March 08th, 2018

Well, Joy and I went hiking again this week. Shocker!  (not) Look at these two happy people.  We try to get out in one of the parks and preserves once a week to hike, talk and take photos. This was just another opportunity to do just that.  The difference was, first of all, we went somewhere that Joy had never been before but I had. That almost never happens.  Secondly, we got some great photos some of which were things neither of us had photographed before.  And lastly, it will be a few weeks before we get to hike again this season so it was a biggie.

​We went to Spanish Point which is just two towns up from here, maybe a 20 minute drive.  It looks like just a building on the side of the road.  But when you drive around back, park  and check in, there's loads of awesome stuff.  An old church, historic sights, winding paths, the remnants of an old aquaduct, the ocean of course, a cemetery from the late 1800's and early 1900's,  a teensy museum, one of those historically preserved homes and a butterfly garden just to name a few of the reasons to go there.​

It was a gorgeous day, sunny but not hot, a gentle little breeze, absolutely perfect.  There were a few other people visiting, but not massive crowds, with the exception of a few school groups that we managed to avoid.  We love children but not when we are seeking a peaceful hike in a beautiful place y'know?

​Everything was wonderful and beautiful and interesting and photo worthy but I think I can safely say that our favourite spot was the butterfly garden. The colours of both the butterflies and the flowers were so vibrant and the fragrance is almost heady. The longer we looked around, the more we saw.  It is not a place  to walk through quickly. Gorgeous flowers, statuary, bird baths, pergolas covered in vines and of course butterflies, bees, dragon flies and birds. They were everywhere. And yet, I didn't manage to capture a single butterfly photo.  Those little buggers are sneaky.  Got a lot of pretty flower pictures though, and as it turned out, one bee.  Oh and one Chrysalis!  How awesome is that?  I suspect that the bee photo was a happy accident but still it counts.

And then there was the biggest surprise.  Something I have only seen one other time in my life and it was probably 15 years ago.  A sun halo.  Have you ever seen one?  It looks like a rainbow circle around the sun.  Very wow.  It only happens in very specific atmospheric conditions something about ice crystals at 22 degrees (?) and I guess Wednesday was the day for it.  My camera does not do it justice but you may get the general idea.

It was somehow fitting that our last hike for awhile was such an especially good one.  We were happy hikers for sure!  We hike very well together.  Our pace is similar.  We are both very patient waiting for the other one to take a photo. We point out things to each other. And carry on a quiet conversation the entire time that circles and dips and figure 8's and zigzags just like the butterfly paths and yet we can follow it with no map.  Cool.

​Next week Tim and I have guests so I will not be blogging but I'm sure I will be gathering photos and ideas for future blog posts aplenty!  And then the following week, on Monday, is the first of my cataract surgeries.  Since I have no idea what my vision will be like immediately afterward, I'm not certain when I'll be back online and able to see what the heck I'm doing.

​But I will return, eventually.  In the meantime, have fun, be safe, be happy!   I will be posting again, one day soon.

​Hugs all 'round.