Vacation Update

look closely - I think that's an otter

My bum ankle has made me reluctant to work it for any length of time, so my walking has been severely reduced of late. One of the things I want to do on vacation is return to the daily flânerie—that idle stroll with no particular destination in mind (though I inevitably wind up at Starbucks), sometimes with the camera and sometimes not, but always with the intention of enjoying the world around me.

Thank you, everyone who loves to garden. Some of the yards around here, drought conditions notwithstanding, are explosions of shape and colour and glorious scent.

I’ve also missed the beach. Granted, rising with the sun is easier at spring and fall equinox, so I haven’t seen a sunrise since March and likely won’t for another few weeks, but this morning, I went for my first “beach flânerie” since I can’t remember when.

Want to test a wonky ankle? Walk along a pebbly beach. Good thing I was wearing my Nikes; at least I gave the foot some stability, and it held up really well. I sat for a while with my eyes closed and listened to the tide come in. Surf striking shore sounds like the roar of a crowd and surf receding over pebbles sounds like applause. Just thought I’d mention it.

I walked all along the beach at Ross Bay, crossed the road and hiked back through the cemetery. Up ahead, I saw what looked like a big tawny dog and immediately scoped for its owner. What I saw was another critter, equally big, equally brown, soon joined by a third. I slowed right down, trying to look innocent and not smell like I wanted to be chased.

They turned out to be deer. Three young bucks, to be exact, and only one of them gave me the time of day as I passed among them. He looked me right in the eye, shrugged, and went back to grazing. His buddies didn’t even blink.

So now I’m home for the rest of the day. Ter is out on a foodie adventure and I have a date with Bill Maher for elevenses. This afternoon? More writing, maybe. I have a few blog posts in mind and all the time I need to get ’em done.

It’s nice to be back in the real world.