Just after my Mother retired she bought a police scanner. For the first time in her life she didn’t have to get up early in the morning and could afford the luxury of listening to the criminal goings on around Vancouver late into the night. She said it was better than Starsky and Hutch listening to the strategies of the VPD. The fire department was also on the scanner.. At the time we lived in an old house at 12th and Hemlock. One night she phoned us at 2 AM to tell us our house was on fire.. “No it isn’t”, I replied before I was interrupted by the sirens of the firetrucks.
When morning comes I normally can’t wait to get out of bed. I wait patiently until my neighbour (E) stirs sos that I don’t disturb him and then I get to the living room window as soon as I can.. Don’t want to miss anything. I can hardly wait for each day to start. But the rains were heavy during the night and I tucked in for an extra hour or two and didn’t get up until 8:30 .
I can see where it could get gloomy if it rained all winter like it has in March. But quite honestly the weather was pretty good. We have spent more time indoors in March than the whole winter.. None of my winter projects have been finished.
This morning as I sat with my coffee planning my day, I had many choices.. I could finish the sweater I started to knit, or card the wool I was supposed to have prepared before the return of the snowbirds. I could clean the house or sort through the boxes still unpacked. (We still have boxes we haven’t unpacked sitting in our bedroom). Or I could try out my new glasses and read.
Sitting by the window with my coffee and book in hand, E pointed to the water below me.. “Where’s the camera the dolphins are back” he said. I had forgotten the cardinal rule for camera placement last night after taking pictures of the hummingbirds. I hadn’t returned the camera to its rightful position on the coffee table..
He was able to find it in time. As we both stood in the rain on the perch at 10 AM this morning we watched a pod of dolphins swim around beneath us having their breakfast.
The R’s told us they had never seen them here in the 22 years they lived on this cliff. We have seen them three times this week and four this winter.. I imagine this is a good sign of the health of the ocean life below us.
I don’t really have a point to this posting or if I did I have forgotten it.. I guess it could be, find out what you like to do when you retire so that you can hardly wait to get out of bed each day. Or appreciate each day whether sunny or rainy and spend it doing something you enjoy or maybe it is simply to always put the camera back
where it belongs
Off the Grid Islander 