Nature’s Lent

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Alberta, boredom, Calgary, changing seasons, choice, cycling, Diana Schwenk, Life's like that, living in the moment, longing, lonliness, reflection, rest, stillness, summer, waiting, winter

Winter makes me question all sorts of choices I’ve made. It passes slowly, each day seemingly the same as the one before. The alarm goes off while it’s still dark out. I drink coffee, shower, dress, get in my car and go to work. I come home, eat, watch some TV, go to bed, maybe read a chapter or two. The alarm goes off while it’s still dark out.

It’s a low time for me, a time when nature sleeps beneath the snow. I reflect on the past. I think about the things I could have, should have done differently. I mourn what is lost. I let go of things I can’t change, things that aren’t important. I re-prioritize. It’s a time when I feel as though something is missing. A time when I long for something else, when I long for summer.

But this year before the spring, in January and February when it felt like I could not take the dark, stillness and cold anymore, or the day-in, day-out sameness, it occurred to me that maybe that’s the way it’s meant to be. Maybe it’s what allows me to start again with a fresh perspective.

It’s nature’s lent. A time of rest and reflection and yes, a time of maddening boredom too. A time to long for the sun’s warmth, and yet, somehow, the perfect springboard to an all-the-more enjoyable summer.

And I do love summer. And this past Sunday’s afternoon bike ride was well worth the long wait!

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~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

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Happiness

Tags

200 words, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, First World Problems, Gratitude, happy, Life's like that, perspective, reality check, summer

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

― Henry James

For me too, Henry. For me too.

Feeling that warm sun on my skin.

Eating ice cream on a park bench.

Taking evening walks when it’s still light out.

Riding my brand new bike on Calgary’s many pathways.

Summer really makes me happy.

But here’s the thing. We haven’t really had much of a summer this year. It’s been all rain, rain, rain. I keep telling myself better summer days are coming. I mean yesterday wasn’t bad. It was sunny in the morning and it didn’t rain all day. I rode my bike and sat out on a patio with a good friend but…

…there’s not much time left for ‘better summer days.’ I’m seeing signs of fall. Wasps are acting all aggressive already, as they do in the fall and today I noticed leaves are turning and some are on the ground and I’m just not happy about it!

But I have a home, food in my stomach, good people who love me and I’m reminded gratitude is what REALLY leads to happiness.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

 

 

Breathe Deep This Moment And Give Thanks

Tags

Alberta, being present, Calgary, Diana Schwenk, Hump Day Chronicles, life, living in the moment, Observer, people watching, summer

A MAGPIE STANDS ITS GROUND EVEN AS I pass within a foot of the table he’s perched upon – the very table I want to sit at.

Instead, I choose the next table. It’s not bad here; a tree to my right provides cool shade in one of my favourite Calgary parks. I set out my note-book and pen, ready to write what I observe and imagine, an exercise to help me be present in the moment.

Across the way, a middle-aged man sets down his groceries, pulls out a cigarette and lights it up. He sits and looks up to the sky while taking a long, slow drag. I wonder if he stops here often – a break of sorts before heading home.

A young boy rides his bike around the park while his watching mother, seated on a bench chats on her phone. He stops to say hi to me, beaming with an ear-to-ear grin. Moments later, he crashes and mom comes running to help him up, comfort him and convince him to get back on his bike.

Across the way, the smoking man glances my way. His hands on his knees, his brows knit together when we make eye contact and he turns away, seemingly in deep thought. Perhaps like me, he’s wondering where the time has gone; when did he get so old.

A boy and a man divided by decades in age.

Is either one aware that now is all there is?

That longing for the past or being anxious about the future robs them of this moment potentially ripe with joy? 

That they would be wise, as would I, to breathe deep this moment and give thanks?

The Smoking Man

A mother comforts her son

A boy rides his bike

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Fall in Calgary #NotTooShabby4October

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Alberta, Calgary, Canada, changing seasons, community, compassion, courage, Diana Schwenk, fall, Homelessness, Hump Day Chronicles, life, living in the moment, love, summer, Tourist in my own city, winter

Warm as summer on my skin but fall on the ground on 4th Street SW, Calgary AB Oct 10, 2015

Were it not for the leaves changing colour and the trees dropping their leaves, I’d have thought it was summer in Calgary on Saturday.

These are the fall days I hope for. These are the moments that make me forget we’ve already had snow.

These are the type of memories that carry me through the long and cold Canadian winter.

