Take a Refreshing Hike

Elk Falls

On Saturday, August 22, 2015, my stepdaughter, Misty, and her son Niko, strolled along with Frank and me on a hike to the Elk Falls Suspension Bridge, a project by the Rotary Club of Campbell River.

Three dynamic things stood out for all of us; the wonderful wide well-tended paths; the spectacular views along the assortment of trails;

Niko on a trail 

Mushrooms on a log

Frank on a bench ~ family in background

Niko on suspension bridge

and the nerve-wracking heart-stopping sensations felt when we looked down, way down into the gorge through the gratings on the staircases leading to and from the suspension bridge and on the swaying bridge itself.

View of Elk Falls

Our visitors from Kamloops are avid walkers and encouraged Frank and me to relax on the benches offered at almost every trailhead.

View of original water pipes at trailhead

I’m a walker also, heading out almost every day but recently I ache with a persistent feeling of stepping on a thumbtack at the heel of my left foot. By the time I get home and sit down with my feet up, another throbbing presents itself from that heel to my knee.

Susan on a log

Note to self: explain my symptoms to my doctor next visit.

A Hummingbird's Wish

Colette lives here

I notice a decorated billboard at my familiar feeding site and hover over it. I  recognize my friend's name. The sign looks happy and I trust it to be safe. I wave my wings over to a screened window and look inside. Many of the faces are familiar, but there seems to be one missing. My food and sweetwater provider is not there but I look further and I'm pictured on a bottle along side these words - The happiness of sunshine, hummingbirds and flowers, and infinately more.

Colette is celebrated

I hope my kind friend has filled my feeder this morning. I flutter around the side of the house and notice a collection of my favourite flowers. I flicker over and dip my beak into each pleasant encounter. I am startled by the sound of a banging door. I flap to my safe haven in the trees.

Colette's friends

Clusters of humans come into the yard and sit on chairs, stand to face each other, hug one another and lift drinks to their face. I feel that my familiar friends are sad; sad like me because my caretaker is not around. Colette's gentle hands provide me and the other birds with crushed and whole seeds sometimes jazzed up with peanut butter. She places flavoured drinks in the trees and always cleans the porch railings for us to perch on. I wish she were here. My friend’s presence provides a calm and caring oasis in a dangerous landscape. The energy of this group feels much like her. The have kind, sensitive and laughing hearts.

Colette my caregiver

I look carefully at an image of my buddy and realize she is two-dimensional. Even with her not in the yard, I know of her past, feel her presence and imagine that her future is bright, filled with blossoms, love and images of me, and her human friends, in her new place. For now, I am here and wish for the day I meet up with her – my generous human friend.