Friday, June 17, 2011

Better than Christmas

We walk our local beaches, passing people we've seen before, sometimes saying a word or two, often exchanging smiles. And I always wonder; is he/she another blogger? Do I know her, even though I've never seen her?

I have one fewer person to wonder about. We met Maria, the blogger at Penelope's Puddlisms*, at Crescent Beach this Wednesday. And, like when we joined Hugh and Tim at Reifel Island, yes, we knew her already. We had a good visit, walking from the coffee shop where we met to the beach (low tide!), then across the sand and up to the river mouth, and back down the promenade to town, and cups of good coffee and tea. Maria and I chattered all the way, while Laurie took photos. We let him talk over our tea, though.

Maria, aka Penelope, is delightful company, full of enthusiasm for everything around her, with a sharp eye for pattern and colour. She is the author of a children's book, "With My Umbrella, I Can" in which,
with her trusty “magic” umbrella-wand as a constant companion, Penelope (Penny) Puddle relishes every sunbeam, snowflake, drizzle and drop of West Coast life.
She also has a series of postcards featuring the illustrations from the book. I didn't realize at the time that they are on display at the Sunflower Cafe, where we met; I would have showed them to Laurie. Next time.

There were no "snowflakes, drizzles or drops" on the beach that day. It was warm and very windy, the sand empty and featureless under a dramatic skyscape.

Ever-changing clouds

Looking north. We had the beach to ourselves.

Looking south. One lonely walker in the distance.

At the mouth of the river a lone sailboat raced downstream.

Kids had ranged far and wide, leaving a variety of creations in the sand. This one's a cat.

Towers or ancient gods? Reminiscent of the Atlantes de Tula.

A long, walled avenue ending in a shell pattern and a crab on a mound.

By the path back; contribution of another kid, long ago in 1929.
Oh, boy
We get two plates of all if we want.
My little brother got three helpings &
we are in the water all day &
there's bonfires on the beach at night &
I like this better than Christmas.
Sylvia, August 3rd, 1929 

For Maria; the sparrow on the rocks.

We'll have to do this again; it was fun!

A Skywatch post

6 comments:

  1. Beautiful clouds and nice beach.

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  2. Thank you for the sparrow, Susannah, and for the wonderful visit! I see we photographed many of the same sights. I plan on posting my captures on Monday. When I got home, I found a lot of sand under my shoes as well as lots of digital memories of our walk. It was a pleasure to meet both you and Laurie and I look forward to another adventure in future. :)

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  3. 1. lovely shots, what a peaceful looking place! And how interesting how gradual the beach is, with pockets of water, here and there. I'm used to steeper ones.
    2. sparrow on the rocks sounds like a drink. =) what might the ingredients be?

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  4. One of my favourite spots, and I know the Penelope Puddle cards are available at the Sunflower Cafe. I'm looking forward to visits with Maria (we're longtime friends) when I come out to the coast at the end of the month. Your photos are just perfect, Susannah. Thank you so much.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  5. It's wonderful when you meet a blogger with whom you have so much in common! Lovely post!

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  6. So good to see your beautiful photos and to hear your met a fellow blogger ;-)

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I'm having to moderate all comments because Blogger seems to have a problem notifying me. Sorry about that. I will review them several times daily, though, until this issue is fixed.

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