I hadn’t been out for a good walk in quite some time. As luck would have it, I had some errands to run and the weather was glorious.

I started out with a light jacket that almost immediately found itself tied around my waist.

A man passing in the other direction said to his companion, “Whoa, it feels good to be in the shade,” when he found temporary relief from the sun in the shadows of the tall buildings on 17th Avenue.

17th Avenue closed at 8th Street for the Thanksgiving weekend. The work needs to be done, but local businesses can’t be too happy about it.

After picking up most-delicious-looking pastries at Sourdough bakery and stashing them in my fridge so I could bring them with me the next day for Thanksgiving dinner, I headed downtown to run some more errands.

Volunteer, Heather agreed to pose for this picture – Thank you Heather!

Something was going on at the Lougheed House.

I went to investigate.

A temporary Firefighters museum was set up in honour of Fire Safety week.

Among other things, I learned that if a building is grounded, a lightning rod can be more dangerous, than helpful.

A photo of a photo of a firefighter…

A gas mask from the good ole days…

Old tools that kinda remind me of old dentistry tools I’ve seen…

At Central Memorial Park checking out the free book they gave me at the Firefighter’s museum. And YES, I’m wearing flip-flops!

After I’d completed my errands downtown I headed back home. It was so wonderful to feel the sun on my face and arms. I stopped often to shoot more pictures.

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The changing seasons remind me of the changes and transitions that happen in life.

Some are good, we welcome them and if we have any sense at all we enjoy them while they last.

Others test us, chill us to our very souls, make us wonder if we’ll be strong enough to get through them. But even these pass and leave us amazed at how strong we can be.  And if we have any sense at all, we learn from them and bring forth new growth.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

If you live in Calgary, did you get a chance to hang out outside this past weekend? What was the weather like in your city? What’s your favourite season?

It was like a Schwenkonsortium!

Tags

Canada, Diana Schwenk, family, friends, L'Acadamie Rue St. Denis, laughter, living in the moment, love, memories, Montreal, Ontario, parents, Quebec, Relationships, summer

Me being my usual reserved self…

Those were my brother Michael’s words when I posted on Facebook what a blast it was to visit with my family last week.

You may have been thinking that I was MIA but really I was at the Schwenkonsortium.

The only thing that could have made it even more spectacular is if my daughter had been able to join us.

She would have loved the impromptu photo session courtesy of neighbor Roberto. But more on that in a bit.

I arrived at the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport in Montreal early lastTuesday afternoon.

And was greeted by Uncle Arno who’d been on a business trip in Chicago and decided to visit The Schwenks before flying back to Berlin.

After making a quick stop to say hi to my brother and his family, Arno and I headed west to my parents place on the border of Quebec and Ontario.

L-R Dad, me, mom and Arno

At Stephanie’s

Dad and mom – 56 years of wedded bliss

Dad and Pauline

There was a lot of catching up.

There was a lot of eating out at restaurants.

There was a lot of playing Mackebeen (not sure on spelling) with mom.

And there was a lot of reminiscing and laughing about the good old days like where Oma and Opa were born, how they met and when they got married.

I had the group in stitches as I read old German documents out loud with exaggerated pomp and loud stereotypical German authority in my voice.

I had the pleasure of meeting Pauline who comes in once a week to look after my dad. It takes a special kind of person to be a caregiver and Pauline definitely fits the bill.

Dad thinks so too, because on Thursday when she came and we sat down to eat together, dad didn’t hesitate to tell me that I was about to sit in Pauline’s spot!

On Friday night the kids – what mom calls my uncle, brother, sister-in-law and me – went to L’Acadamie on Rue St. Denis for an excellent meal prepared by Chefs-in-training.

Rue St. Denis – I love the red boardwalk!

Inside L’Academie

Mike doing something quickly with his hand

An after dinner walk on Rue St. Denis

The food was F A N T A B U L O U S !

And you can bring your own wine!

My brother and his wife had veal with pasta. Uncle Arno had yellow tuna and rice. Nephew Spencer opted for Salmon. And I went for grilled chicken with a pink pepper sauce.

Did I mention that I love Montreal?

After dinner Uncle and I headed back to the Schwenk homestead to reminisce and laugh some more with mom and dad (uncle’s brother).

On my second-to-last day, Uncle Arno and I headed to Mike’s place for a barbecue. Arno left for the airport to fly back to Germany after dinner.

The rest of us family, neighbours, friends sat outside in the beautiful 30c/86f temperature enjoying each other’s company.

