Tomorrow

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Sunset in the Fraser Valley

Fall

Fall came striding into BC yesterday bringing colder evenings and mornings, but still allowing us to enjoy those last warm rays of summer sun during the day. I took a ride out to the valley yesterday and spent some time down by the river with Lucy and my daughter. I love the fall, but it always comes with a touch of saddness as I realize that old man winter with his dark cold long days cannot be far behind. So I try to drink in all of it. The harvest moon that hangs so low in the sky at this time of the year and the beautiful colors of the trees as their leaves turn golden orange and brown and slowly drop off as they are caught in the winds we get at this time. I love to walk through the park and listen to the leaves crackle underfoot. I watch the squirrels as they scurry from place to place trying desperately to stay out of Lucy's way and still get on with the task of storing nuts for the long winter sleep. I don't want to let these days go. I want to hang on to summer and if I can't have summer then I want to hang on to fall. I am not ready for winter... my head and my heart are still longing for more lazy days in the sun. Alas, I know it is not to be so I, like the squirrels, try to gather all of my resources to help me make it through the long dark cold winter days.

TGIF Day!

Whew! Finally good news, it's Friday(seemed like the week would never end), the Burns Bog fire is all but out, my friend in England finally got at least one parcel I sent her. I have no idea where the other one is, but hey one is better than nothing, and it is raining! Yes!! that is good news as it will hopefully help clear the air of the smoke that has been plugging my head and lungs all week as well as help the fire fighters get that bog fire out. Yep! Good news!
Good news from a world perspective as well - New Orleans is starting to recover, President Bush has admitted it was his governments fault that it took so long for help to get to the people after Katrina hit, the NDP finished their first week in the legislature finally ending four years of a mean dictatorship by Gordon Campbell and his BC Liberals and the federal Liberals are actually talking about giving us some relief from the high gas prices we are all trying to live with.

Day Two of the Bog Fire

This morning, to the untrained eye, the bog fire appeared to have thankfully settled down. The smoke coming from it was not as black, the wind seemed to have died a little and the flames that were shooting from the tree tops the night before appeared to be out. It was a happy site for me and even more so when I realized that the part of the bog that Lucy and I walk in appears to be untouched as yet. However, turning on my raidio as I drove past the site on the freeway this morning, I am informed that in fact the fire almost doubled over night (20 hectares) and they were bringing in the gigantic Martin Mars water bombers today. Late this afternoon the bombers began flying past my kitchen window and none too soon as the fire has increased another 3 hectares! I am praying that this fire will soon be out.

Burns Bog is Burning

My beloved Burns Bog, where I have walked Lucy several times a week for almost three years, is burning as I write. I am devastated. When I first moved to Delta I knew nothing about the bog and would probably have never learned if I had not gotten Lucy. When she was a puppy she spent many happy hours swimming and playing and hiking the trails with me and we still go there a couple of times a week. I have developed a deep affection for the bog and my daughter often teases me about being a fanatic about the place. As the sky glows red from the flames that are leaping from tree to tree I can't help but wonder if Lucy and I will ever be able to walk there again.

