Lasts in Calgary

As we prepare to leave the city, B and I have made a mental lists of places we want to visit one last time before we leave. This included the Calgary Farmers' Market and Heritage Park, among others.

Friday night, at my request, we loaded up the stroller and went for a stroll in Prince's Island Park. We've been there quite a number of times before, for Canada Day, Folk Festival, Shakespeare in the Park and random bike rides and walks.

  It's a beautiful place to walk in the evening. 

Music from buskers can be heard throughout. 

People from all nationalities and all walks of life are there: 

out walking or biking or picnicking or playing games, 

or hitching rides in strollers, as Mom and Dad walk.

There are plenty of places along the river to stop to admire the scenery,

or to have a snack.

  The ducks and geese waddle along, 

showing off their fluffy offspring and begging for food.

The evening sunshine reflects off the river 

and the office towers and condominiums of downtown, 

giving the park a lovely gentle glow.

Prince's Island Park is a pedestrian's treasure, 

comparable to St. James Park or Hyde Park in London England.

And we're going to miss it.

Random Acts of Tulips

We've never planted tulips here.

For that matter, I've never planted tulips at all.

But in the past couple of springs, as we've loaded up the flower beds with compost,

and watered faithfully during the dry summer months,

the tulips have taken hold. 

Last spring we had a few small blooms, in red I think,

which appeared with no encouragement.

And this spring we have yellow and red blooms,

which appeared in the dry and warm early spring,

and which have continued to cheerfully proliferate through the late April blizzards.

A gentle sign of God's sense of humour, I think, 

and of the potential for life.

Announcing

There are many ways that we mark the arrival of spring:

The first robin singing high in the tree tops

The prairie crocuses peaking their furry heads up

The first buds on the trees

The City of Calgary signs announcing when street cleaning will commence in our area. 

But one major sign, of which we were reminded by our friend over at Calgary Gardening Adventures, is the first signs of rhubarb growth. I had totally forgotten to look for our rhubarb's appearance--I guess I was caught up watching the tulips grow and bud in the front yard. But when I read Dan's blog about rhubarb, we rushed out to check the status of our own.

So, good news! Spring has officially arrived. Our rhubarb looks to be in fine form for the coming season. Too bad we'll be missing most of the harvesting. I hope the new residents enjoy rhubarb as much as we do!

Olympic Pride

Twenty-two years ago, the Winter Olympics were hosted by our city.
This was the last time they were held in Canada. With the 2010 Olympics going on in Vancouver right now,
we thought we'd offer a few snapshots from the past.
Whereas the slogan for the 2010 Olympics is "I believe,"
in 1988 it was "Share the flame" --hence the little candles.
We're absolutely enjoying all the coverage,
though perhaps we get a little too caught up, glued to the television.
Oh--and in case you were wondering,
that's B and his older brother E in the first picture, and the boys with their mom in the second one.

Treading New Paths

While in principle, snowshoeing is merely walking with wide and awkward aluminum or wood platforms attached to your feet, it completely changes the way you travel through an outdoor space.

When the world is covered in deep drifts of snow, the potential paths are unlimited. A snowshoe-er does not have to stick to a pre-existing path, or follow a logical route, but rather can forge on in any direction, through drifts of any size. Want to tackle that giant overblown drifted hill? Go ahead! Want to mogul through the bush, around trees and over small shrubs? There's nothing stopping you except the width of your snowshoes getting stuck between tree-trunks.

I've commented many times on how much I love Nose Hill Park for the sense of natural peace it brings. When, over Christmas, B and I had the time and energy to head out there, to our delight, there was several feet thick of snow lying on the ground--and uncommon event for Calgary. So in the afternoon sunshine we headed out, up over the hills and across the sections of open plain. Through the deciduous forests and the sections of deep brush.

We encountered coyote, porcupine, mice and deer, all thriving in this wilderness park in the middle of the city. The only animal that seemed concerned about our presence was the mouse--probably because we could have stepped on him without noticing. The others seemed not to care that we were sharing their habitat. Who are these crazy galumphing beings who make their own trails? Why are they taking the path of MOST resistance?

I can't say that snowshoeing is a quiet venture, wherein one can spend time philosophizing on the greater ideals of the world. It's hard work, and the heart pumps and blood rushes and breathing is heavy. But when you stop (to catch your breath) and survey the world from your solitary vantage point, with the late afternoon sun shining and very few other individuals braving the elements to join you, the world is truly beautiful.

Sharing the Flame

Last night, B and I went downtown to be a part of the festivities surrounding the arrival of the Olympic torch to Calgary.

I've always had a love for the Winter Olympics, starting with the 1994 Olympics in Norway, where for some reason I was cheering for Switzerland. During the 1998 Olympics in Japan, for a gym project I had to make a scrapbook of information about each Canadian medalist and his or her sport, which only served to get me more excited about winter olympic sports. While I haven't paid as much attention to more recent Olympics, the fact that they are held this year once again in Canada means they're a lot easier to get excited about.

It really was exciting to be a part of everything last night.

