Rural

Albert Camus: In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. Mid Winter...the point where many people either flee the country for warmer climates or hunker down and try to get through the rotating snowstorms without expending too much effort wielding the snow shovel. We're neither fleeing or hunkering...yes it's been bitterly cold. There was a snap happening...not the crisp green garden pea plucked from a green tendril kind of snap. It was alternating blowing wind, multiple power outages, chilling temperatures, and masses of snow that seem to be flummoxing even the most hardened Okanaganer's resolve. That spell is over now...and here we are settling into the depths... Watching the snow fall off in mini avalanches of fluffy meringue from the dark trees standing tall outside the ice-covered windows. Looking out at the snow covered landscape, where for a few days hardly anyone ventured out in the intense cold. The snow co...

I haven't been in years. But when one of Nature's most amazing events takes place in so nearby I couldn't miss it. It's the dominant year at the Adams River Salmon Run in Chase, BC and what a spectacular sight it was. Click on either image to read the full blog post via Adobe Spark. If you liked what you've read, please consider sharing this post, leaving a comment, or even clicking on that little heart at the end of the Adobe Spark post, it all helps spread a little Rural Love, thanks so much! Jen @ Rural

Remember the thrill that cycled through your body the first time you rode your bike no  hands ..the sense of accomplishment you got when you were finally able to master that "older kid trick?" It was a rite of passage....one that we thought made us so cool...peddling our one-speed chain rattling bikes down the street, wheels turning in a blur, feet off of the pedals, streamers flying from handlebars, arms waving... Yelling out "look Mom, no hands...." Mothers shaking their heads while standing in the yards watching us whiz by...calling out, "if you fall down, don't come running to me."  There was always someone with road rash, scabby knees, or torn clothing in our neighbourhood group. It was all part of growing up... Somewhere as we aged we lost our abilities to ride a bike without that bit of not so charming middle-aged wobbling... After a bit of training, [it took me a while to build up the courage to try it] I'v...

Dear Winter... I think we need to see other seasons... Yes, I know our love for each other was a deep as the snow that's fallen almost every day since November...but lately you've been smothering me.  I long for green shoots, and branches that are budding, and I need to see the ground once again.  Dear Winter, let's break up It's not as if you weren't faithful in sticking around, it's just that we are spending too much time together...how about we give each other some space. I've started to take you for granted, being with you all this time..and I'm finding my eyes straying towards Spring, dreaming of days outside without your chilly grasp...and I have to wonder what else there is out there for me. Winter, this isn't goodbye I can tell you don't do goodbyes easily...but, maybe we could set up a meeting once again after Autumn comes to visit. I'm looking forward to Spring charming us...

A chill early morning balanced between the time of Autumn's reign and Winter's wrath. The lake sounding it's siren call in the blue hour. Footsteps slipping on frozen shards of grass, as I made my way down the path. Unwelcome  presence announced by echoes of bird alarms, quacks and honks erupting from waterfowl edging the lake. Still cold lake, dampened by slow-moving mist smooth reflection broken by the splashing of feathered wings practicing takeoff and landing skills. Surrounding mountains cradling the new sun before releasing it into the sky... Soul catching moments made into forever memories. Jen @ RURAL magazine About these photos:  Taken  in the early morning at a local Okanagan lake, just before the sun  peaked over the mountains. The migrating Canada Geese, and Trumpeter swans swimming just out of reach of my camera lens, mere small dots on the lakeside.  The time between Au...