Standing Into Danger: August 2022

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

Pope John Paul II Hybrid Tea

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

September 12, 2017

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

iAll Rights Reserved

Apricot Pink Grandiflora

Baby Buds to Blowsy Bloom

September 10, 2017

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

Easy Going Yellow Floribunda

September 10, 2017

Rose Beds Behind the Parliament Buildings

Easy Going Yellow Floribunda

September 10, 2017

Souvenir de Baden Baden, Pink/White Hybrid Tea

September 10, 2017

Buxom Beauty Pink Hybrid Tea

September 10, 2017

Kosmos Fairy Tale White Floribunda

September 10, 2017

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

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

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

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

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

Terry with Chilling with His Side of Our Family

Woodstock, Ontario, Canada

July 23, 2022

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

Spending Time with a Very Special Guy

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 31, 2022

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

Even Daisy Loves the Sunset

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

July 31, 2022

Watching the Sunset on Donnie and Martin's Deck

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 1, 2022

Watching the Sunset on Donnie and Martin's Deck

Smith's Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 1, 2022

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

Prairie Falcon

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 29, 2017

Prairie Falcon

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 29, 2017

A Surprise Shot You Can't Plan For!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 29, 2017

Thanks a Lot, Buddy!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 29, 2017

Prairie Falcon

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 29, 2017

Adios!

Aurora, Colorado, USA

August 29, 2017

Have a great weekend!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

My next post will be on

Friday, August 26, 2022.

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 Tyler, Lisa 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

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

It Doesn't Matter What We Do

We Just Love Being Together

Smith's Cove, Digby County, Nova Scotia, Canada

August 2019

Happy writing in August!

Till next time ~
Fundy Blue

https://selkiegrey4.blogspot.com

My next post will be on Friday, August 12, 2022. 🤞

Books Read in 2024

"5 Languages of Love: The Secret to Love That Lasts" by Gary Chapman
"At Home in the World" by Joyce Maynard
"Cockroaches" by Jo Nesbo
"Death's End" by Cixin Liu
"Eruption" by Michael Crichton and James Patterson
"In Darkness" by L. Diane Wolfe
"In My Time of Dying" by Sebastian Junger
"Nothing to Fear" by Julie McFadden, RN
"The Bat" by Jo Nesbo
"The Dark Forest" by Cixin Liu
"The Frozen River" by Ariel Lawhon
"The Last to Vanish" by Megan Miranda
"The Montauk Monster" by Hunter Shea
"The Road to Character" by David Brooks
"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller
"The Twist of a Knife" by Anthony Horowitz
"The Uninhabital Earth: Life After Warming" by David Wallace-Wells
"The Women" by Kristin Hannah
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
"Writing the Shadow" by Joanna Penn

Pages

Friday, August 26, 2022

City of Roses

Friday, August 19, 2022

Surprise! And a Surprise Shot!

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

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