Tags, gardens, walks and more. Oh my !

I was going to write a blog post about "tags"; how I tag my photos with descriptive words to make it easier for me to find the photo I want.  

So when I search for "what is it?" I come up with an odd selection of images.  Like this ...

and this ...

and this.

But when I browsed past posts, I discovered that I'd already done a post about tags.

Not to be deterred I thought I'd post about how I enjoy planning my garden.  At this time of year I think a lot of folk start longing to be out digging in the dirt.

There's something so restful about standing and watering a garden you've planted yourself.

And of course harvesting and eating what you've grown yourself is so satisfying.

BUT as you've guessed, I've already blogged about that too.  

Not to be deterred, I decided to blog about walking with my dogs.  Those dogs are my sanity savers.  There are days when I wouldn't get out of my jammies if it wasn't for two dogs with mournful eyes staring at me.

But I've done that too.

I think of myself as a (very) amateur naturalist.  I love being out in nature; looking at things big and small.

The world is a magical place.  But I'm guessing I've told you that before too.

The bottom line is that it's hard not to repeat things I blog about coz those are the things I love.

When I tell you about how I spend my days, I am creating the closest I can get to memories for myself.  Thank you for coming along and sharing my memories.

If you wrote a blog, what would be a couple of things you'd like to like to tell us about ?
 

I gave up on that post; you're gonna have to settle for this one.

I had plans.  All sorts of plans to write one of those month-by-month summation of the year past posts.  

I would have written the post as much for me as for you, as I think you know by now that I do not remember my own life.  There are no pictures in my head to help me remember.  When Sandy or Pat come for their annual visit, I pull up photos on my computer from their last visit to show me what we did.  Otherwise when one of them arrives I might declare "just wait till I take you to Hall's Harbour, you're gonna love it!".   To which they of course will respond, "Oh I loved Hall's Harbour when we went there last year."

Exhibit A:  Pat at Hall's Harbour.  Tide in.

Exhibit B: Sandy at Hall's Harbour.  Tide out.

 If I haven't taken a photo of it, it never happened.  And even then when I look at a photograph, it just proves that it happened, but my mind doesn't fill in anything surrounding that photo.  No conversations or memories of other things we did... worse still ... no feelings.

The Old Burying Ground in downtown Halifax

Last March I flew to Ontario to visit family and friends.   I'd booked the flight many months in advance.  My timing was either appalling or fortuitous.  I was due to arrive on March 12 and leave on March 19, BUT Covid-19 became "a thing" mid-visit. Still,  I got to see but not touch many folk I love and care about.

A message from Porter airlines telling me to "return home immediately" meant that I flew home two days early. So I got to spend my 70th birthday doing something I love more than just about anything; flying.

Birthday lunch at 25,000 feet !

So, no annual visit last year from my chums in 2020 and let's face it, they won't be able to come again in 2021.

And it's been a year since I was able to celebrate birthdays with Sara and Kelly.

Daily walks in the woods with my dogs are still my sanity savers.

Not to forget gardening, and exploring this glorious little province.

Happily I can still get together with a friend from a distance.

And life goes on.

I'm not sure what I set out to tell you.   

Life is different and the same.  I think more than anything I miss hugging.  Covid has changed the distance between us but not between our hearts.  Sounds schmaltzy but it's true.  

When it's all done in a year or so will we appreciate so much more the things we took for granted before or will we quickly forget ?

I'm so glad spring is coming.  How about you ?

Nova Scotia Strong.

 Last April, a month after Covid-19 invaded our lives, a monster briefly walked among us in Nova Scotia, and took 22 innocent lives.

But that's not what this post is about.  This post is about how a province and a county responsed to that pointless tragedy

Nova Scotia tartan ribbons popped up all over.

Hearts appeared in windows and on home-made signs.

"Nova Scotia Strong" became an oft repeated phrase.

Tim Hortons a nation-wide coffee chain, as a fund raiser decided to sell a "Nova Scotia Strong" donuts. ALL proceeds would go to the Canadian Red Cross "Strong together Nova Scotia Fund", which would work to provide support to the individuals, families and communities impacted by the mass shooting with immediate and long-term needs.

Each of the 1400 nation wide stores was free to design its own version of the donut.  

I must confess that that week I went to Tim Hortons more often than usual and quickly learned that the N.S. Strong donuts were the first to sell out each day.  From Newfoundland to British Columbia everyone wanted to buy a Nova Scotia Strong donut.

In one week of sales, $1.4 was raised! 

  

Since then, bumper stickers started appearing on cars.  

Each time I see one of the stickers, I snap a photo.  How do you like my collection ?

  

  

  

  

  

   

  

  

So here we are moving into the second wave of Covid-19 and the TV show "The Fifth Estate" has done a special on that black day in April and how it was handled by the RCMP.

We are working consciously to remain a strong province.  We are hunkering down to protect ourselves and others from Covid-19.

And I wish to goodness we could hug each other. I miss hugging so much.   I know we will again one day.   But not today or tomorrow.

In the mean time we'll have to settle for just hugging each other in our hearts.

Stay strong and care for each other.