Ahead by Half a Century! Happy Birthday to me!

First thing we'd climb a tree And maybe then we'd talk Or sit silently And listen to our thoughts With illusions of someday Cast in a golden light No dress rehearsal, This is our life

Today I turn fifty! Wow! Making it here is my ultimate Thanksgiving. I am very grateful to have made it this far in life. When you turn FIFTY, it seems like a lot of people ask if you would change anything if you could. As cliche as it is no, I wouldn't change anything. If there is anything I didn't do that I wanted to do, I can do it now. The heartaches, the disappointments, the betrayals and bruises were all survivable, and they led me to my soul mate, my successes, my true friends and thickened my skin. I sometimes think I would like to change the things that hurt my children, but then that discounts how they have grown through those experiences too and how strong they are. Twenty-five years ago I never would have imagined this life. I had a great partner with John, but our thoughts were of a life without kids....... so funny. My three boys are what makes me the most grateful. They are brilliant, gorgeous, loving and funny, and I cherish every moment I have with them. So here I am at FIFTY. The blog and the theme behind it sum up all that I want from life still. I want to be out there in the world breathing in the fresh air, having experiences and time with my good friends and family. I know it frustrates people when I say I don't want any presents for my birthday, but it is true. A little bit of your time and a walk would be just perfect. The treasures will find us! Lets walk!! PS Thanks Gabe for the beautiful old wasp nest . You know what your mom loves.

#7 Ravens on the Ridge. Mt. Work via Munn Rd with J and J!!

What a wonderful day. It is my birthday weekend and an extra long weekend to boot so I have been treating myself by not working and getting some good gardening and family time in. Janice and Jacqueline invited me to join them for a hike up Mt. Work. I don't think I have entered the park from that side in 20 years since our old dog died and the boys came along. The weather was perfect and the company even better. Jacqueline clearly demonstrated the superiority of youth by bounding up the slope but she was sweet enough to wait for us at intervals. Sketch was so excited to be somewhere new and of course he found a stick so he was happy. The other people out were all in good spirits too. I found it really challenging and recognize that I need to get out for more of those challenges during the week. I want to do Grouse in the fall so I will need to get my legs back under me. The Ravens talked to us the whole way. And yes there is a pecking order Janice :)

#6 The little Things...Island View Marsh and Beach!

I was loading pictures from my camera to my computer and realized I missed one of my walks. Island View is one of those spots that always has something to offer whether it be shells or other beachcombing treasures, eagles, whales and wildlife and other unexpected delights. I think I will let the pictures speak for this one.

#3-5 ...Not exactly what I had planned. .......

Well just when I think I have things all sorted out life comes and beats me up. I was behind in posting a couple of qualifying walks but planned to do a blitz update but then I got sick. Really sick. A virus worse than any I have hosted in the last decade....maybe almost two decades. More than a month later and I still have some coughing fits. So I make my posts about walks #3-5 about friends. Walk 3 and walk 5 are about the same destination but 2 different friends.( I have been in the same park since but won't count those walks as the goal of this was to expand my walk locations). Mount Douglas Park is a gem of a park here in Saanich. I have no way of even guessing how many times I have walked or ran or occasionally waddled through the myriad of pathways in that park. Hundreds at least...possibly more. And I cannot begin to explain how different it can be EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Depending on my mood, fitness, the weather and of course the company. Walk # 3 was with one of my 'oldest friends'. THis was a more purposeful walk in the sense that she had limited time and a preferred route and we went as fast as my starting to get sick lungs would permit. The surroundings were more in the background and the walk was really about catching up on some big challenges we are each experiencing and between breathes saying "that sucks" and "I here you". On that walk the beauty of the setting was that it was unobtrusive. Despite all the cars in the lot we barely encountered a soul and the dogs and we got a little moving meditation in. THe other walk was also with a many years friend but was the other kind. My lungs were really starting to betray me with the bug that was about to take over my life. The pace was slow and despite how many times we had been to the park we debated over this path and that path, had to back track a few times because certain areas were too slippery to navigate. A little bush-wacking ensued as well resulting in a hefty tick count at the end (fortunately none on the people-only the dogs). I have been through that park so many times and every time I see a different tree fungus, meet a funny person or a strange one, marvelled at the view, had some colossal wipe outs resulting in a number of scrapes and bruises and once a broken finger. Love Mount Doug!! Walk 4 was with another friend and another dog. This time we picked one of the routes from my new walks around Victoria book. THis one was at John Dean Park. We chose the short route for this walk up to Pickles Bluff and winding through the woods. We had the dogs and it was hard as they need to be on leash there and with the slippery stairs and things it was a bit tricky. When we do the long route (3 hours) soon , we will take cameras and no dogs. My husband swears to me we walked there many times years back and one of my old running crew lived right next to the park so I imagine we jogged through but I don't really remember it. When we got up the fire road and around the radio towers and then down to the bluff edge I was just blown away by the view. Everywhere you walk around the south island you get this different angle which creates a whole unique experience of our surroundings. Another thing I enjoy about walking is history. Some parts of this walk reference the old cabin that was here. I looked online to get some more history but it was pretty limited. Might have to find a book on that part of Saanich to find out a bit more. So now I hope to get back on track. I need to get a few extra walks in there to a few new places and I hope opportunities to walk with some different faces. But almost always the dog! Best, Liz

