Month: July 2019

Bear…

number 3.

blacj bear brown wildflowers trees

He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

Albert Einstein

On a recent trip to the mountains we had the great pleasure of seeing this guy munching away amongst the wildflowers that infused the meadow with color. The bear’s sense of smell is incredible so although I was a good distance away and using a long lens, he knew I was there.

I love that I have the opportunity to be in the presence of these large apex predators. When steps are taken such as proper food storage while camping in their backyard, everyone is safer, bear included.

For me it’s a thrill to have wildlife appear in a setting that is already filled with beauty. I’ve been at this very place throughout all of the seasons and I’ve never failed to be rapt in awe.

Nature…it’s a beautiful thing.

The amazing power…

of fossils.

A fossil is so powerful. It’s moving. This is my ancestor. The naturalist is moved by the fossil… not the cross.

Greg Graffin

It’s one thing to imagine life that inhabited the earth before our time and quite another to be surrounded by evidence of its existence.

A humbling and moving experience is how I would describe it. I can’t imagine the thrill of actually taking part in discovering evidence of lifeforms that existed 65-230 million years ago.

There’s a fragility about it all.

Kind of puts man in perspective: we truly are but a speck.

Kind of makes me revere nature all the more.

A perfect ending…

to this chapter of the story.

double rainbow in Waterton Lakes National Park Belly River

Like the rainbow after the rain, joy will reveal itself after sorrow.

Rupi Kaur

Divorces are messy and no matter how hard you try to create that pathway to exit with the least amount of collateral damage, it doesn’t happen. Emotions run raw and guilt is the order of the day regardless of whether you were the one who left or the one who was asked to leave.

Moving forward takes a leap of faith and careful navigation through the ensuing storms.

Life is funny though and it turned out that my plan of living a quiet solitary life was not how this story would end. A friendship that began over 35 years ago was rekindled after we both had separated and were in the process of ending long marriages.

The left hand side of the double rainbow in the image above marks the spot that we had chosen the day before, as we wandered through our campsite, to hold our wedding ceremony. Just one of many perfect signs that led to this day.

It wasn’t fancy. It was a small collection of eclectic family and friends and the moments that were shared we will never forget.

The biggest life lesson for me is that you really don’t know the plan for you but if you stay true to yourself you can weather any storm that lies ahead.