Howdy folks.

Yep, still here although the Mt Doug did attack me yesterday.  They got some mighty hard and tough boulders up there with some slick moss and dirt covered slopes. I was more concerned for my camera, of course.

This site seems to be loading slowly.  I am going to change servers so it may be down for awhile.  Not too long but I don’t see that as much of an issue.

Not a slope but one of the moss covered trees and there are plenty of them up there.

Be back later to check on things.

keep those cards and letters coming.

I took a little trek up Mt Work awhile ago on a Sunday for some exercise, to see if it was was still the same as I recalled it and to experience and enjoy the beauty and magnificence that is there.  I had been there once before. On another website I read that the elevation is 2238 feet or 682 metres. For sure there are quite a few steps to the Summit.

Location: Mount Work Park, Saanich, Victoria, Vancouver Island BC  A 536-hectare Mount Work Regional Park bordering on Gowlland Tod Provincial Park, situated in the Highlands area of the Saanich Peninsula.

Along the way I met several groups of people including some young bucks huffing, puffing and sweating the climb up. Although I would describe myself in better condition this time than I was when I climbed it before, it surely did not feel like it! It is quite a steady climb up and up.  A few spots level off and you go down a bit and that makes you think you have already reached the top but keep on going as that is just to fool you into thinking you have made it there.   I managed to get off the beaten track for awhile and that was interesting and a bit exhausting as I worked myself back to the path.  As if the climb itself was not enough.

Here is a clue to let you know you have finally reached the summit.  It even comes with it’s own naked tree.  I figure that is appropriate to keep it company way up there.

Near the summit are many naked trees, aka Arbutus trees. I call them naked trees because most of them are as they lose their bark and underneath.  They are so soft and smooth to the touch.  From Wikipedia:

Arbutus is a genus of at least 14 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to warm temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, and North America.

These trees meander all over the place and are quite exotic and some even erotic.  Well hey, naked limbs all over the place.  This reminds me of one of my poems entitled My Friend. Similarities exist between the two but this was written from a different place and time quite a few years ago.

The view from way up near the summit is truly spectacular. It is well worth the trek up the mountain. You feel (the) spirit in all things and being part of it all and all there is.

Yes, the scenery around here is majestic, spectacular and varied from mountains, rain forest, mild climate and the sea. Is there any wonder I feel blessed to live in such a wonderful place!  That really is not a question at all.

May you be so blessed today and everyday.

Eugene

I had this prepared earlier today and it all disappeared.  It seems that using Windows Live Writer wreaks havoc on my computer and does strange things to it.  Words disappear, the mouse acts strange, highlighting, copy and paste do not work properly.  I am not 100% sure if this is what causes it but it certainly does seem to be the case.   Well no matter, I will plug along here anyway.

I had an interesting note from The Universe today.  You can get them also for free by going here to Tut. This is the message for today:

Time for a little refresher on manifesting change, parking spots, and a new vibrant,loving, peaceful,healthy body. Eugene:

1. Think about it as if it were already done. (Note “already done” part.)
2. Keep showing up, doing all you can, every day, in every way, until already done. (Note “keep” part.)

For complicated cases, like when dealing with invisible, limiting beliefs, negative friends, or staring down adversity: same-same.

You’ve got it made,
The Universe

That is a good reminder for me.  Things I want to work on.

A few days ago I captured a picture of a wee flower on a rose bush around here.  Rosie is a delight, no doubt.

From the same bush:

I like the contrasting colour and the water on the leaves. Ah the program is telling me that colour is not spelled correctly.  Yes it is! Get a Canadian dictionary will you please.  That is Microsoft for you.  Wake up Bill Gates.

I traversed into the woods again the other day, up Mt Doug and found this flower.  Small flower compared to the leaves.  I was reading the paper the other day and noticed it is called a trillium wildflower.

Another wild one, not sure what it is called.  It has very yellow flowers on this bush.  Not so mellow yellow.

