I read my heart a romance stone

Amethyst Flower
A rose for Valentine’s

You see it was an amethyst stone.  Found fallen from a bangle chain.

It must’be been, lying there on the street.  When I picked it up as you do, it had small writing on it. I showed it to the seller at the packed flower stall nearby.  She took one look at it and said ‘the writing’s too small’ .  I asked did she have a magnifying glass.

“no.. It’s the kind of stone that you have to give, it has a message on it, but it cannot be read unless it connects to the heart of the one it is given to.”  She said.

” How do you know that ? ” I asked.

“I know that because I had one once.  Just like that only bigger.  A young man turned up one day and gave it me just on the street nearby.  I had been alone for the whole day. Standing round the bus stop, waiting for the bus,  he must have been sucked in by the scent of flowers all over me from selling all day.  Pink ones they were.  I’d got away early because we’d run out of ’em.  Tired I was tho. and leaning against the bus stop sign he just walked up and said.  I want to give you this, it shoud cheer you up.”  “I could read the writing on it then, …but not now – I lost that sudden love unfortunately….”

It was small in my hand purple like amethyst.  Perhaps it was, but it had that tiny kind of stone writing on it you know … not in ink, but in different color.  But how does that kind of writing get on it I wondered.  More to the point, how am I to read the one I just found.

“….Give it to the one you love maybe.  Tomorrow would be a good day.” she said.

I didn’t know why tomorrow might be good, but I felt like trying the little rock out.  I gave the purplish thing to her, but she said.  “No — this is not for me — be patient — your heart is just experimenting I can tell.”

“You’re more curious than in love. You always have been.” she said as she put her right hand on my chest. Startled, I looked down as she carefully placed the little rock back in my hand with her left.

I could read though my salt tears, writing close within a red heart set in the darker cross of the stone.. simply ‘Your Valentine’.

Image:flickr – with permission. Tersiiska – Copyright 2014

Shelly Beach Today – Shark Attack

Tersiiska Caribean Beach Resort Flower
Ocean Flower – Tersiiska

Its dark and fertile down in the depths of the hot ocean trails. Meaningful skies above with inviting blue and white waves.  These are the ocean beaches we instinctively hunted for lifetimes here.  Recently however our great white danger is rising, not just with the sea’s levels but from the melt ice warming.

…the news reported on the a fatal attack by probably a large great white on a local Japanese surfer off Shelly beach near Ballina on the north coast.  Sadly he died at the scene and a search is on for the shark.  This is the second shark attack in the last week or so.

So the flower is in honor of the foreign surfer who died very sadly today.  His name was Tadashi Nakahara.

take a moment to say a prayer for him.

Photo by Tersiiska on flickr  – with permission.

News Reference

Beaver Tails by the Rideau Canal

Rideau Canal Ottawa
Skating on the Rideau Canal Ottawa Jan 2015

So I’m standing there, no skates, but with a Ralph Lauren beanie, gloves from somewhere in california, and some really nice Cole Haan – waterproof boots on.  The rest of my clothes were Aussie [made in all sorts of countries]. Standing frozen to the spot on the icy flat Rideau canal in Ottawa.  My colleague helpfully agreed to take me down to the canal that evening.  Of course I assumed that – 20C conditions would be ok for him. But I’d been told get down to the canal and go skating and eat beaver tail by earnest other colleagues from Ottawa.

This canal, built around 200 years or so back by the Royal Engineers [a strategy for defeGoogle Earth - Rideau Canal - Skating Startnse].. I can just imagine the royal command of empire, get some immigrants and go build a canal, just alongside the river – for around 200 kilometers – or so and you have 5 or 6 years to complete.

The canal starts in Ottawa and goes upstream and generally southward to Kingston Ontario.  Canal’s have locks to allow boats to climb mountains, but after the first set of locks in Ottawa, the canal is flat for around 5 miles and becomes a skating rink in winter.  The one lock I saw was frozen shut with just a trickle of water flowing through under the ice.

A beautiful set of beautiful arch bridges span the canal, and now i know that i can walk about that far and back before having the cold seep up so that my feet and legs were slightly uncomfortably numb. We called in for a photo [try handling a camera with gloves in -20 C] and a taste of the local ‘Beavertail’ –  [secret recipe] but i can tell it’s a lot like a flattened doughnut BeaverTails[no hole] with some cinnamon and sugar.. you can have other things on it.  Of course beaver tail should be eaten fast on skates so is not designed for hanging around and getting a photo, Which is why the people in the kiosk are smiling.  Crazy Aussie braves sub zero conditions with no skates for a photo with Beaver-tail.

The Patriot

Foxboro Jan 15White, icy, damp and strong, the snowman appeared in the courtyard as if just visiting.  We fashioned him, or made him into something fashionable with his New England Patriots bling [the week before the superbowl].  If you build a snowman big enough, life-size, you cannot help but want to get a picture with the guy.  He with Clive’s hat keeping his snowy head warm and his glaring orange eyes, spinning around in eye sockets from the wind… and his frozen carrot nose, borrowed from the kitchen in the lobby.  The twig for a mouth made him rather grim so we tried to cheer him up a bit with the Patriot’s bling.

It got colder and wetter as the rain started, and we left for the warmth of the lobby. A short time later we looked out and our poor Patriot, standing there toppled over and became another pile of snow and was no more.  He had lasted less than an hour but in his short snowy life had been kind enough to stand quietly for a snapshot with one of his creators.