Walk #2 -Bacon and Walking!

So today was a different kind of walk. THe proverbial carrot can sometimes take the form of bacon! For many years my friends LP and Lil Buddy and I have been meeting for exercise on Sunday morning. It started out as running, then over the years morphed in to a gym workout and for the last year or two has turned in to a walk. The meet ups are a great way to stay connected as our kids have grown up and many of us headed back to work. The walks can be anywhere depending on weather, injuries and general mood. Sometimes the walk is dictated more by where we want to have coffee or BACON!! This morning LP was away on other adventures so Lil Buddy and I decided a visit to Jam for our favourite bacon was in order for the first Sunday of the New Year. As always my walking companion was full of glitter and happiness as we made arrangements for me to pick her up. Was another frosty one this morning so I dutifully heated the car including the passenger seat and crawled along the frosty streets to retrieve my friend and park strategically downtown in front of the restaurant. We shuffled the streets carefully avoiding manhole covers,grates, angry seagulls and the refuse and wanderers from the previous nights club scene. A beautiful morning but most importantly a yummy breakfast. High point- bacon from Quebec as good as always. Low point - no longer suckers after the meal,new candies not so yummy. Stats= not very far, very cold. Lovely companionship with my Lil Buddy C (you can use that as your rapper name)

#1 Happy New Year!!!

And so it has begun, the year of turning fifty. I started out this year perfectly right. Its a Friday so despite being up late for New Years Eve my lovely body clock had me awake at 5 AM. The nice thing is my "not a morning person friend" got up early to join me to do my first walk of 2016. We scheduled to head out about an hour before sunrise and hike from our places in Cadboro Bay to the top of Mt. Tolmie to view the beginning of the first day of 2016. My friend left her vehicle here the night before so the plan was for me to drive to her place with my dog and set out from there. Start time was somewhat delayed by my failure to find her parking brake to release it. After a few minutes of searching an embarrassed text revealed it was right there by my left foot!!! Sigh!! With vehicle dilemma solved we headed out with dogs and cameras. A few minutes late starting meant the dogs were limited in their stop and sniff opportunities but we promised them some off leash time once we made the paths at the base of the mountain. A super frosty and slippery morning in the hood so we chose to cut through Frank Hobbs school and the University to make our way up away from the sparse early morning traffic. We actually thought we had left it too late and would miss the sunrise but the gorgeous ball of orange made its first appearance just before we reached the summit. Dogs loose and cameras out we had an amazing view of Mt. Baker and the top of Mt. Rainier. Lots of frost on the trails this morning so after the sun was up the Macro lens came out to grab some pictures of the chilly ground and plants. It was a bit cold for these two gals when you were holding still so a brisk walk back was in order. A perfect start to a NEW YEAR!! Do something for yourself this year. Join me on one of my many unique walks over the next 52 weeks. Suggestions welcome :) Best, Liz Walk stats- No counter on but route was Cadboro Bay to Frank Hobbs Elementary, diagonally across Uvic and up the trails to peak of Mt. Tolmie and back. Temperature and weather- Flippin cold and frosty but clear and dry! Time- 2 hours return trip with stop and take photo time included. Companion Beverage -lattes Companions- Sketch, Ferg and Hector