It was a surprise birthday party for nephew Spencer, whose actual birthday is in July but was being celebrated in September because his parents are lame – Heather’s words, not mine!

Me and Mike

Street hockey!

Silver man

As the sun set and the sky grew dark, neighbor Roberto set up his camera for a fun, somewhat visually experimental and creative photo shoot.

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Brother Michael, SIL Heather and I stayed up until 2AM which seemed like a good idea at the time, but not so wise when we got up at 4:30AM to head to the airport so I could catch my plane back to Calgary.

All in all, it felt good to be home. I really should go there more often.

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Do you cut loose when you’re with family? Do you see them often enough?

Oh How My Heart Leapt For Joy

Tags

200 words, Alberta, Calgary, Canada, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, endurance, Gratitude, happy, joy, life, living in the moment, perserverance, summer

Enjoy when you can, and endure when you must. – Johann von Goethe

Last week Calgary was under a smoky, hazy sky.

We were warned to keep our windows shut in our homes and keep the vents closed in our cars.

The haze was a result of fires burning in Washington and BC.  The poor air quality registered off the index.

Some days, I could taste smoke on my tongue.

On the news they compared pictures of Hong Kong and Calgary’s Deerfoot; the main highway that runs north and south.

The images were indistinguishable from each other.

I wasn’t happy about the last vestiges of summer being diffused by smoke, but was amazed by how quickly it became the norm for me.

Something to simply be endured.

The sun during the day and the moon during the night were often red or orange and looked like a scene out of a Sci-fi movie; an other worldly picture of a faraway planet.

Magical, perhaps even beautiful in its own way.

But oh how my heart leapt for joy when the sun’s beautiful light broke through the haze on Friday!

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

On Friday the sun broke through the haze

St. Patrick’s Island #yyc

Tags

Alberta, Bow River, Calgary, Canada, life, living in the moment, nature, St. Patrick's Island, summer, Sundays, The Weir, Tourist in my own city, walk

View from the Bow Pathway in Inglewood

My friend Helga and I set out on foot to check out the new and improved St. Patrick’s Island on Sunday afternoon.

We left her Inglewood home shortly after 1PM and headed to the Bow Pathway by the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary.

We followed the pathway along the Bow River toward the Weir.

The Weir had been reconstructed to create a whitewater adventure for Kayakers, but unfortunately the 2013 flood undid all the hard work that was done for this project.

Just below the Weir, if you squint you can see seagulls perched on the rocks.

I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the new outlook that was built at the Weir though, and we climbed the stairs to admire the view.

We climbed the stairs to the lookout

It was a perfect day for a walk.

The lookout, mostly constructed with stone, includes comfortable benches and little nooks and crannies that I have no doubt delight and capture the imagination of children who visit.

The fast flowing river below and gentle cool breeze blowing through my hair on this 25c/77f day filled me with such a sense of contentment.

View from the top of the stairs

From the Weir we continued down the pathway until we reached 12th Street to cross the bridge to the zoo.

From there we continued east through the back parking lot to the entrance of St. Patrick’s Island.

To be honest, I wasn’t getting my hopes up. I was skeptical about the rebuild of St. Patrick’s Island. I was nervous that it might be turned into a concrete park.

But they did a good job!

From the tables at the entrance laid out with  board games inviting people to sit and play, to the natural pathway along the river, to picnic tables, and playgrounds, hills to roll down, Zen-like resting spots, and a beautiful wading area where we stopped to cool our feet in the water; the City of Calgary did good!

We decided to cross the bridge into the East Village to grab a coffee at Sebastian’s in the Old Simmons building, but the line-up was insane.

So we settled for a glass of cold water and sat down by the river listening to the music coming from the Opera House rehearsal.

View of the light art star (my name for it) from the bridge heading back to the island. I will have to go back to check it out at night with lights on!

Then we headed back over the bridge to retrace our steps back to Inglewood. I estimate that our Sunday walk was an 8 km round trip; and it was totally worth it!

If you live in Calgary, I encourage you to go check it out!

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

What’s your favourite local spot to visit?

My Street – A Wild Kingdom Kill Zone

Tags

Alberta, Calgary, Canada, death, Diana Schwenk, Hump Day Chronicles, life, Life's like that, magpies, nature, pigeons, predators, prey, road kill, squirrels, summer, Wild Kingdom

Wild Kingdom photo

When I was a kid I used to watch Wild Kingdom every week in spite of the fact that I was mortified every time a predator caught and killed its prey.