To join the hordes of people milling around downtown, all smiling and waving flags and wearing red or 1988 Olympic toques and coats or 2010 Olympic clothing.

To see the big flame on top of the Calgary Tower lit, presiding over everything, even though it has long lost its stature as the tallest building downtown.

To hear "his worship" our mayor Dave Bronconnier sidestep the host's gushy and annoying question about Canadian spirit, pointing to the crowds of Calgarians as proof of unifying Olympic spirit in our city.

To sing O Canada with everyone, albeit collectively slightly off-key .

To be told that 50% of the Canadians going to the Vancouver Olympics live and train in Alberta.

To hear that an estimated 20 000 Calgarians turned out last night and that Calgary's torch relay festivities were the biggest across Canada.

And to remember that Calgary is the only other city in Canada to have hosted the Winter Olympics.

Yes, I am proud to live in Calgary, uncool though it may be to buy into the uncritical excitement. It was fun to unabashedly be a part last night. I'm ok with being dorky like that. I like that we have an Olympic Plaza downtown.. I think that being the host of the 1988 Olympics symbolizes the energy that our city has contained in the past, and the legacy that event continues to bear. On a side note, trying out olympic sports have been on my "bucket list" of things to do in life for ages. I'd like to try bobsledding but unfortunately, that won't be happening any time soon--at least not while I'm pregnant. :D Trying speed-skating at the Olympic Oval--"the fastest ice in the world"--was also on my to-do list, but we did that last Valentine's Day and it was every bit as exhilarating as I had anticipated.

Flame fuels Olympic passions

Flame fuels Olympic passions

There will be more to come on our experience of Olympic pride in Calgary later, but for now I just wanted to post the link to the Calgary Herald article. Makes me pretty proud to be a Calgarian, when 20 000+ people show up to see the torch run into Olympic Plaza--apparently the biggest torch relay gathering across Canada. I got all choked up as we walked downtown with the flame on top of the Calgary Tower visible across the city, and with so many people turning out---many with 1988 Olympic clothing and paraphernalia--to cheer and sing O Canada and witness the arrival of the flame. It was a lovely thing to be a part of.

The Street On Which We Live

The street on which we live looks like this tonight: I think winter has realized that the first Sunday in Advent (more on this soon) was yesterday and so has decided that now is the time to make things look more wintery and Christmasy. So, hello, winter! I'm glad we got winter tires on Friday... makes the daily commute seem slightly less daunting...

Saskatooning

Recently I told someone that we were going saskatoon u-picking, and they thought I was speaking a foreign language. Since then I have discovered that saskatoons are a Western Canadian phenomenon and consequently non-Western Canadians would likely have no exposure to this most prairie-like of fruits. Technically, you should be able to find saskatoons throughout western North America, but I can't speak for any Montanans out there. Montana readers and residents, care to comment? We went out to a u-pick called PrairieBerry U-Pick, south-east of the city. They were very well stocked in saskatoons and we got all that we wanted. They even give you one-legged stools you attach around your waist for picking comfort. I highly recommend this place. It cost $15 for a full ice cream pail. Since then, I went picking out on a ranch in the Porcupine Hills west of Nanton, and there were LOTS of juicy ripe berries there too. These, of course, are free. A better option than a u-pick, if you have access to wild bushes. We had a wonderful day at the u-pick. We went out with some friends and one couple's lovely daughter T. Have I ever mentioned how much B and I love kids? Little T is one of those kids you can't help but love. She is free-spirited and intelligent and so interesting. But how could she not be when she has such great parents? T's dad has a gardening blog and we often compare notes on the success of our vegetables. We had a picnic in between the rows of saskatoon bushes and shared around cheese and vegetables and chocolate and bread with artichoke dip. Can there be a better way to spend a sunny Saturday?

Our hometown

Brent entered a photo contest in which the theme was "your hometown." While Lacombe is our real hometown, Calgary is where we call home right now. We had an opportunity to go downtown with brother T on Sunday afternoon, which gave Brent lots of opportunity to get shots of one aspect of our widely varying city.

To Do This Summer/Why I love Calgary

It's another beautiful beautiful day in the city of Calgary, which got me thinking about all our plans for this summer, and how much I love Calgary in the summer. It's hard to choose whether to go camping/hiking all summer (one of our favourite things) or to stay at home in Calgary and enjoy our garden and alllll the things going on here. So, following is a combined "to do" list on the subjects. - Finishing my thesis by the end of July. - Four days in Jasper National Park, camping. - Shakespeare in the Park - Calgary Farmers' Markets-- multiple times please - Stephen Avenue at lunch time, on breaks from working at the Glenbow - Our birthdays - Road trip to Glacier National Park (we love Montana, Grandma Marci!) - J&M's wedding - A&C's wedding - Riley Park, just wandering, or watching Cricket-playing - Calgary Folk Music Festival (though I'm not sure we can afford to go this year...) - Running a 10km race - Siebenga 80 years in Canada Reunion - July 1st in Prince's Island Park - Gardening. :D - Nose Hill Park (perfect for biking, and walking, and flower-discovering and picnicking)

A Venture into Calgary Green Space

Speed Bumps: to make you slow down and enjoy the scenery

Saturday night we went for a walk in Riley Park, Kensington and along the Bow River.

