It was hot this afternoon when the sun was up. And running the hills was grueling. My pace couldn’t have been more than a walk on that last climb. But now it was over. The sun had just set behind the hills. A breeze was blowing in the open windows of my car as I […]
Yearly Archives: 2014
Tremendous Man
Mon, 11 Aug 2014, 06:03 PM (-06:00)
It was raining on the drive today. Gray skies. Wet roads. Slow traffic in both directions. There aren’t many things that can make me audibly gasp when I’m sitting alone in the car. The news of his death under wet, grey skies did. What a tremendous loss. What a tremendous man.
The Moon, Saturn, Mars and Spika
Mon, 4 Aug 2014, 08:46 PM (-06:00)
Taking the garbage out to the can, I looked up. The sun has just gone down. The western horizon was still bathed in daylight. The sky overhead was a darker blue. I walked out into the middle of the street. From there I could see the crescent moon. The moon, making its backwards way along […]
Rolling on the Cobblestones
Sun, 15 Jun 2014, 08:01 PM (-06:00)
1. After the Race The sun was going down. The Canadian springtime evening was getting cold. We changed out of our sweaty race clothes, walked towards Rideau Street and watched the sun set behind the hills across the river in the west. Then we wandered to Byward Market for something to eat, settling finally on The Highlander […]
Gatineau Park
Sat, 14 Jun 2014, 10:04 PM (-06:00)
Just outside Ottawa across the river in Quebec there’s a wilderness. Turn left after you cross the bridge, drive up the sloping road, and turn right. The city disappears behind you. The forest envelopes you. We went there to hike two trails that the fair and industrious Trudy had selected from the many in the […]
A Walk in the Park
Thu, 12 Jun 2014, 08:58 PM (-06:00)
We left to go for a walk in the park, dad, Khadija, Trudy and I. But the roads and bridges were closed for the full and half marathons. Yet, they have plenty of parks in Ottawa, so there were many possibilities, and we gradually made our way to Andrew Haydon Park on the Ottawa River. There […]
A Bumblebee
Mon, 9 Jun 2014, 09:13 PM (-06:00)
In Ottawa, in a park, on a cool sunny day, at the base of a Maple tree, rummaging and buzzing and turning in the grass and pine needles, we saw a Bumblebee. (If you look closely, you’ll see the Maple tree of which I speak.) There used to be Bumblebees here, they say. But I […]
Garner State Park
Mon, 9 Jun 2014, 08:04 PM (-06:00)
Let’s take a little detour for a moment. I know that we’ve been talking about Ottawa and Quebec and ducks and poplar trees and all that. But it how about this for a moment… Garner State Park. On the banks of the Rio Frio. Perfect spring in Central Texas. Blue skies and sunshine by day. […]
Ducks in Flight
Sun, 8 Jun 2014, 08:12 PM (-06:00)
Did I tell you that there were ducks in flight as we drove across the countryside of southwestern Quebec? There were. Two ducks. I saw them as we drove down highway 40 headed west. Two ducks. In flight. Crossing from some place off beyond the woods to the south. Flying to some place off beyond […]