Glimpses..., Photos, Spring

with bowed head…

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glory displayed with head bowed 2015-03-31IMG_4387IMG_4387

As I've watched the daffodils bud and come to blossom this spring I've noticed what they do just before they open their colourful blossoms and display their full glory:  they bow their heads,  as in humility.

Maybe because  this week is Holy Week, ( the week in the Christian year between Palm Sunday and Good Friday,  leading to the great feast of Easter) this detail of their downward movement has struck me.  For this is what we see — the glory of God mostly clearly, fully   displayed in the humility of Jesus who, "... though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,  but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,  he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. (see Philippians 2:5ff).

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For more reflections on Holy Week, you can check out my 'Lection Section' Blog here.

 

 

Exploring, Photos, Small Spectacles, Spring

a bonus walk

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clematis climbing up the carport post (click on image for larger view)
clematis climbing up the carport post (click on image for larger view)

In the course of the day's demands, which today included the simple task of having a brake light replaced on my car, we found ourselves walking in a neighbourhood we hadn't explored before. The repair folk needed us to leave the car with them for a while, so off we set to explore the neighbourhood around the car dealership.  What an unexpected treat. The streets were quiet— almost deserted— and spring gardens were burgeoning with blossoms: japonica, forsythia, hyacinths, daffodils, pansies, flowering trees in full bloom including magnolias and cherries. So much colour. So much design and care and beauty.

The clematis that was climbing tenaciously up the supports of a carport, adorning an otherwise unassuming piece of architecture, was just one of the many strikingly beautiful treats on our walk.

And now my brake light is replaced! (bonus!)

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Photo Notes

Since I wanted to draw attention to the clematis itself, I've adjusted this iPhone photo using Photoshop for layers and masks, and Topaz Impression to add the desaturated  / textured/ drawing effect on the perimeter of the photo. 

 

 

Photos, Small Spectacles, Spring

gentle beauty

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pure white camelia blossom 2015-03-14IMG_4193IMG_4193

The pure clear face of this camelia — its serene perfection with a backdrop of relative dark disorder was similarly captivating for me— its creamy petals, in regular geometric pattern signalling a gracious presence even amidst the chaos. Beholding this gentle beauty almost grants the kind of serenity it embodies.  And just as fleetingly, for the camelia blooms last only a very brief time before fading and falling.

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Photo Notes

This is an iPhone photo, as it was one of those moments on a dog-walk when a sight cries out to be captured. I’ve added some layers of texture to  the background to emphasize the clarity of the blossom itself.

Exploring, forest, Spring

Early Spring at Finlay Lake

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Finlay Lake Conservation Area - Click on image for a larger view

Finlay Lake Conservation Area - Click on image for a larger view

We'd wanted to walk in to Finlay Lake for a while, so with the sun shining brilliantly, it seemed a good day to set out for this quiet spot.
The path leading through the forest was bursting with spring shoots, and the birds were singing in the canopy above us, and the winter wrens and towhees rustling in the ferns and salal.
When the path opened to the lake there were a few Buffleheads on the far side, but otherwise all was still. Occasionally a raven's call echoed through the trees, and an eagle flew past. Otherwise, simply stillness— but a stillness that is burgeoning with life.

Exploring, forest

More forest depths…

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Story book forest v2 2015-02-12IMG_3617IMG_3617
- Deep Rainforest - click on the image for a larger view

 

Clearly I have an affinity to the deep mystery of rainforest beauty. The moody grey weather invited another walk along the lower trails of  Bluff Park. Its impossible for me to walk these paths without thinking of stories and fairy tales, and of Ents and Hobbits— I have yet to see one of those, but doesn't this scene make you wonder if maybe... if we waited very quietly ...  ?

This afternoon for a change of pace, I'll go and hunt for some early spring buds, but for now, its deep forest that I want to share.

 

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forest depths…

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deep forest trail
on the Bluff Park Trail (click the image for larger view)

 

The light on the moss carpeting the forest, and the dominance of the blue-green lichens on the cedar trunks makes for an 'other worldly' scene, though of course it is just exactly 'this world' as it is, in the depths of the rain forest, in the wet west coast winter.

 

 

Small Spectacles, Spring

signals of spring…

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Irises for Curious Spectacles 2015-01-30irises resizedirises resized

Even now there are signals of spring round about us— even now while its so chilly in the morning,  the fog is thick and the ships' whistles are sounding all day as they move cautiously in the severely limited visibility.

Though its only late January, the sun is setting noticeably later, affording us more daylight and signalling to shrubs and bulbs and birds that spring is on its way. We could of course, still have some very cold weather ahead, but the bulbs are bravely pushing up through the ground in the certainty of spring's arrival. The snowdrops and crocuses are even beginning to bloom in sheltered spots.

Much to my delight yesterday, I came across a small cluster of miniature irises glowing in the sunshine— cerulean blue with golden centres— glistening with droplets of moisture from the temporarily vanished fog.

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forest, Glimpses..., Small Spectacles

Winter beauty: a ‘given’ glory

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Winter broom with lichen like blooms 2015 01 21IMG 3244IMG 3244 Version 2

The broom that lines the old road along which we walked this morning was glowing gold, the same rich yellow that the blooms of June display.

But this is mid January.

Rather than June’s golden bloom this was winter’s answer to springtime vibrance—  thick gold lichens along the length of the dead grey broom twigs. Winter life. Life in a different mode.

These branches won’t bloom next spring. They’ve spent themselves already.  But their winter glory is beautiful all the same.

But its not simply the sight of this surprising beauty. Its also the thought it stirs in me—  the thought that this brilliance doesn't emerge from the broom itself, but rather is a gift, covering its dead twigs. It is clothed in a glory that's given.

A good reminder. Another glimpse of grace amidst the ordinary meanderings of the day.

glimpses of the extraordinary amidst an ordinary day