Works for me.  It sure adds colour along the journey. Well I had to redo the post again!  The date showed up as June 15, 2009.  Hmm.  I must have gone back in time.  I am not sure what the date will be when this gets posted.

I will post it and find out soon enough.  I think I will do that now and see what happens.

Wishing you much love and peace.

Eugene

I must say when I came across this scene in the woods up Mt Doug way, the naked tree looked like it was dead and was going to become part of the forest floor once again.  It was lying down almost on the ground, curving and twisting its way around the bend, turning left then turning right.

It was like it was trying to figure out where to go and perhaps why. But the tree knows only one thing, to survive as best it can under harsh conditions.  I could not get the all of the tree in the same picture with its twists and meanderings.  Ah yes, well it is not completely naked, it has a touch of modesty gracing its body in the form of green moss carpet running across its trunk. Still it is exposed and scantily clad.

So around the bend it goes just feet off the bottom floor of the forest becoming more exposed the trunk displays more of its naked beauty.  The tree does not blush, nor fret, it is not at all concerned with its nakedness.  It embraces it.  It is all natural, au naturale and further up the trunk it lets the sunshine warm its trunk discouraging the moss to places below.

Then the naked tree shows its determination and shoots up towards the sky again releasing its leaves to bask in the warmth of the rays of sunshine that break though in glorious wonder, as only the sun can do.

Further down near the floor of the forest another life form displays its beauty for all to see, for all who take the time to see and discover, that is.  There is so much beauty all around. Here is another example of the beauty within.

Well that was a little bit of the wonder of the forest, once again.  I must say there are many of these little gems all around and new ones appearing all the time in this fair land.

I hope you are well, thanks for dropping by.

Cheers,

Eugene

Warning. Maybe this will scare the little ones.  Do Not Look!

Ha, you will though.

I know you cannot resist seeing the danger I was in today.  Cops all over the place.  Wahoo.  But they did not catch me.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Trekking back down the mountain, I almost ran into a lady cop climbing up in full gear. In passing I asked if she was having fun, she sure looked like she was struggling with the climb.  She said not so much in all that gear.  Thankfully, she did not shoot me.

I started to run and did not look back, although she was not too hard on the eyes and had that pistol hanging off her hip.  Wahoo.

Down below another one on a bike, a guy checking out the surroundings.  I was running down and I said to him that “She went that away.” and I pointed up the path I had just come down.   He said “How do you know who I am looking for?”  I said well, “I know.”  He just laughs.  I am way past him at that point.  He did not shoot me either. Double thank you and I chuckled along my way!

Once I made it down to the parking lot, I saw another cop coming down the mountain road to the parking lot.  Then further along two more cop cars over at another entrance.    Wonder who they were looking for?  Not me!  I got away and did not get my pictures arrested.

Ok, back to the Mt Doug expedition now.

Hmmm.  I shot this from the hole inside a tree.  Looks like maybe a squirrel in there? You may say nuts to that. Well, the picture is not so great. I had to lighten it up quite a bit as it was so dark inside that hole so the tree looks white. Which it surely is not.

A tree in a V, it must be.

Dang is that a snake that almost got me?  Those naked trees can be dangerous!

Swampy bog creeky creek.  What is thou doing in the water, my lovely lily?

Mega Lilies all in a row.

Picture withheld to protect the innocent.

A star is born.  Rise up and smell the day.

Well I guess that was enough excitement for one day.  No wonder I am exhausted today.  Who knows what lies lurking deep within the Mt Doug forest.

Be careful out there.

Love and peace,

Eugene

Looking at my previous post which was quite awhile ago when the Olympic Torch passed through our local community. It actually started in Victoria, BC and was quite impressive, then traveled across the country and to parts far north.

People became quite emotional about it and the Olympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, BC turned out to be a tremendous success with Canada winning the most gold medals after having had two Olympics on our soil without having won even one gold prior.

More than that though it gave us inspiration and a coming together in this spirit. Even our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, attended the games and many events. Of course some were saying that is why he prorogued Parliament so he could spend a nice vacation there and enjoy the spillover effects.  Yes he is a hockey fan like many Canadians, yet mostly an opportunist.  Well we won’t let that kind of stuff interfere with the good times that happened during the games and that transcended the mundane aka politics.

