Beguiled by the Dance of Sunlight and Grass

 

 

“There is not one blade of grass,
there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

~ John Calvin

The Green Green Grass of Home

Being a prairie girl at heart, I love tall wild grass. I love the way whole fields of it sway to and fro on windy days like waves on the ocean. I love how brilliantly green it starts out and how the summer sun slowly fades it into beautiful hues of yellow and gold; I love the diversity of different and beautiful seed heads. But mostly, I love the way grass dances with sunlight.
 
Whenever I go for a walk in the meadows and natural grasslands, I’m totally beguiled by the beauty and artistry of grass. Nothing feels more perfect on a warm summer’s day than lying on my back in a grassy meadow, listening to the wind play its music through the grassy fields and watching sunbeams dance with the beautiful bobbing blossom heads of the grass.

Calgary’s Inglewood Bird Sanctuary and Nature Centre

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

~ Rachel Carson

Inglewood Bird Sanctuary Finally Reopens

Our long wait is over: after a two year and one month wait, Inglewood Bird Sanctuary has finally reopened. Calgary’s June 2013 “Hundred Year Flood” severely affected our city’s beloved bird sanctuary and it was immediately closed to the public. Great care was taken in the restoration work so as not to disturb nesting or migrating birds, so work proceeded slowly. While a lot of restoration work clearly remains to be completed, the main pathways and pedestrian bridges have now been repaired and the sanctuary reopened its doors to a jubilant public on July 30th, 2015.

Torna a Scuola! Back to School and Lifelong Learning

“Non puoi insegnare niente a un uomo.
Puoi solo aiutarlo a scoprire ciò che ha dentro di sé.”

(“You cannot teach a man anything,
you can only help him to discover it within himself.”)

~ Galileo Galilei

September: Back to School

Ah… I love September. Remember the excitement of getting ready to go back to school? New school clothes, new crayons, a new school bag, new books, a new supply of your favourite pens and the fun of sharpening that whole box of brand new pencils? I loved returning to school every autumn, so much so that, even though it’s been many years since I finished my formal schooling, I still get a strong desire every September to join the throngs of young and eager minds heading off to a campus somewhere. The smell of cracking open a brand new book is my favourite September scent and setting the point of a newly sharpened pencil to the first clean page of a new notebook still gives me a secret thrill. While today’s students are much more likely to be excited about a new iPad or laptop than they are about their new pens and pencils, just the same, I feel their anticipation and I enjoy tapping into the heightened energy that fills the air this time of year.