You're only as old as you feel! Part II

The "Black Hole" tube slides slides are located at the back of the park and are distiguishable from the others mainly because they are painted black already giving them an ominous air before you even climb the ridiculously high staircase to the entrance. At first I was a little hesitant about this one as the tubes were completely closed in and I don't like to go in tunnels and such. However, I was feeling invincible and game to try and as this was a slide that two people could ride in a double inner tube I tried to convince my partner in crime to ride with me the first time, but she was not having any part of it. So off we went single inner tube in hand and climbed the wet rusting stairs to the entrance.The water on this slide seemed to be moving faster than on the others as we flopped on our inner tubes and went swishing rapidly down the black tube. At times my inner tube was going so fast as it went around the corners that I was litterly riding sideways. Suddenly I could see the sunlight at the end and as quickly as that thought entered my head my inner tube and my body hit the water pool with a loud splash. Laughing as I pulled myself and my inner tube out I begged my daughter to go again, but for now she was having nothing to do with it. So off we went to try some of the smaller slides, but after awhile that kid in me that just loves a challenge began to nag my daughter to go back on the "Black Hole". Finally my daughter gave in, but was that enough for me...... noooooo. I had to beg her to do the double rider inner tube. Now when you get to the top that is a little tricky to get into as the water is rushing pretty hard and fast down the shut and the first person in has to hold on to the metal railings to keep from shooting away until the person in the back gets their butt in the hole of the inner tube. Now this where things got a little tricky and I began to think that maybe this was not such a good idea, but would I back down....nooooooo. While my daughter struggled to get in I struggled to hang on to the metal rails. My arms were hurting terribly and I was not sure that I was going to be able to hold on while my daughter kept trying to slide her butt in the hole. Finally either she or the attendant gave up and figured we were okay to go and off we went even faster than when we went by ourselves. I was just beginng to think this was going to be fun after all and I might come out in one piece when all of sudden I was airborne in the middle of this great black tube and flipped face downward. I could hear my daughter asking if I was alright, but with my lips being dragged across wet plastic and my big toe twisted at a painful and unnatural angle all I could do was moan. For a few moments my head told my body "well you old idiot it's all over for you now". I saw myself at best walking with a cane and at worse in traction with a full body cast. However, I got a grip on my senses and flipped myself right side up and continued shutting down the tube on my butt with my daughter behind me coming at the same speed or better. I had no sooner given myself a pat on the back for living through the nightmare when I realized that we were going to encounter more problems when we hit that recieving pool, because there was no way both of us were going to erupt in any dignified way out of that tube. I also figured that I was going to take the brunt of it as my daughter was most likely to land on top of me. Soon enough I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and tried in vain to put some distance between her and me. However, my feet had barely hit the water when she came crashing down on top of me. I spluttered and choked my way back up grateful to be in one piece and still breathing. Limping painfully to the side of the pool I could only laugh as my daughter rightfully berated me with "I told you I didn't have a good feeling about this ride"and vowing never to go on it with me again. ( I am sure she is just joking!)
I have a bruised toe and knee, skinned elbows, sore arm and sore lips to prove what a great day it was. Next year when I go again, I am hoping that my daughter forgets all about the incident in the "Black Hole" , but incase she doesn't I am planning on bringing some one new with me who has never been there before. Won't that be fun!

You're only as old as you feel!

I don't know who first said those words, but I am convinced it was a woman because the words are so true. Today I went to Splashdown Water Park with my daughter (she is in her late 20's) and felt like a ten year old kid again. I discovered how much I loved these things about two years ago and jump at every chance I get to go and play on them. I am never disappointed. The rush that you feel when you first sit at the top of the slide and let yourself go is such a marvelous feeling I almost become addicted. Rushing even faster up the stairs for yet another turn at on a different slide. First the Kamakazi, then the Corkscrew and the Oliver Twist -oh and the Double Trouble. All of them just a little different. All of them crazy fun!
The one enjoyed the most was "Big Jim's River Run"! For this one you take an inner tube and climb the stairway to the run entrance where a huge fountain sits in the center of a wide run spewing water. You walk around the fountain and flop yourself into the tube and cascade down several levels of water landing in pools on each level till you get to the last pool. The pools are of varying widths and you can get trapped there having to use your arms and legs to pull yourself to the next drop to get going again. As well, other riders are flying over the falls and hurtling themselves a you and at times crashing into you so hard that you think you will fly head first into the high cement walls on either side of the run. Screams and laughter are al l around you as you spin around on your inner tube, sometimes going over a pretend fall backwards adding to the excitement. Finally you reach the last drop and you and your inner tube hit the recieving pool and spin halfway accross before you realize that the ride is over.
My daughter and I barely sat down for over two hours and we laughed so hard that even the bruises I got from bumping down these water runs didn't hurt much. We tried everything but the kiddie runs and that only because my daughter wouldn't let me! However the one ride that finally did us in was the "Black Hole" tube rides, but I will leave that one till tomorrow when the pain in my body has hopefully subsided.