All right then(now) I managed to make it up Mt Doug again, quite a few times recently, and revisited the seaside park side as well.  So I have a few pictures to share.

If you are feeling a bit crabby, I found a mate for you:

After turning it over from under a rock it was ready for me and in attack mode.

I found the leaning tree again.  It is amazing how it is still standing.  Most of the bank, where the roots stick out from, has eroded away.

I got quite close to this fellow who was pecking away without paying any attention to me.  All that pecking was doing some major damage to the tree of course.

I also caught someone else in the “act” so to speak. Well some of these need assistance in breeding their offspring. Nature, unlike most humans, does not care who is looking at them.

Yes, spring is in the air and on the land in this fair place.  I reckon we got a fair bit of heaven here.

Well, that is it for today, as I say, more to come.

Best wishes to you.

Eugene

I have been quite lax in posting here although I do have some things to say and some photos to come.

A few things came to me today that are excellent reminders that giving thanks is something to do on a daily basis.  Take the time if you will to view a couple of short videos. It is well worth the time.

What is Important To You?

This is a short video that I feel is important enough to share. It really brings home what is truly important in your life. Here is a great example of Expressing Appreciation for what we have.

What’s For Dinner?

Needing a short reminder just how good we have it?

This will give anyone pause to give thanks I imagine.
Plate of fried chicken — the Berlin Film Festival first place video.

Lydia is back posting on her Serenity Blog and posted about Thanksgiving.  Good stuff.

These videos and such are good reminders about just how precious life is and that can be taken away from us in an instant in a physical sense and of course there is the time factor that just seems to fly by and more so as we get older.

About a month ago I went to the store and the Olympic torch came running by so I stopped to take a few picture. The torch is travelling across Canada on its way to the 2010 Vancouver and Whistler Olympic Games right here in beautiful British Columbia.

Ok, will see if I can be back sooner to post something else.

Cheers,

Gene

Some time ago, I posted 10 Minutes To Creating Whatever You Want In Life. That is a simple step by step way to do it and I had success with doing this daily.  It really works.

Some will say that it is too simple. Well simplicity is the key as is repetition, over and over again along with a desire to do so.  I imagine you have heard about The Secret and the Law of Attraction.  All of this is part of an overall philosophy.  You can adapt any of this to use to create what you want in life.  Or do nothing.  YOU and only you, DECIDE.

I believe there are no gurus and you are the one to take the initiative to create the life you want. That includes no sitting on the mountain top.  Sure you can meditate and become involved in a spiritual journey.  Ultimately it is you who decides what that journey will be, and even if you listen to someone else, they cannot live it.  They may come along for the ride but it is your journey.

Along the same philosophy is something called Mind Movies.  Mind Movies can be made to assist you in creating what you want.   I was introduced to this sometime last year.  It is an interesting concept.  Check out the movie and get 6 Free Mind Movies now.  Use them daily for at least 30 days and longer is what I suggest you do.  Hey, it is FREE, what have you got to lose?  Sometimes the best things in life are free.  You can easily fit 5 or 10 minutes into your day.  Just decide to do so.

I mentioned that for the Canada Day celebrations in Victoria, BC one of the performing groups was Pacifika, Pacifikamusic and they were really good and well received by the large crowd on hand.  I did a pictorial video of them, the crowd and some scenes.  Here is the result.  I hope you like it:

This is the first, my first, YouTube – ing creation so it is a bit rusty and I could not quite manage to get the shot I wanted above. I showed this to one of my daughters and she said “Those are great shots! I like the music- it’s so relaxing ”  And my granddaughter said “Cool”.  My other daughter said “I got the pictorial vids.. they looked great. Nice to see Victoria through your eyes.”

A little bit of fireworks at the end.  I did another pictorial video on the fireworks but have not uploaded it, not sure I will.  Here is one photo of the fireworks:

Some of the pictures came out quite psychedelic, purely by accident of course.

