Gargoyles and Roses

A friend of mine is a cement sculptor and carpenter. He built a beautiful house up on his hill, looking out at the ocean. It was beautiful and unique, full of stained glass windows, and it had an octagonal living room. The coolest part about this house was the cement lizards built into the foundation. They were sculpted to look as if they were holding up the house.

 

My dear friend lost his whole house and workshop in a fire. 

The stone lizards and cement stairway is all that survived.

And here is his new house! He has rebuilt. If you look closely you can see Bob in a red shirt up on the roof somewhere. David and I had fun trekking around his yard. All over the island, roses are blooming.

Here at home we are joined by Nemo the goat, who spent the last couple of months away. She is now without her kid, so I have been milking her twice a day.

Nemo is on the left, Gordon on the right. They are the same size even though Gordon was born this year!

Firefly has assumed the position of Queen while Ken's horn heals. Ken is healing very nicely but has taken the backseat.

Baby Lucy, Nemo, and Firefly resting in the dust.

David was in heaven as he drove this scooter through the park.

And here we are looking out at the Straight of Georgia.

Yesterday the motion to build an oil pipeline to the coast was approved by the government. This means 200 big tankers would be driving through these waters, full of toxic sludge. The route that these huge tanker ships would have to take to get here is treacherous and the project is up against a lot of opposition.

I was not surprised to hear that the pipeline has been approved, but will it really go through? Can enough money really buy what should be priceless? The proposed oil project will threaten the rare white Spirit Bear and the tankers will drive through Humpback feeding and birthing grounds. It is hard not to be depressed and disheartened by all of the crimes against nature and humanity that my own species is responsible for.

For the sake of myself, my child, all of us here on the coast and all of the precious wildlife that is already under enough stress from our human interference... I hope that this project is scrapped. Prime Minister Harper is the real gargoyle.

In the meantime I am going to try and appreciate the beauty around me as much as I can.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the gift of this day.