As a child, I would yell out, “Why doesn’t the camera man do something??”

My parents would explain that nature was like that.

The lion ate the gazelle.

And when the lion died, his decaying body fed the vultures.

And what was left provided nutrients to the soil and the rich plant life that resulted, fed the gazelle.

“But it’s horrible,” I cried. “Why does it have to be like that?”

Many years have passed since I’ve watched Wild Kingdom…well on TV anyway.

It seems my street has become a Wild Kingdom kill zone.

Almost every morning when I open the drapes, magpies are brutally attacking squirrels. Coming at them from the air. Chasing them under cars, across the street and into trees.

But nothing could prepare me for what I would witness on Sunday

It was a lazy morning. I slept in until nine and spent the morning puttering around, cleaning this and that while listening to my favourite CDs.

It was a perfect day for that. It was raining outside with occasional lightning and thunder.

It was noon before I finally showered and got dressed. By this time, the sun made an appearance and the sky began to clear.

A perfect afternoon for a walk toward the Bow River, I thought.

I stepped out into the sunlight and walked the pathway to my street. Birds were happily chirping, as they seem to do after it rains.

Three pigeons congregated on the street to my right and I could hear a car approaching on my left.

I waited and stepped off the curb to cross the street as the car passed.

Halfway to the other side, I heard it.

A thud, a squirting, squashing sound.

A very disturbing sound.

Two pigeons took flight.

Feathers seemed to explode into the air.

One pigeon remained on the road.

Twisted. Broken. Dead. Killed by the passing car.

The driver didn’t seem to notice.

I stood in the middle of the road – traumatized – sick to my stomach and somewhat in shock while the magpies screamed their screeching delight, waiting for me to leave so they could feast.

I guess I still have a hard time with this aspect of nature.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On a lighter note, I walked to the river and captured these less disturbing photos to share with you. 

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

 Do you live in an urban setting? If so, do you also witness Wild Kingdom behavior on your street? And when you do, are you as squeamish about it as I am?

May your joys make up for your sorrows

Tags

200 words, Alberta, Calgary, Chateauguay, Diana Schwenk, Diana's Enormous Book of Quotes, fall, happy, joy, life, photos, Quebec, sorrow, summer, Tourist in my own city, winter

I never get tired of the blue sky – Vincent Van Gogh

I grew up in Chateauguay, Quebec. Summers were humid and stifling hot. It was hard to sleep at night.

Winters were brutal. The bitter cold and snow were made worse with months of dark skies overhead.

Autumn was my favourite season – Indian Summer in all its glory – warm days and cool nights. Maple trees bursting in colour, more brilliant than any summer flower.

Autumn made up for it all

Calgary has a dry climate – Thank God! But summers are shorter and cooler. Winters seem to drag on forever. Over the years, I’ve seen it snow in every month!

But no matter the season, Calgary has the most sunny days of any other city in Canada.

330 of 365 in fact – and this means days upon days of blue sky.

Calgary’s blue skies make up for it

Even in winter, we are blessed with summer sky most days..

Carl Saffron building, Calgary AB

Old City Hall, Calgary AB

View from Hope Street, Calgary AB

Where you choose to live and why, comes with its high points and low points. No place is perfect.

In the same way, life comes with its share of joys and sorrows.

~ DIANA’S ENORMOUS BOOK OF QUOTES ~

May your joys always make up for your sorrows

Fall Out My Window

Tags

changing seasons, Diana Schwenk, fall, going with the flow, happy, Hump Day Chronicles, joy, letting go, life, living in the moment, sad, summer

Not ‘fall‘ or ‘jump’ out of my window.

But fall, the season, as seen from my window.

I’ve read so many posts from a handful of you recently about letting go.

Letting go of the outcomes.

Letting go of the things I cannot control.

Going with the flow.

Riding the wave and enjoying the scenery.

So although the end of summer has caused me sadness in the past. Perhaps even had me momentarily thinking about jumping out of my window, I’m gracefully easing into fall this year.

Looking back, it was a great summer.

We had lots of good weather and I spent a great deal of time outside.

Looking forward, I anticipate a good fall.

Discovering ways to enjoy the outdoors, dressing as required to stay warm.

Living in the moment.

Below, some pictures I took on the first day of fall and a bonus end-of-summer creatively crazed selfie in poor light….

 

~ HUMP DAY CHRONICLES ~

Looking back, how was your summer? Looking forward, what are you anticipating?