Solace

My thanks to all for your good wishes. The support of my physical friends here has been strong and unshakeable. In some ways it might be easier to be one of a large Ukranian family with dozens of aunties rushing in from all corners of the world, but I'm an only child and the few "rellies" I have are rather far afield, mostly in England, and Western Canada is a long way away... Well, they say you can't choose family but you can choose friends, and mine have been stellar.

Yesterday, I took doggies for a walk along a walking/biking path that crosses a nature sanctuary, and nature put on a spectacular show for me, as if it knew I needed it. First, a Cooper's hawk swooped across the path and perched about four feet away (and, of course, me without my camera...). Then a kingfisher sat preening itself on the edge of the lake, chattering its beak and flicking its tail. Even as I stood with tears pouring down my cheeks I felt the joy of that moment. Then as I was turning towards home two raptors, possibly falcons rather than hawks, were circling and calling against the sky. Who can feel sad for long in such a beautiful world?