A little off topic….

As winter approaches I ache again for home on Vancouver Island. With the start of every season, it seems that I am reminded of the beautiful surroundings I am missing in British Columbia.

BC is the kind of place that stays in your heart always. It’s magnificent mountains and valleys, the sparkling ocean that displays a different face each day, the towering forests with the comforting green canopies and the endless parade of spectacular wildlife that makes you wonder if you have stepped into some sort of fantasyland.

For all the years that I have lived there, I can honestly say that I don’t think I take it for granted for a single moment. I continue to be in awe of the raw and rugged beauty and the seemingly magical powers of the island. I feel I never do it justice when I try to relate stories to friends about life there…about the killer whales and dahl’s porpoise as they swim alongside the boat or the bald eagles swooping down to snatch bits of salmon we toss in the air from the swimgrid…..or the time the confused and hungry cougar decided my backyard was a good place to explore …..and the night I was sitting on the front porch with a glass of wine and a great snowy owl decided to perch in the tree close by and we studied one another for over an hour. I watched the sea lions swim by and the heron pluck fish from the sea for their dinner and I crossed my fingers that there would be crab in the trap I had set that morning.

Each time family and friends come to visit, I proudly show them around the island as if it is mine….and somehow it was…and still is. It’s lovely and comforting to know it’s always waiting there for my return.