"There are so many kinds of loveliness" Barney says to Valancy in L.M.Montgomery's The Blue Castle. The coloured leaves have almost all fallen in the woods, leaving a thousand shades of green and brown to see in plenteous evergreens, moss-covered branches, and forest paths. On cloudy mornings the forest is framed by pewter skies that often turn to dark grey before the rain begins.
We shared the care for two of our grandchildren this weekend with their other grandparents while their parents took a few days away together. In my previous post I mentioned taking the kids to Goldstream Park. Today, along with Tim, we went to Tod Inlet, in the morning, before the rainy afternoon.
A few golden leaves cling to branches, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. In the photo you can see the smokestack from the kiln producing tiles and pottery, run by the Butchart family. This park lies alongside the Butchart Gardens. The stack is crumbling bit by bit and I wonder how much longer it will stand.
The inlet water appears green, reflecting dense coniferous growth. It's a quiet anchorage; and today we saw four boats at anchor. Gulls wheeled silently, white wings catching the light. The old pilings have been repurposed with birdhouses on each one to encourage purple martins to nest and flourish. The gulls use them as convenient perches, too.
Eagle-eyed Tim saw this Varied Thrush in a tree, and I was able to capture a few photos of him. A lovely sight to see.
Now in late afternoon, dark rain is falling, beating against the windows and rushing in the gutters. It's a Pineapple Express, bringing with it warm air from the Pacific. How glad I am for the coziness of home. I sit in a pool of light writing this post and am utterly content.
The children came for breakfast this morning, and I made Creamy Eggs for them. It's a dish that I make the night before and then bake in the morning, and is easily adaptable for more people. Make-ahead breakfasts are my favourites. With it I served scones and fruit.
Lovely landscapes, lovely grandchildren, a lovely home - these are the things that filled me this weekend. What kind of loveliness is in your world?
Did you grow up on Vancouver Island? You are so knowledgeable on absolutely everything. I glean a lot of information and interesting facts and photos, your grandchildren are getting the best treat of all!
ReplyDeleteWe have been gloomy, rainy and cold (39 degrees) for the past several days. We had social engagements and I had little time or energy to walk Poppy, even just a few blocks. That's guilt for me because we have a full four months of terrible weather and I promised myself I would get her (and my) jaunts in. I need to keep the blinds open as morning sometimes looks like night. I'll get into the rhythm. I'm going to look at your recipe--it looks insane. I love evening to morning bakes, also!
Jane ❤️
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DeleteFamily makes our days I think and food to feed them with. Something I miss when I’m away. I love your weather descriptions…Pineapple Express indeed; that’s a new one to me. What a pretty bird too. Time I got out the feeders again as the weather is turning colder. Have a lovely week. B x
ReplyDeleteCreamy eggs to share with grandchildren within the cosiness of home sounds blissful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful idea to put birdhouses on the old pilings. I hope this becomes a common practice. Caring for grandchildren is such a delight, and your creamy egg recipe is sure to be very popular as the cold weather comes in.
ReplyDeleteCreamy eggs sound wonderful. We have had a few cloudy, cools days here in SW Florida. This morning it is only 59 degrees.
ReplyDeleteYour posts are like Poetry...
ReplyDelete🍂 🔥 🍂
The woods are so lovely--my favorite place to take a walk! Our community has an kiln on the hogback where the pioneers made bricks for their homes. It is also crumbling and our historical society found it will be expensive to salvage it with reconstruction efforts. Your creamy eggs look delicious--I could eat eggs every morning. We are also having warmish weather but it worries me as it has also been very dry and we need either rain or snow.
ReplyDeleteAll of those "lovelies" are true blessings from above! Eyes to see them and a grateful heart are also blessings! Thank you for sharing the joys of your weekend with us.
ReplyDeleteThat sure does look and sound like a lovely weekend. Just reading about it was a comforting feeling.
ReplyDeleteMusic has filled my life recently. Grandkids too. Aren’t we lucky?
ReplyDeleteHello, Lorrie. Your photo of the Thrush is beautiful, I know he was really something special to enjoy. Your breakfast sounds simply perfect, I am sure the children enjoyed every bite.
ReplyDeleteWe have a gloomy and cold day here. Soup is on the menu for dinner, so I suppose I should head to the kitchen. Thank you for this and all your beautiful posts. Have a great week!
Great photo of the Thrush. Such a pretty bird. I'm hearing about lots of flooding in B.C. today. Hope things settle down soon. Glad you had a lovely weekend. Ours was filled with lots of physical service and we are recuperating today which is nice to be able to do.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that what we were experiencing was a Pineapple Express but I did know it was windy and pouring rain. No doubt breaking previous records for rainfall. So many roads/streets are closed today due to flooding.
ReplyDeleteHopefully this Winter we'll see Varied Thrushes come to our back yard feeders. They're lovely birds.
Tim had a good eye in spotting the thrush, Lorrie, and you took an excellent photo. I’ll be checking out those creamy eggs for sure. Your madeleines in your previous post look so pretty and sound delicious with the lemon and ground almonds. I’d love to share a cup of tea with you and chat!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos, the varied thrush is a wonderful sight.
ReplyDeleteThe first image has strong (Taylor Swift's) Folklore vibes!
ReplyDeleteThis post once again shows that beauty can be found everywhere .
ReplyDeleteI loved everything about this post -- thank you for sharing the joy! Two things I must check out immediately -- one, your recipe for creamy eggs and two, I don't think I knew that Lucy Maud wrote anything else (I was thinking the quote would be from Anne and for a second was wondering who Barney and Valancy were.)
ReplyDeleteThose are gorgeous pictures, Lorrie. I really love the one of the posts in the water-it just grabbed me somehow. Love it. Hope you have a great rest of the week- xo Diana
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ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued with your creamy eggs dish. I have never had that and will need to try it.
ReplyDeleteCreamy eggs sound delightful!
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a wonderful weekend.
Have I mentioned before how much I enjoy your lovely blog?
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