Pix 'n Prose: That's Nature

On Monday evening, Sandra and I went for a walk around English Bay looking for Cherry Blossoms. Instead we found carnage and mayhem.

We parked under these trees:

and seconds later we were in the middle of Jurassic Park as a couple dozen herons left their nests, all at the same time, in a panic, screeching and flapping, right overhead. So thankful they weren't scared shitless, or we would've been covered in gallons of falling crap.

The resident friendly nice-guy wandered over to where we were hiding out of the line of (potential) fire and explained the situation.

An eagle had flown into their tree, looking for eggs or young birds for eats. Big as they are, herons are fragile compared to an eagle so they flee the scene, yelling and screaming, leaving their kiddos to fend for themselves. They fly back in, en-masse, once the eagle has landed, to watch him/her chow down.

If you want to read a quick article about the waning heron population and the growing eagle population in Stanley Park, read this.

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After that, we did find some colourful, quiet, non-carnivorous, pretty flowers. So we walked n talked about dying and funerals. (Her father-in-law's funeral was Saturday.)

Funerals always make me assess my life.
What do I want my legacy to be?
How do I want to be remembered?
(It would be a gift to my kids to have the big end-of-life decisions made, yes? Like, pre-purchase a contract re: burial or cremation, have the slide show done, write out the Eulogy, have money set aside for an event/service, make a note of my fav songs and scripture ... )

Wallace Stelting's legacy was humbling. He and his wife were pillars in their church community and there were so many stories of the impact he/they had on the people they served. Generous, kind, hard-working, supportive, musical.

I'm so like my dad.
I love going to celebration of life services to hear the stories and be inspired.

That generation before us have passed the baton. What am I doing with it?

Three things I'm thankful for:

1. A mild evening for a great beach walk. I love the city at twilight when its not raining. And these (below) are such a delightful little flower. Look at that soft colour. I love how creative God was when he was thinkin up flowers. From a design perspective, He's super talented. Gifted even.

2. I love the scent of Cherry Blossoms. If no one is BBQing right beside you in the park, the gentle sweet scent of these buds is heavenly. If there is someone cooking up their burgers, well, then, hot meat is all you can smell.

3. I thankful for Spring in general. Everything about it. It's wild with textures and smells and colours and vibrancy and shapes and hahaha. You'd think I'd make an effort to have a garden or something, wouldn't you. Nope. I am totally content to appreciate public garden spaces.

4. I am thankful for friends who stay til 3 am to binge watch a new show with you on Netflix, friends-of-friends who make edible works of art, friends who write books ...