Back to Pacifika, a lot of fireworks there!. The lead singer is Silvana Kane, originally from Peru who landed in Quebec and did not know the language and is now living in Vancouver.  Awesome, sexy,vibrant,sensual and a definite crowd pleasing performance.  Oops losing my train of thought again.  I cannot figure out why.

One last picture and has become a favorite of mine, not quite sure why.

Anyway, it was a great day celebrating Canada Day here in Victoria, BC.  Got to love this place, everyday I am grateful for just being, and being here.

Cheers,

Eugene

aka Gene

It is a beautiful day here in Victoria, BC Canada.  Canada is officially 142 years young today.

Lots of celebrations going on all across the nation.  Wishing all the Canucks a Happy Canada Day.

Celebration brings up the subject of music for me. Music transcends the mundane and uplifts us.   Canada has a history of producing some great musicians, poets, writers, performers etc.  I will post a few later on.  Just a sampling as there are too many to list.

In our capital city of Ottawa, Sarah McLachlan is performing today.  Here in Victoria one of the performers is Pacifika from Vancouver featuring a Peruvian born singer I first heard on CBCradio2.

It is impossible to  pick and choose the best one with such a rich list of artists with the likes of Neil Young, Anne Murray, Leonard Cohen, Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman, Céline Dion, Shania Twain and so on.  There are many newer artists up and coming and who have arrived on the scene. Some move on to the USA and other countries and many choose to remain “Canadian” maintaining their connection with the country of Canada.

As a nation we are generally tolerant and takes things in stride and rarely shout about this great land of ours.  It is a natural beauty.

I like to view the natural settings we have, when I take time to do so, such as a recent photo I took.

I will leave you with one of Canada’s finest, Gordon Lightfoot singing about one of the greatest historical achievements in Canada. It is hard to imagine the difficulty in building the railroad across the varied and rough terrain.  I am sure many died along the way so people could travel across the country coast to coast.

Enjoy your day, wherever you may be.

Cheers,

Gene

Here are a few of the performing artists, mostly singers from Canada, you may have heard of one or two of them:

Bryan Adams
Paul Anka
Randy Bachman  The Guess Who
Paul Brandt
Michael Bublé
Tommy Chong
Tom Cochrane
Bruce Cockburn
Leonard Cohen
Bare Naked Ladies  group
Burton Cummings
Céline Dion
Leslie Feist
David Foster  composer
Sarah Harmer
Jeff Healey
Diana Krall
K.D. Lang
Daniel Lanois
Avril Lavigne
Gordon Lightfoot
Ashley MacIsaac
Natalie MacMaster
Sarah McLachlan
Alanis Morissette
Anne Murray
Nelly Furtado
Brad Roberts – singer for Crash Test Dummies
Sam Roberts
Serena Ryder
Hank Snow
Shania Twain
Ian Tyson
Sylvia Tyson
Chad VanGaalen
Gino Vannelli
Martha Wainwright
Neil Young

Apologies to the many others not mentioned.  Feel free to make a comment and add your favorites, if you wish.

On a walk to from the Inner Harbour around the winding pathway following the seacoast to the Seawall I came upon an interesting tree.  From some perhaps it would evoke a memory of Twisted Sister, but not for me.

Instead it reminded me of a friend from days past.  Quite a few days past.  It kind of goes like this, well it does go like this:

My Friend

Standing naked before me
Gently waiving as if in greeting
Arms reaching toward the heavens
Soaring upward yet grounded are thee

To find more about my friend go here to My Friend. You may ask what it was that evoked this memory.  Well it was this tree:

You likely know you can click on the image to make it bigger then come back using the back button.  This was originally inspired by a tree in St Vital Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Trees, even the twisted ones, have a lot of character and many live longer than we humans.  They are strong survivors and thrive in all kinds of inhospitable environments.

Down by the seawall the tide was out and I was able to take some closer pictures down the side.   I found this to be another interesting sight.

There are more photos which I may post on another day.

Enjoy your day!

Cheers,

Gene