement photo with the zoom on my point-and-shoot camera,
braced inside a zodiac raft bouncing on waves.
It may not be my sharpest photo, but certainly it's one of my most dramatic shots.


An Orca Strikes
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
September 15, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved


A talented artist, Nicole, who regularly participates in Rain's TAD,
posts Friday Face Off every week.
I thought I'd join in this week and share one of the sweetest faces I've ever photographed,
a darling Cambodian boy in a local market outside Siem Reap.

A Beautiful Cambodian Boy
A Local Market Outside Siem Reap, Cambodia
November 10, 2008
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved


Have a great weekend! 






Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

  My next post will be on 
Wednesday, September 7, 2022.



On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




 


Friday, August 19, 2022

Surprise! And a Surprise Shot!

The surprise is on me.
I waited so long for our trip to Canada imagining all the fun things
we would be doing in with our families in Ontario and Nova Scotia.

I had fun speculating what I might be doing on August 3rd,
the Insecure Writer's Support Group Day:
kayaking on the Sissaboo River,
hiking across the sandbar and around Bear Island (if the tides cooperated),
enjoying scrumptious snacks and drinks on one of the family decks.
or watching whales out on the Bay of Fundy.

Watching Whales On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



What I never imagined was sitting at our kitchen counter at home in Aurora.
But that's exactly where I was.

Terry and I had to cut our trip to Nova Scotia short and fly home early,
and we arrived home very, very early on August 3rd, sick and utterly exhausted.

Cloud Deck Out of Philly on the Long Trek Home
August 2-3, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



Terry had a mysterious medical issue flatten him during our brief week in Nova Scotia,
one that caused him severe pain and immobilized him at times,
and I had extreme fatigue from what I thought was long Covid.
We made the difficult decision to go home before the situation deteriorated more. 

Later on the morning of the 3rd, I sat at the kitchen counter
and tried to answer a few comments on my IWSG post.
But I couldn't manage it; my fatigue was crushing.
I'm still experiencing fatigue, but it no longer feels like ten Earths weighing on me.

Over the next ten days, Terry was diagnosed with
and started treatment for an inflammatory attack on his muscle system.
Things are going much better for him now!  
The moment Terry could play pickleball, he was back on the courts.
All the horrible things I thought might be wrong with him are not!

Terry with His Sister Maureen
Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
July 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Terry with Chilling with His Side of Our Family
Woodstock, Ontario, Canada
July 23, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



As for me, I don't have long Covid.
I have a worsening response to the steroids treating my double vision.
A high dose of prednisone over a couple of months
turned me into a bloated, exhausted, and raving maniac.
Someone who could threaten to thunk her poor spouse
over the head with boxes of ice cream minibars
yanked out of the freezer section in the grocery store.
She didn't want the Dove minibars he was choosing.
No, she wanted Häagen-Dazs.

Things are looking up.
My doctors have a plan for me moving forward, so I am encouraged.
Just a bump in the road.

The important thing is both Terry and I had some fun times in Canada,
and we got to hug and spend time with family members
we had not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.

Can you believe it?
I was so worried about Terry and I felt so miserable in Canada
that I only took a few photos on our trip.
Me, who can shoot fifty shots of Queen Anne's Lace in five minutes.
I'm going around begging the Fam to send me copies of their photos.

Me, My Cousin John, Donnie with Her Grandson, and My Sister Barb
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 31, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Spending Time with a Very Special Guy
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 31, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved


We spent part of our sudden and unexpected last evening
in the Cove on my sister Donnie's deck.
Everyone came to hug us and give us a good sendoff.
It was heart-shredding, but greatly appreciated.
I was wondering if Terry and I would ever sit together on that deck again.
Silly me ~ Terry is happily planning trips to various places right now.

Chilling on the Deck ~ 
I love my b-i-l Martin's Goofy Smiles and the Yummy Gin Tonics He Mixes.
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 31, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Even Daisy Loves the Sunset
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
July 31, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved






Watching the Sunset on Donnie and Martin's Deck
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
August 1, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Watching the Sunset on Donnie and Martin's Deck
Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada
August 1, 2022
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved



And the surprise shot?
I hope you laugh when you see it!

I've been calming my steroid-induced agitation and irritability
by doing repetitive, mindless things in recent days,
like deleting not-so-great photos from my gigantic collection on my computer.
I came across some pictures of a beautiful prairie falcon on my deck in 2017.

It's one of the four kinds of falcons in Colorado,
the other three being merlins, peregrines, and kestrels.
I'm sharing them so I have something for my friend Rain's Thursday Art Date.
Her theme this week is Figure Drawing
and I think this falcon cuts a fine figure!

 
Prairie Falcon
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Prairie Falcon
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Prairie Falcon
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved






A Surprise Shot You Can't Plan For!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Thanks a Lot, Buddy!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Prairie Falcon
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved





Adios!
Aurora, Colorado, USA
August 29, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved


Have a great weekend! 






Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

  My next post will be on 
Friday, August 26, 2022.



On the Bay of Fundy
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
All Rights Reserved




 


Wednesday, August 3, 2022

IWSG Day: Wednesday, August 3, 2022 ~ What the Story Wants

 




It's the first Wednesday of the month,
the day that members of the
Insecure Writer's Support Group
share their writing struggles
and writing successes
and offer their encouragement
and support to fellow writers.






To visit the IWSG website, click here.

To become a member of the IWSG, click here.

Our wonderful co-hosts who are volunteering today,
along with IWSG Founder Alex J. Cavanaugh are Tara TylerLisa Buie Collard, Loni Townsend, and, Lee Lowry!

I hope you have a chance to visit today's hosts and thank them for co-hosting.
I'm sure they would appreciate a visit and an encouraging comment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Every month the IWSG announces a question that members can answer
with advice, insight, a personal experience, or a story in their IWSG posts.

Or, the question can inspire members
if they aren't sure what to write about on IWSG Day.

Remember the question is optional.
This month's featured question is: 
When you set out to write a story, do you try to be more original or do you try to give readers what they want?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy August, Everyone!
I'm writing this well in advance, because I have no clue
what I'll be doing on August's IWSG Day.
I anticipate being in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia visiting my family,
including two sisters I haven't seen since before the pandemic.
Who knows what fun things we'll be doing together on August 3rd?

If I can visit around, I will.
If I can't, I'll see you in September.

Maybe We'll Be Kayaking on the Sissiboo River
Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada
August 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue  
All Rights Reserved


My short answer to this month's question is I write the story that reveals itself to me.
I usually start with an image of a setting, or a snippet of conversation, or an emotion I feel.
Then I write to discover what it is that is trying to come out.

I don't think about being original or what readers want.
I think about what the story wants.

Maybe We'll Be Hiking the Sand Bar to Bear Island
Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada
August 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue  
All Rights Reserved






It Doesn't Matter What We Do
We Just Love Being Together
Smith's Cove, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada
August 2019
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue  
All Rights Reserved



Happy writing in August!



Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be on Friday, August 12, 2022.  ðŸ¤ž