It was so neat to see all the different ethnic groups, the families, the young people, everyone out enjoying the beautiful evening.

And why not? Calgary's green spaces are something we should be proud of.

It's a beautiful city.

And it's going to be a good summer enjoying the whole spectacle.

Plum Tree blossoms. It's a good year for fruit trees, to which trees all over the city attest .

A beautiful green VW van. I heart Volkswagens...

A Church downtown, just off of the Bow River pathways Sandstone arch near Prince's Island Park

On Such a Summer's Day

Beautiful morning: We were up at twenty after six to make an airport run. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. And we stopped for coffee and breakfast on the way home. It's going to be a great day. Good news: the streetsweeper came [Brent informs me it's actually called a street cleaner]. Now our street is clean and shiny and much easier to bike on. But really, the reason it's good news is that I think the streetsweepers are pretty cool looking machines. I'd run one. Dilemma: my beans. They've decided to grow at the rate of...a bean? So they're nine inches tall now and I don't think I can neglect them in the house for a whole week while we're gone. So I was thinking I should risk planting them outside on Saturday (when it's supposed to be plus 15 out). I run the risk of killing them, but based on their present rate of growth, if I did kill them, I could always just grow new ones. Count-down: California-dreamin. T minus two days. And then tidal pools, sunshine and fresh fruit. Oh yes, and Disneyland. This morning we dropped E&B off at the airport so they could go ahead and make sure it's safe for the rest of us.

Leonard Cohen, Live In Calgary

Last night we went to a concert that I never thought I'd ever be able to see. Leonard Cohen is one my all-time favourite artists. Ever. I think it was meant to be, seeing as in all likelihood I heard him before I was born, and I do believe that my birth tape, the music my mum played while she was in labour, included songs by him. I was trying to find a video on Youtube to play to give a sense of who he is, but none of them really do him justice. So if you don't know who he is, I suggest you look him up. Maybe give a listen to "Famous Blue Raincoat" or "Tower of Song" or "Take this Waltz." Heck, it's hard to go wrong with any of his music. Cohen is in his early seventies now, and only went on tour because his manager swindled him out of his money a couple of years ago, and so Cohen had to come out of retirement. But you would never guess he was in his seventies. He was full of energy, his voice was clear, musical and powerful and the show was downright interesting. The artists he had in his band were all incredibly talented in their own rights and supported him well. He was quick to give them credit for their contributions and so was the crowd. He did THREE encore calls that added close to another hour to the show and made us all love him that much more. He sang all the old favourites. One of the female singers was Sharon Robinson, with whom he co-wrote the album Ten New Songs, and he sang some songs from that album, giving her opportunity to shine as well. The other two singers were the Webb Sisters from the United Kingdom. We're thinking we're going to have to buy an album of theirs--they have such gorgeous voices. The concert started at eight and we didn't get home til almost midnight. And then I was so wired that we had to read for a while so that I could fall asleep. It was fantastic; I'll never regret going.

Eeyore

Repeat after me: "This is going to be just the moisture needed for everything to turn green. It'll all be melted soon." Sniff. It's snowing again; thick snow of giant flakes. And it's true, we need a little moisture to give the plants a kickstart. I would prefer it in rain form, but this will (I suppose) do the trick. I'm feeling rather gloomy and Eeyore-like though. A friend sent me this (Thanks L!): "It's snowing still," said Eeyore gloomily. "So it is."

"And freezing."

"Is it?"

"Yes," said Eeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven't had an earthquake lately."

No earthquakes indeed. But I think I need a hot bath.

PS. Happy Earth Day! I had great intentions of partaking of a free cup of Starbucks coffee and picking garbage, but I think I might just walk to the grocery store and call that my carbon-emissions-lowering contribution.

Once Old, Made New Again

There's a sign as you drive towards Radium on Highway 93 that reads "And the mountains shall bring peace to the people." I've always loved that sign, because I've always felt that to be true, the mountains do bring me a sense of peace, because they are a reminder to me of God's awesome (as in filled-with-awe) power and His role as creator of all things beautiful and wonderful (as in filled-with-wonder). Two nights ago Brent and I went for a long walk up Nose Hill in the evening sunshine. It was our first walk up there since last fall. Every spring I am caught in surprise as I realize how beautiful Nose Hill is. A giant rise sticking out from amidst busy and often mindless suburbia. Nose Hill is caught between nature and culture, with native prairie grasses and other flora as well as all kinds of traces of the glaciers that once covered the area, but also with concrete foundations, paved paths, garbage and other signs of the visits of people and domesticated dogs. But it is so peaceful. Up high on the hills you can almost forget you are in the city, with the wind whistling in your ears and the grass waving and the smell of wet spring. Just as much as the mountains, it brought to me a sense of peace and joy. I thank God for His creativity and imagination in creating this world we live in. I am thankful for the opportunity to be caught surprised by the good and beauty in our world. I hope this never ceases as long as I live.